John D. Morris
Encyclopedia
John David Morris is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 young earth creationist. He is the son of "the father of creation science
Creation science
Creation Science or scientific creationism is a branch of creationism that attempts to provide scientific support for the Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis and disprove generally accepted scientific facts, theories and scientific paradigms about the history of the Earth, cosmology...

", Henry M. Morris
Henry M. Morris
Henry Madison Morris was an American young earth creationist and Christian apologist. He was one of the founders of the Creation Research Society and the Institute for Creation Research...

, and after his father's death became the president of the Institute for Creation Research
Institute for Creation Research
The Institute for Creation Research is a Christian institution in Dallas, Texas that specializes in education, research, and media promotion of Creation Science and Biblical creationism. The ICR adopts the Bible as an inerrant and literal documentary of scientific and historical fact as well as...

 (ICR). Morris is a creationist author and speaks at a variety of churches. Many of his presentations discuss the fossil record and its relation to evolution.

Biography

Morris served on the University of Oklahoma faculty before joining the Institute for Creation Research in 1984. He received his Doctorate in Geological Engineering at the University of Oklahoma in 1980. Morris held the position of Professor of Geology before being appointed President in 1996. Morris has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech (1969), a M.S., University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

 (1977), and a Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

 (1980) in Geological Engineering.

Criticism

Critics have disputed some of Morris's claims. For instance, the following claim of Morris':
...elicited the following response from Jim Foley in TalkOrigins Archive
TalkOrigins Archive
The TalkOrigins Archive is a website that presents mainstream science perspectives on the antievolution claims of young-earth, old-earth, and "intelligent design" creationists...

:
The statement of Foley's - "Lucy included almost a complete pelvis and leg" - also received criticism. The bones attributed to Lucy (Australopithecus)
Lucy (Australopithecus)
Lucy is the common name of AL 288-1, several hundred pieces of bone representing about 40% of the skeleton of an individual Australopithecus afarensis. The specimen was discovered in 1974 at Hadar in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years...

 only did have half of a pelvis and fragmented parts of its legs.

In 1996 Morris claimed that the creationist belief that the human and dinosaur footprints were found in the Paluxy River
Paluxy River
The Paluxy River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a tributary of the Brazos River. It is formed by the convergence of the North Paluxy River and the South Paluxy River near Bluff Dale, Texas in Erath County and flows a distance of before joining the Brazos just to the east of Glen...

 was "at best, ambiguous" and that Duane Gish
Duane Gish
Duane Tolbert Gish is an American biochemist and a prominent member of the creationist movement. Gish is a former vice-president of the Institute for Creation Research and the author of numerous publications on the subject of creation science. Gish has been called "creationism's T.H...

 of the ICR asserted they "are" human and dinosaur tracks together. Massimo Pigliucci
Massimo Pigliucci
Massimo Pigliucci is the chair of the Department of Philosophy at CUNY-Lehman College. He is also the editor in chief for the journal . He is known as an outspoken critic of creationism and advocate of science education.-Biography:...

, citing various volumes of research wrote "there is no controversy surrounding the prints, only the creationists' stubborn refusal to bow to the evidence."

External links

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