Henry Morris



Henry Madison Morris, Ph.D. (Born::October 6, 1918 – Died::February 25, 2006) was an American young earth creationist and Christian apologist. He is most notable for his role in the modern creation movement, co-authoring The Genesis Flood, co-founding the Institute for Creation Research, and serving as its president from 1970 through 1995 and then as president emeritus until his death.

Early life and education
Morris was born in Dallas, Texas on October 6, 1918. He graduated from Rice University in 1939 with a B.S.C.E. "with distinction". Growing up, Morris was "religiously indifferent", but during his time at Rice University, he "began to undertake serious study of the Bible", and shortly after graduating from Rice he became a Christian, accepting "the Bible--from Genesis to Revelation--as the infallible and inspired Word of God." Morris was married to his wife, Mary Louise Beach, on January 24, 1940.

Career in hydraulics
After graduating from Rice University, Morris worked as a hydraulic engineer in the International Boundary and Water Commission, in El Paso, Texas. From 1942 until 1946, "he returned to Rice to teach civil engineering". It was during this time that Morris began to ponder questions regarding origins.

From 1946 to 1951, Morris taught at the University of Minnesota, where he also completed an M.S. in hydraulics in 1948 and a Ph.D. in hydraulic engineering in 1950. In 1946, Morris published his first book concerning creation, That You Might Believe, that showed how weak the evolutionary position is.

From 1951 to 1956, Morris served as a professor an chair of civil engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. From 1956 to 1957, he served as a professor of applied science at Southern Illinois University, and from 1957 to 1970, he served as a professor of hydraulic engineering and department chair of civil engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

Morris "was a respected teacher" at Virginia Polytechnic and he wrote a textbook in 1963, Applied Hydraulics in Engineering, that as of his death "remains a cornerstone of the field." In addition to this, Morris wrote numerous scientific papers and articles, including eleven articles on hydraulics in technical journals and four hydraulics articles in the Encyclopedia Americana.

Defending biblical creation
In 1961, Morris and Dr. John C. Whitcomb of Grace College published The Genesis Flood, arguably the most influential book of the modern creation science movement which gives strong scientific evidence for a young earth and for a real, global flood. Even Stephen Jay Gould, who strongly opposed biblical creation, called the book "the founding document of the creationist movement."

In 1963, Morris, Duane Gish, and eight other biblical creationists founded the Creation Research Society, of which Morris served as president from 1967 to 1973. In 1970, after resigning from his position at Virginia Polytechnic, Morris co-founded Christian Heritage College, and along with it the Institute for Creation Research (ICR), with prominent pastor and writer Tim LaHaye in San Diego. Morris would serve as the president of ICR from its foundation until January 1996, and he continued to serve as president emeritus until his death. In addition, Morris served as president of Christian Heritage College from 1978 to 1980. ICR was given approval from the state of California in 1981 to grant masters degrees in science education, and the same year it became autonomous of Christian Heritage College.

During his career, Morris wrote over sixty books, the majority of them on creation, evolution, and Christian apologetics. He participated in over 100 debates against evolutionists.

Personal life
Morris was married to his wife, Mary Louise, for 66 years, and together they had six children, seventeen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Two of his sons, John D. Morris and Henry Morris III, succeeded him at ICR. Morris died on February 25, 2006, after suffering from repeated strokes, at the age of 87.

Legacy
Morris is arguably the most important figure of the modern creation science movement, and he has been called the "father of modern creation science" or the "Darwin of the creationist movement." In fact, he has been said to have "coined" the term "creation science". He wrote numerous books about creation, and his most important book is The Genesis Flood, which was still in print when he died and sold about 250,000 English copies. Even many evolutionists, including Stephen Jay Gould and Eugenie C. Scott, acknowledged Morris as the most important modern creationist.

Morris was an inspirational figure for many creationists. John Whitcomb, who would co-author The Genesis Flood with Morris, changed his creation position from the gap theory to a young Earth after listening to a lecture by him at Grace College in 1953. The Genesis Flood played a major role in influencing Ken Ham, who would become the president of Answers in Genesis, to become a major figure in the creation movement himself. Ham said, "'The grass-roots movement you see across America right now, with the school board battles, with the students questioning evolution in colleges, all of that is really in a big part due to the work of Dr. Henry Morris...All of us in the modern creationism movement today would say we stand on his shoulders.'"

In addition to his role in creation science, Morris founded College Baptist Church in Blacksburg, Virginia in 1962. Dr. Morris's textbook, Applied Hydraulics in Engineering, has been used by over 100 colleges and universities at one time or another.

Dr. Morris has biographical listings in World Who's Who in Science: Antiquity to Present, Who's Who in America: American Men of Science, Who's Who in Engineering, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in the World, Contemporary Authors, etc.

Books
Author of over 45 books regarding Creation-Evolution.
 * The Beginning of the World. A handy study of Genesis 1-11. by Henry M. Morris.
 * Biblical Creationism : What Each Book of the Bible Teaches About Creation and the Flood. by Henry M. Morris.
 * The Biblical Basis for Modern Science by Henry M. Morris.
 * For Time and Forever by Henry M. Morris.
 * History of Modern Creationism by Henry M. Morris.
 * The Genesis Record : A Scientific & Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings. by Henry M. Morris.
 * The Genesis Flood : The Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications. by Henry M. Morris and John C. Whitcomb. 1961. Institute for Creation Research, 518 pages.
 * The Long War Against God by Henry M. Morris.
 * Men of Science, Men of God by Henry M. Morris.
 * Miracles by Henry M. Morris
 * The Modern Creation Trilogy by Henry M. Morris and John Morris
 * The New Defender's Study Bible King James Version - Annotations by Henry Morris
 * The Remarkable Journey of Jonah by Henry Morris
 * The Remarkable Record of Job by Henry Morris
 * The Remarkable Wisdom of Solomon by Henry Morris
 * Scientific Creationism by Henry Morris
 * That Their Words May Be Used Against Them by Henry Morris
 * What Is Creation Science? by Henry Morris and Gary Parker
 * When Christians Roamed the Earth Authors Include: Ken Ham, John Morris, Jonathan Henry, Carl Wieland, Jack Cuozzo, Henry M. Morris

Articles

 * Star Witness by Henry Morris, Acts & Facts, Dec 1, 1985