Suing for the Right to Study Rocks | thebereancall.org

TBC Staff

Suing for the right to study rocks

Alleging religious discrimination, a geologist is suing the National Park Service after he was turned down for a permit at the Grand Canyon. Dr. Andrew Snelling, a so-called "Young Earth" creationist, has explored the Grand Canyon for decades and in 2013 requested a permit to legally remove rocks during a trip through the historic landmark.

After he was turned down, Snelling has now gone to federal court with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom. "The Park Service unfortunately has consistently stonewalled his application," says ADF attorney Gary McAleb. "And it's doing it because of his Christian world view and how they think he'll interpret the data."

Snelling and ADF claim they have evidence of discrimination after the National Park Service forwarded his application to geology professors for their review, and the Young Earther was mocked in back-and-forth emails for his biblical beliefs.

One professor complained about "dead-end creationist material," The Phoenix News Times, citing the court complaint, reported. Snelling's request was denied in 2014. He submitted a new proposal with fewer samples and was told he could take photographs, the complaint alleges. The website for the Park Service calls the Grand Canyon a "world-renowned showplace of geology," and not surprisingly geologists study the formations to learn about the history of the earth.  

Yet Snelling is employed by Answers in Genesis, the Kentucky-based ministry that defends the Genesis account of creation, including that Noah's flood carved out the Grand Canyon.

The same newspaper story said a second professor who reviewed the application, Dr. Karl Karlstrom, made headlines in 2014 when he suggested the Grand Canyon was formed six million years ago – a much younger date than some scientists believe. A 2014 NPR story about Karlstrom’s research states that some scientists argue it dates back 70 million years, a date that Karlstrom vocally doubted. "That whole episode — Is it old? Is it young? — caused my group to rethink what we meant by 'old' and 'young,'" Karlstrom told NPR at the time. "And what is the evidence?"

McCaleb, the ADF attorney, says the Park Service missed the opportunity to straighten out the situation when U.S. Rep. Trent Franks formally asked the Park Service to explain the permit denial. "He didn't even get the courtesy of a reply," says McCaleb…

(Butts/Davis, “Suing for the right to study rocks,” OneNewNow Online, 5/11/17).