Henry Madison Morris (Henry M. Morris), Ph.D. (October 6, 1918 – February 25, 2006) was a Young Earth creationist, Christian apologist, and hydraulic engineer. As founder of the Creation Research Society and the Institute of Creation Research, he is believed by many to be the "father of modern creation science."

Biography

Morris grew up in Texas in the 1920s and 1930s and was a religiously indifferent youth. He graduated from Rice University with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1939. Shortly afterwards, he became a Christian and adopted the doctrine of biblical inerrancy.

On January 24, 1940, he married Mary Louise, and they later had six children. From his graduation to 1942, he was a hydraulic engineer working with the International Boundary and Water Commission, based in El Paso, Texas. He then returned to Rice to teach civil engineering from 1942 until 1946. Between 1946 and 1951, he worked at the University of Minnesota, where he earned a master's degree in hydraulics in 1948 and a Ph.D. in hydraulic engineering (with a minor in geology and mathematics) in 1950. In 1951 he became a professor and head of civil engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, holding that position until 1956. Afterwards, he  became a professor of applied science at Southern Illinois University, 1956–1957. Following that, he was professor of hydraulic engineering and chairman in civil engineering at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

In 1961, Morris, with Bible scholar John C. Whitcomb, wrote a book entitled The Genesis Flood that brought widespread attention to the concepts of creation science and flood geology. In this book, he acknowledged that his position was strongly influenced by George McCready Price, a schoolteacher who wrote in defense of creation over evolution in the early part of the 20th century. In 1963, Morris founded the Creation Research Society with nine other like-minded individuals. In 1970, he founded the Institute for Creation Research (ICR).

While the greater bulk of his published writings address creation science and evolutionary themes, he has also written Many Infallible Proofs, and The Bible Has The Answer, which are both works of Christian apologetics.

His son John D. Morris (born 1946) took over presidency of ICR when his father retired and he is the active president, today.

On February 1, 2006, Morris suffered a minor stroke and was hospitalized. Reports from ICR said that his mind was functioning very well, but he could not stand without getting dizzy. Morris was moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility near his son's home (and ICR) in Santee, California, where he died.

Beliefs

Morris believed that science cannot be used to prove God's creative act. Instead, he believed that evidence of very distant, past events must be interpreted through a non-scientific framework. For example, in his book Scientific Creationism he stated:

" ... it must also be emphasized that it is impossible to prove scientifically any particular concept of origins to be true. This is obvious from the fact that the essence of the scientific method is experimental observation and repeatability. A scientific investigator, be he ever so resourceful and brilliant, can neither observe nor repeat origins! This means that, though it is important to have a philosophy of origins, it can only be achieved by faith, not by sight."

Even though Morris claimed that science can't answer the question of whether the Bible's creation story is literally and historically true, he had written several books about scientific evidence that he believed fits better into a creationist framework than the mainstream science framework. Many creationists (for example, Answers in Genesis) have followed Morris' lead and now make a distinction between what they call operational science and the science of origins.

Some of the secular, mainstream scientific community rejected both his philosophy of science and his evidence in favor of creationism as pseudoscience, and disliked Morris' representation of evolution as a complete religious system. Morris' position had also been the subject of debate among evangelical scholars of the Old Testament and among evangelicals working in various fields of science.

Books

Morris wrote or edited some forty books, including:

* (with co-author John C. Whitcomb) The Genesis Flood, Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, Philadelphia, 1961.
* Applied Hydraulics in Engineering, Ronald Press, New York, 1963.
* Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science, Craig Press, Nutley, New Jersey, 1970.
* The Remarkable Birth of Planet Earth, Dimension Books, Minneapolis, 1972.
* Many Infallible Proofs, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, 1974.
* (ed) Scientific Creationism, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, 1974.
* The Genesis Record, A scientific and devotional commentary on the book of beginnings, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1976.
* and Martin E. Clark, The Bible Has The Answer, revised edition, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, 1976.
* and Duane T. Gish (eds) The Battle for Creation, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, 1976.
* The Scientific Case for Creation, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, 1977.
* The Troubled Waters of Evolution, Creation-Life Publishers, San Diego, 1982.
* and Donald H. Rohrer (eds) Creation, the cutting edge, Creation Life Publishers, San Diego, 1982.
* History of Modern Creationism, Master Books, San Diego, 1984.
* and Gary E. Parker, What is Creation Science?, revised edition, Master Books, El Cajon, 1987.
* The Long War Against God: the history and impact of the creation/evolution conflict, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1989.
* God and the Nations, Master Books, Green Forest, 2002.
* The Biblical Basis for Modern Science, Master Books, Green Forest, 2002.

Education

B.A., Rice University (1939)

M.A., University of Minnesota (1948)

Ph.D., University of Minnesota (1950)

Links

Institute for Creation Research
Biography of Henry M. Morris (from UMKC School of Law)