Praising God in the National Parks

Introduction It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding stretched out the heavens. Jeremiah 10:12 There is proof of a loving God who created the whole world and all of nature around us. We see evidence of God’s hand in everything from a gnat to an elephant, from a rock to a mountain. There is just something incredibly special about looking down into what seems like a never-ending canyon, observing my surroundings from the edge of a mountain, standing under a naturally made arch, and seeing only cacti for miles and miles. Every time I go to a different national park I see God’s wondrous work and am able to separate myself from the stress and anxiety and to instead focus on God’s beauty around me. This is why I have made a goal for myself to travel to all the national parks. Not only to see God’s marvelous creation, but to give myself that needed time to really separate myself from the busyness of this world and just be surrounded by God’s handiwork. As I have slowly made my way across the United States, I have started to notice something very troubling in our national parks. The signs you read in the parks mainly describe formations as being millions of years old or point out rivers that shaped a canyon over the span of hundreds of thousands of years, flowing upstream at that. These claims frustrate me because they only state one side of the argument (evolutionary naturalism) and they don’t give people the chance to consider that a creator is at work. My starting point is Genesis, which proclaims that God created all in 6, 24-hour days, and therefore supports a young earth worldview. It is troubling to me that the literature provided at the parks assumes a naturalistic agenda without considering creation as a viable perspective and reality. This book is for everyone who chooses to marvel at the beauty of a national park and wants to understand the geology and history based on creation science. As I walked through amazing landscapes I knew I disagreed with evolutionary explanations, but wasn’t totally sure how to describe what I was seeing in scientific terms. I found myself wishing for a young-earth, creation-science explanation because I knew one existed. I could give broad-stroke answers such as, there was a worldwide flood which had something to do with it, but I wanted to know more and be able to put it into words to combat what I was reading on sign after sign. I jumped right in and started doing my own research on Biblical worldview explanations for how the parks were formed, are preserved, and do continue to change. I hope this book excites readers and park-goers to challenge the park-sign claims, do some reading and research, and marvel at the parks through a Biblical lens. Hopefully this book encourages readers to experience the national parks through the eyes of a Christian worldview that celebrates scientific discovery. Yes… the Bible and science work perfectly together! I wrote a short devotion to go along with each national park so, that, if you are like me and feel close to God in nature, you can use the opportunity to give God the glory before, during, and after your visit to the park. For each park, I will include some notes from my own experience, favorite hikes, safety precautions, and, of course, some pictures! Bring this book with you on your adventures, read it with your family, friends, and fellow adventurous spirits and please enjoy each of these four corners national parks as much as I have.