Professor Marcus Ross hosts the first Creation and Design lecture series

Liberty University students have the opportunity to experience an intersection between faith and science during a “Creation and Design” lecture series, offered in four parts this semester. 

The series is put on by Dr. Marcus Ross, geology professor, paleontologist and the director of Liberty’s Center for Creation Studies. 

Ross has been passionate about the sciences since he realized his interest in dinosaurs at 4 years old. 

“I discovered that one could be a paleontologist at age 7, and God saw fit to let a little kid and his passions carry on,” Ross said. “When you have these kinds of twin passions (science and faith), pretty soon you realize that there are conflicts between the books that you’re reading on one side and the other.” 

His road was not always easy. Ross struggled with his “twin passions” conflicting in a very real way, especially during his graduate school years. 

He acquired his master’s degree at a secular institution that challenged his beliefs to the point where the faculty made unsuccessful attempts were made to silence his creationist views by eliminating him from the program. 

“My position (was) as a young earth creationist who thought that science could point in that direction; they thought that it needed to stop,” Ross said. “(My professors) saw this kind of existential problem that they could not reconcile in somebody who was doing the work that he should be doing in the class but felt differently about that work outside of the class.” 

Ross, despite the friction, pushed on to achieve not only his master’s degree in paleontology, but continued on to earn a Ph.D. in geosciences. 

As both a successful scientist and dedicated Christian, he is thrilled to work for an institution that celebrates and aligns the two fields and affirms young-Earth Creation. 

“Now I have the chance to explore the world in a different way, with institutional support,” Ross said. 

He chose to marry his “twin passions” by crafting the Creation and Design lecture series. 

The series is a joint effort by the Center for Creation Studies, the School of Engineering, Biology and Chemistry and the School of Divinity.

The first lecture in the series was given by Ross himself, titled “Mostly Dry Bones,” focusing on fossils and earth history. 

Next, Dr. John Baumgardner, a leading expert in geophysics, will speak on the geology behind the biblical flood Monday, Feb. 17, from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. 

The final two lectures in the series will feature Dr. Gordon Wilson, covering the topic of creation biology and Dr. Randall Price on the ancient Near-East world and its context in people’s understanding of Genesis on March 7 and April 20.

The lectures will be held in the Center for Natural Sciences Auditorium, room 128. 

Hamer is a news reporter. Follow her on Twitter.