Institution Questionnaire

Institution Questionnaire 

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, May , 20, 2025 (Donate) 

In today’s culture, where evolution and millions of years has infiltrated many schools (and churches), it is difficult to even begin looking for a college or university that stands on the authority of the Bible from the very first verse. 

Photo by Bodie Hodge

In an effort to help parents and students find a college or university (or even a Bible-believing church), I put together a short “Institution Questionnaire”.    

The quick 15 question survey can be used to present to a pastor at a church or a Christian college to see if the institution or individual teacher really believes what the Scriptures say whether they admit they adhere to biblical authority or not.  

This questionnaire is written to carefully see what the institution (or individual) believes. This should help you discern if the institution is truly biblical or not. Keep in mind none are perfect, but some are usually much better than others. What follows are merely 15 questions that could be helpful; this is followed by recommended short answers, a couple of references, and brief explanations of what you can learn. Just copy and paste this question as needed.

 

Institution Questionnaire

 

Name:                         _________________________________________

Name of Institution:   _________________________________________

Date:                           _________________________________________

 

1.  Is God triune—one God, three persons of the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) or not?

 

2.  When did death and suffering enter into the world (for man and for animals)?

 

3.  Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Creator?

           

4.  Do you believe the days in Genesis during Creation Week are literal, approximate 24-hour days or not?

 

5.  Is it proper to (1) interpret Genesis to conform to what one already believes about the past, or (2) should one adjust their belief to conform to what Genesis says? In other words, should Genesis be interpreted in the style it is written (literal historical narrative) or should it be interpreted in some other fashion (i.e., reinterpreted in light of millions of years and evolution)?

 

6.  Have human male and female (1) been around since the beginning of creation or (2) did they evolve from a lower life form or (3) did God create them in their modern form millions of years after creation?

 

7.  Do you believe there are physical intelligent alien life forms (i.e., “extraterrestrials”; this is not asking about angels or spiritual beings)?

 

8.  Did God use a big bang?

 

9.   Was the Flood of Noah’s day global (entire earth was flooded) or local (regional)?

 

10.  Do you believe Satan/Lucifer rebelled before or after Day 6 of the creation week discussed in Genesis 1 – Genesis 2:3?

 

11.  Why don’t hosts of people today believe the Gospel when we boldly preach it like they did when Peter preached it? 

           

12.  How many races of people did God create? How many races of mankind are there today?  

           

13.  Was the fossil record (1) primarily laid down by Noah’s Flood or (2) laid down slowly over millions of years of annual depositions; and how does this relate to the age of the earth?

 

14.  Is Genesis important when preaching the Gospel in today’s culture? 

           

15.  Are there any legitimate contradictions in the Bible?

 

 

Institution Questionnaire: Answers With References 

(or similar responses to these are acceptable) 

1.  They better say yes! J 

References: God is Triune, Biblical Authority Ministries, by Bodie Hodge, February 20, 2025, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2025/02/god-is-triune.html. 

      Question 1 helps you realize if a school is mainstream; or if it has been influenced by a cult that may deny the deity of Jesus Christ (John 1, Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1).  Also, this should be an easy question to answer for most Christian institutions.  

2.  When Adam and Eve rebelled resulting in the curse and the sentence to die from Genesis 2:17/Genesis 3:17/Romans 5:12. If they believe death (of either mankind or animals) has been around prior to this, then they have a major problem. Also, animals were vegetarian in the beginning as was man (Genesis 1:29-30), so this points to no animal death prior sin either.  

References: New Answers Book 1, Gen. Ed. Ken Ham, How did defense/attack structures come about? Andy McIntosh & Bodie Hodge, Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2006; Biblically, Could Death Have Existed before Sin? Biblical Authority Ministries, Bodie Hodge, August 21, 2024,

https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2024/08/could-death-exist-before-sin-biblically.html. 

Question 2 allows you to find out if the institution really believes in a literal curse in Genesis 3 and provides an answer for the common question “why did God make the world like this?” Biblically, God made the world perfect (Genesis 1:31, Deuteronomy 32:4) and due to man’s sin, death and suffering came into the world.  

This is why we need a Savior to save us from sin and death and provide a new heavens and a new earth—and why the curse still needs to be removed in Revelation 22:3. Adam and Eve rebelled resulting in the curse and the sentence to die (Genesis 2:17/Genesis 3:17/Romans 5:12). 

If an institution or teacher believes death has been around prior to this, then they have a major problem of death before sin. Also, animals were originally vegetarian in the beginning as was man (Genesis 1:29-30), so this points to no animal death prior sin either. After sin, we find the first recorded of death of an animal (Genesis 3:21) and from here, we find a relationship between human sin and animal death.    

3.  Yes! 

References: John 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1. (See also the references from Question 1) 

Question 3 reiterates question one but more directly. With these questions up front, the institution should feel welcome to the survey questions. So at this point, we can start getting into the some of the meat of the subject.  

References The Nature Of The Punishment Of Sin, Bodie Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, May 12, 2025, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2025/05/the-nature-of-punishment-of-sin.html. 

4.  Yes! This is confirmed by Exodus 20:11, Exodus 31:17, also, Mark 10:6 (marriage came at the beginning of creation, thus only 5 days before, not millions of years otherwise it would be the “end” of creation.  

References:  New Answers Book 1, Gen. Ed. Ken Ham, Chapter: Could God Really Have Created Everything in Six Days?, Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2006, http://www.answersingenesis.org/Home/Area/answersbook/sixdays2.asp; And the technical article, The days of creation: A semantic approach, James Stambaugh, first published in the TJ 5(1):70–78, April 1991, (there is a later revision with slight modification published at the Evangelical Theological Society), http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/4204tj_v5n1.asp 

Question 4 allows you to really start testing to see if the institution believes the Bible as the authority, or if man’s ideas about millions of years has begun to creep in. The Bible is clear that it was six days, not millions of years (Exodus 20:11; Exodus 31:17). Otherwise, our basis for a “week” makes no sense. 

5.  No.  2 Corinthians 4:2 and Proverbs 8:8-9 make it clear the Scriptures should be interpreted plainly/straightforward. This means metaphors are metaphors, literal history is literal history, poetry is poetry, parables are parables, etc.  Thus, we should learn about history from a perfect, all-knowing God who has always been there, instead of trying to reinterpret what God says to conform to current imperfect and fallible beliefs about the past, who weren’t there.  

References: New Answers Book 1, Gen. Ed. Ken Ham, Chapter: Don’t Creationists Believe Some “Wacky” Things?, Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2006, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2025/05/dont-creationists-believe-some-wacky.html.  

Question 5 is important because you can determine how the institution thinks—whether biblically or if they are being infiltrated by “humanistic” thinking in certain areas.  

Humanism is a religion that has humans as the ultimate authority. 2 Corinthians 4:2 and Proverbs 8:8-9 point out that the Scriptures should be interpreted plainly/straightforward, hence using Scripture to interpret Scripture. This means metaphors are metaphors, literal history is literal history, poetry is poetry, parables are parables, etc.  This is called the historical-grammatical method.  

Thus, we should learn about history from a perfect, all-knowing God who has always been there, instead of trying to reinterpret what God says to conform to imperfect and fallible mankind’s beliefs about the past.  If the Bible is the authority, then we as fallible sinful human beings should change our views to conform to what God says in the Bible.  But if one can simply reinterpret the Bible because of one’s own thinking (e.g., the days in Genesis can’t be ordinary because other humans say it was millions of years), then what is the real authority? 

It would be that person or humans in general. So, humans would be sitting in authority over God and His Word in this case. This is one way to see if humanism, even if subtly, has crept into their thinking. 

6.  Human male and female (Adam and Eve) have been around since the beginning of creation on Day 6 specifically. This is confirmed by Mark 10:6 and Mathew 19:4. This means it cannot be billions of years after creation. 

References: But from the beginning of … the institution of marriage? Answers in Genesis website, Dr. Terry Mortenson, November 1, 2004,      http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2004/1101ankerberg_response.asp. 

Question 6 reveals if the institution believes in long ages of some sort. If one answers that humans evolved, then they obviously don’t believe the Bible in Genesis. But many say they believe Genesis literally but are really tacking on man’s ideas about millions of years by reinterpreting Genesis. 

But Jesus reveals the glitch from His own words in Mark 10:6. The context of Jesus’ response is about divorce which concerns marriage. Jesus referred back to Genesis 1 and 2 and even quoted them in the parallel passage in Matthew 19 and stated that at the beginning of creation God made them male and female. 

If Jesus was speaking about 4000 years [according to genealogies] after creation week of 6 approximately 24-hour days then, Day 6 and even soon after would be the “beginning of creation”.  If one has long ages, then human male and female came about 13-15 billion years after the creation, which is the end of creation, thereby making Jesus out to be speaking a falsehood. So with this verse, Jesus is affirming a relatively young age of the earth.     

7.  No.  

References: Should Intelligent Extraterrestrials Exist In Light Of The 66 Books Of The Scripture?, Bodie  Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, May 7, 2025, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2025/05/aliens-and-extraterrestrials.html; New Answers Book 1, Gen. Ed. Ken Ham, Chapter: Are ETs & UFOs Real?, Dr. Jason Lisle, Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2006, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/are-ets-and-ufos-real. 

Question 7 reveals how much evolutionary thinking may have infiltrated. 

      8.  No. 

Reference: New Answers Book 2, Gen. Ed., Ken Ham, Does the Big Bang fit with the Bible? Dr. Jason Lisle, Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2008, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab2/does-big-bang-fit-with-bible. 

Question 8 exposes progressive creation, theistic evolution, and other compromised views. If an institution believes in big bang, then they are holding to the atheistic view over God’s view given in Scripture (astronomical evolution). 

Big bang simply doesn’t mesh with Scripture [i.e., see a few inconsistencies in the chart.] And big bang starts itself, God is unnecessary, so when Christian try to add the idea that God started the big bang, they basically say God didn’t really do anything. 

	Big Bang/Millions of Years	Genesis
	Sun before Earth	Earth before Sun
	Dry land before sea	Sea before dry land
	Atmosphere before sea	Sea before atmosphere
	Sun before light on Earth	Light on Earth before Sun
	Stars before Earth	Earth before stars
	Earth at same time as planets	Earth before all planets
	Death before man	Death after man
	Sun before plants	Plants before the sun

 

9.  Global—it is clearly stating that it was a worldwide event by the universal language in Genesis 6-8 (specifically Genesis 7:19-20).  

Reference: A Flood of Evidence, Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, Master Books, Green Forest, AR, 2016; New Answers Book 1, Gen. Ed., Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, Chapter: Was There Really a Noah’s Ark & Flood? Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2006, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/really-a-flood-and-ark. and New Answers Book 3, Gen. Ed., Ken Ham and Bodie Hodge, Chapter: Was the Flood of Noah global or local? Ken Ham and Dr. Andrew Snelling, Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2010. 

Question 9 also reveals if one believes in long ages but from a different perspective. If the bulk of the fossil layers represent long ages, then a global Flood is impossible because it would have ripped up the layers and redeposited them. 

A local flood also makes a mockery of the promise God made after the Flood to not send another Flood like this. It was clearly a global Flood as Genesis 6-8 teaches, because we have numerous local floods all the time.  

10.  Satan had to rebel after day 6 (probably not day 7 because God sanctified that day and made it holy). Otherwise, rebellion from God (sin) would have been declared ‘very good’ in Genesis 1:31.

References: New Answers Book 1, Gen. Ed. Ken Ham, Chapter: What About the Gap & Ruin-Reconstruction Theories? Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2006, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/gap-ruin-reconstruction-theories. 

And When did Adam and Eve rebel? Bodie Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries,

Bodie Hodge, May 10, 2025, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2025/05/when-did-adam-and-eve-rebel.html. 

Question 10 reveals if the compromised view of gap theory is being held at the institution. Gap theorists have millions of years thrown in between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. As Gap goes, the fossils layers are primarily from an alleged Luciferian Flood when Satan fell.  

This is strange since the bulk of the fossil layers would no longer be representative of atheism’s long ages, which was what this alleged gap was trying to mix with Scripture in the first place! 

Also, if this were the case, then Lucifer’s actions of rebellion would be very good because God declared all things very good at the end of Day 6 (Genesis 1:31). So, Satan had to have fallen after Day 6, and likely not on Day 7 which was holy, but soon after. 

      11.  People today have the wrong foundational beliefs (an “evolutionary/millions of years” foundation) that teaches the Bible is wrong. We need to teach them the true history in the Bible so they will have a foundation for understanding why they need Jesus Christ as their Savior.  

Reference: New Answers Book 1, Gen. Ed. Ken Ham, Chapter: How Can I Use This Information to Witness?  Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2006, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/how-use-information-to-witness. 

Question 11 reveals if the institution really understands why people are walking away from the church at an alarming rate, or if they even realize the gravity of the problem. If people don’t believe Genesis is true, then why would they believe the Gospels (John 3:12)?  

Having generations of people brought up with the teachings of long ages and evolution, nations like England have hardly any semblance of Christianity left. The same is now happening to the US. Yet people toss out many ideas why the Church is dying but they rarely get to the root of the problem.  

Basically, the Church as a whole let the world train its children to believe humanism (i.e., evolution and millions of years are subsets of the religion of humanism). Thus, the next generation has been taught the Bible is not true and is walking away. See Proverbs 22:6.    

12.  There is one race, the human race, where each person is a descendant of Noah and ultimately Adam and Eve. 

Reference: New Answers Book 1, Gen. Ed. Ken Ham, Chapter: Are There Really Different Races?  Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2006, http://www.answersingenesis.org/Home/Area/AnswersBook/races18.asp. 

Question 12 allows you to see if the institution really believes that all people came from Adam and Eve or if they have worldly racist ideas that have crept in.  Evolutionary thinking has infiltrated the church in many areas and on the issue of racism it has contributed significantly over the years. Christians should be leading the fight against racism. 

13.  The global Flood of Noah would have laid down billions of dead things buried in sedimentary rock layers. Of course, there have been some changes since then that will add and remove some sediment (places affected by the post Flood Ice Age, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc.) 

Reference: New Answers Book 2, Gen. Ed., Ken Ham, How old is the earth? Bodie Hodge, Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2008, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2024/05/how-old-is-earth.html. 

Question 13 is a reiteration of Question 9 but focuses on the age of the earth, to see if they are consistent with a global Flood or not.  So be sure to compare their answers to Question 9 with this answer.  

According to the genealogies, from Adam to Christ is about 4,000 years by most chronologists. This would give an age of the earth at about 6,000 years. Any long age view however, adopts man’s ideas OVER God’s Word in Genesis.  

14.  Yes. How can people fully understand the good news of being saved, if they don’t understand the bad news in Genesis of why we are lost in the first place? 

Reference: What Does It Mean to Be “Saved”? Bodie Hodge, Biblical Authority Ministries, July 18, 2024, https://www.biblicalauthorityministries.org/2024/07/being-saved.html. 

Question 14: Not everyone will get this correct but if they do, then they’ve been listening to creation ministries—which is a good sign! In today’s culture where basic Bible knowledge has severely suffered, how can people fully understand the good news of being saved, if they don’t understand the bad news in Genesis of why we are lost in the first place?  Don’t be hard on a church or institution if they get this wrong.

This is like a “bonus question” to see if they really get the message. But also note that this is not saying if one does not see the importance of Genesis, it does not mean they are not saved. 

It simply means they fail to realize the importance of the foundation of the Gospel. One can believe in an old earth, for example, and be saved, but they are inconsistent in their treatment of the word of God.  

15.  No.  

References: Contradictions: Introduction, Dr. Jason Lisle, Answers in Genesis Website, September 29, 2008, http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2008/09/29/contradictions-introduction. See also Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions, Gen. Ed. Ken Ham, Master Books, Green Forest, AK, 2010. 

Question 15 gives you an understanding of how they view the Bible. Hopefully, they answer that the Bible is inerrant in the original autographs and that no legitimate contradictions exist, since God cannot contradict Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). But some Christians have a very low view of Scripture due to evolutionary influence, whether they realize it or not.  

Originally here: https://assets.answersingenesis.org/doc/articles/books/already_compromised-appendix_d.pdf; Updated; Republished by permission.