On October 6, 1918, World War I—the greatest and most devastating war that the world had as yet known—was only a month away from the cessation of hostilities. But on that day, a baby was born in Dallas, Texas. That baby, Henry Madison Morris, was destined to grow up and serve as a soldier in a much greater spiritual battle, a battle that spans every age and every generation and which later would be referred to as the “long war against God.”

As a young man, Morris attended Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he studied civil engineering. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1939. God had gifted Morris with a retentive mind and an ability to communicate clearly and effectively. 

A year later, in 1940, Henry Morris married Mary Louise Beech. Their marriage would be blessed with six children and would span a remarkable sixty-six years of faithful, sacrificial love! 

Following his graduation and marriage, Morris faced many important life decisions. Fully aware of the intellectual and spiritual battle that was facing the scientific and intellectual community, he saw the truth of the Bible was questioned. Was the Bible the inerrant and infallible Word of God? Or was it merely a collection of inspiring, helpful stories, perhaps akin to Aesop’s fables, but certainly not true and reliable in its historical and scientific facts? 

At that time, scientific knowledge was rapidly increasing. The atomic age was dawning. New technologies were advancing at an astonishing pace. The space age was just beyond the horizon. The ideas of Charles Darwin had taken deep hold upon the intellectual institutions of America. Religion was considered outdated and viewed with skepticism. Such was the scientific community that Morris was now entering professionally. Clearly, an ideological war was being waged and Morris would be forced to choose a side, whether he liked it or not. This war ultimately would be fought for the hearts and minds of mankind and the forces would be between God’s truth and man’s reasoning.

Morris was exposed to the remarkable scientific demonstrations of Dr. Irwin Moon from California and his Sermons from Science. Henry Morris began to compare the Word of God with the word of men, and the rationalistic skepticism of the universities with the calm confidence of the pulpit.

Over the course of several weeks and months, the Lord did a mighty work of grace in this civil engineer’s heart as the Holy Spirit led him to an increasing dependence upon the Word of God. Morris came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Creator and Redeemer. He found that the Bible has an answer to every problem and that it is sufficient for faith and for life.

As a young husband and father, Morris worked as a hydraulic engineer until 1942, when he returned to Rice University in Houston to teach engineering for four years. During that time, Morris wrote his first book titled That You Might Believe. A concise but powerful work published in 1946, it exposed the many weaknesses in evolution.

The Lord opened doors for Morris to further his education at the University of Minnesota. There, he was able to teach while earning a master’s degree in hydraulics, followed by a Ph.D. in hydraulic engineering in 1950. Dr. Morris was called to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he served as chair of civil engineering. From there, he moved to Southern Illinois University, and then in 1957, he was called to come serve as the head of the civil engineering department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In each station of his studies and early career, he honed his tremendous abilities as a teacher and gained wide experience in a variety of scientific and engineering fields.

Dr. Henry Morris joined forces with a recognized Old Testament expert, Dr. John Whitcomb, to write and publish The Genesis Flood in 1961. This foundational book shook the scientific community with its absolute reliance upon the Bible as inerrant and infallible, even in all of its scientific and historical statements. Stephen Jay Gould, a famous paleontologist and bitter opponent of Creationism, actually acknowledged that The Genesis Flood was “the founding document of the creationist movement.”

In 1963, Dr. Morris, along with several other Christian scientists, founded the Creation Research Society. The mutual collaboration and fellowship strengthened and united Christian scientists in various fields of advancement and study. Dr. Morris continued serving as a professor at Virginia Tech for several years before resigning in 1969. He resigned from the university in order to found the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) the next year as the research division for Christian Heritage College near San Diego, California.

As the president of ICR, Dr. Morris authored more than sixty books in defense of the truth that the God of Heaven was Creator and Redeemer. Morris also participated in over 100 debates with prominent evolutionists, defending the truth of God’s Word with courage and integrity. He lectured all around the world wherever the Lord opened a door for him to speak the truth. Many other creation science ministries were started under the leading influence of Dr. Henry Morris and ICR.

In 1974, Dr. Morris wrote Many Infallible Proofs, a foundational work on Christian apologetics. In 1976, he published The Genesis Record, a thorough and helpful commentary on the Book of Genesis. He followed up this work in 1983 with The Revelation Record, a commentary on the Book of Revelation. Dr. Morris was intrigued by the history of scientific progress and the amazing prominence of fine Christian scientists, such as Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, and many others. He compiled these mini-biographies into a fascinating work titled Men of Science, Men of God. He authored a similar work in 1984 titled The Biblical Basis for Modern Science. This text traced the foundations of various scientific disciplines.

In 1989, Dr. Morris published one of his most important books, The Long War Against God. This crucial book defines the battle between creation and evolution as part of a long and global battle between truth and error, light and darkness, and God and Satan. Dr. Henry Morris became one of the most stalwart defenders of truth in his generation. It is fitting that a compiled study Bible that contains his insightful comments on Scripture is called The Defender’s Study Bible.

Dr. Morris officially retired in 1996, entrusting the leadership of ICR into the hands of his capable sons, Dr. Henry Morris III and Dr. John D. Morris. The father continued to serve, now alongside his sons. He came into the office almost every single day. In his retirement, he continued to be the major contributor to the daily Days of Praise devotional series.

In his eighties, Dr. Morris suffered a series of strokes. On February 25, 2006, a faithful warrior in the battle for truth laid down his armor and entered into his Lord’s presence. Dr. Henry Morris has been called by many “the father of modern creation science.” The founder of the Institute for Creation Research, Dr. Morris had authored over sixty books throughout his long and productive life as an advocate for truth. At last, this faithful soldier and defender of God’s truth reported to his Heavenly Commander. Certainly, Dr. Morris heard the Lord’s welcoming commendation: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant . . . enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).