LETTER TO(Sanitized) FROM JOHN D. MORRIS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M01082A000700150011-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 2, 2004
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: May 28, 1974
• Content Type: LETTER

ICR
pproved For Release 2004/03/17 : CIA-RDP80M01082A000700150011-1
e%nililule X02 1APCCliara J?eiiea4e%
HENRY M. MORRIS, Ph.D.
Director
DUANE T. GISH, Ph.D.
Associate Director
May 28, 1974
Central Intelligence Agency
Intelligence Community Staff
CIA Building, Room #6E0709
McLean, VA 2211.01
Thank you so much for all the effort you have made in the
past few weeks to assist me in my work. It was good to
talk with you and find that you are still interested.
I will be looking forward to hearing from you as things
develop and also to meeting you personally some day.
Sincerely yours,
ohn D. Morris
Research Scientist
THOMAS O. BARNES, SB.D.
Pro0ESsO, Of Physics,
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
EDWARD F. BUCK, M.O.
Profauor of Aerospace, Mechanical,
and Nuclear Engineering,
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
DAVID R. BOYLAN, PhD.
Dean, COINga of Eng/n.ring,
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
LARRY D. BUTLER. M.D.
Professor oI BIochsmislry.
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
JOHN R. MEYER. M.D.
KENNETH B. CLAIMING, M.D.
CHARLES W. HARRISON, JR., Ph.D.
ASSINanf Professor ofPhysblugy
Fishery ReseerM Biclogiaf,
Applied Physlcl.L
and Biophysics
Fish Control Laboratory
General Elecfro-M.gn.fica
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE MEDICAL SCHOOI
LACROSSE. WISCONSIN
ALBUQUERQUE. NEW MEXICO
MALCOLM A. CUTCHIRS, PIED.
HAROLD R. HENRY, PhD.
JOHN N. MOORE, THE.
ProfeuOr Of Natural Science,
Aasoclafe Professor of Aerospace
Che/rman of CIvll and Mlning
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
EnginSRfIng,
Engimer/n, Dapadnlenf
AUBURN UNIVERSITY. ALABAMA
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
CHARLES C. RYRIB, TIED., PhD.
Approved Fo 13ek%a .2004/03/17: CIA-R .Q Q1 p82A00070015001 "1 "tS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
JOHN C. WHITCOMB, JR., TIED.
Director of Postgraduate Studies,
GRACE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
 Approved For Release 2004/03/17 : CIA-RDP80M01082A000700150011-1
When Will It Be Found?
By John Morris
The old controversy between
creationism and" evolutionism de-
veloped a new intensity about fifteen
years ago. The issue had long been
interpreted as one between religion and
science, but now it has become a con-
troversy between two scientific models
of earth history. Creationist scientists
are now coming to the fore, defending,
researching, and publishing their own
ideas as well as challenging those of the
evolutionists. The controversy has
warranted and been granted much
nationwide publicity.
Since the theory of evolution has
been dominant throughout the past cen-
tury, having been taught as fact to the
exclusion of the opposing view, it is
obvious that this issue is being forced
by the creationists. The evolutionists,
understandably, having nothing to gain
and everything to lose, would prefer
that the battle not be pressed, that
people not be stimulated to rethink the
issue, indeed that scientific creationism
not be discussed at all. Their leaders, of
course, are aware of the serious scien-
tific fallacies in the evolutionary theory
and would-pre er that no one else be
made aware of them.
The problem, very simply, is this:
Evolution rests to varying degrees, on
the assumption of uniformity. Unifor-
mitarianism claims that, by studying
and measuring present processes and
extrapolating these processes back into
an assumed ancient past, the secrets of
the past can be unfolded.
Creationists maintain that the world
has not always been the same and
likewise the processes have not been
constant. They believe that at a particu-
lar time in the past a Supreme Being
created both the world and its proces-
ses, both of which were greatly altered
at the time of the Great Deluge, or
Noah's Flood.
These two theories squarely con-
tradict each other, since they are both
all-encompassing and mutually exclu-
sive.
Many people today, even though
they have studied in the public school
systems and colleges, are becoming
aware that the theory of evolution is-
not the formidable, irreproachable
system that they had been taught it
was. But the evolutionary philosophies
have been so ingrained that they find it
difficult to accept creationism. Many of
these people would gladly accept not
only creationism but Christ as their
Creator and Saviour if the evolutionary
system could be disproved on the basis
of convincing scientific evidence.
Every bulwark of evolution, every
system, every - evidence, every
phenomenon has in recent years been
re-examined by creationist scientists.
They have shown that all of these,
properly-interpreted, indicate that the
earth and life did not evolve but instead
were created.
But seemingly, this research isn't
enough. Something overwhelming is
needed, something irrefutable to an
open mind. Something is needed to
attract the attention of those presently
unwilling to consider creationism and
its eternal implications, something that
would prove the universal Flood to be a
-historical- event andby doing so further
authenticate the Scriptures. The antici-
pated rediscovery of Noah's Ark
would provide that type of evidence.
Much research has been done in the
past thirty years that indicates that the
Ark still exists, high up in a stationary
ice pack on Mount Ararat in Turkey.
Listed below are a number of the most
significant reports. Though no one of
these is conclusive in itself, the large
number of them certainly suggests that
something is there. An effect must have
an adequate cause.
(1) Ancient historians such as
Josephus, of the Jews, and Berosus, of
the Babylonians, mention in their writ-
ings that the Ark was still in existence
at the time of their writing.
(2) Medieval historians and travel-
ers, such as Marco Polo, likewise point
out that, according to the Armenians,
the Ark was still at that time preserved
in the mountain where it had grounded.
(3) The early 19th century was a
time of conflict between the unifor-
mitarians and catastrophists. Much of
the opposition to the growing
evolutionary sentiment was based on
the history of the great Flood. In about
1856, a team of three skeptical scien-
tists journeyed to Ararat for the
specific purpose of demonstrating once
and for all there was no Ark there;
however, their Armenian guides led
them up the mountain directly to the
Ark. In their anger, they threatened
death to the guides if they ever told
anyone about it.
_Many years later, one of the guides,
by then known as Jeremiah, the Pil-
grim, related the story, shortly before
he died, to friends in America. At
about the same time, one of the atheis-
tic scientists also told the story in a
deathbed confession, which was re-
ported in many of the papers at the
time, but soon forgotten.
(4) Sir James Bryce, a noted British
scholar and traveler of the mid-
nineteenth century, conducted exten-
sive library research on Ararat and was
convinced the Ark was preserved
there. Finally, he himself ascended to
the summit of the mountain in 1876 and
found, at the 13,000 ft. level, a large
piece of hand-tooled wood, which he
believed was from the Ark.
(5) In 1883, according to a series of
newspaper articles, a team of Turkish
commissioners, while investigating av-
alanche conditions on Mount Ararat,
unexpectedly came upon the Ark, pro-
 Approved For Rele
jectin_g out of the melting ice at the end
of an unusually warm summer. They
were actually able to enter a portion of
the Ark, but the press reports main-
tained only an attitude of scoffing at the
account.
(6) One of the most widely-
circulated Ark stories was that of its
discovery by a Russian aviator flying
over the mountain in 1915, during
World War I. The news of his discov-
ery reached the Czar, who dispatched a
large expedition to the site. The sol-
diers were actually able to locate and
explore the boat, but before they could
report back to the Capital, the Russian
revolution of 1917 had taken place. The
documents disappeared, and the sol-
diers were scattered. Some of them
eventually reached America, where
various relatives and friends have con-
firmed that they had told of seeing the
Ark.
(7) Twenty years or so later, a New
Zealand archaeologist, Hardwicke
Knight, attempted to reach Ahora, on
the north side of the mountain, by
circling around from the south, near the
snow line on the mountain. In the pro-
cess, he came across what appeared to
be a framework of heavy timbers, just
exposed above the melting ice field. He
did not realize until much later that
these timbers could well have been a
displaced portion of the structure of
Noah's Ark.
(8) During World War II, there ap-
pear to have been several aerial sight-
ings of the Ark. One of these was
reported in 1943 in the U. S. Army
paper Stars and Stripes, in a Tunisia
theatre edition. Although many ex-
servicemen have confirmed seeing this
story, it has so far been impossible to
locate the exact paper to ascertain the
names of the flyers.
(9) Also during World War II, a
group of Russian flyers on at least two
occasions took photographs from the
fair which showed the Ark protruding
out of the ice. These were reproduced
in a Russian wire-photo that appeared
in various American papers.
(10) An oil geologist, George
Greene, in 1953 took a number of
photographs of the Ark from a helicop-
ter. After returning to the United
States, Greene showed his photo-
graphs to many people, but was unable
to raise financial backing for a ground-
based expedition. Finally, he left for
South America, where he died. Al-
though no one knows where the pic-
tures are now, many people testify that
they saw them, and that they clearly
show the Ark protruding from the melt-
ing ice-field on the edge of a precipice.
(11) A French contractor, Fernand
Navarra, acting on information from
Armenian friends, ascended Mount
Ararat in 1952 in search of the Ark, and
again in 1953 and 1955. Finally he
found, deep in a crevasse in a large
ice-field, a large wooden timber, appar-
ently hand-tooled. Deeper in the ice,
both from the crevasse and from the
field above, he saw a dark mass which
he is convinced constitutes the remains
of the lower portion of the structure of
Noah's Ark. In 1969, SEARCH INC.,
guided by Navarra, returned to the
same site and found additional pieces of
wood. The wood apparently is several
thousand years old (though the radio-
carbon dates were somewhat contradic-
tory), extremely hard, and impregnated
with some sort of resinous material.
(12) Numerous expeditions have
been conducted in the past 25 years,
especially by the Archaeological Re-
search Foundation and its successor
organization, SEARCH, as well as by
Eryl Cummings and by John Libi. Var-
ious others have tried also, and a great
number of still other groups have ap-
plied unsuccessfully for governmental
permission to search the mountain.
The Institute for Creation Research
has actively engaged in this search for-
the past three years. In October of
1971, the writer, who was appointed
leader of the project, was sent to Tur-
key to gain a working knowledge of the
mountain.
extensive training on Mount Hood in
Oregon, this group of five men entered
Turkey as tourists, interested primarily
the areas under consideration as
tourists. They were granted permission
to do so by local Turkish authorities.
of extreme frustration, hardship, and
danger. They narrowly avoided av-
alanches, were attacked by half-wild
packs of dogs, were shot at and robbed
lightning. However, in the end, they
 Approved For Re
successful expedition to date. Even
though they did not accomplish their
primary objective, many areas of the
mountain were thoroughly searched
out for the first time, as well as nearby
ancient archaeological sites. For the
first time, extensive photographic work
was done, and beautiful pictures of the
upper reaches of the mountain became
available in abundance.
Cooperating Turkish officials as-
sured the ICR team that permits would
again be issued in the summer of 1973,
so plans were made to return. Prepara-
tions were made to take a larger,
better-financed, better-equipped group
to Mount Ararat, capable not only of
relocating the Ark itself, but also of
thoroughly documenting it. Profes-
sional photographers, a medical doctor,
and various explorers and moun-
taineers were chosen for the job (a total
of eight men, each a dedicated Chris-
tian), while equipment and data were
gathered to produce a 16-mm documen-
tary film of the relocation of the Ark, as
well as the other ancient sites in East-
ern Turkey.
Meanwhile, Turkey was undergoing
a period of political unrest. Several
months of bitter parliamentary fighting
had divided the country's leadership
until April 26, when an overwhelming
vote of confidence was given to the
new coalition government formed by
President Koruturk and Prime Minister
Talu. Plans were made to gradually lift
the martial law which controlled the
country.
By the time our ICR advance team
reached Turkey in July, only a few
areas were still under martial law, and
those were quite peaceful. However,
two potential problems loomed ahead.
In October, almost every elected offi-
cial in Turkey was up for re-election,
and on October 29, Turkey planned to
celebrate its 50th anniversary.
All things considered, it was not a
and photographing ancient ruins, as
well as thoroughly photographing the
critical areas of the mountain with
high-powered telescopic equipment.
While these photographs did not reveal
the Ark, they will be strategically help-
ful in planning future endeavors.
The Institute for Creation Research
plans to continue this project. Tenta-
tive arrangements have been made to
return to Turkey in July and August of
1974. Again a team of eight men will try
to establish once and for all whether or
not the remains of Noah's Ark do in-
deed exist on Mount Ararat. They in-
tend, Lord willing, to locate those re-
mains, map, photograph, and docu-
ment them fully, producing evidence
that all would be forced to acknowl-
edge.
It seems unlikely that on a volcanic
mountain, in an earthquake-prone re-
gion, surrounded by a moving glacier,
that any portion of the vessel could
good year for a group of foreigners with have survived for 5,000 or so years. But
sophisticated gear to-explore one of the evidence indicates that it has. It can
Turkey's most sensitive zones. Mount
Ararat overlooks both the Russian and
Iranian borders.
Although a number of sympathetic
officials in the Turkish government ac-
tively attempted to acquire permission
for the ICR team, they were unable to
do so on such short notice. When the
decision was reached forbidding the
issuing of permits, these officials prom-
ised more effective support of the ICR
efforts in the future. The team left
Turkey with not only a deep love and
burden for the Turkish people and a
sincere respect for its government but
also a sense of accomplishment, even
elation over the prospects of future
work.
However, the weeks in Turkey were
not entirely spent in the capital city of
Ankara. Members of the team twice
journeyed to Ararat, again exploring
be said without fear of contradiction
that, if indeed it remains, an all-
powerful God has providentially pre-
served and protected it throughout the
centuries. If He has done all that, it
also seems likely that he has a purpose,
a reason for doing so.
Most students of Biblical prophecy
agree that we are in the last days, that
the world as we know it will soon come
to an end. A reasonable assumption
confronts us, then, that God is planning
to reveal the Ark shortly before Christ
returns, issuing a final call to a lost
world, pleading with men to accept the
present-day Ark of Salvation, Jesus
Christ, reminding them of the previous
judgment and warning them of the com-
ing judgment. With such overwhelming
evidence as this, the doubts of many
would be removed, causing them to
return to Christ.
Note:
The Institute for Creation Research,
the research division of Christian
Heritage College, 2716 Madison Av-
enue, San Diego, California 92116,
needs help to finance the expedition
planned for the summer of 1974. If God
has given you a burden to see His Word
vindicated and souls saved through this
project, and you wish to help finan-
cially, you may do so by sending a
designated contribution to the above
address. All gifts are tax deductible
and, along with an acknowledgment of
your gift, ICR will also send you a free
copy of the popular new book,
Adventure on Ararat, an expansion of
the writer's personal diary logged on
the 1972 expedition. This exciting book
details the hair-raising experiences en-
countered by the team and describes
God's merciful protection throughout.
About the Author:
John Morris, Field Research Scien-
tist for the Institute for Creation Re-
search and College Representative for
Christian Heritage College, received
his B.S. degree from Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State Uni-
versity (1968) in civil engineering. He
currently lectures throughout the coun-
try on the progress and implications of
the search for Noah's Ark.
Reprints Available
Additional copies of this pamphlet
are available for use in churches,
schools, Sunday schools, etc., or for
personal
witnessing and information
from the
Institute for Creation Re-
search at the following prices:
1
- 99 copies
25` ea.
100
- 499 copies
20c ea.
500
- and over
15? ea.
 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/03/17 : CIA-RDP80M01082A000700150011-1
Approved For Release 2004/03/17 : CIA-RDP80M01082A000700150011-1