The seminar program was gaining ground until another creationist organization published an inaccurate account of Dr. Brown’s work. Unfortunately, there has been much division within the creation movement and instead of concentrating their criticism on the opposition—the theistic evolutionists and the atheistic evolutionists—they have splintered into factions and often undermine each other’s work. This hostility from fellow creationists has baffled Dr. Brown. It usually turns out that these critics have not bothered to study his hydroplate theory. They are just repeating what they heard someone else say.
Since the interest in seminars was waning, Dr. Brown saw no need to remain in Chicago. He was there because it was centrally located for his seminar travels. So in 1985, he moved his family to Phoenix, Arizona, where they could be closer to his parents. This was a discouraging time in his life as he wondered how he would support his family and what he would do next.
He decided to devote himself to studying geology from the evolutionists’ perspective. He realized that most creationists don’t study what the evolutionists are saying—seeing their reasoning and going through their calculations. He knew that a good lawyer knows the other case as well as the opposing lawyer knows it. A solid knowledge of geology would help him build a stronger case for creation.
So Peggy found a teaching job and Walt signed up to study geology at Arizona State University. Dr. Robert S. Dietz, one of the world’s leading geologists, taught there. Several years earlier in 1981, Dr. Brown had given a lecture on creation at Arizona State after the university had been unable to find an evolutionist debater. Days before the lecture, Dr. Dietz asked if he could comment after the lecture. He talked for ten minutes giving his reasons why he thought Dr. Brown was wrong. Then Dr. Brown challenged him to a written, purely scientific debate—no religion allowed. Earlier that day when Dr. Brown had lunch with Dr. Dietz, Dr. Dietz had flatly refused to participate in a written debate. But now that he was in front of this large audience, he agreed. The audience applauded and the newspaper featured the upcoming written debate.
Dr. Brown and Dr. Dietz exchanged a few cordial phone calls, working out the rules of the written debate. A month later, though, Dr. Dietz called. “I’ve tried writing something on this,” he said, “and there is no way you can avoid religion. I can’t do it.”
“Are you backing out, Dr. Dietz?”
“I guess so,” he said. “You can’t deal with the subject without getting into religion.”
“You sure can,” Dr. Brown said. “I will.” But Dr. Dietz backed out. (Since then, no evolutionist has taken up Dr. Brown’s well-known offer for a written, publishable, purely scientific debate.)