Besides his work at the university, he was also a director of: QMC Industrial Research London (1970–1988), Denbyware PLC (1971–1981, non-executive director), Materials Technology Consultants Ltd (1974–present), Evangelical Press (1975–2004) and Fire and Materials Ltd (1985–1988). For five years he was a member of the scientific advisory board of Neste Oy, the national oil company of Finland (which later sold its chemical division and became Neste Oil). He was and remains the first president of the Biblical Creation Society, and was editor of Evangelical Times (1998–2008).[6]
Andrews was an international consultant to the Dow Chemical Company (US) for over thirty years and to the 3M Company (US) for twenty years. He also acted for many years as an expert scientific witness in a variety of cases in the British High Court and in courts in the US and Canada.[7]
He has published over 100 scientific research papers and books, together with two Bible commentaries and various works on science and religion and on theology. His book From Nothing to Nature has been translated into ten languages.
He is currently co-pastor of the Campus Church in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.[8]
Recognition and awards
On 28–30 September 1972, Andrews was one of four speakers invited to address an international audience of over 400 scientists at the Michigan Molecular Institute's Dedication Symposium, along with Nobel Laureates Paul J. Flory and Melvin Calvin, and Donald Lyman.[9]
Andrews is described by historian of creationism Ronald Numbers as the United Kingdom's "most respected creationist scientist of the late twentieth century", a Reformed Baptist, and a convert to Whitcomb and Morris' flood geology since the 1960s. However, Andrews rejected some elements of the latter, particularly dogmatic acceptance of a young Earth, even going so far as to suggest that the first day of creation "might be of indefinite length".[12] However, on page 106 of his latest book Who made God?, Andrews notes – citing from his earlier work From nothing to Nature (chapter 9) – that he believes the whole universe, including the earth, was created ex-nihilo in verse 1, 'with no reference to how long ago that happened'. From verse 2 onward 'the account concentrates squarely on the earth itself'. Andrews follows E. J. Young in seeing Genesis 1:1 as describing the creation of the whole universe including the earth, with verse 2 onwards relating to the population of an 'old' earth with young features (both geographical and biological). Young Biosphere creationists hold to this model.[citation needed]
Huxley Memorial Debate
Andrews was invited by the Oxford Union Society to take part in the Huxley Memorial Debate on 16 February 1986, where he debated opposite Richard Dawkins on the motion 'That the doctrine of creation is more valid than the theory of evolution'. The proposer of the motion was A. E. Wilder-Smith. The opposers, Dawkins and John Maynard Smith, won the debate by 198 votes to 115.[13]
Publications
1963 – Chemistry and Physics of Rubberlike Substances – co-author. Editor: Leslie Bateman, then director of the Natural Rubber Producers' Research Association (where Andrews was a senior physicist), Welwyn Garden City, UK (London, Maclaren; New York, Wiley). ISBN978-0853340607
1971 – Deformation of Irradiated Single Crystals of Polyethylene – in collaboration with I. G. Voigt-Martin. Publication: London: Queen Mary College, Faculty of Engineering. Also published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.
1971 – Solvent Stress Cracking and Crazing in Polymeric Glasses – Final Report (part 1 & 2 published in 1971, part 3 published in 1972) – co-authored with G. M. Levy and J. Willis. Publication: London: Queen Mary College, Faculty of Engineering.
^Andrews refers to this on page 197 in his book Who made God? The four papers presented were later published in H. G. Elias's Trends in Macromolecular Science (Midland Macromolecular Monographs, vol. 1, Gordon & Breach, New York / London, 1973) and in Angewandte Chemie (Intern. Ed. 1974, vol. 13, nr. 2). The article in Angewandte Chemie can be read here.
^John Durant, "Critical-Historical Perspective on the Argument about Evolution and Creation", in Evolution and Creation: A European Perspective (eds. Sven Anderson, Arthus Peacocke), Aarhus University Press, Aarhus, Denmark. ISBN978-8772881140