Ken Ham

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For the American astronaut, see Kenneth Ham.

Kenneth Ham
Born	October 20, 1951 (1951-10-20) (age 56)
Residence
Occupation	Evangelist, broadcaster
Religious beliefs	Baptist, Young Earth creationist
Spouse	Mally Ham

Kenneth Alfred Ham (born October 20, 1951) is the president of Answers in Genesis USA and Joint CEO of Answers in Genesis International. A vocal advocate for a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis, his cross-country speaking tours and many books make him one of the better known young-Earth creationists.

1 Biography
2 Beliefs
3 Controversy and criticism
4 Bibliography
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Official and Pro-Ham
- 6.2 Critical of Ham

[edit] Biography

Ham was born in Queensland, Australia but moved to the United States of America in 1987. He has a bachelor's degree in applied science (with an emphasis on environmental biology) from the Queensland Institute of Technology and also holds a Diploma of Education from the University of Queensland.^[1] He is married to Marilyn ("Mally"), whom he describes as a "very, very submissive, supportive wife" who has "always supported me five million percent." The couple have five children.^[2] Two are married, and two live with them in Cincinnati. Ham has four grandchildren.

In 1979, Ham co-founded what was to be later known as the Creation Science Foundation (CSF) in Queensland, Australia with John Mackay.^[3] ^[4] Controversy arose when Mackay "was excommunicated in the 1980s after making allegations of witchcraft and necrophilia against a fellow member of the ministry."^[5]

Between 1987 and 1993, Ham worked for the Institute for Creation Research (ICR),^{[chronology source needed]} one of the oldest^[6] American Creationist organizations, and a leading young-Earth organisation^[7]. In 1994, with the assistance of what is now Creation Ministries International (Australia) he set up Answers in Genesis, a Christian ministry which specialises in Young Earth Creationism, and is primarily devoted to convincing people that the initial chapters in Genesis should be taken as literally true and historically accurate. For his contributions to evangelism, he was given three honorary degrees (Liberty University in 1993,^[8], Temple Baptist College in 1997^[9], and again from Liberty University in 2004^[10]).

Answers in Genesis' Creation Museum.

Notably, Answers in Genesis opened its 60,000 square foot Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky on May 28, 2007. the building features sophisticated animatronic dinosaurs alongside humans and depicts young earth creationist ideas.^[11] Ham was the major impetus behind the museum, as he explained "This idea came about from when I was a teacher in public schools in Australia . . . I had this embryonic idea 25 years ago in Australia."^[12]

He hosts an internet and radio program called Answers…with Ken Ham. It is broadcast daily on over one thousand radio stations worldwide.^[13] Each ninety second broadcast features commentary by Ham and presents pro-creationist opinions expressed on the Answers in Genesis website.

[edit] Beliefs

As a young Earth creationist, Ham believes that the entire universe was created about 6,000 years ago and that Noah's flood occurred about 4,500 years ago. Although rejecting evolution, Ham accepts that natural selection can give rise to a number of species from an original population, provided that all of these species are of the same kind (a term borrowed from the English translation of Genesis 1:11 and elsewhere).^{[citation needed]} He believes this explains how a small number of animals carried on Noah's ark could produce the biological diversity. Ham also believes that dinosaurs co-existed with modern humans and that a 6,000 year old Earth. He supports this claim wth a cave painting that resembles a brachiosaur.^[14]

AiG believes that evolution is the “source” of many kinds of evil, and that rejection of God’s Word as absolute authority and acceptance of evolutionary ideas will affect the way people think and act—and fuel social ills. ^[15]

[edit] Controversy and criticism

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His arguments have not gained acceptance with any major scientific organization. In particular, No Answers in Genesis lists specific criticisms of Ham's teachings on science.^[16]

Advocates of creationism, such as Ham, have been criticized for presenting children with a false dichotomy between God and evolution. This was a prominent statement in the 2005 opinion in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.^[17]

Since 1989 Ham has frequently made the comment, "Were you there?" regarding the origins of life and evolution.^[18] The implication being that knowledge of unwitnessed events is inferential and not observational. Responses to this have been made by scientific database Talk.origins, which responds that the evidence for evolution "was there".^[19]

Ham's beliefs and tactics have also been criticized by other Christians. Answers in Creation, an Old Earth creationist website, has called Ham willfully ignorant of evidence for an old earth and said he "deliberately misleads" his audiences on matters of both science and theology.^[20] Astronomer Hugh Ross, a progressive creationist, has publicly debated Ham on the age of the Earth and the compatibility of an old Earth with the Bible,^[21] as well as other Answers In Genesis staff.^[22]

Ken Ham supports the chronology of 17th century Archbishop James Ussher, Anglican Archbishop of Armagh over contemporary theological and scientific opinion.^[23]

These and other criticisms are often addressed in articles posted on the Answers website.^[24]

In May 2007 Creation Ministries International (CMI) filed a lawsuit against Ham and AiG in Queensland's Supreme Court seeking damages and accusing him of deceptive conduct in his dealings with the Australian organisation. Members of the ministry were "concern[ed] over Mr Ham's domination of the ministries, the amount of money being spent on his fellow executives and a shift away from delivering the creationist message to raising donations."^[5] In 2006, Ham received $178,991 from AiG.^[25]

[edit] Bibliography

Ham's 1987 book The Lie: Evolution.

A is for Adam Master Books (1995, ISBN 0-89051-207-8) (Children's book)
Creation Evangelism for the New Millennium, retitled Why Won't They Listen, Master Books (2002, ISBN 0-89051-378-3) (Online chapters)
Did Adam Have a Belly Button? and other tough questions about the Bible Master Books (2000, ISBN 0890512833)
Did Eve Really Have an Extra Rib? and other tough questions about the Bible Master Books (2002, ISBN 0890513708)
D is for Dinosaur Master Books. (1991, ISBN 0-89051-193-4) (Children's book)
Dinosaurs of Eden Master Books. (2000, ISBN 0-89051-340-6) (Children's book)
The Great Dinosaur Mystery Solved! A Biblical View of These Amazing Creatures Master books (2000, ISBN 0890512825)
One Blood—the Biblical Answer to Racism (with Don Batten and Carl Wieland, 1999, ISBN 0-89051-276-0)
Foreword to Refuting Evolution by Jonathan Sarfati (1999, ISBN 0-89051-258-2)
The Lie: Evolution Master Books. (July 1987, ISBN 0-89051-158-6)
Foreword to All-In-One Curriculum for The Pilgrim's Progress (published by Answers in Genesis, USA)
The Revised & Expanded Answers Book (ed. Don Batten; co-authors Jonathan Sarfati and Carl Wieland) ISBN 0890511616
Walking through Shadows—Finding Hope in a World of Pain (with Carl Wieland, 2002, ISBN 0-89051-381-3)
Foreword to Welcome to Life Welcome to Life After Eden Genesis Publishing. (2003, ISBN 1893345157) (Children's book)
What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? (with John Morris) (1990, ISBN 0890511594)