Famed for his Christian fundamentalist views on the creation of the earth, Ken Ham is not new to debates of answering questions that tackle the Christian view on creation. The world-renowned founder of Answers in Genesis, an American based church that advocates Young Earth creationism based on the literal interpretation of Genesis, a book in the Holy Bible. The parachurch rejects any other ideologies about creation like the Evolution Theory propounded by Charles Darwin. In this article, we will be looking at facts that border around who Ken Ham is and his affiliation with the Creation Museum as we have come to know him. Ken Ham has written several books, some of which are best sellers.
Quick Facts About Ken Ham
Ken Ham is also the founder of the Creation Museum, a facility that propagates a pseudoscientific, Earth creationist explanation of the beginning of the universe. It is based in the United States of America. The Creation Museum promotes biblical literalism, which puts the book of Genesis creation narrative as the ultimate fact. Ken believes the creation of the earth dates back to just 6,000 years ago, as compared to scientific proofs of millions of years ago. According to science, the earth was created 4.5 billion years ago. The universe as an entity is as old as 13.8 billion years ago.
A Look at Who Ken Ham is
Ken Ham was born Kenneth Alfred Ham on October 20, 1951, to Mervyn, a Christian educator in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. There aren’t any details about how his childhood education went. However, he would go on to earn a degree in applied science at the Queensland Institute of Technology.
Let’s examine 10 facts about the life of this earth apologist.
#1. John C. Whitcomb Influenced Ken Ham
It was while Ken Ham was in the university that he stumbled upon John C. Whitcomb in 1961. Whitcomb is the author of The Genesis Flood, actually, he co-authored the book with Henry M. Morris. This shaped his thinking about the creation process compared to what he studied in college. For the record, Ham studied applied science, so he must have thought it through before succumbing to the Genesis creation narrative.
#2. Ken Ham Taught Science at a High School.
After he graduated from the Queensland Institute of Technology in 1975, Ham got a job as a science teacher at a high school in Dalby, Queensland. He taught for almost two years before he moved to Brisbane, to teach another high school. Ham met John Mackay, a fellow teacher who also believes in Young Earth creationism. He later resigned his role to focus on creating awareness about the biblical narrative of creation as opposed to the evolution theory.
#3. He and His Wife Founded Creation Science Services
Ken Ham resigned from being a high school teacher in 1979. Together with his wife, he founded an institution that provided resources for the teaching of creationism in the public schools in their hometown, Queensland.
#4. Ken Ham believed Christians Should Fight Against Atheism
Having gained knowledge about the creation of the earth from the bible, Ham believed fellow Christians should engage in a culture war against humanism and atheism. He believed a lack of fight would continue to give room for the evolutionary falsehood to spread.
#5. Ham Was Once Disinvited From Speaking At The University of Central Oklahoma
Pretty strong on his stance, Ken Ham is known for standing firm on what he believed in. In February 2018, Ken Ham was disinvited from speaking at the University of Central Oklahoma by an LGBTQ student group who objected. But after pretty much evaluation by the school’s board, he was reinvited to speak later that year in March.
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#6. Ham Was Accused of Deceptive Conduct by Another Creationist Group
Sometime in May 2007, one creationist group, Creation Ministries International (CMI) filed a lawsuit against Ham and a group founded by him, Answers in Genesis (AiG) in the Supreme Court of Queensland accusing him of gross misconduct with the Australian organization. In their words, they developed “concern over Mr Ham’s domination of the groups, the amount of money being spent on his fellow executives and a shift away from delivering the creationist message to raising donations.” They believed if they allowed Ham to continue leading, they were going to get into bankruptcy. Two years later, they settled amicably out of court in April 2009.
#7. Ham Featured on Bill Maher’s Comedy Documentary
Ken Ham was featured on a comedy documentary Religulous in 2008. But, later the AiG tackled the documentary and its creator, saying, Ken Ham was tricked into featuring on the show. Also, they said Maher was dishonest with the whole dealing as he only wanted to get access to the Creation Museum and Ken Ham.
#8. Ham Believes Abortion, Same-sex Marriage Are Sinful
This is one of the reasons the LGBTQ community despise Ken Ham. He thinks the issues of abortion, homosexuality, transgender are against the scriptures. Ham believes they are sinful. He also believes that Christians should take back the rainbow, a popular symbol used by the LGBTQ community. According to Ham, the rainbow was used to signify the covenant of God from destroying the earth as said in the scriptures. It is also reported that to join the Ark Encounter as a staff, the intending staff is required to sign a document stating that homosexuality is a sin.
#9. Ken Ham Is Not Receptive of Scientific Idea of Climate Change
Ham is not a believer that the earth is warming by human activities. He believes that the earth is not undergoing climate change. We believe his reasons for this claim are personal.
#10. Ken Has a Large Family.
Even though how he married Marylin Ham remains a mystery, we know that he has five children and wait for them… sixteen grandchildren. This is because he gave birth when he was still rather young and his children also did the same thing. It looks like Ken Ham is taking the bible verse “be fruitful and multiply the earth” very literally.
Conclusion
Ken Ham’s Creation Museum is well known, most especially because of the creationist beliefs he holds dear and which he tries to make people come to that light. He has had several controversies because of his stand but he looks like he is not going to change his stance in a long while.
