Scott McKnight is reviewing Karl Giberson’s latest work directed in part against Ken Ham and his liberal associates. McKnight writes of Ham,
Ken Ham, with no scientific credentials, no credentials in biblical scholarship, no evidence, and no research program, has become the front person, the spokesman for a large segment of evangelicalism. He proves nothing, he asserts what he finds to be truth and tells a story to make it so. He is a charismatic speaker on a mission and has become for many the authority on the evil of evolution and the dishonesty of modern science. Ken Ham and his organization Answers in Genesis have become “powerful shapers of popular opinion in America’s vast evangelical subculture.” (Annointed? … Evangelicals and Authority 1 (RJS) | Jesus Creed.)
This is something that others have noted before. With no actual background to speak of, with no real foundation, Ken Ham has attracted a large following who have surrendered to him their responsibility of examining the evidences presented by those with actual academic training. Why? Personally, I believe it is because it is in our human nature to believe the more complicated lie than to discover for ourselves the easier truth. Ham paints a rosey picture of a God who is the divine trickster, a Hebrew Loki, if you will, who creates countless evidences of an old earth and then demands that we stop using the very Reason he gave us to interpret the date to the only possible conclusion. Ham would have us believe in unicorns and dragons, but not God navigating natural laws – especially since He is the Lawmaker.
It is a powerful psychological force which draws people to believe Ham.
Related articles
- Theologians don’t get to slither out from under the rules of nature (scienceblogs.com)
- The Evangelical Rejection of Reason (choiceindying.com)
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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