Answers in Genesis

Answers in Genesis

Formation	1994
Type	Fundamentalist Christian apologetics organization
Legal status	Non-profit
Purpose	Young Earth creationism Christian apologetics Biblical inerrancy Evangelicalism
Headquarters	Petersburg, Kentucky, United States
President	Ken Ham
Revenue	$27,119,236 USD (2014)[1]
Expenses	$20,978,162 (2014)[1]
Website	www.answersingenesis.org

Answers in Genesis (AiG) is a fundamentalist Christian apologetics parachurch organization. It advocates a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis, with a particular focus on a pseudoscientific young Earth creationism which rejects any results of scientific investigation which do not conform to their literal interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative. The organization sees evolution as incompatible with scripture and believes anything other than the young earth view is a compromise on biblical inerrancy.

AiG began as the Creation Science Foundation in 1980, following the merger of two Australian creationist groups. Its name changed to Answers in Genesis in 1994, when Ken Ham founded the organization's United States branch. In 2006 the branches in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa split from the US and UK to form Creation Ministries International. In 2007, AiG opened the Creation Museum, a facility that promotes young Earth creationism, and in 2016 the organization opened the Ark Encounter, a Noah's Ark themed amusement park. AiG also publishes websites, magazines, and journals.

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Answers in Genesis resulted from the merging of two Australian creationist organizations in 1980, one led by John Mackay and Ken Ham and the other by Carl Wieland. The organization later become known as Answers in Genesis. Following turmoil in 2005,^[2] the AiG network split in 2006. The US and UK branches retained the AiG name and control of the AiG website under Ham's leadership. The Australian, Canadian, New Zealand, and South African branches rebranded themselves as Creation Ministries International (CMI). In 2007, CMI filed suit against AiG-USA alleging a variety of wrongdoings, including publicly defaming their organization.^[3]

In June 2006, Answers in Genesis launched Answers magazine in the United States and United Kingdom, followed by the Answers Research Journal in 2008, which was widely criticized in the media^[4][5] and scientific circles.^[6] Also in 2006, the National Religious Broadcasters awarded Answers in Genesis their Best Ministry Website award.^[7] In May 2007, AiG launched the Creation Museum in the United States. The museum received criticism from the National Center for Science Education and petitions of protest from the scientific community.^[8]

Answers in Genesis rejects key scientific facts as established by archeology, cosmology, geology, linguistics, paleontology and evolutionary biology and argues that the universe, the Earth and life originated about 6,000 years ago.^[9] Since their beliefs reject naturalistic scientific explanations of the origin of the universe in favor of the supernatural, creation science is considered to be a religion by the National Academy of Sciences.^[10] The organization has accused Hollywood of using subtle tactics to slip in "evolutionary content."^[11]

Creation Museum

AiG's Creation Museum is a museum displaying a Young Earth creationist worldview. The facility is controversial and has received much criticism from the scientific and religious communities, as well as cultural commentators.^[12][13] The Creation Museum opened May 27, 2007, at a cost of $27 million raised entirely by private donations. The displays were created by Patrick Marsh, known for work on Universal Studios Florida attractions for King Kong and Jaws.^[14]

A. A. Gill, a British writer and critic, described the museum as "battling science and reason since 2007", writing: "This place doesn't just take on evolution—it squares off with geology, anthropology, paleontology, history, chemistry, astronomy, zoology, biology, and good taste. It directly and boldly contradicts most -onomies and all -ologies, including most theology."^[15]

In 2012, it was reported that the "public fascination" with the Creation Museum was "fading."^[16] In November 2012, the AiG reported that attendance for the year ended June 30 came to 254,074, which was a 10 percent drop from the previous year and is the attraction's "fourth straight year of declining attendance and its lowest annual attendance yet."^[16] By mid-2015, 2.4 million people had visited the museum [about 340,000 visitors over seven years].^[17]

Ark Encounter

Answers in Genesis opened the Ark Encounter theme park in Grant County, Kentucky on July 7, 2016.^[18] The centerpiece of the park is a full-scale model of Noah's Ark at 510 feet (160 m) long and 81 feet (25 m) high. After his visit to Ark Encounter, Bill Nye, who had previously debated Ham, described his experience as "much more troubling or disturbing than [he] thought it would be" and stated that "every single science exhibit [at the Ark] is absolutely wrong".^[19]

Criticism

Creation science, which is promoted by AiG, is a pseudoscience that "lacks the central defining characteristic of all modern scientific theories".^[20][21] Scientific and scholarly organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, Paleontological Society, Geological Society of America, Australian Academy of Science, and the Royal Society of Canada have issued statements against the teaching of creationism.^[22] The National Center for Science Education, a science advocacy group, criticize AiG's promotion of non-science.^[23][24][25] In direct response to AiG, No Answers in Genesis is a website maintained by members of the Australian Skeptics and retired civil servant John Stear for the purpose of rebutting claims made by AiG.^[26]

Astronomer Hugh Ross's organization Reasons To Believe, a progressive creationist organization, is a critic of Answers in Genesis.^[27] The BioLogos Foundation, which promotes evolutionary creationism, has stated that the views of Answers in Genesis have "force[d] many thoughtful Christians to lose their faith," while The Biologos Foundation "protect[s the Christian] faith.".^[28]

Controversies

Richard Dawkins interview

In 1998, Answers in Genesis filmed an interview with Richard Dawkins, a prominent evolutionary biologist at Oxford University, resulting in a controversial video that AiG posted on its website. Dawkins addressed it in the essay: "The 'Information Challenge,'" published in A Devil's Chaplain in 2003. The "suspiciously amateurish" interview included, according to Dawkins, "the kind of question only a creationist would ask in that way" (namely, to "give an example of a genetic mutation or an evolutionary process which can be seen to increase the information in the genome"). Realising that he had been duped, Dawkins, at his own admission, was angry at the thought and initially refused to answer the question, but relented and continued the interview. Dawkins wrote: "My generosity was rewarded in a fashion that anyone familiar with fundamentalist tactics might have predicted. When I eventually saw the film a year later, I found that it had been edited to give the false impression that I was incapable of answering the question about information content. In fairness, this may not have been quite as intentionally deceitful as it sounds. You have to understand that these people really believe that their question cannot be answered!"^[29]

The Australian Skeptics wrote that the film was edited to give the appearance that Dawkins was unable to "give an example of a genetic mutation or an evolutionary process which can be seen to increase the information in the genome" and that a segment that shows him pausing for 11 seconds was film of him considering whether to expel the interviewer from the room for not revealing her creationist sympathies at the outset. Dawkins reported to the Australian Skeptics that the interviewer shown in the finished film was not the same person as the person who had originally asked the questions. Dawkins and Barry Williams also said that the question had been subsequently changed to make it look like Dawkins, who was answering the original question put to him, was unable to answer.^[30] Dawkins discussed the interview in the essay published in A Devil's Chaplain.^[29]

Legal action by Creation Ministries Int'l

On May 31, 2007, Creation Ministries International filed a lawsuit in Supreme Court of Queensland against Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis seeking damages and accusing him of "unbiblical/unethical/unlawful behaviour" in his dealings with the Australian organization.^[3] Prior to the split, the Australian group had been producing periodicals, Creation magazine and Journal of Creation, which were then distributed within other countries by local groups. The Australian group had no access to the list of subscribers in the US. AiG discontinued the distribution arrangement, and produced a new magazine of their own, called Answers, and represented that to subscribers as a replacement.^[31] Creation Ministries International was claiming $252,000 (US) in damages for lost revenue by misleading and deceptive conduct in relating to lost subscriptions.^[32]

In comments to news reporters, Ken Ham dismisses CMI's accusations as "totally preposterous and untrue".^[33] Creation Ministries has made a large collection of documents available detailing their side of the case. An editorial analysis of the situation, including reference to estranged co-founder John Mackay's allegations in 1986 of necrophilia and witchcraft against Ken Ham's personal secretary is offered in an account in the Reports of the National Center for Science Education.^[34] In February 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ordered Australian-based Creation Ministries International into arbitration with Answers in Genesis over copyrights and control of affiliates in other countries.^[35] In April 2009, the ministries reached a settlement and ended their dispute.^[36]

Anti-atheism billboards

In the spring of 2009, Answers in Genesis posted a billboard in Texas with a young boy aiming a gun towards the camera with the words "If God doesn't matter to him, do you?" The same image was used in a TV ad.^[37] In 2014, the organization purchased space in Times Square to run a 15-second video advertisement addressed "To all of our intolerant liberal friends". According to AiG, the goal of the billboard was to "challenge the secularists who are increasingly intolerant of the Christian message". The Christian Relevant Magazine described the ad as "passive-aggressive" and "weirdly combative".^[38]

Great Homeschool Conventions

In March 2011, the Board of Great Homeschool Conventions, Inc. (a young Earth Christian group) voted to disinvite Ken Ham and AiG from future conventions due to Ham's words about other Christians making "unnecessary, ungodly, and mean-spirited statements that are divisive at best and defamatory at worst". The controversy stemmed from Ham's commentary on the position expressed by Peter Enns, of The BioLogos Foundation, who advocated a symbolic, rather than literal interpretation of the fall of Adam and Eve. Writing on his blog, Ham accused Enns of espousing "outright liberal theology that totally undermines the authority of the Word of God", which led to his invitation being revoked.^[39]

See also

• Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate

Notes

References

External links

• Answers in Genesis
• Creation Museum
• Ark Encounter
• "Setting the Record Straight: A Response to Creationist Misinformation about the PBS Series Evolution" (PDF). Berkeley, CA: National Center for Science Education. 2001. Retrieved 2008-09-06.