Sloppy Research for an Anti-AiG Academic

Karl Giberson, professor of science, religion, and writing at Stonehill College—and former vice president of BioLogos (which promotes theistic evolution) and previously a professor at a Nazarene college—wrote an article for The Daily Beast titled “2013 Was a Terrible Year for Evolution.” In this piece, Giberson claims that evolution “did not fare well in 2013” despite all the supposedly mounting evidence in favor of the idea. I know Giberson certainly hates the fact that organizations like Answers in Genesis pump out millions of pieces of literature and attract millions of people a year to our website—and two million visitors to the Creation Museum since opening. I believe AiG has had a big impact on the church in America concerning the teaching of the truth of God’s Word in Genesis.

Now throughout his article, Dr. Giberson tries to convince readers that the evidence for evolution is overwhelming, and that the only thing stopping it from being widely accepted is influential church leaders or politicians.

Giberson holds a PhD in physics and has been in academia for over 25 years. As someone who holds the highest degree in his field and has been engaged in scholarly work for so long, Giberson would be expected to conduct careful research before making assertions, right? Well, sadly, Dr. Giberson didn’t do his homework when it came to his claims about me—in fact, he was very sloppy!

He writes, “And leading anti-evolutionist and Creation Museum curator Ken Ham made his annual announcement that the ‘final nail’ had been pounded into the coffin of poor Darwin’s beleaguered theory of evolution.” Within that statement, Giberson provides a link—but it’s not to a direct statement from me. No, it’s to an atheist website that repeatedly misquoted what I said in a 60-second Answers . . . with Ken Ham radio spot. The full text of the radio spot is below:

“The final nail in evolution’s coffin”

This is Ken Ham, a missionary with a passion for God’s Word

Many of us would love to have the final proof that evolution is a lie. The right scientific evidence will silence those opposed to biblical creation forever, right? Well, no.

You see, Romans chapter 1 tells us that God has revealed Himself to man in nature—so there’s no excuse for denying the witness of creation. In fact, we have solid proof in our hands that evolution is a lie—the Bible, God’s Word.

You see, we can’t depend solely on our reasoning ability to convince skeptics. We present the evidence—and do the best we can—to convince people of the truth of God by always pointing them to the Bible. After all, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

Are you trusting in Jesus Christ for your faith?

First, this program, which aired in August, was not an “annual announcement,” as Dr. Giberson put it. And as the actual script above shows, I did not declare that the “final nail” had been put in Darwin’s coffin. What I said was that the Bible—the very same Bible that Dr. Giberson professes to believe in—is our ultimate authority. It’s not evidence concerning origins, evidence which can be interpreted in multiple ways depending on one’s worldview. Giberson is so against AiG’s stand on Genesis and has written against me so many times, I think he just saw an anti-AiG article on an atheist website that seemed to suit him. But he didn’t read it carefully to even realize that it was from one of our opponents, and it totally misrepresented what I said in a short radio program. And, of course, the date of that radio program and the atheist article he linked to was from last August, so it was not some end-of-year statement by me about a year when evolution supposedly “did not fare well in 2013.” Talk about sloppy research. Personally, I would say his research about evolution has been just as sloppy over the years! He needs to do real research: to read his Bible and come to a knowledge of the truth of God’s Word beginning in Genesis, as every Christian should.

If you want to know more about how compromise over God’s Word with evolution/millions of years (as Giberson is doing) undermines the authority of God’s Word, I urge you to order my newest book, Six Days: The Age of the Earth and the Decline of the Church. You’ll learn the false arguments that many old earthers and theistic evolutionists make—especially in our Christian colleges and seminaries—and you’ll be equipped to respond to their claims and stand up for the truth of God’s Word.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken