Ken Ham

{{bronze}}
[[File:KenHam.JPG|thumb|right|165px|He'll give you [https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yDZ1x93WkiA#t=13 one clam per Ham, from Sam & Dan's clam & Ham co.] Don't you ''dare'' think about getting more than one damn clam per Ham.]]{{crenav|1}}
[[File:Ken_Ham_morphs_into_monkey.gif#file|thumb|right|165px|That beard makes the family-resemblance more obvious than usual.]]
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with {{wpl|Kenneth Ham|the astronaut Kenneth Ham}}, the Chinese-American chef {{wpl|Ken Hom}}, the [[Islam]]ic group [[Hamas|Ham]]&#8288;as, or the Biblical character Ham who was [[Curse of Ham|cursed]] for seeing his father [[Nudity|naked]].}}

{{cquote|Our Board believes Ken's comments to be unnecessary, ungodly, and mean-spirited statements that are divisive at best and defamatory at worst.|||Brennan Dean, Great Homeschool Conventions<ref name="kenhamhomeschool">[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/marchweb-only/kenhamhomeschool.html Creation Museum Founder Disinvited from Homeschooling Conferences]</ref>}}

'''Ken Ham''' {{lived|1951|}} is the [[#Character description| problematic]] president and CEO of [[Answers in Genesis]] (a [[Apologetics |Christian apologetics]] ministry), and a [[Biblical literalism|''Bible''-ical literalist]] with a particular fondness for the [[Old Testament]].

Although he hails from [[Australia]], where all the [[kangaroo]]s floated to during the [[Global flood|Flood]], he now lives permanently in the [[Bible Belt]] state of [[Kentucky]], in his office in the [[Creation Museum| Creation "Museum"]]. Ham wants children to learn, through what may be called teaching or [[Indoctrination|Indoctrination]], "to think biblically"<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2016/01/29/already-gone-iceland/ Already Gone in Iceland]</ref> (which is for certain values of ''think'', of course). On a mission from God, he frequently speaks at [[homeschooling]] conferences and [[creationist]] events, where one of his favorite "arguments" is [[How do you know? Were you there?| "Were you there?"]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140712050233/http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=670 Were You There?]</ref>

Ham is also the originator of the eponymous debating technique known as the "[[Ham Hightail]]". He has a reputation for ruthlessly blocking people who disagree with him on [[Twitter]].

== Life well spent==
Ham was created and raised in [[Australia|an obscure former prison colony]] where he surprisingly received a degree in applied science from Queensland Institute of Technology, followed by a diploma of education from the University of Queensland. It was in these pivotal years that Ken Ham's interest in young earth creationism morphed into an absolute obsession, mostly due to having been 
raised
 indoctrinated by his father's similarly untenable ideas and an uncritical reading of [[Henry Morris]]'s magnum opus, ''The Genesis Flood.''<ref name = "Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World: Leaving a lasting legacy">[https://books.google.ca/books?id=SKjl7wTuIdgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Raising+Godly+Children+in+an+Ungodly+World:+Leaving+a+Lasting+Legacy&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9-cvFkrnQAhUMw4MKHS7HDNAQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=Raising%20Godly%20Children%20in%20an%20Ungodly%20World%3A%20Leaving%20a%20Lasting%20Legacy&f=false Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World]</ref> After having left college, he somehow became a [[public school]] science teacher,<ref name="AiGbio">[http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/about/ham.asp About AiG: President Ken Ham]</ref> which makes one understandably worried about a few years of public-school students from Australia.  He was a member of the Creation Science Foundation starting in 1979. With John Mackay, he began to sell creation science materials to Queensland public schools.<ref>''Righting America at the Creation Museum'' by Susan L. Trollinger & William Vance Trollinger Jr. (2016) Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 1421419513.</ref> He moved to the US in 1987 as a "loan" to the [[Institute for Creation Research]].<ref name="interview">[http://www.arky.org/newsltr/intrview/ham1.htm Interview with Ken Ham by Ron Cooper, part 1]</ref>. He received an honorary doctorate from Bryan College in Science.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20191016041844/https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2017/05/27/i-guess-well-have-to-call-him-dr-ken-ham-now/</ref>

===Answers in Genesis===
{{main|Answers in Genesis}}
In 1993, Ham left ICR to form, with the help of CSF, Creation Science Ministries,<ref name="AiGtimeline">[http://www.answersingenesis.org/about/history The History of AiG]</ref> which changed its name to [[Answers in Genesis]] in 1994.<ref name="AiGtimeline" />  In 2006, the US/UK branches of AiG decided to withdraw from the general collection of AiG international groups because of the other groups' frustration with Ham's personality, taking with them the rights to the name AiG and CSF.  The Australian AiG (originally CSF, which helped start CSM), rebranded itself [[Creation Ministries International]].  In 2007, CMI sued Ham and AiG.

===Amusement parks===
{{main|Creation Museum|Creation "Museum"}}
{{main|Ark Encounter}}
Ken Ham is also the man behind the [[Creation Museum|Creation "Museum"]] in [[Kentucky]], built in 2007. In 2010, Ham announced the construction of the "[[Ark Encounter]]" 
 amusement 
 theme park, which includes a full-scale replica of [[Noah's Ark]]; it opened in 2016. Come 2025, Ham is planning to open similar sites in Pigeon Forge, TN, and Branson, MO.<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Peter, with the collaboration of Lovan, Dylan |date=May 20, 2025 |title=With a massive ark and museum, he spreads creationism a century after Scopes trial. He’s not alone |url=https://apnews.com/article/scopes-monkey-trial-creationism-today-ken-ham-161a1071e95eef7242e2b4ce452ef4ea |website=AP News |location=Williamston, KY |publisher=The Associated Press |access-date=May 24, 2025}}
</ref>

===Debate with Bill Nye===
{{main|Bill Nye debates Ken Ham}}
{{cquote|The event went pretty much as expected; Nye presented levelheaded evidence that [[science]] works, that [[evolution]] is real, and the [[Universe]] is very old, while Ham used bad [[logic]], [[cherry-picking]], and blatant twisting of scientific claims.<ref>[http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/05/12/creationist_ken_ham_tweeted_a_series_of_very_bad_claims_meant_to_be_scientific.html Ken Ham Really Doesn’t Understand Science]</ref>}}
In a career high point for Ham, on February 4th, 2014, the [[Creation Museum|Creation "Museum"]] hosted a debate between Ken Ham and [[Bill Nye]], on the question "Is creation a viable model of origins in today's modern scientific era?" Unlike Nye, Ham didn't present evidence; instead, Ham attempted to distinguish "observational" science from "historical" science. As any observation of any event necessarily occurs after that event, this distinction is regrettably nonexistent. Ham also attempted to prove the world is 6,000 years old by saying the carbon dating method is flawed (but it's perfectly usable when dating biblical manuscripts). After spewing out more nonsense, Ham then stated that nothing would change his worldview, which makes one wonder what the point of the debate was in the first place.  Further RationalWiki commentary on the event may be found [[User:Reckless Noise Symphony/Ham vs. Nye commentary|here]].

===Second 'debate' with Bill Nye===
{{cquote|I want everyone to understand when you go backwards and say [[Scientific consensus|everything happened from natural processes]], that's Bill's religion. [[Atheism as a religion|His religion is that there is no God]], the Bible is not true and everything started by natural processes. He has a religion, [[Fundamentalist Christianity|I have a religion]]. [[Psychological projection|His is based off blind faith, mine is not]] because when you [[Christian Science|start with God's word]] it makes [[Confirmation bias|sense of the world that we see]] and we can use [[Historical and operational science|observational science]] to confirm it|||Ken Ham, in a dazzling display of the limits of human [[cognitive dissonance]]<ref>[https://youtu.be/PPLRhVdNp5M?t=4192 Bill Nye Tours the Ark Encounter with Ken Ham.] [[YouTube]], 13 March 2017.</ref>}}

{{cquote|Do you see that people on the outside have, from a non-supernatural standpoint, shown that your world view could not possibly have happened?||| Bill Nye <ref>https://youtu.be/PPLRhVdNp5M?t=6154</ref>}}

Bill Nye visited the [[Ark Encounter]] in July 2016, thereby taking Ken Ham’s offer to tour the place. While Nye admired the architecture, he expressed genuine concern about the contents of the Ark Encounter &mdash; that is, its [[pseudoscience]], [[pseudoarchaeology]], and really its general failings in the department of logic and reality.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170130174636/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9A-F8JEFyY Bill Nye tours the Ark Encounter] by Lambson Chopson (Jan 3, 2017) ''YouTube''.</ref> Ham expressed concern that Nye was 
simply teaching
 indoctrinating children about the theory of evolution. Nye reminded Ham that the theory of evolution was the fundamental principle in all of biology.

When asked how Noah could possibly have built such a structure, Ham [[Ad hoc|asserted that Noah had high powered cranes]], somehow similar in quality to the cranes of today, and instead [[Were you there?|demanded that Nye tell him which tools Noah had and did not have]]. After a bit of back-and-forth, Ham attempted to evangelize Nye, "[[Concern troll|worried]]" that Nye would cause himself to suffer [[hell|a second death]]. Nye responded by saying that he would prefer if Ham didn't indoctrinate children with such [[anti-science]]. Ham then challenged Nye by stating that Nye must have 100% of knowledge to know with 100% certainty that Ken Ham was wrong about the age of the earth being 6000 years old, gleefully disregarding the fact that in order for Ham's beliefs to be falsified, all that must be done is to present an object on the earth older than 6000 years (say, a tree), which would falsify Ham's beliefs, given that he believed the earth was created before everything on 'day one'. Ken Ham then asserted his beliefs came from evidence, the Bible, [[Circular reasoning|which is the word of God because in the book itself it claims over 3,000 times to be the word of God]].<ref>https://youtu.be/PPLRhVdNp5M?t=5085</ref>

While two and a half years had passed since their original debate, [[PRATT|Creationist arguments don't change that much over time]]. As such, the contents of their second debate was quite similar to that of their original debate, with Ham still relying on [[circular logic]] as the foundation for his beliefs.

==Character description==
According to esteemed biologist and blogger [[PZ Myers]], writing "to" Ham:

{{quotebox|''Millions'' of people, including some of the most knowledgeable biologists in the world, think just about every day that you are an airhead, an [[Fun:Asshole|ass]], a birdbrain, a blockhead, a bonehead, a boob, a bozo, a [[charlatan]], a cheat, a chowderhead, a chump, a clod, a [[con artist]], a crackpot, a [[crank]], a crazy, a cretin, a dimwit, a dingbat, a dingleberry, a dipstick, a ditz, a dolt, a doofus, a dork, a dum-dum, a dumb-ass, a dumbo, a dummy, a dunce, a dunderhead, a fake, a fathead, a fraud, a [https://www.reddit.com/r/religiousfruitcake/ fruitcake], a gonif, a halfwit, an idiot, an ignoramus, an imbecile, a jackass, a jerk, a jughead, a knucklehead, a [[kook]], a lamebrain, a loon, a loony, a lummox, a meatball, a meathead, a moron, a mountebank, a nincompoop, a ninny, a nitwit, a numbnuts, a numbskull, a nut, a nutcase, a peabrain, a pinhead, a racketeer, a sap, a [[scam]] [[Charlatan|artist]], a screwball, a sham, a simpleton, a snake oil salesman, a thickhead, a turkey, a twerp, a twit, a wacko, a [[Closed mind|close-minded]] douche, a woodenhead, and much, much worse.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140730032159/http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/06/21/in-which-i-have-hurt-ken-hams/ Here] at Pharyngula, his scienceblog.</ref>}}

Ham can't even consistently maintain peaceful relations with fellow Christians:
{{quotebox|The Brisbane-based Creation Ministries International has filed a lawsuit in Queensland's Supreme Court against Mr Ham and his Kentucky-based Answers in Genesis ministry seeking damages and accusing him of deceptive conduct in his dealings with the Australian organisation. (...) A 40-page report, (...) reveals a bitter power struggle across the Pacific that began with a challenge to the power Mr Ham allegedly wielded over the ministries. (...) The joint Australian-US push for reforms came amid concerns 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.  In his report, Mr Briese said Mr Ham and the US organisation responded with sackings, bullying and, in some instances, "unbiblical/unethical/unlawful behaviour" towards the Australian ministry that he suspected was intended to send it into bankruptcy. (...) CMI has no option left except to bring AiG-USA before the secular courts, the 'powers that be ordained by God' under [[RationalWiki:Annotated Bible/Romans#Romans 13:1|Romans 13]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131225080845/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/biblical-battle-of-creation-groups/story-e6frg6nf-1111113672622 Biblical battle of creation groups]</ref>}}

He has been called "[[Willful ignorance|willfully ignorant]]" by [[Old Earth creationism|Old Earth Creationist]] Greg Neyman.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071015052645/http://www.answersincreation.org/rebuttal/aig/daily/2005/20050912_ham_truth.htm Ham can't tell the simple truth!]</ref> Journalist Daniel Radosh is even more scathing in his description:

{{quotebox|I realized with some surprise that Ken Ham scared me. I wasn't physically afraid. I didn't think he'd haul off and punch me if I told him that I was a [[humanist]]. But his grim affect and coldly irrational imitation of rationality struck me as borderline [[sociopath]]ic… Later I read an essay Ham wrote for ''Creation'' magazine on the second anniversary of September 11: "After the [[9/11]] attack, I had someone say to me: 'I'm glad I wasn't in the World Trade Center &mdash; I would have died.' I replied, 'Well, don't worry, your turn is coming.'" Who thinks that way? Who thinks Jesus wants them to think that way?<ref>Daniel Radosh (2008), Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture, Simon and Schuster</ref><ref group=note>There is a strain of Christian [[wingnut]]tery that does think that death is good, when not suicide, insofar as [[Eschatology#To .22immanentize the eschaton.22|immanentizing the eschaton]] or getting to [[heaven]] faster is concerned.</ref>}}

Even those who agree with him criticize him for [[Argumentum ad hominem|ad hominem]] attacks which might be defamatory.<ref name="kenhamhomeschool"/>

==Ken's greatest hits==
===The Bible===
{{main|Bible}}
{{cquote|All the money spent on [[Ark Encounter]] to defend the delusions of a sad man (lots of them, really), terrified that science is telling him he has no [[heaven]] [[Afterlife|to go to]] when he [[Death|dies]]. Imagine living in so much fear of knowledge that you dedicate your life to moronity on this massive a scale. After all these years I still shake my head at it all.|||David Silverman<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160709140730/http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/2016/07/08/ken-hams-ark-encounter-hits-iceberg-of-reality-on-maiden-voyage/ Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter hits iceberg of reality on maiden voyage]</ref>}}
Every year Ham expounds on such thrilling topics as: reliability of the [[Bible]], how compromise over [[Biblical inerrancy|biblical authority]] has undermined [[society]] and even the [[Christianity|church]], [[evangelism|witnessing]] more effectively, [[dinosaurs]], and "[[race]]s".<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/about/ham.asp Answers in Genesis - About Ken Ham]</ref> Ken Ham notes that poll statistics show that steadily fewer Americans [[Biblical literalism|take the Bible literally]] and that steadily more Americans see the Bible as a book of fables (which, to be honest, is far from inaccurate). This devastates Ken Ham (who will be left to buy his stuff?). He is unnaturally obsessed with the [[Book of Genesis]], from the [[Old Testament]] of the Bible, to such a degree that he has devoted his life to the [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mental_gymnastics mental contortions] necessary when taking the book to be literal [[truth]]. He considers Genesis, more than the rest of the Bible, ''"to be the most attacked, scoffed at, and ridiculed"''.<ref>
[http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2014/06/17/the-erosion-of-gods-word-its-catastrophic/ The Erosion of God's Word-It's Catastrophic!"'']
</ref>

===Faith===
{{main|Faith}}
{{cquote|Followers of Ken Ham/[[Kent Hovind]] style creationism are setting themselves up to fail. They’ve created a starkly black and white universe in which [[False dilemma|either]] you are completely in agreement with their [[dogma]], or you are [[Fractal wrongness|completely wrong in all things]], which means small cracks in their façade quickly tear wide open into vast chasms. It might mean they’re impenetrable in the short term, but over time, they crumble, and they crumble hard, since losing faith in certain pseudoscientific claims means you are inevitably going to have to question the whole of your faith. So Ken Ham is doing good work for us atheists by building a very brittle Christian wall. It can resist a few punches, but when it goes, [[Apostasy|it goes in its entirety]].|||[[PZ Myers]]<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/10/16/ken-ham-is-right-about-one-thing/ Ken Ham is right about one thing]</ref>}}
How about indoctrinating kids with [[faith]]?
{{cquote|Telling kids that they have to believe the nonsense written in an ancient book — and that they’ll be tortured in hell for eternity if they don’t accept its core doctrines — is the definition of [[brainwashing]].|||[[Hemant Mehta]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160530004633/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/05/27/creationist-ken-ham-bill-nye-is-indoctrinating-kids-by-teaching-them-science Creationist Ken Ham: Bill Nye is “Indoctrinating” Kids By Teaching Them Science]</ref>}}

Whether he holds ''very'' strong personal beliefs about the Bible or simply realized how much money he could get by exploiting popular gullibility is unknown.

===Atheism===
{{main|Atheism}}
{{cquote|[[Atheism#Atheism as an organized religion|The atheist religion -& that’s what is a RELIGION]] - is [[Persecution complex|intolerant of Christianity]] as they [[Paganism|worship nature]] & [[Atheists hate god|shake their fist at God]]|||Ken Ham piling [[bullshit|it]] on.<ref Name=Mehta20/03/2016>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160324043919/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/03/20/i-dont-think-ken-ham-knows-what-atheism-means I Don’t Think Ken Ham Knows What Atheism Means…] [https://twitter.com/aigkenham/status/711127980878114816 Ken Ham]</ref><ref group=note>He is probably also giving any English teachers and/or grammar Nazis who read his screeds a 
aneurysm
 
rage-induced nervous breakdown
 conniption.</ref>}}
Atheism is not a religion, atheists do not worship anything nor "shake their fists at God". Contrary to Ham's belief, atheists primarily do not believe that God exists (and beyond that, there's really no particular doctrine whatsoever).<ref Name=Mehta20/03/2016/>
Ham also insists on the existence of "[[militant atheist]]s" who want to "suppress the truth in unrighteousness".<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2015/01/15/christianity-under-attack-praying-soldier-statue-removed/ Christianity Under Attack—Praying Soldier Statue Removed]</ref>{{efn|There ''are'' [[New Atheism|quite a few atheists who ''are'' intolerant of Christianity]], yes, and statements that [[antitheism]] is just the [[Atheist fundamentalism|atheist version]] of [[fundamentalism]] are not ''wholly'' invalid. However, the war that [[militant atheism|so-called militant atheists]] wage against Christianity is not without at least some justification. It could very well be argued to be either a primarily defensive reaction to Christians [[Atheophobia|being intolerant of ''atheists'']] and/or a strong desire to hold Christianity (and religion in general, but largely Christianity by virtue of its being the biggest target) accountable for its numerous atrocities over the years and force it to shed the [[dogma]] that encourages such atrocities.{{fact}} Even most antitheists don't want to see religion ''eradicated'', just privatized and prevented from doing harm.<ref>See the [[Christopher Hitchens]] quote at the top of [[Antitheism|our page on antitheism]].</ref> There are even plenty of religious people (e.g. [[Cafeteria Christianity|moderates]]) who recognize the need for religion to adapt and change with the times and are fully aware that [[Essay:The Word Of The Lord Should Not Be Static|firmly adhering to a rigid and unchanging dogma is a horrible, terrible idea with no logical basis whatsoever]].}}

===Abortion===
{{main|Abortion}}
As expected, Ken Ham is strongly [[anti-abortion]]. Ham suspects 'God is withdrawing the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit' from the [[United States]] because The USA has allowed [[abortion]].<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2015/07/15/sanctity-of-trees/ Sanctity of Trees, or Sanctity of Human Life?]</ref> That must be why Europe is such a hellhole compared to Africa and the Middle East.

===Evolution===
{{main|Evolution}}
{{cquote|Most evolutionists believe evolution [']cause they were taught it, was in their textbooks — they don't want to know how fictional it really is.|||Ken Ham<ref>https://twitter.com/aigkenham/status/778196342187458560</ref>}}
According to Ham, evolution is a lie and one of many that 'false teachers' will bring out in the 'last days' to discredit 'God's truth'.<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/answers/books/the-lie-evolution/ The Lie: Evolution]</ref> Ham points out rightly that evidence from [[fossil]]s is inevitably incomplete, but goes on to assume that the Bible must be irrefutable. Why? Ham uses [[circular reasoning]] and claims the Bible is true because the Bible says so, specifically citing [[RationalWiki:Annotated Bible/Colossians#Colossians 2:3|Colossians 2:3]].<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/theory-of-evolution/evolution-is-religion/ Evolution Is Religion]</ref> He asserts that [[Flood myth|flood legends]] from all around the world are evidence for the flood legend in Genesis being true, but in an extraordinary yet expected case of [[special pleading]], disregards the fact that the flood legend in Genesis could be yet another legend.<ref>https://answersingenesis.org/the-flood/flood-legends/</ref>

Ham is deeply concerned that public schools and colleges — and sometimes even Christian colleges — teach evolution as the valid scientific theory that it is, rather than focusing on conveying the much more snarky fact that [[Teach the controversy|it goes against the Bible]].<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/college/concern-for-the-curriculum Concern for the Curriculum]</ref>

Ken Ham appears unable to see the difference between a scientific explanation and a religion, tweeting:
{{quotebox|Evolution,a religion of death-death bloodshed disease over millions yrs supposedly produces life & death is the end–it’s all about death<ref>[https://twitter.com/aigkenham/status/746290224045654016 Evolution, a religion of death]</ref>}}

Ham disapproves of public money being used to study evolution, surprise surprise.<ref name=Mehta16/11/2016>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161119062019/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/11/16/ken-ham-who-spent-100-million-on-noahs-ark-park-says-we-shouldnt-waste-money-studying-science Ken Ham, Who Spent $100 Million on Noah’s Ark Park, Says We Shouldn’t Waste Money Studying Science]</ref>

===Extraterrestrials===
{{main|Exotheology}}
{{cquote|Real alien data will never exist because aliens aren’t real!|||Answers in Genesis on Twitter<ref>https://xcancel.com/aigkenham/status/795671023454711808</ref>}}
Apparently, Ken Ham believes that [[Extraterrestrial|aliens]], if they exist, cannot have salvation (isn't God nice?) because they are not descendants of [[Adam]], although he then uses this as a stepstone in his argument that there are no alien lifeforms.<ref>[http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2014/07/20/well-find-a-new-earth-within-20-years/ We'll Find A New Earth Within 20 Years]</ref><ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/alien-life/ Answers In Genesis - Alien Life]</ref>

Ham also disapproves of public money being used to research possible extraterrestrial life, surprise surprise.<ref name=Mehta16/11/2016/>

===Gay and transgender rights===
{{main|Transphobia|3=Homophobia}}
Churches should warn LGBT youngsters they are at risk of [[Hell]], but they should be warned ''lovingly''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160312085421/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/03/09/ken-ham-criticizes-church-that-feeds-homeless-lgbt-youth-for-not-telling-them-theyre-going-to-hell Ken Ham Criticizes Church That Feeds Homeless LGBT Youth for Not Telling Them They’re Going to Hell]</ref>

Being [[transgender]] is, in Ken Ham's opinion, sinful. Ham strongly disagrees with Ontario, Canada, which allows people to register as "X" for driving licenses (useful for transgender and intersex individuals). Ham sees transgender acceptance as a further example of supposed moral decay in western society.<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2016/07/17/ontario-canada-issue-male-female-or-x-drivers-licenses/ Ontario, Canada, To Issue Male, Female, or “X” Driver’s Licenses]</ref> It's unclear how Ham views people with genuinely ambiguous genitalia and/or ambiguous sex chromosomes.

===Moral degeneracy===
{{main|RationalWiki}}
Ham claims modern society has become morally degenerate because Biblical standards are no longer accepted as absolute.<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/christianity/christianity-is-under-attack/ Christianity Is Under Attack]</ref> This amounts to an appeal to the illusory [[good old days]]. The nineteenth century United States tolerated [[slavery]] in some states, tolerated [[American Indian Genocide]], and tolerated [[child labor]], among other problems. Traditional society in North America and Europe was more Biblical in some respects, but Ham provides no evidence to convince skeptics that traditional society was more moral.

===Public schools===

{{cquote|The '[[separation of church and state]]' nonsense is nothing but a ruse by secularists to impose atheism on the education system & culture|||Ken Ham<ref>[https://twitter.com/aigkenham/status/833660944790196226 The 'separation of church and state' nonsense is nothing but a ruse by secularists to impose atheism on the education system & culture] Ken Ham (Twitter)</ref>}}

Because American public schools do not actively promote Christianity, Ham insists that they impose [[secular humanism]] instead. The reality is that American state funded public schools (the equivalent of UK state schools) are required by the [[United States Constitution]] to promote ''no religion''. Ham's view reflects a view common among American [[Religious right|Conservative Christians]] that unless Christianity is being actively promoted there is an anti-Christian bias.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160929210645/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/09/28/creationist-ken-ham-public-schools-impose-the-religion-of-secular-humanism-on-kids/ Creationist Ken Ham: Public Schools “Impose the Religion of Secular Humanism” on Kids]</ref><ref group=note>To quote ourselves on [[Media#Hostile media effect|the hostile media effect]], it's impossible to perceive media as unbiased when ''you'', yourself, have a powerful bias. Clearly, that statement is true of more than just [[media]].</ref>

===Science===
{{main|Just a theory}}
{{cquote|So, in a big loud voice, who should you always trust first: God or the scientists? God, and I want you to remember that!|||Ken Ham, 'teaching' young children<ref>https://youtu.be/cnWYzdxiM44?t=125</ref>}}
Ham is an enthusiastic proponent of the "just a theory" [[escape hatch]], as PZ Myers explains:

{{quotebox|The central argument Ken Ham always makes is a demolition of the whole concept of [[theory]] — he claims that any alternative explanation, no matter how much it ignores the evidence, is a theory, and all theories are equal, and therefore, his bizarre, highly subjective and ideologically driven interpretation of the words of his holy book are just as much deserving of the title of “theory” as the hard-earned, constantly tested, well-supported by evidence theory of evolution.<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2016/08/18/theory/ Theory]</ref>}}

Ham believes science is flawed because scientists change their opinions over time. Ham cannot see that changing in the light of new evidence is one of the strengths of science, as it allows scientists to ratify theories which may, and specifically may, be incorrect.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161211145908/http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/12/09/creationist-ken-ham-scientists-have-changed-their-minds-before-therefore-evolution-is-false Creationist Ken Ham: Scientists Have Changed Their Minds Before, Therefore Evolution Is False]</ref> This practice is, of course, in strong contrast to [[Fundamentalism]], which, despite new evidence, will stubbornly refuse to change [[Dogma|their views]], but will instead [[Shoehorning|shoehorn]] and manipulate facts in order to fit them.

===Flat Earth===

Ken Ham expresses his feelings that those who maintain the earth is flat are not basing their beliefs in science. He states that those who do use the Bible as the basis of their beliefs [[Cherry picking|cherry pick]] Bible verses.<ref>Hemant Mehta, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190608185347/https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/06/03/creationists-are-mocking-flat-earthers-for-not-understanding-science/ Creationists Are Mocking Flat Earthers for Not Understanding Science]. patheos.com, 3 June 2019.{{quotebox|Talk about a complete lack of self-awareness: Creationist Ken Ham says people who think the Earth is flat are being ridiculous because they aren’t basing their beliefs in science. And if they think the Bible supports them, it’s only because they wrongly choose which verses to quote as if that tells the whole story.

[[Hypocrisy|Someone should introduce him to a mirror.]]}}</ref>

===Other religions===
As expected, Ham is sweepingly dismissive of all other religious traditions, and seeks to 'reach Muslims' by showing them all the [[Qur'anic contradictions|contradictions in the Qur'an]], while failing to notice that such [[Biblical contradictions|arguments work against his own religion]]<ref>[https://xcancel.com/aigkenham/status/636553865622503425 Reach Muslims by revealing the inconsistencies of Islam’s holy book in contrast to the truth of the Bible] by Ken Ham (6:00 PM, 26 Aug 2015) ''Twitter''.</ref> (or rather, ''don't'' work, in terms of changing the minds of the faithful). Ham believes that all other religious adherents are 'lost souls mired in the wrong religions'.<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2017/01/09/join-us-our-world-religions-conference/ Join Us for Our World Religions Conference] by Ken Ham (January 9, 2017) '"Answers in Genesis''.</ref>

==Holier than thou==
Over the years, Ham has pushed various fundamentalist institutions towards his version of strict Biblical literalism. This has resulted in some fundamentalist colleges requiring faculty to sign a detailed statement of faith each year and in the purging of [[heterodox]] faculty. Examples include [[Cedarville University]],<ref name=trollinger>''Righting America at the Creation Museum'' by Susan L. Trollinger & William Vance Trollinger Jr. (2016) Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 1421419513.</ref>{{rp|210-215}} [[Bryan College]],<ref name=trollinger/>{{rp|216-218}} and Calvin College.<ref name=trollinger/>{{rp|218-219}}<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Trollinger
 |first1               = Susan L
 |last2                = Trollinger
 |first2               = William Vance
 |chapter              = Judgment
 |title                = Righting America at the Creation Museum
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=lOf-CwAAQBAJ
 |series               = Medicine, Science, and Religion in Historical Context
 |location             = Baltimore
 |publisher            = Johns Hopkins University Press
 |publication-date     = 2016
 |page                 = 218
 |isbn                 = 9781421419534
 |access-date          = 16 December 2021
 |quote                = By the end of spring 2014, at least nine instructors (out of forty-four fulltime faculty members) were gone; the departures included Eisenback, [...] as well as two faculty members who refused to sign [...].
}} 
</ref>

==Godwin's law==
{{main|Godwin's law}}
Ham has used the tiresome [[Hitler]] comparison in a several essays, including essays on [[abortion]],<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/sanctity-of-life/abortion/abortion-and-child-sacrifice/ Abortion and Child Sacrifice] by Ken Ham (October 26, 2015) ''Answers in Genesis''.</ref> [[evolution]],<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2015/08/05/obama-meets-lucy/ Obama Meets Lucy] by Ken Ham (August 5, 2015) ''Answers in Genesis''.</ref> [[Barack Obama]],<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2014/11/25/president-obama-inciting-young-people-to-adopt-a-secular-worldview/ President Obama—Inciting Young People to Adopt a Secular Worldview?] by Ken Ham (November 25, 2014) ''Answers in Genesis''.</ref> and [[secularism]].<ref>[https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2013/04/09/msnbc-tv-host-kids-dont-belong-to-their-parents/ MSNBC TV Host—Kids Don’t Belong to Their Parents?] by Ken Ham (April 9, 2013) ''Answers in Genesis''.</ref>

==Publications==
{{cquote|We need more kids’ books than ever to counter the intense secular indoctrination from public education and the secular media||| Ken Ham<ref>https://twitter.com/aigkenham/status/819963560130412544 </ref>}}
Ham has published a number of pseudoscientific works, the vast majority of them reflecting various mental contortions and his generally weak grasp on reality — caused by a literal reading of Genesis, combined with a fierce rejection of any data not [[confirmation bias|pre-conforming to his flawed ideals]].

These compositions include ''The New Answers Books'' and ''The Great Dinosaur Mystery Solved!'', which seek to indoctrinate unsuspecting children with creationist drivel — wrapped up in [[Technobabble|science-sounding jargon]] — published by a host of affiliated creation "scientists".

*''The Lie: Evolution'' (1987). T Green Forest: Master Books. ISBN 0-89051-158-6.
*''The New Answers Books'' (2000). Master Books: ISBN 0890512825.

==See also==
*[[Ark Encounter]]
*[[Atheists Outline Their Global Religious Agenda]]
*[[Bill Nye]]
*[[Creation Museum|Creation "Museum"]]
*[[Deceit]]
*[[Evolution]]
*[[Ham Hightail]]

==External links==
*[http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/aroundtheworld/ Ken’s official blog].
*[http://www.creationmuseum.org/ Official site] of the [[Creation Museum|Creation "Museum"]] amusement park.
*[https://arkencounter.com/ Official site] of the [[Ark Encounter]] amusement park.
*[http://www.noanswersingenesis.org.au/ No Answers in Genesis] official site.
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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Categories: Answers in Genesis, Anti-abortion activists, Atheophobia, Australians, Authors, Baptists, Bible woo, Christian apologists, Christians, Conservative deceit, Conspiracy theorists, Cult leaders, Culture wars, Declinists, Educators, Fundamentalists, Global warming denialists, Homophobes, Islamophobes, Living people, Protestants, Pseudohistory promoters, Pseudoscience promoters, Shysters, Transphobes, War on science