In a short series we form a response to the deceitful ‘Answers in Genesis’ ministry of liars like Ken Ham. These people have no problem with poisoning the minds of children with utter garbage just so they can make a quick buck. The vast majority of Christians consider these Young EaRth Creationists and biblical literalists to be complete whack jobs. In spite thereof, Ken Ham can scam thousands of people out of their money, having turned his ‘church’ (Ark Encounter) into a mockery of his own god, who lamented that preachers like Can turned his house into a den of thieves. It is quite evident that Can Scam doesn’t really believe what he is preaching, but his ministry has become literally a New Jerusalem Temple or a counter-Vatican Bank, so he continues putting his mouth where his money is. We’re not yet sure if we want to dedicate a lot of time to these YERCs as they are already given too much of a platform. None the less, we acknowledge that there are such clinically insane people out there and although they are but a tiny fraction of Christians, it is there insanity that makes them dangerous to everyone around them.
As a child, I was taught that all answers can be found with god and in the bible, but very early on I already discovered how false that idea is. So to start off this series, let me raise the question here that Can Scam always seems to answer positively: Can we find answers in Genesis? What follows is the testimony of a friend that resonates with my own experience. To spare her from the death threats and persecution by Christians a lot of people suffer around the world, her name has been changed.
“Early on in school I was taught that all plants need sunlight to survive. Simultaneously in Sunday school I was taught the bible. I wasn’t really encouraged to read the bible for myself but most often just recommended to listen to what the teacher had to say about the bible. I found out soon enough why. As soon as I was able to read, I started to read the bible and I did what most people do when they start reading a book: I started with the first chapter, being Genesis 1. Fascinated by the miraculous way the world came to be and how life was created, I read it many times. I was struck however how in Genesis god created plants before he created our star. This would already have made the photosynthesis impossible that those plants needed to survive, but it goes way beyond that. For instance, without our star, there wouldn't be any life on our planet and it is likely that there would not even be ‘our planet’. When I asked my Sunday school teacher about it, wondering if god made a mistake, the answer I got was simply one of authority: “God doesn’t make mistakes and you shouldn’t question god.” That kind of set the pattern throughout my entire education. In science classes throughout grade and high school (physics, chemistry, biology etc.) we were taught to be inquisitive and critical, but as soon as we sat down for our weekly two hours of religion, we were told to shut up and just swallow the “truth”, sometimes by the very teacher that challenged our curiosity during science classes.
When I was 13 years old, I made my own gun powder. I looked for the recipe in the bible, but you will not be surprised that the bible doesn’t know gunpowder exists. I doubt that anyone at Apple looked for their technological inventions to the bible either. But even if it comes to so-called life’s questions, the bible remains eerily silent or is at the very least ambiguous, especially when it comes to morals and ethics. So no, there are no answers in the bible, let alone in Genesis. In fact, if you want to find any answers, the bible is the least likely place you will find them.”
Anita Ziegler, Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, 22 February 2022
reviewed by Charles Dalet PHD
Image retrieved from: Erik Ortiz, "Absolutely Wrong': Bill Nye the Science Guy Takes on Noah's Ark Exhibit", 17 July 2016, updated 17 July 2016, NBC News > Science; Photo by John Minchillo, AP https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/absolutely-wrong-bill-nye-science-guy-takes-noah-s-ark-n608721