Hugh Ross (creationist)

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Hugh Ross
Born Hugh Norman Ross
July 24, 1945 (1945-07-24) (age 66)
Montreal, Canada
Occupation Astrophysicist & Christian apologist, writer
Religion Christian[specify]
Website
Reasons to Believe

Hugh Norman Ross (born July 24, 1945) is a Canadian-born astrophysicist and creationist Christian apologist.

He has a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics, and later established his own ministry called Reasons To Believe, that promotes progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism. Ross accepts the scientific consensus on an old age of the earth and an old age of the universe, though he rejects the scientific consensus on evolution and abiogenesis as explanations for the history and origin of life.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Ross was born in Montreal and raised in Vancouver, Canada. He earned a BSc in physics from the University of British Columbia and an MSc and PhD in astronomy from the University of Toronto; and he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Caltech, studying quasars and galaxies. Ross was the youngest person ever to serve as director of observations for Vancouver’s Royal Astronomical Society,[2] and before starting Reasons to Believe, he was on the staff of Sierra Madre Congregational Church. In addition to apologetics writing, Ross speaks regularly in academic venues and churches, as well as regular podcasts "I Didn't Know That" (formerly Creation Update), and "Science News Flash." He spoke at the 2008 Skeptics Society' "Origins Conference" at California Institute of Technology alongside Nancey Murphy, Victor Stenger, and Leonard Susskind.[3]

[edit] Creationism

Ross believes in progressive creationism, which posits that while the earth is billions of years old, life did not appear by natural forces alone but that a supernatural agent formed different lifeforms in incremental (progressive) stages, and day-age creationism which is an effort to reconcile a literal Genesis account of Creation with modern scientific theories on the age of the Universe, the Earth, life, and humans.[4] He rejects the Young Earth Creationist (YEC) position that the earth is younger than 10,000 years, or that the creation "days" of Genesis 1 represent literal 24-hour periods. Ross instead asserts that these days (translated from the Hebrew word yom[5]) are historic, distinct, and sequential, but not 24 hours in length nor equal in length. He agrees with the scientific community at large that the vast majority of YEC arguments are pseudoscience, and finds any version of intelligent design inadequate that doesn't provide a testable hypothesis which can make verifiable and falsifiable predictions.[6]

Ross is criticized by YECs for his acceptance of uniformitarian geology and astronomy over what they see as a plain reading of the English translation of Genesis. YECs claim that speciation explains how present biodiversity could have arisen from the small number of "kinds" after Noah's Flood.[7] The concept of "created kinds," like everything else in baraminology, is rejected by the scientific concensus as pseudoscience. Ross holds that Noah's Flood was local yet believes it killed all humans except for those on the ark, whereas YECs generally hold that Noah's Flood was global. He and his team have also said that intelligent design is not science and agree that it should not be taught in the classroom as science without being testable.[6][8]

Ross is a critic of young Earth creationist attempts, in particular Russell Humphreys, to argue against the Starlight problem.[9]

[edit] Criticism

Hugh Ross has been criticized by physicist Mark Perakh for crude errors and misunderstanding of basic concepts of thermodynamics together with misinterpretations of Hebrew words.[10][11] Ross is also criticized by young Earth creationists, such as Ken Ham,[12] Kent Hovind,[13][14][15] Jonathan Sarfati,[7][16] Bolton Davidheiser,[17] Lambert Dolphin,[18] and Creation Ministries International [19] for his day-age creation version of Biblical creation. Ross also drew criticism for his views on God existing in hyperdimensions of time and space and interpreting Christian doctrines in that light from, among others, J.P. Moreland, Thomas C. Oden, and William Lane Craig[20][21], who otherwise support him.

[edit] Bibliography

Ross has written many articles and over 50 creationist apologetics articles, and he has written or collaborated on the following books:

  • The Fingerprint of God. Orange, Calif.: Promise Publishing, 1989, 2nd ed. 1991, 3rd ed. 2005
  • The Creator and the Cosmos. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1993, 2nd ed., 1995, 3rd ed. 2001
  • Creation and Time. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1994
  • Beyond the Cosmos. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1996, 2nd ed. 1999; Orlando, FL: Signalman Publishing, 2010, 3rd ed.
  • The Genesis Question, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1998, 2nd ed. 2001
  • The Genesis Debate, Mission Viejo, CA: Crux, 2002 (with five other authors)
  • Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002
  • A Matter of Days, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2004
  • The Origins of Life, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2004 (with Fazale Rana)
  • Who Was Adam? Colorado Springs, NavPress, 2005 (with Fazale Rana)
  • Creation as Science, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006
  • Why the Universe is the Way it Is, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008
  • More Than a Theory, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009
  • Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job: How the Oldest Book of the Bible Answers Today's Scientific Questions, Baker Books, 2011

Additionally, he has contributed to the following volumes:

  • The Creation Hypothesis, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994
  • Mere Creation, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998
  • Why I Am a Christian, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2000
  • The Day I Met God, Sisters, OR: Multnomah 2001

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hugh Ross et al.. "Frequently Asked Questions - Creation vs. Evolution". http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/index.shtml#creation_vs_evolution. 
  2. ^ Dr. Hugh Ross
  3. ^ "Origins Conference October 3–4, 2008". Skeptics Society. 2008. http://origins.skeptic.com/speakers_Ross.php. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
  4. ^ Pennock, Robert T. (February 28, 2000). Tower of Babel, The Evidence against the New Creationism. The MIT Press. p. 20. ISBN 026266111X. 
  5. ^ Brown, Driver, Briggs and Gesenius. "Yowm". The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon. http://www.studylight.org/lex/heb/view.cgi?number=03117. Retrieved 2006-10-18. 
  6. ^ a b Hugh Ross. "More Than Intelligent Design". Facts for Faith, Issue 10. http://www.reasons.org/resources/fff/2002issue10/index.shtml#more_than_id. Retrieved 2006-10-18. 
  7. ^ a b Jonathan Sarfati. "Trilobites on the Ark?". http://creation.com/trilobites-on-the-ark. Retrieved 2006-10-18. 
  8. ^ "Creation Scientists Applaud PA Judge's Ruling Against 'Intelligent Design'-Dressing Up ID Is No Substitute for Real Science". Reasons to Believe. http://www.reasons.org/resources/publications/facts-faith/2002issue10#more_than_id. Retrieved 2007-09-25. 
  9. ^ Samuel R. Conner and Hugh Ross Ph.D., The Unraveling of Starlight and Time, March 1999
  10. ^ Perakh, Mark (1999-12-12. Updated on 2002-05-09). "A Crusade of Arrogance". http://www.talkreason.org/articles/ross.cfm. Retrieved 2006-10-18. 
  11. ^ Perakh, Mark (2004-05-10). "Cooling of the universe: Pseudo-thermodynamics of Hugh Ross revisited". http://www.talkreason.org/articles/Cooling.cfm. Retrieved 2006-10-19. 
  12. ^ Ken Ham (1999-08-02). "What's Wrong with 'Progressive Creation'?". Answers in Genesis. http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/1999/08/02/wrong-progressive-creation. Retrieved 2012-01-21. 
  13. ^ Bartelt, Karen (2000). "Dr. Dino's "Fractured Fairy Tales of Science"". No Answers in Genesis. http://www.noanswersingenesis.org.au/hovind_fractured_fairy_tales.htm. Retrieved 2008-04-06. 
  14. ^ "Are the Universe and the Earth Billions of Years Oldor Just Thousands of Years Old" (PDF). John Ankerberg. 2000. http://www.johnankerberg.org/Articles/_PDFArchives/science/SC3W0601.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-17. 
  15. ^ "Radio Interviews and Lectures". Reasons to Believe. 2008. http://www.reasons.org/resources/multimedia/interview/. Retrieved 2008-05-17. 
  16. ^ Ross–Hovind Debate, John Ankerberg Show, October 2000, Creation Ministries International
  17. ^ Bolton Davidheiser (1993-09). "A statement concerning the ministry of Dr. Hugh Ross". http://www.bible.ca/tracks/b-hugh-ross.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-24. 
  18. ^ Lambert Dolphin (1989-02-18). "An Open Letter to Dr. Hugh Ross". http://ldolphin.org/Ross.shtml. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 
  19. ^ Young earth Creationist articles criticising Hugh Ross, Creation Ministries International
  20. ^ "Panel Discussion on Hugh Ross' Contribution in Philosophy and Theology of Science". Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. Summer 1998 (issued on 13 November 1999). http://www.reasons.org/articles/philosophia-christi. Retrieved 2012-02-20. 
  21. ^ William Lane Craig (June 1999). "Hugh Ross's Extra-Dimensional Deity: A Review Article". Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. pp. 293 to 304. http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/42/42-2/42-2-pp293-304_JETS.pdf. Retrieved 2012-02-19. 

[edit] External links

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