John C. Whitcomb

John Clement Whitcomb, Jr. (born 22 June 1924 in Washington, D.C.) is an American theologian and young earth creationist. He is widely known as the co-author with Henry M. Morris of The Genesis Flood, which revitalized the field of flood geology.

Biography

Whitcomb was the son of an army officer. He lived in northern China between the ages of 3 and 6, and later attended the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His education at Princeton University was interrupted in 1944 when he was drafted into the United States Army and served in Europe during World War II. While at Princeton, he converted to evangelical Christianity, studied historical geology and paleontology for a year, and graduated in 1948 with honors in ancient and European history. Thereafter he enrolled at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana, where he earned a B.D. degree in 1951, and remained at the seminary, teaching OldTestament and Hebrew, along with Gap creationism.

In 1953, the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) held its annual conference at Grace. Whitcomb was especially impressed by Morris' presentation defending flood geology against day-age, ruin-restoration and pictorial-day views, although these views held little sway with the ASA. The two found that they shared a belief in a literal six-day creation, and subsequent global flood. Bernard Ramm's book The Christian View of Science and Scripture, which was published in 1954 and led to ASA rejection of flood geology, impelled Whitcomb to devote his doctoral dissertation to rebutting Ramm and defending George McCready Price's position. Whitcomb polled Old Testament, archeology and apologetics scholars at evangelical schools, but although he found a wide range of viewpoints, he found little support for flood geology, and considerably hostility to his enquiries. Whitcomb completed his dissertation on 'The Genesis Flood' in 1957.

Whitcomb thereafter set about preparing his dissertation for publication, and sought somebody with a PhD in science to check or write the chapters on the scientific aspects of the flood, but found himself unable to find any "Ph.D.s in geology today who take Genesis 6-9 seriously." His work was viewed with disfavour even by Douglas A. Block, reputedly the only scientist at Wheaton College who still held to the idea a global flood, who stated:

It would seem that somewhere along the line there would have been a genuinely well-trained geologist who would have seen the implications of flood-geology and, if tenable, would have worked them into a reasonable system that was positive rather than negative in character.

Finding no kindred spirit among evangelical earth scientists, Whitcomb sought the advice of a number of prominent creationists, including Morris and Price. The 87-year old Price could only offer moral support. Morris, who had been intimitently corresponding with Whitcomb since their 1953 meeting offered more support. Morris was concerned about Whitcomb's reliance on Price and Immanuel Velikovsky on geological matters, as both were in his opinion "considered generally as crackpots, although no one ever takes the trouble to answer their arguments save by ridicule and summary dismissal."

Whitcomb accepted this criticism, being already aware that his inability to deal effectively with objections raised to flood geology by ASA scientists was his "greatest weakness". They agreed to put off publication of the book to allow Morris to co-author chapters on scientific issues (including radioactivity, stratification and uniformitarianism).

The Genesis Flood, published by Whitcomb and Morris in 1961, "became a best-seller in the Fundamantalist world and polarized Evangelical opinion", but was completely ignored by university scientists and liberal Christians. Ken Ham, the founder of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, said The Genesis Flood "really launch[ed] the modern creationist movement around the world.”

Whitcomb taught at Grace Theological Seminary's Old Testament and Christian Theology departments from 1951 to 1990. He was dismissed from his position amid several theological controversies and complaints about his strong personality. In 1992, he led a split from the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, the denominational home both of himself and of Grace Seminary, forming the Conservative Grace Brethren Churches, International.

Whitcomb and his wife Norma reside in Indianapolis. He serves as president of Whitcomb Ministries, Inc. and as a speaker for Answers in Genesis.

References

• Numbers, Ronald (November 30, 2006). The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design, Expanded Edition. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674023390. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• Whitcomb Ministries