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→Religion and science: I think "formal training" was what was meant here all along. we can't know his "knowledge" or "expertise" from self study; we do know what his formal training was.
CLAIMED that his understanding .... it is not the editor's job to decree that the claim is accurate. scadding would disagree
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He has written in the general field of chemistry criticising evolutionary [[origin of life]] theories, pointing out what he considers difficulties in [[chemical evolution]], such as polymerization,<ref>Sarfati, J. (1998) [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1719/ Origin of Life: The Polymerization Problem] ''Journal of Creation'' '''12'''(3):281–284 </ref>, chirality,<ref>Sarfati, J. (1998) [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/452/ Origin of life: the chirality problem] ''Journal of Creation'' '''12'''(3):263–266] </ref>, instability of building blocks <ref>Sarfati, J. (1999) [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1618/ Origin of life: Instability of building blocks] ''Journal of Creation'' '''13'''(2):124–127] </ref> and the origin of self-reproduction.<ref>Sarfati, J. (1997) [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1532 Self-replicating enzymes? A critique of some current evolutionary origin-of-life models] ''Journal of Creation'' '''11'''(1):4–6 </ref>
He has written in the general field of chemistry criticising evolutionary [[origin of life]] theories, pointing out what he considers difficulties in [[chemical evolution]], such as polymerization,<ref>Sarfati, J. (1998) [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1719/ Origin of Life: The Polymerization Problem] ''Journal of Creation'' '''12'''(3):281–284 </ref>, chirality,<ref>Sarfati, J. (1998) [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/452/ Origin of life: the chirality problem] ''Journal of Creation'' '''12'''(3):263–266] </ref>, instability of building blocks <ref>Sarfati, J. (1999) [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1618/ Origin of life: Instability of building blocks] ''Journal of Creation'' '''13'''(2):124–127] </ref> and the origin of self-reproduction.<ref>Sarfati, J. (1997) [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1532 Self-replicating enzymes? A critique of some current evolutionary origin-of-life models] ''Journal of Creation'' '''11'''(1):4–6 </ref>


Sarfati has been criticized for the wide range of subjects he discusses. On the [[TalkOrigins Archive|Talkorigins.org]] web site, Reed A. Cartwright and Dr Douglas L. Theobald have commented on Sarfati's views on vestigial organs, noting that his doctorate was in physical chemistry, not biology and that his understanding of vestigial organs is lacking. <ref>Cartwright, R.A. and Theobald, D.L. (2001)
Sarfati has been criticized for the wide range of subjects he discusses. On the [[TalkOrigins Archive|Talkorigins.org]] web site, Reed A. Cartwright and Dr Douglas L. Theobald have commented on Sarfati's views on vestigial organs, noting that his doctorate was in physical chemistry, not biology and claimed that his understanding of vestigial organs is lacking. <ref>Cartwright, R.A. and Theobald, D.L. (2001)
[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/quotes/scadding.html Citing Scadding (1981) and Misunderstanding Vestigiality: Another Example of Poor Creationist Scholarship], Talk Origins archive.</ref> Sarfati himself has criticised some of his opponents for their lack of appropriate credentials, noting of one researcher, that he was an [[Anthropology|anthropologist]], and therefore "anything he says about [[radiometric dating]] should be taken with a large grain of salt." <ref>Sarfati argues that Colin Groves, an anthropologist, is not an expert on radiometric dating [http://www.trueorigin.org/noaig.asp]</ref>
[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/quotes/scadding.html Citing Scadding (1981) and Misunderstanding Vestigiality: Another Example of Poor Creationist Scholarship], Talk Origins archive.</ref> Sarfati himself has criticised some of his opponents for their lack of appropriate credentials, noting of one researcher, that he was an [[Anthropology|anthropologist]], and therefore "anything he says about [[radiometric dating]] should be taken with a large grain of salt." <ref>Sarfati argues that Colin Groves, an anthropologist, is not an expert on radiometric dating [http://www.trueorigin.org/noaig.asp]</ref>


Revision as of 04:20, 2 May 2006

File:Sarfati.jpg
Dr. Jonathan Sarfati

Jonathan D. Sarfati (born October 1, 1964) is an Australian writer and researcher who works for Creation Ministries International (CMI), formerly part of Answers in Genesis (AiG), a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry specializing in Young-Earth creationism. He is the author of Creation science articles and three books on the subject; Refuting Evolution (1999), Refuting Evolution 2 (2002), and Refuting Compromise (2004). His forthcoming book is Rescuing the Bible from John Shelby Spong, co-authored with Michael Bott.

A FIDE Master in chess, he achieved a draw against former world champion Boris Spassky during a tournament in Wellington in 1988, [1] and was New Zealand's national chess champion in 1987-8, [2] representing that country in Chess Olympiads in 1986, 1988, and 1992.

He has a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Background

Born in Ararat, Victoria, Sarfati moved with his family to New Zealand as a child, where he became a dual national. He attended Wellington College in New Zealand, later graduating from Victoria University of Wellington with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in chemistry, and a Ph.D. in the same subject for a thesis entitled "A Spectroscopic Study of some Chalcogenide Ring and Cage Molecules."

He co-authored a paper on high-temperature superconductors that was published in Nature in 1987 ("Letters to Nature") [3], and from 1988 to 1995, had several papers on spectroscopy of condensed matter samples published in other peer-reviewed scientific journals. [4]

In 1996, he returned to Brisbane, Australia to work for the Creation Science Foundation, then Answers in Genesis and now Creation Ministries International, as co-editor of their magazine, Creation, [5] and their technical journal, Journal of Creation (formerly TJ). [6]

Ethnically Jewish, Sarfati converted to Christianity in 1984, and describes himself as a Messianic Jew or Hebrew Christian. He is married with one stepson.

Writings and criticism

Religion and science

According to the Answers in Genesis website, Sarfati was a founder of the Wellington Christian Apologetics Society in New Zealand, and has long retained an interest in Christian apologetics and the creationism versus evolution debate. [7]

His first two books, Refuting Evolution in 1999, and Refuting Evolution 2 in 2002, are rebuttals to the National Academy of Sciences' publication Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science and the PBS/Nova series "Evolution," respectively. Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education described Refuting Evolution 2 as a "crude piece of propaganda," and expressed concern that there are no serious rebuttals of it, arguing that "its shoddiness is no excuse for complacency on the part of the scientific community." [8]

Refuting Compromise, published in 2004, is Sarfati's rebuttal of the day-age creationist teachings of Dr. Hugh Ross, who attempts to harmonize the Genesis account of creation with modern science regarding the age of the earth and the possible size of the "Flood," against which Sarfati defends a literal biblical timeline and a global flood.

Sarfati's writing covers a wide range of topics both within and outside his areas of formal training.

Discussing astronomy, for example, he writes that the remains of supernovae [9] and distribution of comets, [10] can provide explanations consistent with the universe having been created 6,000 years ago. On biology, he argues that all the animals required in Genesis [11] [12] to fit into Noah's Ark, including dinosaurs, would have been able to do so. [13][14] He also argues that vestigial organs may have an unknown purpose, or that their existence would be explained by the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. [15]

He has written in the general field of chemistry criticising evolutionary origin of life theories, pointing out what he considers difficulties in chemical evolution, such as polymerization,[16], chirality,[17], instability of building blocks [18] and the origin of self-reproduction.[19]

Sarfati has been criticized for the wide range of subjects he discusses. On the Talkorigins.org web site, Reed A. Cartwright and Dr Douglas L. Theobald have commented on Sarfati's views on vestigial organs, noting that his doctorate was in physical chemistry, not biology and claimed that his understanding of vestigial organs is lacking. [20] Sarfati himself has criticised some of his opponents for their lack of appropriate credentials, noting of one researcher, that he was an anthropologist, and therefore "anything he says about radiometric dating should be taken with a large grain of salt." [21]

It is widely believed that Sarfati posts at TheologyWeb and other online fora using the screen name "Socrates." [22]

Religion and morals

Sarfati says: "Right throughout Scripture, murder — that is the intentional killing of innocent humans — is regarded as a heinous sin (Exodus 20:13, Matthew 19:18, Romans 13:9). Since abortion kills an innocent human being, it is nothing less than murder. So all the usual 'hard cases' pushed by pro-abortionists, e.g. 'What if the woman was raped?', 'What if the child is deformed?', 'What if she can't afford to keep the child?' are completely irrelevant. We should also remember Ezekiel 18:20, which prohibits executing a child for the crime of his/her father — this means that even the tragic cases of pregnancies due to incest or rape are no justification for killing the innocent child conceived." [23]

He has argued that "the Bible speaks against racism regardless of any way in which people have misused it." [24]

He defends marriage as an institution joining one man and one woman, and opposes polygamy. [25]

He opposes homosexual behaviour, while advocating "love the sinner, hate the sin." [26]

He has endorsed Bernard Goldberg's suggestion that Roman Catholic priests who molest teenage boys should be called "gay priests" rather than "pedophile priests." In the same article, he used the terms "homonazis" and "sodomofascist" to refer to gays who advocate the imprisonment of pastors for calling homosexual acts sinful:

"Homosexuals are now a politically protected victim group, about which it is verboten to say anything negative. And certain homonazis want Christians punished if they quote from the Bible against homosexual behavior. Indeed, 63-year-old Pastor Åke Greenh was jailed in Sweden for just that, because they have such a sodomofascist law restricting Christian freedom. Fortunately his conviction was overturned on appeal, to the ire of homosexual activists, by a higher court because it was such an egregious violation of Sweden's free speech laws." [27]

Chess

File:Sarfatiblindfoldchess.jpg
Sarfati playing blindfold chess at 12 boards simultaneously

A New Zealand national chess champion in 1987-8, he represented New Zealand in three Chess Olympiads: the 27th in Dubai [28] in 1986, the 28th in Thessaloniki [29] in 1988, and the 30th in Manila [30] in 1992. He also tied Rey Casse in the Australian Junior Championship in 1981, but was not eligible to share the title because he was a resident of New Zealand at the time. [31]

He is currently the club captain/director-of-play for the Logan City Chess Club, Australia. [32]

He is known for giving blindfold chess exhibits at creationist conferences [33] and chess clubs, [34] and has played twelve such games simultaneously. [35]

His previous best was winning 11/11 at the Kapiti Chess Club in New Zealand [36].

Bibliography

Books

  • Rescuing the Bible from John Shelby Spong, ISBN 0890514178 (forthcoming)
  • Refuting Compromise, 2004, ISBN 0890514119
  • The Revised & Expanded Answers Book, 2003, with Carl Wieland and Ken Ham, edited by Don Batten, ISBN 0890513953
  • Refuting Evolution 2, 2002, ISBN 0890513872
  • Refuting Evolution, 1999, ISBN 0890512582

Articles

Creation Ministries International site (pro-creationism)

Other

  • Roberts, E. New Zealand Chess. 29(3):23, June 2003.

Opposing views

Sources

  1. ^ http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1129514 Chess Games]
  2. ^ Poison Pawn
  3. ^ Mawdsley, A., Trodahl, H.J., Tallon, J., Sarfati, J. and Kaiser, A.B. (1987) Thermoelectric power and electron-phonon enhancement in YBa2Cu3O7-6 Nature 328: 233-234.]
  4. ^ Five articles can be found by searching for Jonathan D Sarfati at Science Direct
  5. ^ CMI's Creation magazine
  6. ^ AiG's Journal of Creation Archive
  7. ^ Sarfati's biography at CMI-Australia, Creationist Physical Chemist and Spectroscopist
  8. ^ Scott E.C. and Branch G. (2003). Antievolutionism: Changes and Continuities BioScience: 53(3):282-285.
  9. ^ Sarfati, J. (1997) Exploding stars point to a young universe: Where are all the supernova remnants? Creation 19(3):46-48
  10. ^ Sarfati, J. (2003) Comets-portents of doom or indicators of youth? Creation 25(3):36-40
  11. ^ Genesis 6:19-20 (New King James Version)
  12. ^ Genesis 7:2-3(New King James Version)]
  13. ^ Sarfati, J. (1997) How did all the animals fit on Noah's Ark? Creation 19(2):16-19]
  14. ^ Sarfati, J. (2002) Dinosaur growth rates: Problem or solution for creationists? CMI feedback]
  15. ^ Sarfati, J. (2002) Useless horse body parts? No way! Creation 24(3):24-25]
  16. ^ Sarfati, J. (1998) Origin of Life: The Polymerization Problem Journal of Creation 12(3):281–284
  17. ^ Sarfati, J. (1998) Origin of life: the chirality problem Journal of Creation 12(3):263–266]
  18. ^ Sarfati, J. (1999) Origin of life: Instability of building blocks Journal of Creation 13(2):124–127]
  19. ^ Sarfati, J. (1997) Self-replicating enzymes? A critique of some current evolutionary origin-of-life models Journal of Creation 11(1):4–6
  20. ^ Cartwright, R.A. and Theobald, D.L. (2001) Citing Scadding (1981) and Misunderstanding Vestigiality: Another Example of Poor Creationist Scholarship, Talk Origins archive.
  21. ^ Sarfati argues that Colin Groves, an anthropologist, is not an expert on radiometric dating [1]
  22. ^ In 2003, Dave Moore in an article titled "Reply to Jonathan Sarfati" at TalkOrigins.org said "Dr. Sarfati posts at TheologyWeb [(http://www.theologyweb.com)] under the screen name "Socrates" with the habit of referring to himself in the third person" [2]. This, this, this, and this provide evidence it is widely believed.
  23. ^ Creation on the web article "Abortion — The answer’s in Genesis" by Jonathan Sarfati First published in Prayer News (Australia), May 1998, page four.
  24. ^ Creation on the web series Feedback from its 2001 article titled "The Bible vs slavery and apartheid" by Jonathan Sarfati.
  25. ^ Creation on the web article "Does the Bible clearly teach monogamy?" by Jonathan Sarfati.
  26. ^ Creation on the web series Feedback from February 6 2004 titled "Objections to homosexuality article" by Jonathan Sarfati.
  27. ^ Creation on the web series Feedback from February 18 2005 titled "The disingenuous and anti-Christian nature of 'gay rights' rhetoric" by Jonathan Sarfati.
  28. ^ Chess Olympiad 1986
  29. ^ Chess Olympiad 1988
  30. ^ Chess Olympiad 1992
  31. ^ Search for Rey Casse and Chess
  32. ^ Logan City Chess Club
  33. ^ Creation Ministries International Camp brochure
  34. ^ Croydon chess club photos
  35. ^ Chess games at Logan Chess Club site
  36. ^ (Roberts 2003)
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