Ken Ham

The founder of Answers in Genesis, the popular Creation Museum, and the world-renowned Ark Encounter.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

Did Adam have one fewer rib than Eve?

I have often had people ask me, after reading the passage about the creation of woman, why men don’t have one fewer rib than women if God made Eve from Adam’s side (or rib).

The way I answer this is: If a man had an accident and his leg was amputated as a result, and then he married and had children, would all his children have only one leg?

Of course not, because of our genetics.

This is because the instructions for how we are constructed are contained in the DNA in our genes. When God took part of Adam to make Eve, he didn’t change Adam’s genes. All the information in Adam’s genes was still there. And of all the bones in the human body, the ribs are the only ones that can regenerate (grow back) if the sheath of tissue (periosteum) is left when the bone is removed. So Adam may not even have had one fewer rib than Eve for very long anyway.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

Abortion is murder because humans are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27).

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

God’s Word is the ultimate authority, despite what some “pastors” say.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

Did Adam have a belly button?

Your navel is really a scar formed from the attachment via the umbilical cord to your mother. After birth, the cord was cut, and where it was attached to your body, it shriveled up and formed a scar known as your belly button.

Adam was made directly by God from the dust of the earth. In Genesis 2:7 we read,

“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Adam was not born of a woman. He was the first human. In 1 Corinthians 15:45, we read, “Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’” Adam would not have had a scar from an umbilical cord so I would say no, he didn’t have a bully button.

Think about this: after people had increased on the earth, if someone asked Adam to prove he was the first man, he could show them he had no belly button!

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

The Bible paints the picture of a Creator who loves and cares for all that He has made.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

How can you answer evolutionary arguments?

When listening to arguments that supposedly support evolution, you have to learn how to separate observational science and historical science.

Here is one example to get you thinking in this way: if you see a claim that sedimentary rock strata containing fossils are millions of years old, then you need to sort out what is observational versus historical science. The statement that rocks are sedimentary rocks is one of observational science. Both creationists and evolutionists agree on what is directly observed.

But the claim that the rocks are millions of years old falls under historical science. It is not observational but rather an interpretation of the past.

Biblical creationists would not agree with this interpretation but instead interpret the fossils as a deposit from the flood of Noah’s day or some post-flood catastrophe that occurred only thousands of years ago.

The issue isn’t the evidence—it’s your interpretation of the evidence.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

The Bible gives a very detailed history of origins, to enable us to come to right conclusions.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

Facts don’t speak for themselves.

We need to understand that all facts are interpreted, and they are interpreted based on one’s worldview. And one’s worldview has a foundation, either God’s Word or man’s word.

I find most people don’t really understand all the facts are interpreted. That’s why evolutionists will often say to me that it’s a fact that rocks are billions of years old, or it’s a fact that life arose by chance. They didn’t see those rocks forming. They didn’t see life arise on earth.

What they are stating are not facts but interpretations based on man’s word and that has many fallible assumptions associated with it.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

Humans are morally accountable to our Creator, and His Word has provided us with clear guidelines of how we are—and are not—to behave.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

How do you answer an argument you’ve never heard?

Yes, there are answers to evolutionary objections to the clear truth of God’s Word! But what do you do when a new objection you’ve never heard of arises? How do you answer? Well, that’s where it’s vital to know the difference between observational and historical science and the role worldview plays in interpreting the evidence.

You see, observational science is science that is directly testable, observable, and repeatable (it builds technology and medical innovations). Historical science is an interpretation of the past because the past is not directly testable, observable, and repeatable—we only have access to the evidence in the present. Your worldview—your collection of beliefs about the past—will determine how you interpret the evidence in the present.

Everyone has the same evidence, just different interpretations because of different starting points (God’s Word vs. man’s word). The evidence isn’t the problem! The problem is wrong interpretations because of a faulty starting point (man’s word) producing a faulty worldview (evolution/millions of years).

When we start with God’s Word, we have the proper historical framework for interpreting the evidence in the present.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

We are not animals; we were specially and uniquely created in the image of God, separate and distinct from the animals.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

Politics writer Amanda Marcotte recently made some truly wild accusations about our ministry. Today, I respond to her claims and examine the facts.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

Where do your kids go to school?

The answer to this question is significant. Many parents send their children to public (secular) school because that’s what their parents did. Others send their children to the local Christian school in the hopes that they will receive a Christ-centered education (sadly, only 6% of Christian schools in America actually teach biblical worldview). Others choose to homeschool so they can oversee their children’s education themselves.

But regardless of the method you’re using for education, have you thought about why you’re making that decision and if it’s the best decision for discipling your child?

It’s a decision that really matters!

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

An evolutionary view of mankind and morality leads to inconsistency and confusion.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

Where’s God in suffering?

On June 24, two earthquakes—just 39 seconds apart—shook the South American nation of Venezuela. Measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, these earthquakes reduced buildings to rubble and killed and injured thousands. Whenever horrible tragedies like this strike, people wonder where’s God in this?

These tragedies are a grim and sobering reminder that we live in a world that has been wrecked because of our sin. God created the world “very good” (Genesis 1:31)—no death, no suffering, and no earthquakes. But now, creation is cursed and groaning because of human sin. In a way, we are all responsible for that earthquake and the ensuing devastation—we sinned in Adam and we continue to sin.

That’s why we should do what we can to help those in need—we’re all responsible for the mess of this world. Romans 8:22 describes a fallen world this way: “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

It’s impossible to imagine the suffering of individuals and families in Venezuela as they pick through the rubble to search for loved ones, try to find sustenance and shelter, or head to makeshift morgues to identify a disfigured body. It should make us groan along with creation. But we do not groan as those with no hope because we know how this ends: It ends with Jesus creating a new heavens and a new earth.

We live in a broken world, and even in brokenness, God is working all things for the good of his people (Romans 8:28), even if we can’t fathom how he is doing so. And eventually, this broken world will be no more, and those who have trusted in Christ will dwell with him in a world that will once again be perfect, freed from the effects of sin and death.

“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Pray for the people of Venezuela. Pray that God will use this horrible tragedy to bring them to himself so that many more people might experience the joy and beauty of a restored creation with Jesus forever.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

The Bible is a history book that enables us to think correctly concerning the origin of the universe, the meaning of life, the dilemma of sin, and the solution in Jesus Christ.

[Ken Ham @aigkenham]

What does the future look like?

You may assume that’s a question adults are asking, perhaps as they graduate from college, plan to have a baby, or raise their young kids (or anticipate grandkids). But according to new research from Barna, that’s the kind of question today’s American teenagers feel pressure to answer.

According to the report,

“In a new Barna research report produced in partnership with Christ In Youth, 1,500 U.S. teens ages 13–18 were asked how much pressure they personally feel to have answers to some of life’s biggest questions. The sample spans the younger end of Gen Z through the leading edge of Gen Alpha—a cohort coming of age at a moment of cultural and technological disruption. Today’s young people are carrying a weight that goes well beyond what their age and stage would suggest.

“What the data reveals is less a portrait of a generation in crisis and more a generation defined by existential urgency—teens who are asking the deepest questions of human experience at the very moment they’re also trying to figure out how to afford adulthood.”

Barna organized these pressures around four main themes:

1.“Will We Even Have a Future?”
•78% “feel at least some pressure to have answered how they’ll make a living one day”;
•77% wonder “whether their generation will have a stable future”;
•77% feel pressure to answer “whether society is headed in the right direction or falling apart”;
•74% aren’t sure “whether getting an education really matters.”

Despite their wonderings, Barna researchers note that these teens have hope for the future—58% are hopeful about the future and slightly more think their life has a purpose—something researchers called “anxious optimism”—“one of the most consistent emotional signatures of this generation.

2.“How Do I Know What’s True?”
•73% “feel pressure to answer what makes a good life”;
•72% “are wrestling with what is true or worth believing”;
•70% feel pressure to answer “who they really are”;
•And 69% wonder “what is right and wrong.”

Researchers note the rise of AI and its prevalent use among young people in particular may account for some of this search for what’s true—66% are asking if they can trust AI and 64% wonder what it means to be human.

3.“Will Anyone Actually Show up for Me?”
• 71% “feel pressure around where they truly belong”;
•67% feel pressure to know “whether people genuinely care about them”;
•66% claim they feel pressure to know “how they should treat others”;
•66% wonder “why they’re here”;
•And 59% “are still working out whether their parents or caregivers will always love them.”

4.“Is God Even There?”
•57% of teens feel pressure to know if “God loves them”;
•And 56% wonder “whether God is real.”

Yes, today’s teens really are spiritually searching!

Those are some deep questions, many of which humanity has struggled with throughout the ages. And who do these teens trust for answers? Well, apparently their parents and the Bible!

Eight in 10 say they would feel comfortable getting advice about who they are from their mother; 78 percent say the same about their father. More than two-thirds say they are comfortable getting wisdom from Jesus and the Bible.

So what does all this mean? Well, I’ve been saying for decades that we need to be giving young people answers. So much of the church has focused on entertainment and inspiring, shallow devotional-type messages (not that devotional messages are bad, but many are very fluffy and often that’s the only type of message given!).

And so many parents (especially fathers) have abdicated their God-given role of spiritually discipling their children and left it to the church. The result has been generations who don’t have a biblical worldview, aren’t equipped to answer the questions of our day, and eventually have doubts that lead to unbelief.

But think for a moment about the questions these young people are asking—questions about the future, their meaning and purpose, who cares for them, and whether God exists. Those are all questions that are robustly answered by having a true biblical worldview.

When we understand there is a Creator who created all things, defines what He created, knows all things, is in control and has already said how this world will end, loves them enough to die on the cross for their salvation, and has given us His perfect, authoritative Word as the standard for truth, what a difference that makes!

Teens don’t want fluff. They never have, and they don’t today. They want the meat of God’s Word, they want to be challenged, and they want to have their doubts addressed and their questions answered. They want solid biblical teaching and apologetics!

I can’t tell you how many times over the years I’ve had teens come up to me after a talk and either ask more questions or share that my talk made them so excited about their faith because they finally had answers to their questions.

Young people are searching, and the answers are in God’s Word. They simply need adults who will invest in helping them wrestle through their questions, always pointing them back to Scripture as the authority.
Here’s Barna’s advice to those who work with teens:

“Faith that insulates teens from hard questions is not resilient faith; it is fragile faith, waiting to shatter on first contact with a complicated world. The teens in this study who show the strongest signs of holistic, active faith are not the ones most sheltered from doubt. They are the ones in environments where doubt is welcomed, questions are taken seriously, and faith is treated as something large enough to hold the full weight of a human life.

“The good news from this research is that the conditions that form resilient faith are not mysterious. They are built through genuine relationships, honest inquiry, meaningful service, and the kind of belonging that feels real rather than programmed.”

Yes, God’s Word can hold up to questioning because it is true! Let’s equip teens with answers.

All this fits with what God said in Romans 1 that He has made it evident to all that He’s the Creator, and everyone is without excuse if they don’t believe. And Romans 2 tells us that God wrote His law on our hearts, so we have a conscience. These are major factors as to why these teens are searching for answers.