Ken Ham—The Man Everyone Loves to Hate

You would be hard-pressed to find a more
vilified modern Christian than Ken
Ham. The founder and CEO of Answers
in Genesis is regularly called names not
fit to print simply because he insists the Bible is God’s Word
and it means what it says. Day after day, nasty critiques
flood the ministry, often aimed directly at Ken by name.
Why would anyone in his right mind voluntarily enter the
Colosseum every day to face the lions?

When given this assignment to interview Ken for Answers
in Genesis’ 25th anniversary, I was determined to find the
answer. That is why my first question out of the gate was,
“Are you nuts? Why do you do this day after day, knowing
that people are going to put things on the internet that
would make a pirate blush?”

To my surprise, Ken didn’t answer with his infamous
dry humor. When he is not preaching, Ken Ham is a bit of
a jokester. (Apparently this has something to do with being
Australian.) But when it comes to discussing what drives
him, he becomes deadly earnest. My questions gradually
unpeeled the answer.

The Gap

Eight years ago I met Ken for the first time at an Answers
event in West Virginia where I was speaking. As he sat in
the audience, I confidently proclaimed, “Here is an amazing
quote from a phenomenal preacher named Thomas Chalmers.
You can trust a guy like this because he’s been dead for
150 years.”

There was just one little glitch: Thomas Chalmers was the
inventor of the theological train wreck known as the gap
theory, which teaches there was a massive gap of millions
of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Needless to
say, that is not exactly the interpretation Answers in Genesis
endorses.

Without fail today, every time I see Ken, he shakes my
hand and says, “It’s been quite a gap since our last meeting.”
Ken Ham, who has been called “the man who looks like
Abe Lincoln, but talks like Crocodile Dundee,” rarely misses
an opportunity to joke. Not today. If we did a “word cloud”
summarizing my interview with him, three words would
be most prominent: Bible, authority, answers. Ken didn’t
answer many questions without bringing in at least one of
these words.

Ken Ham
is not
playing
when it
comes
to the
authority
of God’s
word.

As we sat in his tidy and simply decorated office—which
doesn’t look like it’s been redecorated since the Creation
Museum opened in 2007—Ken was distracted only when
he looked out his spacious row of
windows overlooking the Creation
Museum’s gardens and saw throngs
of teenagers walking by. Each time he
released a rather satisfied sigh. “Look
at all those kids learning the authority
of God’s Word.”

Those few unsolicited words were
a big clue to what motivates this man
to enter the arena every day and face a
shellacking. “These kids need answers.
They are being indoctrinated with evolutionary
lies every day. They need to
know that they were created by God.”
Ken lives to provide those answers.

What Everyone Needs to Hear

Critics say many things about Ken
(many of them grotesque and personal),
but few recognize the astuteness
behind his folksy veneer. How else can
you explain multimillion-dollar attractions
like the Creation Museum and
full-size Ark—built for pennies on the
dollar compared to similar construction
projects in secular venues? And
they’ve attracted millions of visitors,
including rave reviews even from their
own opponents (for the production
quality anyway). Astonishing!

This hard-driving organizational
genius, skilled promoter, and visionary
could have been a successful businessman
leading any major company,
in my opinion. But in 1961, at the age
of 10, Ken committed his life to the
Lord to be a missionary for him, and
made a promise to the Lord that took
him in a different direction: “I will go
anywhere and do anything for you.”
He kept that promise.

For any servant of God, opposition
is part of the job. “All who desire to live
a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”
Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12.
“I don’t get stung by what the atheists
say,” Ken told me. “They are facing a
Christ-less eternity, so how can I get
mad at them?” He doesn’t get mad; he
gives the gospel.

It quickly became clear that the ministry
is concerned about more than winning
arguments or proving creation.
Providing clear, biblical answers to modern
attacks against the Bible’s authority
has a purpose: the gospel of Jesus.

The Ark
Encounter
opened in 2016
with a mission
to educate
Christians about
Noah’s flood and
to evangelize
the lost with
its message of
judgment and
only one way
of escape.

The Gospel Above All

Answers in Genesis could rightly be called
“Answers in the Gospel” because that
is ultimately what this ministry is
about. “There’s no point in doing what
we do if we don’t proclaim the gospel.
It’s the most important message here. I
do it in every talk,” he said.

As you tour the magnificent Ark
Encounter or Creation Museum, it
doesn’t take long to figure out that these
attractions are not about entertainment,
or even Genesis for that matter.

While it is right to call him an apologist,
at heart, Ken is an evangelist.
Bill Nye, “the Science Guy,” an avowed
atheist, learned that when he debated Ken back in 2014. Few
times has a large national audience been treated to a clearer
gospel presentation than the one Ken delivered in his opening
statement. When Bill later accepted Ken’s invitation to visit
the Ark Encounter, Ken sought opportunities to turn the conversation
from exhibits to Christ.

“God killed animals and clothed Adam and Eve—the first
blood sacrifice—as a covering for their sin, pointing toward
the fact that someday one would come to die for our sin, die
for your sin, Bill, and die for mine, be raised from the dead,
and offer the free gift of salvation, and he offers it to you, too.”
Ken went on to quote Paul’s invitation to confess Jesus Christ
as Lord (Romans 10:13) and Christ’s warning that we must be
born again if we hope to enter God’s kingdom (John 3:3).

“You can be born again, too,” he appealed to Bill. “I want
you to be born again.” (The entire exchange is on the video
Nye-Ham: The Second Debate.)

In 2014, Ken Ham
debated Bill Nye,
“the Science Guy,”
in the Creation
Museum’s Legacy
Hall. The media
event was watched
by over 3 million
people online and
over 20 million
later. The topic:
“Is creation a viable
model of origins
in today’s modern
scientific era?”

Defending the Truth on Which the Gospel Is Based

Ken sees an enemy to the gospel: those who question the infallibility
of God’s historical record, the Bible. After all, we base our
faith upon the Bible’s historical record of Christ’s life, death,
and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). Attacking God’s Word
has been the devil’s tactic since the very beginning, when he
asked Eve, “Did God actually say . . . ?” (Genesis 3:1).
“I get angry at Christians who compromise God’s Word.
My father hated compromise. They are blinded by the
god of this world, and when you think of what that
means . . . ,” his voice trailed off.

An uncompromising stand is unpopular, even among
some Christians. When pressed, Ken admits that critiques
fired from fellow Christians can wound him, but
the most painful wounds have been the ones inflicted
by personal friends. While he wouldn’t name names,
he disclosed, “I’ve had nightmares about betrayal from
associates and friends.”

But just like an inflatable punching bag that refuses to
stay down, Ken determined to apply a valuable lesson. “I
learned that God has to protect any reputation. I can’t do
anything about this. If they don’t believe me, that is not
my problem. God is in charge of this ministry; he won’t
let nasty accusations stick.”

Despite the Red Seas he has passed through, Ken
presses on. This is a man on a crusade to provide answers
for children, defend the Christian faith, point people to
the Bible, and see souls saved—a crusade literally reaching
millions every year who visit his two brainchildren,
the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum.
That explains the what of Ken’s passion,
but I wanted to know why it arose.

The Fruit Didn’t Fall Far

How many times would you need to
be told that you are going to do something
special for the Lord before you
believed it? Upon surrendering his life
to the Lord, Ken promised, “I am going
to be a minister for the Lord.” Watching
his passion grow, his mother and
grandmother (Nanna) repeatedly
encouraged him, “You are going to do
something special for the Lord.”

He claims that he, like Jeremiah, has
a “fire in his bones.” While he can’t
describe it in words, Ken is emphatic.
“I have a burden and burning desire to
stand on God’s Word. I can’t explain
it.” He doesn’t need to. The proof can
be seen in every book, DVD, and homeschool
curriculum that Answers in
Genesis creates.

“At 13, I went to school with textbooks
that taught evolution, so I asked
Dad what to do with these claims. He
told me, ‘I don’t know much about fossils
and dating mechanisms, but you
can’t compromise Genesis, because
it’s foundational. We have to wait
for answers. Once you compromise,
you undermine its authority. If you
understand the Bible right and it contradicts
man’s word, don’t question
the Word, question the man.’” Like
father, like son.

His parents influenced Ken not just
by words but by example. “They had a
tremendous passion and made great
sacrifices to get the gospel to people.”
This should encourage every faithful
mom and dad.

“I saw my father bold with his faith
in a secular environment in the public
school, where he was an administrator.
He never hid his faith, and people
respected him.”

Family inspiration was a common
refrain as we talked. This is a man
who loves his family, yet he was willing
to move his own wife and children
almost 10,000 miles away from home.
Here is a man who loves family but
loves something else more, just like
his parents and Nanna.

“When Jehovah’s Witnesses would
visit Nanna,” Ken recalled, “she would
preach to them. One time she ran
after them waving the Bible at them.
I thought, If my Nanna can do that, why
can’t I? She was in her seventies.”

The Spark

In 1964, Mervyn Ham told his son he
would have to wait for answers to his
evolutionary questions. In 1974, Ken
found some of those answers in a little
yellow booklet titled Evolution: Science
Falsely So-Called. “When I read, ‘You
can’t have death before sin,’ I knew I
had some answers. That idea lit a fire
in my bones.” That theological issue
is more central to Ken than scientific
questions about origins and evolution.

Other books helped him answer
some of those questions, too, especially
Henry Morris’ Genesis Record.
“I would have to say that was an
important book to read.” Books have
played a very large role in Ken’s life.

“Books are why I started a creation
ministry in Australia. There were no
creation books there. So my wife and
I raised money and received many
unsecured loans to buy $20,000
worth of books. We only had $200 in
the bank, but God provided.” Indeed.
To date, Answers in Genesis has distributed
or sold millions of books and
other apologetics resources.

The impact of those books on believers
gave Ken a burden for yet another
way to get out the message—a creation
museum. “It goes back to when I was
a public-school teacher seeing kids go
to museums that taught evolution. I
thought, ‘Why can’t there be a museum
that teaches kids about creation?’”
In 1980, he shared that burden with a
friend (John Thallon, who later became
a board member), and they prayed,
“Lord, let us start a creation museum.”

Twenty-seven years later, God
answered that prayer. Today, Answers
in Genesis employs over 500 fulltime
staff members and another 500
seasonal workers. You would think that
would go to a man’s head. So I needed to know
more. I had glimpsed the what of Ken’s passion
and why it arose, but I needed to know how he
could sustain it all these years.

At the Top of a Long List

Who better to know the answer than his
family? That is why I was excited to get a rare
interview with Ken’s wife, Mally. His daughter
Renee joined us as well. When I sat down
with them, I had to ask, “Has it gone to Ken’s
head?” Renee jumped in. “He is one of the
most humble men I know.”

Mally agreed. “This is the Lord’s ministry,
and the Lord has laid it on his heart. It’s not a
Kenny Ham ministry.”

Okay, humility is key. But wait, did she just
say, “Kenny Ham”?

The axiom “behind every great man is a woman” is certainly
true for Ken. Since the garden of Eden, God has provided
us with marriage partners to help us keep our priorities
straight, not just to have an extra set of hands.

How does a woman manage a household, raise five children
(who are all walking with the Lord), and homeschool
while her husband is busy building Christian themed attractions
and racking up over five million frequent flyer miles?
When I asked her, I heard the common refrain, “This is God’s
ministry, not mine, not Kenny’s. It is clear God has a call on
our lives, so who am I to run from it?” They’re in it together.

Her shyness barely masks her toughness. “I don’t need
someone to babysit me. I asked the Lord to sustain, and he
has. My role in this is to support my husband and be there
for my kids and grandkids. I just love him to bits.”

Without her present, Ken made his affections and admiration
for Mally clear. “My commitment is to the Lord first, my
wife second, and family third. This ministry would not be
here without Mally.”

His daughter went further: “This ministry would not exist
if it weren’t for my mom holding this family together. I have
never heard her complain about anything once.”

Why would a woman happily spend her life in the shadows
while her husband is busy battling for the authority of
the Word of God? “When I was 10 or 11, my parents, who
weren’t Christians, sent me to Sunday school. At Easter, the
teacher explained the gospel on a flannelgraph. I told the
Lord, ‘If you did that for me, then Lord, I will go anywhere
and do anything.’” If that sounds exactly like what Ken
promised to the Lord at age 10, it is.

Perhaps this is why Ken has endured ministry for over 40
years without scandal: he loves his wife. “Forty-six years ago
I made a commitment to be totally devoted to her. I would
do anything for her and vice versa. Too many people think
they are little gods. Who am I? This is God’s ministry.” (That
was officially the ninth time I heard that Answers in Genesis
is God’s ministry.)

“Which feat sits at the top of your accomplishment list?” I
asked Ken later in the interview. He was quick to respond, and
it wasn’t buildings or books. “My greatest accomplishment is
46 years of marriage, 5 children, and 16 grandchildren.”

Four out of five Ham children work with Answers in
Genesis. So do two of Ken’s grandkids. (I suspect it’s only
two because child labor laws force the little ones to wait.)
Ken’s daughter gave me a hint why the Ham children love
the Lord. “If there was one thing we all knew, Dad insisted
we do family devotions every night.” Apparently Ken practices
what he preaches.

His office is surrounded by pictures of
family, Ken’s greatest accomplishment.

Notoriously Generous

This picture is a far cry from the picture
his enemies paint, of a ministry obsessed
with making money. Two years ago, my own
ministry had some business-like issues that
required legal assistance. I sent Ken a text
asking if he knew a good nonprofit attorney.
Within minutes he responded with a cryptic,
“Don’t go anywhere. Expect to hear from
someone within five minutes.”

Within minutes, my phone rang. The
senior counsel for Answers in Genesis, John
Pence, introduced himself and assured me,
“Ken called me and said you need help. He
told me to do whatever it takes to get you
through this.”

This was not a one-off for Ken. When I
shared this story with Emeal Zwayne, CEO of
the evangelistic ministry Living Waters, he
quickly responded with a similar anecdote.
“He has helped us in so many ways.” I suspect
there are many others.

I asked Ken why he is so quick to offer
support and help to ministries smaller than
Answers in Genesis. “I never see any other
ministry as competition. If God has entrusted
us with resources, we must be generous with
money, time, resources. The most important
thing is reaching people. If we can help someone
else reach the lost, we should.”

Mally claims that Ken’s gift is being a giver.
“Kenny is giving all the time. That is how his
parents were . . . helping ministries and missionaries.
Kenny always brings home guests
and visitors. He’s always looking out for
everyone.” Well, maybe everyone but himself.

While flying to Kentucky to visit
Ken, I googled his name. A link
popped up offering to disclose his net
worth. No, I shouldn’t have looked,
but I did (don’t judge me). When I
shared the number with Ken, he simply
laughed and began to disclose his
bank balance and value of his own
house. He doesn’t even have much of
a retirement account, and he has only
one typical suburban house, not even
paid for.

“I came from nothing. My parents
gave away everything, and we do too.”
The only critical thing I heard come
out of Ken’s mouth in two hours was
his annoyance with reports to the contrary.
“What sticks in my craw are the
accusations by media that I am in it for
the money, or when they try to equate
me with a prosperity preacher.” Can’t
blame him for that.

If Ken’s shoes are any indication, he
is not a prosperity preacher. Looking
at Ken’s footwear, a few words come to
mind: sensible, good arch support, worn,
Walmart, science teacher. Despite Ken’s
being from Australia, crocodile shoes
are not a part of his wardrobe.

Ken is not a fashionista. Nor is he
in it for fame. “Fame intimidates me.
My wife and I are very shy. I don’t like
being in the limelight. I’d rather hear
how people’s lives have been changed.”

When Ken enters the lobby of the
Creation Museum, people swarm
around him like he’s Justin Bieber—without the tattoos. For a man who
doesn’t prefer the spotlight, he treats
everyone as if they were special guests
in his home. If you know shy people,
you know that crowds can be exhausting.
Nevertheless, Ken shakes hands
and thanks every guest he encounters.

Ken is also quick to give credit
where credit is due. He isn’t shy about
praising the talented men and women
God has placed in his life. That humble
dependence on the gifts of others
certainly helps explain why this massive
ministry continues to run like a
well-oiled machine, despite the opposition
at every turn.

Retirement?

At 67, Ken doesn’t appear to be
slowing down anytime soon, despite
his decades-old back problems. For
30 years he has battled chronic back
issues. “Every time I fly it can be painful
for days. When I speak, the pain
goes.” And then he gets on another
plane to speak again. If the Energizer
Bunny were a young-earth creationist,
he would look a lot like Ken Ham.

Don’t look for him to retire anytime
soon. “Moses retired the day he
died,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean
I will outstay my usefulness. I told my
wife and board to let me know when I
shouldn’t be doing this.”

It’s not
about
me. This
is God’s
ministry.

Currently he is leading internal
structural changes to prepare for
the future. “It’s not about me. I won’t
choose a successor, the board will.
This is God’s ministry.” (This was
the 11th time he reminded me that
Answers in Genesis is the Lord’s ministry).

The longest pause of our interview was in response to the
question, “What are you looking forward to most in heaven?”

“Lots of things. Obviously seeing Christ in all his glory
and praising him because he’s the one who gave up all to
save us. Then I want to meet Noah and ask some questions.”
Not a word about the end of opposition.

On my plane ride home from Cincinnati, as my back
began to inform me that it would prefer a different position
than sitting squished with my lanky legs pressed up against
my chest, I thought of Ken Ham. How could he possibly have
endured hundreds, perhaps thousands, of flights with an
aching back?

Because I had learned the answer to my first interview
question, I knew the answer to this one.

Is Ken Ham nuts? Yes. Yes he is. He is nuts for the truth.
He is nuts for his wife and kids. He is nuts for his Savior. And
he is nuts for your kids to know the answers that he didn’t
have when he was a child. Mission accomplished.

https://answersingenesis.org/worldview/ken-ham-man-everyone-loves-hate/ This article originally appeared on answersingenesis.org

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