Ken Ham (and maybe Dan Phelps) to be featured on Australian TV

Posted 18 May 2016 by Matt Young

This link is a preview of an Australian television show about the "replica" of Noah's Ark being built out of gopher steel and concrete in Kentucky. I think it will air next Sunday, and I hope that an online version will be available soon afterward. "Sunday Night" is apparently an Australian news magazine similar to 60 Minutes in the US. Ken (who you callin' ~~the~~ a Messiah, bud?) Ham commented on the program here; he seems to have been bent out of shape by a comment made by Bill Nye in the preview. Mr. Ham is an Australian native, and that may be part of the reason that the Australian channel is running the story. The producers also interviewed the Ark Park's persistent critic Dan Phelps at length, both in a hotel meeting room in Cincinnati and on an outcrop near Big Bone Lick State Park. I have a feeling that Mr. Ham will be bent further out of shape if Mr. Phelps's comments are aired.

17 Comments

ashleyhr · 18 May 2016

Please see my recent comment HERE (I've also emailed Friendly Atheist). I believe that they - and Ham - misheard, or probably misrepresented in Ham's case, the Nye quote:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/05/18/did-bill-nye-really-say-ken-hams-followers-believe-that-hes-the-messiah-not-exactly/#disqus_thread
I would encourage others to listen and see whether they think Nye actually said 'a' not 'the'.

Matt Young · 22 May 2016

The program is posted here and here. I am watching it right now.

ashleyhr · 22 May 2016

Just seen online.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/a/31665046/100m-noahs-ark-being-built-by-aussie-teacher/ (9 minutes in)
Here is the truth. Bill Nye WAS repeating words spoken by interviewer Steve Pennells when he said of Ken Ham "his followers believe that he's the/a messiah".

If Answers in Genesis have ANY integrity they WILL correct the articles on their website saying that this is what Nye himself is claiming.

DS · 22 May 2016

Bill makes a very good point. Not only is Ken wasting millions of dollars lying about science, money that could have been used for good instead of evil, but some one is going to have to undo the damage caused by lying to young people. One day they are going to have to learn the truth and they are going to have to deal with the fact that they have been lied to. It will be much more difficult to teach them real science after their misconceptions are reinforced. Perhaps that is what Ken is going for.

DS · 22 May 2016

ashleyhr said: Just seen online. https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/a/31665046/100m-noahs-ark-being-built-by-aussie-teacher/ (9 minutes in) Here is the truth. Bill Nye WAS repeating words spoken by interviewer Steve Pennells when he said of Ken Ham "his followers believe that he's the/a messiah". If Answers in Genesis have ANY integrity they WILL correct the articles on their website saying that this is what Nye himself is claiming.

As for the messiah comment, Bill replied that that is "inappropriate" and that Ken is "scientifically illiterate". Both of these statements are obviously true, so how could anyone object? And as for AIG having any integrity, that ship, unlike the fake ark, has already sailed, sunk and rusted at the bottom of the sea.

Mike Elzinga · 22 May 2016

The comment by Bill Nye that got Ham so bent out of shape comes at 9:09 into Part 1. In response to the interviewer's statement that Ham's followers call him the messiah, Nye says:

"His followers believe that he is the messiah! (Note Hye's raised eyebrows and his brief facial expression of dismay and his dismissive side-glance, as though his is thinking something like "Yeah, right!" at this point.) Well, I think that is inappropriate because he is scientifically illiterate."

As is the case with all of the ID/creationists, Ham lifted Bill Nye's comment out of a verbal and visual context that makes it very clear that Nye made no such assertion about Ham being the messiah; in fact he thinks quite otherwise. However, Nye's statement makes it perfectly clear that Nye thinks Ham is scientifically illiterate: and that statement is objectively true. This lying characteristic of ID/creationists - and of the sectarian subculture from which they form their beliefs - is what makes them so despicable and politically dangerous. Our political elections and fights in the courts and state boards of education are saturated with this kind of thinking; and it eats up time, money, and resources that could be better spent on making our society and the world a better place. Ken Ham is a greedy con man S.O.B. who is in it for himself. He picked Kentucky because Kentucky is one of the places in the US where fundamentalist scoundrels can exploit the ignorant and the fearful while being protected by the laws and politicians of the State. And that Kim Davis appears to be a narciscistic, celebrity wannabe.

DS · 22 May 2016

Maybe 60 minutes will do a piece on the Farce Park. That should be hood for a hoot. THose guys have lots of practice exposing charlatans and con artists.

harold · 22 May 2016

I will point out that saying that followers believe someone is "a Messiah" is very different from saying that followers believe someone is "the Messiah".

The former, by it's very use of the indefinite article, reveals itself to be a figure of speech. It merely states that someone's followers consider them to be source of holiness, wisdom, and truth. It is perfectly accurate with regard to Ham and his followers.

The latter, using the definite article, would be inaccurate. Ham and his brainwashed followers do practice a variant of Christianity, and do claim to consider the Biblical character Jesus to be the Messiah. It would be inaccurate to say that Ham's deluded followers consider him to be "the" Messiah.

However, "a" Messiah is perfectly accurate.

ashleyhr · 22 May 2016

My new comment here, within the past 15 minutes, may be of interest. It concerns the integrity or otherwise of AiG in correcting - or not - previous incorrect claims:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/05/18/did-bill-nye-really-say-ken-hams-followers-believe-that-hes-the-messiah-not-exactly/#disqus_thread

ashleyhr · 22 May 2016

Drat. Broken link:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/05/18/did-bill-nye-really-say-ken-hams-followers-believe-that-hes-the-messiah-not-exactly/#disqus_thread

ashleyhr · 22 May 2016

"Bill replied that that is âinappropriateâ and that Ken is âscientifically illiterateâ." Nye was probably caught off-guard but it might have been better if he had said "are sure they think he's some sort of messiah?" But it was a loaded tabloid sensationalist media question where the two options were presented ie either his followers think he's the 'messiah' or he's a madman. Nye would not want to go with "Ken Ham is a madman" I don't think.

But AiG have failed to correct Ham's blog post of 18 May. Even though they now know it is factually incorrect about what Nye is claiming (or is not claiming but simply repeating). I suppose AiG are full of hate towards Nye because he won the 2014 debate and because his reply to Pennells implied - correctly - that Ham followers are daft and scientifically illiterate.

ashleyhr · 22 May 2016

Sorry "are you sure ...".

ashleyhr · 22 May 2016

"Ham lifted Bill Nyeâs comment out of a verbal and visual context that makes it very clear that Nye made no such assertion about Ham being the messiah...". When Ham published this the context was NOT clear (as far as I know). But liar Ham has FAILED to add a correction either in this blog or elsewhere on the AiG website (he missed the first opportunity to do so in a new blog post of 22 May, instead writing some gushing stuff about 'yet more publicity for the second ark!!').
https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2016/05/18/bill-nye-called-who-messiah/

TomS · 22 May 2016

I guess that one has to be exceptionally careful in agreeing to a video recorded interview.

harold · 22 May 2016

TomS said: I guess that one has to be exceptionally careful in agreeing to a video recorded interview.

If you mean, to prevent creationists from quote mining, I'd have to say, not really. They're going to distort what you say and feign outrage at their own distortion, no matter what. Book, journal article, voice recording, video interview, they'll do the same thing no matter what. Of course you should be careful in all formats but it's 100% guaranteed that creationists will lie and feign outrage whatever you do.

Charley Horse · 23 May 2016

Matt Young said: The program is posted here and here. I am watching it right now.

I watched that video....thanks. Have to mention the brief bit of sound track from O Brother, Where Art Thou....one of my favorite movies. Great dicpiction of modern day Mississippi.:) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkWn69VBslw

Charley Horse · 23 May 2016

depiction...obviously a fault of Panda's Thumb..:)