Ken Ham is taking issue with fellow Christian apologist Frank Turek over the opening chapter of the Bible, arguing that their disagreement reaches beyond Earth's age. The Answers in Genesis founder says Turek's approach raises a deeper question about what Christians allow to govern their interpretation of Scripture.
According to ChurchLeaders, Ham released a 28-minute response to Turek's video, "Are Young Earth Creationists Misreading the Bible?" The exchange began with a Christian student's question at Michigan Technological University about how light from distant stars could reach an Earth only thousands of years old.
Turek argued that Genesis does not establish a definite age for Earth. He emphasized the chapter's purpose in identifying the true Creator for Israel, rather than supplying a modern scientific chronology, and said observations of creation help readers understand biblical language.
To illustrate that point, Turek discussed everyday references to sunrise and sunset: language people continue to use while accepting that Earth moves around the sun. His argument places evidence from the natural world alongside careful reading of the biblical text.
Ham rejected that approach to creation chronology, appealing to Exodus 20's description of God making heaven and earth in six days. He maintained that Genesis 1:1 belongs within creation week and that the genealogies support an Earth approximately 6,000 years old.
He also answered Turek's question about days preceding the sun's creation by pointing to the light-and-darkness cycle in Genesis. For Ham, the absence of an identified physical light source during those early days does not invalidate the account's chronology.
Ham nevertheless expressed appreciation for Turek's defense of Christianity. His criticism concerns interpretive method: he argues that reconstructions of the past must not determine what Scripture is permitted to mean.
The concern becomes particularly urgent, Ham contends, when addressing students. He warned that Turek's method could encourage further reinterpretation and weaken confidence in biblical authority-an assessment that represents Ham's criticism, rather than an established consequence of Turek's teaching.
The exchange exposes a significant disagreement between two public defenders of Christian belief. Their dispute concerns how biblical authority operates when interpreting Genesis, with implications for the way churches and ministries answer questions about science, history and faith.
ChurchLeaders said it had requested comment from Turek; the version reviewed included no subsequent response. Readers can find the report and embedded videos here.
