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From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

Dr Jonathan D. Sarfati (b. October 1, 19641 October 1964
25 Tishrei 5725 He
24 Ethanim 5968 AM) is a renowned creationist, physical chemist, spectroscopist, and chess master. He is most famous for taking an uncompromising stance on the origins of the universe, the earth, and life, and defending Scripture in a straightforward manner against any attempt to "reconcile" it with "scientific data" that contradict it.

Life and career

Jonathan Sarfati was born in Ararat, Australia in 1964. He moved to New Zealand as a child and received his early education there.^[1] He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Chemistry with two physics papers substituted, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry, based on his thesis: A Spectroscopic Study of some Chalcogenide Ring and Cage Molecules. He has also had papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals including co-authoring in the journal Nature on high-temperature superconductors in 1987, when he was 22 ^[2].

Degrees

• B.Sc. (Hons.) in Chemistry (with condensed matter and nuclear physics papers substituted)
• Ph.D. in Spectroscopy (Chemistry)

Religious history

Ethnically Jewish, Sarfati converted to Christianity in 1984. In 1996 he moved to Brisbane, Australia to work for the Creation Science Foundation (now Creation Ministries International) as co-editor of their magazine, Creation, and the peer-reviewed Journal of Creation.

Writings

Sarfati has written numerous publications, including five books. Refuting Evolution, his first book, a rebuttal to the National Academy of Sciences' teachers' guidebook Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science, was published in 1999. It has since sold more than 450,000 copies. This was followed by a sequel, Refuting Evolution 2, a response to a major PBS/Nova 7-part series and a Scientific American article.

In 2004, he wrote Refuting Compromise as a rebuttal of the day-age creationism of Dr Hugh Ross, which treats the days of Genesis 1 as long ages, in an attempt to harmonize that account with the belief that the earth is billions of years old. "15 Reasons to Take Genesis as History" is a short book (co-authored with Don Batten) to summarize the theological case for taking Genesis at face value.

A major book published in 2008, By Design, is subtitled, Evidence for nature’s Intelligent Designer—the God of the Bible. This "presents case after case for amazing design in the living world, and demolishes theories of chemical evolution of the first life. Yet unlike many in the prominent Intelligent Design Movement, he is up-front about the truth of the Bible. This enables him to refute many anti-design arguments, and answer the key question: ‘Who is the Designer?’"

His latest major book is The Greatest Hoax on Earth?, a detailed refutation of Richard Dawkins' book The Greatest Show on Earth.

Sarfati has also authored a number of booklets, besides contributing chapters and articles to numerous books and magazines, as well about 400 articles on the Creation Ministries International website (a more complete list is found on his bio page). He is a popular speaker at churches and conferences on the issue of creation versus evolution.

Chess

Sarfati also maintains a keen interest in chess. A former New Zealand national chess champion (1987/88),^[3] he represented New Zealand in three Chess Olympiads. He also tied Rey Casse in the Australian Junior Championship (1981), but was declared ineligible because of his New Zealand residency (yet Casse was born in England). He was three times New Zealand junior champion. In a tournament in Wellington in 1988, he drew with former World Chess Champion Boris Spassky.

He enjoys playing chess "blindfold", i.e. played from memory without sight of or any physical contact with the board, and has been known to play twelve such games simultaneously (see some games and photos).

Sarfati was one of the top 1000 reviewers at Amazon.com. In addition to chess-related books, his reviews also cover religious and scientific books.

Publications

Books

• The Greatest Hoax on Earth? 2010
• By Design 2008
• Refuting Compromise 2004
• Refuting Evolution 2 2002
• Refuting Evolution 1999
• 15 Reasons to Take Genesis as History 2006

Articles (a selection)

• Archaeopteryx (unlike Archaeoraptor) is NOT a hoax—it is a true bird, not a “missing link” by Jonathan Sarfati. Creation Ministries Internationa.
• Biblical chronogenealogies by Jonathan Sarfati. Journal of Creation 17(3):14-18, 2003
• Bonebox bashers blasted: Update on James ossuary claims by Jonathan Sarfati, Creation 26(2):15, March 2004.
• Can it bee? by Jonathan Sarfati. Creation 25(2):44–45, March 2003.
• Defending vital doctrines and the deity of Christ (23 May 2005 reply to feedback)
• Evolution Falls Flat! by Jonathan Sarfati. Creation 20(2):41, March 1998.
• Lobster eyes—brilliant geometric design by Jonathan Sarfati. Creation 23(3):12–13, June 2001.
• Loving God with all your mind: logic and creation, Journal of Creation 12(2):142-151, 1998
• In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation: Jonathan D. Sarfati, physical chemistry ed. John F. Ashton, ISBN 0890513414, 2001
• Is the absence of short-lived radionuclides a problem for the Biblical timescale?
• New four-winged feathered dinosaur? by Jonathan Sarfati. Creation Ministries International. January 28 2003.
• Olfactory design: smell and spectroscopy by Jonathan Sarfati. Journal of Creation 12(2):137–138, 1998
• Presuppositionalism vs evidentialism, and is the human genome simple? (6 June 2005 reply to feedback)
• Pterosaurs flew like modern aeroplanes by Jonathan Sarfati, Creation 28(3):53, June 2006.
• Review of Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins by Jonathan Sarfati. Journal of Creation 12(1):29-34, 1998
• Science, Creation and Evolutionism: Response to the latest anticreationist agitprop from the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Science, Evolution and Creationism, 2008
• Stem cells and Genesis by Jonathan Sarfati. Journal of Creation 15(3):19-26, 2001
• What’s Wrong With Bishop Spong? Laymen Rethink the Scholarship of John Shelby Spong Apologia 4(1):3–27, 1995
• Which came first, the dino or the bird? by Jonathan Sarfati. Creation Ministries International

Videos

• Designed for Life Recorded at the Seattle Creation Conference. 2007
• Refuting Compromise Recorded at the Seattle Creation Conference. 2007
• Arguments Creationists Should NOT Use
• Chemicals to Living Cell: Fantasy or Science

Available Presentations

Title	Description
Designed For Life	New discoveries are constantly pointing to intricate design that Darwin never dreamed of. Indeed, human designers are constantly learning from 'nature', in a growing field called biomimetics. Such design—and the information for this design—point to a Designer.
Refuting Compromise	Since the rise of uniformitarian "science", there have been many compromises of Scripture away from its original meaning. But this has had baneful effects on the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. It also undermines the sin-death causality that underlies the Gospel teaching that Jesus died for our sins.

References

1. ↑ Dr Jonathan D. Sarfati B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D., F.M.: Biography by Creation Ministries International. Accessed May 30, 2010.
2. ↑ A. Mawdsley, H. J. Trodahl, J. Tallon, J. Sarfati, and A. B. Kaiser. "Thermoelectric power and electron-phonon enhancement in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-8" Nature, 328:233-234, July 16, 1987. Accessed March 7, 2008.
3. ↑ "Title and Trophy Holders", Chess in New Zealand, New Zealand Chess Federation. Accessed March 7, 2008.

Related Links

• An awesome mind: A talk with one of Christianity’s foremost defenders, Jonathan Sarfati by Gary Bates. Creation 26(3):36-41, June 2004.
• Jonathan Sarfati by Conservapedia
• Jonathan Sarfati by A Storehouse of Knowledge

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