Kurt Wise



Kurt Patrick Wise (b. Born::1959) is a young earth creation scientist with a background in paleontology. He earned a B.A. in Geophysical Sciences from the University of Chicago, followed by an M.A. and Ph.D. in paleontology from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. At Harvard, he studied under the direction of renowned scientist Stephen Jay Gould.

For seventeen years Wise taught at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. In 2006, he accepted a position as Professor of Science and Theology and replaced intelligent design proponent William Dembski as director of the Center for Theology and Science at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Since Fall 2009 he has been serving at Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA. He is presently a professor of Biology and Chair of the Math and Science Division. . He is also the director of the Creation Research Center at Truett-McConnell College. To date his areas of teaching experience have included geology, paleontology, biosystematics, biology, philosophy and ethics in science, biological and physical origins, Christian doctrine and the natural sciences.

Within the creation science community, Kurt is perhaps best known for advancing the discipline known as baraminology, which is the identification and study of the baramin (created kinds). He has more than a dozen publications in the fields of science and theology. He has made four television appearances and three published videos. He is the author or co-author of dozens of articles in science and theology publications.

Noted atheist Richard Dawkins has referred to Wise (somewhat derisively) as an "Honest Creationist".

Personal Information
Personal Information: Born on 1 August, 1959 in the small Midwestern farming community of Rochelle, Illinois. Parents are Kenneth E. Wise, retired newspaper editor and director of economic development. and Beverly J. Wise, homemaker, both originally from Zion, Illinois. Raised on a property with 17.5 acres of sub-climax oak-hickory forest. Easy access to forest, field, and stream nurtured a strong interest in natural history. Hobbies include reading, collecting fossils, and researching genealogy. Married 7 July, 1984 to Marie Barbara (Gorenflo) of Holliston, Massachusetts. Marie's parents are John A. and Doris M. Gorenflo, missionaries with New Tribes Mission in Indonesia and now Singapore. Children: Katrina Joy (born 26 December, 1986) and Esther Lynn (born 22 July, 1988).

Education

 * B.A. Geophysical Sciences (Majored in Geology while close to a second major in Biology), University of Chicago - 1981
 * M.A. Geology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. - 1984. Principal Advisor: Stephen Jay Gould.
 * Ph.D. Geology (Paleontology), Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. - 1989. Principal Advisor: Stephen Jay Gould. Dissertation: The Estimation of True Taxonomic Durations from Fossil Occurrence Data

Awards/Honors

 * 1983: "Certificate of Distinction in Teaching", Harvard-Danforth Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University
 * 1984: "Certificate of Distinction in Teaching", Harvard-Danforth Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University

Christian Experience

 * Raised in a Christian home and consistently attended Sunday School and Morning Services with parents at First Baptist Church of Rochelle, Illinois.
 * Saved in Sunday School, the Sunday before Easter, 1969.
 * Baptized by immersion in the late summer of 1973.
 * 1973-82: member, First Baptist Church, Rochelle, IL.
 * 1973-75: assistant leader, AWANA Pioneers Club, First Baptist Church, Rochelle, IL.
 * 1976: Taught 15-week evening course on creationism, First Baptist Church, Rochelle, IL.
 * 1977-81: member, Baptist Student Union, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (president 1978-1981).
 * 1982-89: member, South Middlesex Baptist Church, Framingham, MA.
 * 1982-88: AWANA youth program at South Middlesex Baptist Church, Framingham, MA (PALS leader, 1 yr.; 3rd-6th grade Game Director, 2 yrs.; SPARKS Director, 2 yrs.; Commander, 2 yrs.)
 * 1983-84: tenor in choir, South Middlesex Baptist Church, Framingham, MA.
 * 1986-88: adult Sunday School teacher, South Middlesex Baptist Church, Framingham, MA.
 * 1989 (spring): guest adult Sunday School teacher, Westgate Church, Weston, MA (subject: Genesis 1-11).
 * 1989-98: member, Grace Bible Church, Dayton, TN.
 * 1989-98: AWANA youth program, Grace Bible Church, Dayton, TN (Pals/Pioneers leader for 1 year, Pals/Pioneers director for 4 years, Pals/Pioneers game director and assistant leader for 1 yr.; Cubbies secretary for 1 year; commander for 1.5 years).
 * 1990 (spring); 1991 (spring & autumn); 1992 (spring); 1993 (autumn): adult Sunday School teacher, Grace Bible Church, Dayton, TN (Subjects: Phil. of Science; The Creation Model; Genesis 1-11).
 * 1990-2006: AWANA Ministry Team member, Tennessee Valley, TN (for missionaries Frank & Linda Hobart)
 * 1995-96 academic year: college Sunday School teacher, Grace Bible Church, Dayton, TN
 * 1995-99: AWANA Olympics Director, Tennessee Valley, TN.
 * 1998-2006: member, Calvary Baptist Church, Graysville, TN
 * 1998-99: AWANA program, New Liberty Baptist Church, Birchwood, TN (JV game director; counsel time leader for Cubbies thru JV’s)
 * 1999-2004: adult Sunday School teacher, Calvary Baptist Church, Graysville, TN
 * 1998-2006: AWANA program, Calvary Baptist Church, Graysville, TN (Sparks director, 1 year; commander, 7 years)
 * 2006-2009: AWANA Ministry Team Member, Louisville-area, Kentucky (for Tim & Cheryl Welcher)
 * 2006-2008: AWANA Sparks leader, LaGrange Baptist Church, LaGrange, KY.
 * 2008-2009: AWANA Sparks Director, LaGrange Baptist Church, LaGrange, KY.
 * 2006-2009: member, LaGrange Baptist Church, LaGrange, KY.
 * 2009- : member, Helen First Baptist Church, Helen, GA.
 * 2010- : AWANA Commander, Helen First Baptist Church, Helen, GA.

Work Experience

 * 1972-81: self-employed beekeeper, Rochelle, IL.
 * 1975-77 (academic year): Rochelle (IL) Newspapers (photographer and darkroom technician, 1 year; advertising designer, 1 year)
 * 1977-79 (summers): Del Monte Canning factory, Rochelle, IL.
 * 1977-80 (academic year): Work-Study program, University of Chicago, IL (lab assistant, James Cronin lab, High Energy Physics Department, 2 years; * Junior Tutor for calculus, 1 year)
 * 1980-81 (academic year): lab assistant, Peter J. Wyllie's metamorphics lab, Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
 * 1980 (Autumn Semester): grader, introductory statistics and computer programming course, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
 * 1980-81 (summers): Collection Manager for fossil invertebrates, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL (having been a volunteer in that position for the 3 previous years)
 * 1981-82 (academic year): Research Assistant (morphometrics of Cerion) for Stephen Jay Gould, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
 * 1982-86 (academic year): Teaching Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (Stephen Jay Gould's introductory geology/biology course, 4 semesters; Richard Lewontin's introductory statistics course, 1 semester; Head Teaching Fellow in Heinrich Holland and Phil England's introductory geology course, 3 years; first-semester calculus, 1 semester)
 * 1985-89 (spring, summer, autumn): laborer, foreman, & designer for Luciano Landscape Company, Sudbury, MA.
 * 1986 (winter): sheet metal construction for a garage door factory, Sudbury, MA.
 * 1988-96: Visiting Assistant Professor of Paleontology, Institute for Creation Research, Santee, CA [teaching graduate courses for geology and biology M.S. programs in paleontology (1988, 1990, 1992) and biosystematics (1989, 1993); teaching on tours to Mt. St. Helens (1991), Grand Canyon (1992-1996), and Yellowstone National Park (1996)]
 * 1989-2006: Director, Center of Origins Research, Bryan College, Dayton, TN.
 * 1989-95: Assistant Professor of Science, Division of Mathematics and Natural Science, Bryan College, Dayton, TN (taught: Introductory Biology, Biology Senior Seminar, Philosophy and Ethics of Science, Origins, Calculus-Based Physics, and Algebra-Based Physics).
 * 1995-2006: Associate Professor of Science, Division of Mathematics and Natural Science, Bryan College, Dayton, TN (taught: Biological Origins, Physical Origins, Introductory Biology for Non-Majors, Modern Darwinian Synthesis).
 * 2006-07: creation science consultant in exhibit design, Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY.
 * 2006- : Adjunct Curator, Creation Museum, Petersburg, KY.
 * 2006-2009: Professor of Science and Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY.
 * 2006-2009: Director, Center for Science and Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY.
 * 2007- : contributor and consultant for the Answers magazine, Answers in Genesis, Petersburg, KY.
 * 2009- : Professor of Natural Science, Truett-McConnell College, Cleveland, GA.
 * 2009- : Director, Center for Creation Research, Truett-McConnell College, Cleveland, GA.

Layman-level Articles, Chapters, and Books

 * 1987: The way geologists date!, pp. 135-138 in Bixler, R. R., R. S. Crowell, H. A. Jackson III, R. E. Walsh, and C. L. Brooks (eds.), Proceedings of the First International Conference on Creationism, Volume 1, Creation Science Fellowship, Pittsburgh, PA, 193 pp.
 * 1989: My favourite evidence for creation! Creation Ex Nihilo 11(4):29.
 * 1992: 2nd author with W. Gary Phillips, [creation bibliography], pp. 4-11 in Cornelius, Richard M., Theodore C. Mercer, W. Gary Phillips, Jack W. Traylor, and Kurt P. Wise, Selected, Annotated Bibliography of William Jennings Bryan, the Scopes Trial, Creation, and Evolution, [1st edition], William Jennings Bryan College, Dayton, TN.
 * 1993: 2nd author with W. Gary Phillips, [creation bibliography], pp. 12-16 in Cornelius, Richard M., Theodore C. Mercer, W. Gary Phillips, Jack W. Traylor, and Kurt P. Wise, Selected, Annotated Bibliography of William Jennings Bryan, the Scopes Trial, Creation, and Evolution, [actually a 2nd edition, but not numbered in the sequence of subsequent editions], William Jennings Bryan College, Dayton, TN.
 * 1994a: with Walter R. Barnhart, and Marcia T. Folsom, "Fossils of Grand Canyon", pp. 133-152 in Austin, Steven A. (ed.), Grand Canyon: Monument to Catastrophe, Institute for Creation Research, Santee, CA, 284 p.
 * 1994b: with Kenneth B. Cumming, Michael P. Girouard, and John R. Meyer, "Biology of Grand Canyon", pp. 153-179 in ibid.
 * 1994c: "The Origin of Life's Major Groups", pp.211-234 in Moreland, J. P. (ed.), The Creation Hypothesis, InterVarsity, Downers Grove, IL, 331 p.
 * 1995: "It matters where you start", pp. 130-143 in Land, Richard, D., and Louis A. Moore (editors), Life at Risk: The Crisis in Medical Ethics, Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN, 287 p.
 * 1996: with W. Gary Phillips. “Creation and Evolution”, pp. 14-19 in Cornelius, R. M. (editor) Selected, Annotated Bibliography of William Jennings Bryan, the Scopes Trial, Creation, and Evolution, Second [3rd] Edition, Bryan College, Dayton, TN.
 * 1997: “Forward”, pp. v-vii in Brand, Leonard, Faith, Reason, and Earth History, Andrews University Press, Berrien Springs, MI.
 * 1998a: with David M. Fouts and W. Gary Phillips, “Creation and Evolution”, pp. 18-25 in Cornelius, R. M. (editor), Selected, Annotated Bibliography of William Jennings Bryan, the Scopes Trial, Creation, and Evolution, Third [4th] Edition, Bryan College, Dayton, TN.
 * 1998b: (3rd author with Kay Arthur and Sheila Richardson), Genesis Part One: The Creation [inductive Bible study course on Genesis 1-2], Precepts Ministries, Chattanooga, TN [also includes 6 45-minute video presentations on 3 video tapes].
 * 1998c: How do we relate our ‘three-in-one universe’ to our ‘three-in-one God’? [appendix], p. 127 in ibid.
 * 1998d: with Sheila Richardson, Dealing with the ‘days’ of Genesis 1 [appendix], pp. 129-134 in ibid.
 * 1998e: with Sheila Richardson, How did God create? [appendix], pp. 135-7 in ibid.
 * 1998f: The laws of energy: How did they begin? [appendix], p. 139 in ibid.
 * 1998g: The language of DNA [appendix], pp. 141-4 in ibid.
 * 1998h: What is a ‘created kind’?: Baraminology [appendix], pp. 145-150 in ibid.
 * 1998i: The big bang theory: Evolutionary cosmogenesis (written from a naturalistic perspective) [appendix], pp. 151-3 in ibid.
 * 1998j: Studying the universe: Anthropic and entropy principles (written from a biblical perspective), [appendix], pp. 155-8 in ibid.
 * 1998k: Deep geological time [appendix], pp. 159-162 in ibid.
 * 1998l: Geologic catastrophe (written from a biblical perspective) [appendix], pp. 163-5 in ibid.
 * 1998m: Radiometric dating (written from a biblical perspective) [appendix], pp. 167-173 in ibid.
 * 1998n: Origin of life (written from a naturalistic perspective) [appendix], pp. 175-6 in ibid.
 * 1998o: History of life: Macroevolution (written from a naturalistic perspective) [appendix], pp. 177-8 in ibid.
 * 1998p: The word of life (written from a biblical perspective) [appendix], pp. 179-180 in ibid.
 * 1998q: History of life: Typology (written from a biblical perspective) [appendix], pp. 181-3 in ibid.
 * 1998r: Evolution of man (written from a naturalistic perspective) [appendix], pp. 185-6 in ibid.
 * 1998s: Distinct and decaying (written from a biblical perspective) [appendix], pp. 187-9 in ibid.
 * 1999a: (3rd author with Kay Arthur and Sheila Richardson), Genesis Part Two: The Fall, the Flood, and the Nations, [inductive Bible study course on Genesis 3-11], Precepts Ministries, Chattanooga, TN [also includes 10 45-minute presentations on 5 video tapes].
 * 1999b: Fossils: How do they form? [appendix], pp. 241-2 in ibid.
 * 1999c: Geologic catastrophe (written from a biblical perspective) [appendix], pp. 243-5 in ibid.
 * 1999d: with Sheila Richardson, A look at a global flood model of earth history: Catastrophic plate tectonics [appendix], pp. 247-54 in ibid.
 * 1999e: Peleg [appendix], pp. 255-7 in ibid.
 * 1999f: Residual catastrophism: Are the effects of the Flood present today? [appendix], pp. 271-2 in ibid.
 * 1999g: The ice advance [appendix], pp. 273-6 in ibid.
 * 1999h: The repopulation of the world [appendix], pp. 277-9 in ibid.
 * 1999i: Kurt P. Wise, Geology [personal testimony In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation. pp. 328-332, in Ashton, John (ed.), In Six Days: Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation, New Holland, Struik.
 * 2000: The science played again, pp. 91-102 in Cornelius, Richard M., and Tom Davis (editors), Impact: The Scopes Trial, William Jennings Bryan, and Issues that Keep Revolving, William Jennings Bryan College, Dayton, TN.
 * 2001: with David M. Fouts, Creation and Evolution, pp. 18-25 in Cornelius, R. M. (editor), Selected, Annotated Bibliography of William Jennings Bryan, the Scopes Trial, Creation, and Evolution, Fourth [5th] Edition, Bryan College, Dayton, TN.
 * 2002a: Faith, Form, and Time, Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN, 287 p.
 * 2002b: Creation and worship, Family Bible Study: Life Truths Learner Guide 2(4):87-9 [Southern Baptist Quarterly]
 * 2003a: (as academic editor) with authors Todd C. Wood and Megan J. Murray, Understanding the Pattern of Life, Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN, 231 p.
 * 2003b: Science: A verb that needs a foundation, Bryan [College] Life, Summer, 2003, pp. 1-3.
 * 2004: with Sheila Richardson, Something From Nothing, Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN, 212 p.
 * 2008a: Egypt or Babel: Which came first?, Answers 3(2):30-33.
 * 2008b: Lucy Was Buried First Answers, 3(2):66-68.
 * 2008c: Mystifying mosaics, Answers 3(3):56-59.
 * 2010a: (3rd author with A. P. Galling and Marcus Ross), Fossil mysteries, Answers 5(1):39-42.
 * 2010b: Amazingly preserved leaves, Answers 5(1):46-8.
 * 2010c: Completeness of the fossil record, Answers 5(1):69-70.

Published Technical Articles

 * 1981: coauthored with Thomas J. M. Schopf: Was marine faunal diversity in the Pleistocene affected by changes in sea level?, Paleobiology 7(3):394-399.
 * 1984: The Guadeloupe skeleton, Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 1:33-39.
 * 1986: The Guadeloupe skeleton: further evidence, Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 2:121-129.
 * 1987: How fast do rocks form?, pp. 197-203 in Walsh, Robert E., Christopher L. Brooks, and Richard S. Crowell (eds.), Proceedings of the First International Conference on Creationism, Volume 2, Creation Science Fellowship, Pittsburgh, PA, 253 pp.
 * 1989a: Radioactive halos: Geological concerns, Creation Research Society Quarterly 25(1):171-176.
 * 1989b: Punc eq creation style, Origins, 16(1):11-24 [translated into spanish and published in 1992: AEquilibrio puntuado a manera de creatión@, Cienca de los Origenes 31:1-7.]
 * 1989c: The Estimation of True Taxonomic Durations from Fossil Occurrence Data, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 550 p.
 * 1990: The Guadeloupe skeleton controversy: A study in proper methodology, Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 4:108-127.
 * 1991a: Baraminology: A new young-earth creation biosystematics method, pp. 345-358 in Walsh, R. E., and C. L. Brooks (eds.), Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Creationism, Volume 2, Creation Science Fellowship, Pittsburgh, PA, 386 pp.
 * 1991b: The fossil record: The ultimate test-case for young-earth creationism, Opus: A Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies 1991-92:17-29.
 * 1992a: Some thoughts on the Precambrian fossil record, Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 6(1):67 71.
 * 1992b: Creation Polycladism: A Young-Earth Creation Theory of Biogenesis, pp. 204-210 in Proceedings of the 1992 Twin Cities Creation Conference, Twin-Cities Creation-Science Association, Northwestern College, and the Genesis Institute, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, 280 pp.
 * 1992c: Practical baraminology, Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 6(2):122-137.
 * 1992d: Were there really no seasons?, Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 6(2):168-172.
 * 1994a: Australopithecus ramidus and the fossil record, Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 8(2):160-165.
 * 1994b: second author with Steven A. Austin, 1994, The pre-Flood/Flood boundary: As defined in Grand Canyon, Arizona and East Mojave, California, pp. 37-47 in Walsh, Robert E. (ed.), Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Creationism Held July 18-23, 1994, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA: Technical Symposium Sessions, Creation Science Fellowship, Pittsburgh, PA, 645 p.
 * 1994c: 6th author with Steven A. Austin, John R. Baumgardner, D. Russell Humphreys, Andrew A. Snelling, and Larry Vardiman, 1994, Catastrophic plate tectonics: A global flood model of earth history, pp. 609-621 in ibid.
 * 1995a: Towards a creationist understanding of 'transitional forms', Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 9(2):216-222.
 * 1995b: Evolving science, pp. 30-37, in Creation of an Evolving Controversy: A Symposium on the 70th Anniversary of the Scopes Evolution Trial: Proceedings of the Symposium Held in the Rhea County Courthouse Dayton, Tennessee, July 21, 1995, Bryan College, Dayton, TN.
 * 1998a: (with David M. Fouts), Blotting out and breaking up: Miscellaneous Hebrew studies in geocatastrophism, pp. 217-228 in Walsh, Robert E. (ed.), Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Creationism, Creation Science Fellowship, Pittsburgh, PA, 658 p.
 * 1998b: Is life nested or networked?, pp. 619-631 in ibid.
 * 1998c: (with Matthew Cooper), A compelling creation: A suggestion for a new apologetic, pp. 633-644 in ibid.
 * 2003a: second author with Todd C. Wood, Roger Sanders, and Neal Doran, A refined baramin concept, Occasional Papers of the BSG 3:1-14.
 * 2003b: third author with Todd Wood and David Cavanaugh, Fossil Equidae: A monobaraminic, stratomorphic series, pp. 143-153 in Ivey, Robert L. (ed.), Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Creationism Held August 4-9, 2003, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA: Technical Symposium Sessions, Creation Science Fellowship, Pittsburgh, PA.
 * 2003c: The hydrothermal biome: A pre-Flood environment, pp. 359-370 in ibid.
 * 2003d: The pre-Flood floating forest: A study in paleontological pattern recognition, pp. 371-381 in ibid.
 * 2003e: second author with Roger W. Sanders, The cognitum: A perception-dependent concept needed in baraminology, pp. 445-455 in ibid.
 * 2003f: with Matthew Croxton, Rafting: A post-Flood biogeographic dispersal mechanism, pp. 465-477 in ibid.
 * 2005a: with Andrew A. Snelling, A note on the pre-Flood/Flood boundary in the Grand Canyon, Origins [GRI] 58:7-29.
 * 2005b: The flores skeleton and human baraminology, Occasional Papers of the BSG 6:1-13.
 * 2007: What science tells us about the age of the creation, The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 11(1):4-15.
 * 2008: second author with Roger W. Sanders, Joseph W. Francis, and Todd Charles Wood, Toward a practical theology of peer review, Answers Research Journal 1:65-75.

Reviews

 * Truly A Wonderful Life Review of : Gould, Stephen Jay, 1989, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History