[Questioner] Hey Dr. Craig. In regards to your comment earlier just
a single response. I think Young Earth Creationism should be included in the acceptable range of
opinion, and that's my only goal here. [Craig] What should be? [Questioner] Young Earth
Creationism. I think it should be included in the acceptable range of opinion. And my impression
is that we're treated like flat-earthers and disrespected [Yes], that impacts our ability to
do things like get hired in scientific fields, to get money for research, and things that we need to
advance our paradigm. So that's all I'm... what? [Craig] Have you read the book yet? [Questioner]
Your book? [Yes.] Of course I have! [Craig] Okay, well there are many auditors you see who don't
even have the book, and so I just wanted to ask if you had read it, because I made a real effort in
this book to include Young Earth Creationists as dialogue partners in this debate. While I regard
the claim of creation science as preposterous and not a plausible alternative, I regard the
hermeneutical claim of Young Earth Creationism with deadly seriousness, and think it has to be on
the table. And so you'll find in the footnotes I'm interacting with Jonathan Sarfati's commentary on
Genesis, and I treat him just as I would Richard Averback or Victor Hamilton or Claus Westermann,
as a significant dialogue partner. And I should tell you one of the things that I did after my
book was accepted and in press, is I proposed a four views book on the historical Adam and
asked Ken Keithley if he would be the editor, and I would represent the ancient genealogical
Adam view, Andrew Loke would represent the recent genealogical Adam view, Kenton Sparks,
who's in your Halton book you're reading, would represent the non-historical view, and then I
insisted there has to be a Young Earth Creationist involved in this book. This is one of the four
views that needs to be included. And I'll tell you Ben, I had a terrible time finding any Young
Earth Creationist who would agree to participate. When I approached Jonathan Sarfati, the paranoia
was unbelievable that I was... they thought that it was a conspiracy to embarrass them, that Ken
Keithley they resented him as the editor, they thought that Ken would write in the introduction
to the book things deriding their point of view, and would sabotage. And I said look, you can
approve anything or disapprove it that Ken writes in the introduction of the book; I'll submit it
to you for your approval. They still wouldn't do it. And I said well how about this: you write the
introduction on your view, and we'll include it with what Ken says about the other views, but you
write it. They still wouldn't do it. The paranoia was just thick; that they wouldn't participate in
the book. And so I turned to Kurt Wise instead, I thought well Kurt wise is a scientifically
credible person who could be in the book, and the response I got from him was indignant and abrupt.
He said why would I participate in a book that calls into question the word of God, and you know,
and so forth. And so we finally settled on someone that that Ken Keithley knew, that I think... maybe
a professor at Liberty or maybe at Southeastern. But I've got to tell you Ben, I made a real effort
to include the Young Earth Creationists in this debate and it's not been easy.
[Questioner] Well I appreciate that, but what I am looking for is an acknowledgment that we
should not be discriminated against in scientific fields because of our views. [Craig] I just, yeah,
I just haven't spoken to that either way. I mean I understand what you're saying that people who hold
maverick positions are often discriminated. I remember in cosmology, the area I'm more
familiar with, Halton Arp was a cosmologist who called into question the Big Bang model and the
explanation of the redshift, and he found it very difficult to get telescope time, because
the people who control these great telescopes, this is precious,
this time is so precious to accord to observational astronomers, and they
felt it would be just wasting it to let Arp have telescope time to pursue his maverick hypotheses.
So you have to make a decision, you know is that right or is it not right? And I
haven't spoken to that at all, I've not said anything about it. It's not my place.