Ken Ham spoke to University of Central Oklahoma students Monday even though he’d previously been disinvited from the campus.
“I have spoken at a few state-funded universities ranging from Idaho to Ohio, as well as private schools like Harvard in Massachusetts—and at countless Christian universities. I had never encountered any real opposition on a college campus until this incident, and it occurred in the Bible Belt of all places. But I’m thankful to God that through the efforts of countless Oklahomans, the talk was reinstated,” Ham says.
The Answers in Genesis president was initially scheduled to speak Monday on “Genesis, Science and Culture” when the student body president rescinded the invitation due to LGBT activist pressure.
“Free speech in America is under increasing attack by some very intolerant people. In this case of discrimination, I find it highly ironic that after being booked to speak in the school’s Constitution Hall, our constitutional right to free speech and the free exercise of religion, guaranteed under the First Amendment, have been denied,” Ham said at the time. “A small but vocal group on campus put up a fuss about my talk and the university caved in, tearing up the contract and contradicting its policies of promoting ‘free inquiry’ and ‘inclusiveness’ on campus.”
However, backlash over the cancellation escalated as state legislators, several UCO alumni, local pastors, writers of letters to the editor, and other Oklahomans stood up for the First Amendment’s promise of freedom of speech and the free exercise of religious expression.
UCO President Don Betz reinvited Ham, and the talk took place as scheduled.
According to a release, Ham discussed some of the key points that he presented during his two famous evolution/creation debates with Bill Nye “the Science Guy” that occurred over the past four years (in 2014 and 2016) in the lecture. He emphasized the two different worldviews and their respective starting points when interpreting scientific evidence. Ham also acknowledged the limitations of science when it comes to studying the unobservable past as it relates to the evolution/creation question. At the same time, Ham indicated that various fields of science confirm the Bible’s record of earth history, starting with Genesis 1. In his talk, Ham also discussed how social issues of our day relate to Genesis, including the biblical basis for marriage: one man, one woman, for life.
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