Dr Jonathan Sarfati (born 1964) is an Australian young-earth creationist creation scientist and author with a background in physical chemistry who works for the Christian apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis (AiG).
Biography
Born in Ararat, Victoria, Sarfati moved to New Zealand as a child and subsequently graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Ph.D. degree in Chemistry, based on his thesis, A Spectroscopic Study of some Chalcogenide Ring and Cage Molecules. He also published papers in the secular science literature, including co-authoring a paper in the journal Nature on high-temperature superconductors when he was 21.
Writings
Ethnically Jewish, Sarfati converted to Christianity in 1984. In his writings, he describes himself as a Messianic Jew and Hebrew Christian, which he uses interchangeably (there are distinctions as well as overlap between the [two movements). In 1996 he returned to Brisbane, Australia to work for the Creation Science Foundation (now Answers in Genesis) as a research scientist and as co-editor of their magazine, Creation and the in-depth journal of Creation.
Sarfati has written numerous publications, including three books. Refuting Evolution, his first book, was published in 1999, a rebuttal to the National Academy of Sciences´ teachers´ guidebook Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science. 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. His latest book, Refuting Compromise is a rebuttal of the day-age creationist teachings of Dr Hugh Ross, who attempts to harmonize the Genesis account of creation with the majority scientific belief that the earth is billions of years old, a position which Sarfati rejects. Sarfati has also authored a number of booklets, besides contributing chapters and articles to numerous books and magazines, as well as many of the articles on the Answers in Genesis. He is a popular speaker at churches and conferences on the issue of creation versus evolution.
Chess
In addition to his religious work, Sarfati maintains a keen interest in chess. A former New Zealand chess champion, he represented New Zealand in three Chess Olympiads, and drew with former World Champion Boris Spassky in a tournament in Wellington in 1988. He enjoys playing chess "blindfold" (i.e., without being allowed to see his opponents´ moves, so the moves are transmitted orally via some recognized chess notation), and has been known to play twelve such games simultaneously. His FIDE ELO rating is 2310.
Sarfati was one of the top 1000 reviewers at Amazon.com. His reviews cover religious, scientific, and chess-related books.
Education
- B.Sc. (Hons.) in Chemistry (with condensed matter and nuclear physics papers substituted)
- Ph.D. in Spectroscopy (Physical Chemistry)
Honors/Awards/Associations
- 1988, FIDE Master title, The International Chess Federation
Books
Refuting Evolution ISBN 0-890512-58-2 1999
Refuting Evolution 2 ISBN 0-890513-87-2 2002
Refuting Compromise"" ISBN 0-890514-11-9 2004 [http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/rc/intro.asp introductory chapter and some reviews]
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