UCO changes mind, re-invites Ken Ham to speak

UCO CHANGES MIND - INVITES CHRISTIAN SPEAKER

After an overwhelmingly negative response in the media and from the public, President Don Betz of the University of Central Oklahoma has extended a personal invitation for Ken Ham to speak on the UCO campus.  Ham is the founder and president of Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter near Cincinnati. 

Ham had initially been invited to the campus by the UCO Student Government, but the invitation was rescinded after substantial bullying and intimidation was levied on UCOSA President Stockton Duvall by campus LGBT activists. 

“I am happy with the change of action,” said local pastor Paul Blair.  “I only wish there was a change of heart.” 

Blair is Senior Pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond.  Blair extended an invitation for Ham to speak at his church after UCO campus representatives broke the initial contract. 

“Subsequent university press releases continued to shirk any responsibility and confused the facts,” Blair added.  “They failed to protect the safety and well-being of student Duvall, neglected to protect Mr. Ham’s First Amendment rights and then refused to admit their mistake.” 

Blair continued: “The university has a record of spending substantial taxpayer dollars on Drag Queen Shows and Sex Carnivals. However, it resists allowing conservative or Christian voices to be heard.  There is a systemic problem that has still not been addressed.  I urge UCO alumni and legislators to act.  Oklahoma is a conservative state.  It is shocking to see a public university so out of touch with the people who fund it.”

Ham will be speaking on Monday, March 5, from 3 PM to 5 PM in Constitution Hall at UCO.  He will be accompanied in the campus presentation by Dr. Georgia Purdom.  Dr. Purdom (PhD, molecular genetics, Ohio State University) will address the topic “Genetics and the Bible.”  Ham will speak a second time that day at Fairview Baptist Church at 6:30 PM.  Fairview Baptist Church is located at 1230 N. Sooner Road in Edmond.  Topics will be different for both events.  There is no charge to attend either event, but seating is limited at both venues.

Lawmakers Question UCO for Rescinding Invitation to Christian Speaker

Lawmakers Question UCO for Rescinding Invitation to Christian Speaker

OKLAHOMA CITY – State lawmakers today publicly asked why Christian speaker, Dr. Ken Ham, has been told he is not welcome at the University of Central Oklahoma. According to news reports, the UCO student body president yesterday said he had been "bullied and personally maligned" by campus activists opposed to allowing Dr. Ham to speak.  The lawmakers expressed concern about a growing climate of such assaults on free speech and whether or not the Regents for Higher Education were properly accountable for the use of taxpayer dollars.

“Bullying and intimidating people to squelch free speech are disgraceful anywhere - but even more so on our college campuses,” said Rep. Kevin Calvey, R-Oklahoma City. “Higher Education’s censorship and bigotry against Christians shows an appalling lack of accountability on how Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities spend our tax dollars. We fund education to teach and promote American values. Censorship is not an American value.”

“Those claiming to advocate for tolerance are often, and ironically, the most intolerant of all,” said Sen. Josh Brecheen, R-Coalgate. “This bullying by anti-Christian campus censors has to stop.”

“The overwhelmingly Christian and conservative people of Oklahoma should not be forced to pay more taxes to subsidize censorship and bigotry against Christians and conservatives at our state colleges,” said Rep. Chuck Strohm, R-Jenks.

The lawmakers promised to review the Regents for Higher Education's accountability for their use of taxpayer dollars, and advocated for appropriate safeguards to be enacted to avoid intolerance like that at UCO in the future.

Creation vs. Evolution: Ken Ham to debate Bill Nye

From Answers in Genesis:

TV’s famed “Bill Nye the Science Guy” will argue the case against creation and for evolution as he faces the founder and president of the Creation Museum, Ken Ham, on February 4, 2014, in the museum’s 900-seat Legacy Hall. The museum, which has drawn two million guests in six years (including 20,000 visitors at its recent Christmas Town programs), is located in Petersburg, Kentucky (near the Cincinnati Airport).

The agreed-upon topic for the 7 PM debate is “Is creation a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era?”

“A debate with Mr. Nye, nationally known for his children’s TV program and for promoting evolution, will be one of our major events in 2014 to highlight how children and teens are being influenced by evolutionary thinking," declared Ham. “This year, our AiG theme is ‘Standing Our Ground, Rescuing Our Kids.’ Having the opportunity to hold a cordial but spirited debate with such a well-known personality who is admired by so many young people will help bring the creation/evolution issue to the attention of many more people, including youngsters.”

Ham added, “I hope to show Mr. Nye and our debate audience that observational science confirms the scientific accuracy of the Genesis account of origins, not evolution.”

Nye is the former host of the popular Bill Nye the Science Guy PBS-TV program for children, the current executive director of the Planetary Society, and a frequent guest on TV interview programs.

Ham also noted, “If his travel schedule permits that day, Mr. Nye will be my guest at the museum. I would personally show him through our museum before the debate. I would also like him to meet our several full-time staff members who hold earned doctorates in science.”

AiG is willing to participate in public debates with serious evolutionists with credentials. Even though some mocking, strident evolutionists have challenged AiG to public debates, their requests are not considered. As a serious advocate for his beliefs, Nye’s opinions carry weight in society.

Ham, who debated at Harvard in the 1990s, has pointed out that evolution/creation debates featuring serious debaters have sadly become rare.

~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~

The debate will be live-streamed at DebateLive.org on February 4th at 7pm EST/6pm CST. For more information about Answers in Genesis, click here.

Pre-order your DVD copy of 'Uncensored Science: Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham' today!

Expelled from the Zoo

A simple business relationship between two popular attractions in the Cincinnati area has turned into a national controversy.

Over the weekend, the famed Cincinnati Zoo announced on its website that it was featuring a combo ticket package with Answers in Genesis’ Creation Museum, one that would save visitors $9. By Monday morning, the zoo had received such a firestorm of criticism from atheists and other evolutionists about the business relationship (much of it coordinated from outside the region) that the zoo pulled the plug on the short-term arrangement.

(Click here for more from AiG on the story)