Hugh Ross (astrophysicist)

Hugh Ross
Born	Hugh Norman Ross (1945-07-24) July 24, 1945 Montreal, Quebec
Alma mater	University of British Columbia (B.Sc.) University of Toronto (M.Sc., Ph.D.)
Notable awards	Trotter Prize 2012
Spouse	Kathy
Children	2
Website Reasons to Believe

Hugh Norman Ross (born July 24, 1945) is a Canadian astrophysicist, Christian apologist, and old Earth creationist.

Ross obtained his Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Toronto^[1][2][3] and his B.Sc. degree in physics from the University of British Columbia.^[4] He is known for establishing his own ministry in 1986, called Reasons to Believe that promotes progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism. Ross accepts the scientific age of the earth and the scientific age of the universe, however he rejects unguided evolution and abiogenesis as explanations for the history and origin of life.^[5][6][7]

Early life and education

Hugh Ross was born in Montreal, Quebec and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ross earned a B.Sc. in physics from the University of British Columbia and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Toronto; and he was a postdoctoral research fellow for five years at Caltech, studying quasars and galaxies.^[8][9][10]

Career

Before starting Reasons to Believe, Ross was on the ministerial staff at Sierra Madre Congregational Church. In addition to apologetics writing, Ross speaks regularly in academic venues and churches, as well as regular podcasts "I Didn't Know That" (formerly Creation Update), and "Science News Flash." He spoke at the 2008 Skeptics Society' "Origins Conference" at California Institute of Technology alongside Nancey Murphy, Victor Stenger, Kenneth R. Miller. Sean Carroll, Michael Shermer and Leonard Susskind.^[11] Ross has publicly debated scientists Jerry Coyne, Eugenie Scott, Victor Stenger, Peter Ward, Lewis Wolpert, Michael Shermer, and Rob Tarzwell. Ross has also debated young-earth creationists, including Ken Ham, Kent Hovind, Duane Gish, Danny Faulkner, Andrew McIntosh, John Morris and Ray Comfort. In 2012 he won the Trotter Prize, delivering the Trotter Lecture at Texas A&M University on "Theistic Implications for Big Bang Cosmology."^[12]

Creationism

Ross believes in progressive creationism, which posits that while the earth is billions of years old, life did not appear by natural forces alone but that a supernatural agent formed different lifeforms in incremental (progressive) stages, and day-age creationism which is an effort to reconcile a literal Genesis account of Creation with modern scientific theories on the age of the Universe, the Earth, life, and humans.^[13] He rejects the young Earth creationist (YEC) position that the earth is younger than 10,000 years, or that the creation "days" of Genesis 1 represent literal 24-hour periods. Ross instead asserts that these days (translated from the Hebrew word yom^[14]) are historic, distinct, and sequential, but not 24 hours in length nor equal in length. Ross and the RTB team agree with the scientific community that the vast majority of YEC arguments are pseudoscience and that any version of intelligent design is inadequate if it doesn't provide a testable hypothesis which can make verifiable and falsifiable predictions, and if not, it should not be taught in the classroom as science.^[15][16]

Ross is a critic of young-earth creationists, in particular Russell Humphreys and Ken Ham.^[17]

Bibliography

Ross has written or collaborated on the following books:

• The Fingerprint of God. Orange, Calif.: Promise Publishing, 1989, 2nd ed. 1991, 3rd ed. 2005 ISBN 978-0939497188
• The Creator and the Cosmos. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1993, 2nd ed. 1995, 3rd ed. 2001 ISBN 978-0891097006
• Creation and Time. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1994 ISBN 978-0891097761
• Beyond the Cosmos. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1996, 2nd ed. 1999; Orlando, FL: Signalman Publishing, 2010, 3rd ed. ISBN 978-0984061488
• The Genesis Question, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1998, 2nd ed. 2001 ISBN 978-1576831113
• The Genesis Debate, Mission Viejo, CA: Crux, 2002 (with five other authors) ISBN 978-0970224507
• Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002 ISBN 978-1576832080
• A Matter of Days, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2004 ISBN 978-1576833759
• Origins of Life, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2004 (with Fazale Rana) ISBN 978-1576833445
• Who Was Adam? Colorado Springs, NavPress, 2005 (with Fazale Rana) ISBN 978-1576835777
• Creation as Science, Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006 ISBN 978-1576835784
• Why the Universe is the Way it Is, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008 ISBN 978-0801071966
• More Than a Theory, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2009 ISBN 978-0801014420
• Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job: How the Oldest Book of the Bible Answers Today's Scientific Questions, Baker Books, 2011 ISBN 978-0801072109
• Navigating Genesis: A Scientist's Journey through Genesis 1-11, 2014 ISBN 978-1886653863
• Improbable Planet: How Earth Became Humanity's Home Baker Books, 2016 ISBN 9780801016899

Additionally, he has contributed to the following volumes:

• The Creation Hypothesis, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994 ISBN 978-0830816989
• Mere Creation, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998 ISBN 978-0830815159
• Why I Am a Christian, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2000 ISBN 978-0801012105
• The Day I Met God, Sisters, OR: Multnomah 2001 ISBN 978-1576737866

Videos

• Journey Toward Creation 2003 ^[18]
• Dual Revelation 2008 ^[19]
• UFO Files 2004 ^[20]

See also

• Age of the Earth
• anthropic principle
• astronomy
• Biblical cosmology
• cosmology
• Creator god
• Dating Creation
• Fine-tuned Universe
• Genesis creation narrative
• Timeline of the formation of the Universe

References

External links

• Reasons to Believe official web page
• Official Biography on Reasons to Believe