Jonathan Sarfati

Jonathan David Sarfati (born 1 October 1964) is a young Earth creationist who writes articles for Creation Ministries International (CMI), a non-profit Christian Apologetics ministry. Sarfati has a PhD in chemistry, and was New Zealand national chess champion in 1987 and 1988.[1][2]

Not to be confused with Jack Sarfatti.

Jonathan Sarfati

Background

Born in Ararat, Victoria, Sarfati moved with his family to New Zealand as a child, where he became a dual Australian and New Zealand citizen. He attended Wellington College in New Zealand, later graduating from Victoria University of Wellington with a BSc (Hons.) in chemistry, and a PhD in the same subject for a thesis entitled "A Spectroscopic Study of some Chalcogenide Ring and Cage Molecules". He co-authored a paper on high-temperature superconductors that was published in Nature in 1987 ("Letters to Nature"),[3] and from 1988 to 1995, had several papers on spectroscopy of condensed matter samples published in other peer-reviewed scientific journals.[4] In 1996, he returned to Brisbane, Australia to work for the Creation Science Foundation, then Answers in Genesis, then its current name Creation Ministries International. In 2010, he moved to the American office of that ministry.[5]

Creationism

Sarfati was a founder of the Wellington Christian Apologetics Society in New Zealand, and has long retained an interest in Christian apologetics and the creation–evolution controversy.[6] His first two books, Refuting Evolution in 1999, and Refuting Evolution 2 in 2002, are intended as rebuttals to the National Academy of Sciences' publication Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science and the PBS/Nova series Evolution, respectively. Refuting Compromise, published in 2004, is Sarfati's rebuttal of the day-age creationist teachings of Dr. Hugh Ross, who attempts to harmonise the Genesis account of creation with mainstream science regarding the age of the earth and the possible size of the Biblical Flood, against which Sarfati defends a literal biblical timeline and a global flood. Eugenie Scott and Glenn Branch of the National Center for Science Education called Sarfati's Refuting Evolution 2 a "crude piece of propaganda".[7]

Sarfati is a critic of geocentrism,[8] the Myth of the flat Earth[9] and flat earth teaching,[10] homosexual behaviour,[11] and abortion[12] except to save the life of the mother.[13] While opposing embryonic stem cell research, he supports adult stem cell research.[14] Sarfati also supports vaccination and rebuts anti-vaccination arguments.[15]

Sarfati playing chess against multiple players at a creation conference, 2011.

Chess

Sarfati is a FIDE Master in chess, and achieved a draw against former world champion Boris Spassky during a tournament in Wellington in 1988,[16] and was New Zealand's national chess champion in 1987–88.[17]

Although tied with Rey Casse for first place in the Australian Junior Championship of 1981, he was not eligible to share the title as he was a resident of New Zealand at the time.[18] He represented New Zealand in three Chess Olympiads: the 27th in Dubai[19] in 1986, the 28th in Thessaloniki[20] in 1988, and the 30th in Manila[21] in 1992. He also represented New Zealand on top board at the 5th Asian Teams in New Delhi.[22]

He has given blindfold chess exhibitions at chess clubs[23] and other events,[24][25][26] and has played twelve such games simultaneously.[27] His previous best was winning 11/11 at the Kapiti Chess Club in New Zealand.[28]

Bibliography
  • The Genesis Account: A theological, historical, and scientific commentary on Genesis 1-11, 2015, Creation Book Publishers ISBN 978-1921643910
  • Christianity for Skeptics, 2012, with Steve Kumar (first author), Creation Book Publishers ISBN 978-1921643491
  • The Greatest Hoax on Earth? Refuting Dawkins on Evolution, 2010, Creation Book Publishers ISBN 1-921643-06-4
  • By Design: Evidence for nature's Intelligent Designer—the God of the Bible, 2008, Creation Book Publishers ABN: 978-0-949906-72-4
  • Refuting Compromise: A Biblical and Scientific Refutation of Progressive Creationism, 2004, Creation Book Publishers ISBN 0-89051-411-9
  • The Revised & Expanded Answers Book, 2003, with Carl Wieland and David Catchpoole, edited by Don Batten, ISBN 0-89051-395-3
  • Refuting Evolution 2, 2002/2011, Creation Book Publishers ISBN 0-89051-387-2
  • Refuting Evolution, 1999–2010, Creation Book Publishers ISBN 0-89051-258-2

References
  1. "Jonathan D Sarfati". chessgames.com. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  2. "Dr Jonathan D. Sarfati BSc (Hons.), PhD, F.M." Creation Ministries International. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  3. Mawdsley, A., Trodahl, H.J., Tallon, J., Sarfati, J. and Kaiser, A.B. (1987) Thermoelectric power and electron-phonon enhancement in YBa2Cu3O7-6 Nature 328: 233–234.
  4. Five articles can be found by searching for Jonathan D Sarfati at Science Direct
  5. Sarfati, Jonathan (2015). The Genesis Account. Creation Book Publishers. p. 786. ISBN 978-1-921643-91-0.
  6. Sarfati's biography at CMI-Australia, Creationist Physical Chemist and Spectroscopist
  7. Scott E.C. and Branch G. (2003). Antievolutionism: Changes and Continuities BioScience: 53(3):282-285
  8. Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, Why the Universe does not revolve around the Earth: Refuting absolute geocentrism, creation.com, 12 February 2015.
  9. Jonathan Sarfati, The flat earth myth, Creation 35(3):20–23, April 2013.
  10. Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, A flat earth, and other nonsense: Dealing with ideas that would not exist were it not for the Internet, creation.com, 3 September 2016 .
  11. Jonathan Sarfati, Gay ‘marriage’ and the consistent outcome of Genesis compromise, creation.com, 30 June 2012.
  12. Jonathan Sarfati, Antidote to abortion arguments, creation.com, 2002.
  13. Jonathan Sarfati, What about abortion to save the mother’s life?, creation.com, 3 January 2014.
  14. Jonathan Sarfati, Stem cells and Genesis, Journal of Creation 15(3):19–26, 2001;
  15. Jonathan Sarfati, CMI, vaccines, and vaccination, creation.com, 2018.
  16. "Jonathan D Sarfati vs Boris Spassky 1988". ChessGames.com. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  17. "Title and Trophy Holders". Poison Pawn. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  18. Search for Rey Casse and Chess
  19. Chess Olympiad 1986
  20. Chess Olympiad 1988
  21. Chess Olympiad 1992
  22. Asian Teams 1983
  23. Croydon chess club Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  24. Sherman, Bill (3 September 2011). "Creationist to speak on young Earth theory". Tulsa World. USA. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  25. Richardson, Bryan (27 August 2013). "Check Mates". The Manhattan Mercury. Manhattan, Kansas: Seaton Group.
  26. Lawrence, Jeana (27 August 2013). "Speaker challenges evolution, offers alternative view". The Kansas State Collegian. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  27. Chess games at Logan Chess Club site (archive)
  28. Roberts, Earl N., Chess from behind a blindfold?, New Zealand Chess 29(3):23, June 2003.
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