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Why Won't They Listen?
Why is evangelism increasingly more difficult? Why is Christianity less and less appealing to unbelievers? What can the Church do differently to excel in fulfilling Jesus' Great Commission? Ken Ham, world-renowned Christian apologist and creation scientist, is convinced that compromise with evolutionary worldviews has virtually crippled preaching and teaching efforts, especially in Western societies. The Bible's foundational teaching of Genesis has been undermined as the unscientific theory of evolution is exalted as the ultimate authority. This has weakened the Church's defense of the Bible and Its message of Jesus Christ as Savior. In this truly bold book, Ken Ham presents an ambitious plan to fulfill the Great Commission. Easy to read and filled with real-world application, this book offers insight Why Won't They The Power of Creation Evangelism is a must read for every Christian evangelist.
192 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2002
9 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
About the author
Ken Ham
235 books354 followersDr. Ken Ham is the president of Answers in Genesis USA and is a well-known speaker and author on the subject of Young-Earth Creationism. He received a bachelor degree in applied science (emphasis on environmental biology) from the Queensland Institute of Technology, and a Diploma of Education from the University of Queensland. He has also received two honorary doctorates: a Doctor of Divinity from Temple Baptist College, and a Doctor of Literature from Baptist Liberty University.
He was a director of Creation Science Foundation (CSF) in Australia, an organization which he jointly founded with John Mackay. In 1987 he moved to the United States, still maintaining his links with CSF.
From 1987 to 1993, Ham worked for the Institute for Creation Research, and in 1994 set up what in 1995 became Answers in Genesis (AiG), a creation ministry dedicated to "upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse."
In 2008 Ham was described by well known atheist and evolutionary biologist PZ Myers as a "Wackaloon" for carrying out a prayer session with members of the Pentagon. Ham responded regarding the validity of that prayer breakfastand that PZ Myers and other critics were intolerant of his position.
He was a director of Creation Science Foundation (CSF) in Australia, an organization which he jointly founded with John Mackay. In 1987 he moved to the United States, still maintaining his links with CSF.
From 1987 to 1993, Ham worked for the Institute for Creation Research, and in 1994 set up what in 1995 became Answers in Genesis (AiG), a creation ministry dedicated to "upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse."
In 2008 Ham was described by well known atheist and evolutionary biologist PZ Myers as a "Wackaloon" for carrying out a prayer session with members of the Pentagon. Ham responded regarding the validity of that prayer breakfastand that PZ Myers and other critics were intolerant of his position.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 10, 2013
Ken Ham's basic argument is as follows: Evangelism is no longer as effective as it used to be (i.e. "Why Won't They Listen?") because foundational Christian beliefs are no longer present in our culture. This is due to the influence of humanistic evolutionary teaching which has undermined the authority of the Bible. Thus, the church needs to fight back against evolution through "creation evangelism" in order to re-establish Christian moral values and allow successful evangelism.
On one level I have quite a lot in common with Ken Ham in this book. I share his belief in a literal creation. I agree with his critique of outdated evangelistic methods which presuppose foundational Christian beliefs (e.g. God as creator, the reality of sin, etc) and his insistence that we need to know our culture in order to communicate effectively. I agree regarding the crucial importance of the foundational teachings found in Genesis. I quite like his 7 Cs overview of the Biblical story and his 4 stage apologetic/teaching approach (chapter 10). I appreciate the materials available from the creation ministries as an evangelistic resource. (And I enjoyed his one liner about the differing types of "convictions" held by the founders of the USA and the founders of Australia!)
Having said all that, I have major concerns with the book, and thus with Ham's Creation evangelism. Ham strongly argues that his position on the doctrine of creation is the only valid Christian position -- a "closed hand" issue. In apparent contrast with his promotion of culturally appropriate communication, he quotes from the KJV throughout. I was concerned with his interpretation of the Parable of the Soils and of Jeremiah 4:3 as the basis for his idea of "plowing the ground" of society by attacking evolutionary teaching in order to create good soil for the gospel.
Start to finish, the book is very concerned with the declining moral fibre of western nations, and a major aim of Creation evangelism is to reinstate Christian moral values in our societies. There seems to be an uncritical assumption that Christendom is a good thing and should be reinstated, with little reference to what it means for the church to be a persecuted minority in a hostile environment -- as it was in the early church, has often been in the non-Western church throughout history and may be in future in the West. This leads to a lack of clarity about the mission of the church and the goal of creation evangelism -- is it to share the gospel of Jesus, or promote Christian morality?
A second and greater concern is the super-literalism of Ham's position. He argues that the only possible position regarding Genesis 1 is simple, straight forward literalism. He appears to suggest that the fall has impeded our ability to think, and thus we should not attempt to treat the bible as an object of scholarship or serious study (chapter 12). He insists that if is it even considered that the 6 days of Genesis 1 might not be intended to represent literal days, the battle is already lost because we have communicated that "we don't need to take the Bible seriously" (Chapter 13). I would argue that in fact his position is self defeating -- to treat the Bible as Ham does is to not take it seriously. With full confidence that it is God's authoritative Word, we must seek to understand what it means, trusting God to make it clear. This means undertaking serious exegesis of the text, considering issues of genre, context, intended meaning and so on, which Ham refuses to allow.
My greatest concern with the book is that it promotes a "Genesis-centred" view of the Bible and of Christian ministry (or a "creation-centred" view), rather than a Christ-centred view. The gospel of Jesus Christ (his life, death, resurrection and return) are mentioned in the book, but the focus is clearly elsewhere -- the gospel of Creationism, perhaps. The core gospel message seems to be assumed -- once the foundational message of Genesis is communicated, suggests Ham, communicating the message of Jesus will be a piece of cake. The many testimonies throughout the book seem to communicate the same thing, with story after story of people for whom creationism was the key issue of conversion, with faith in Jesus an implied and apparently obvious addition. Does "creation evangelism" hope for a cultural, moral conversion or a conversion to faith in Jesus Christ? When the main 'battleground', the focus and centre of the Christian message, shifts away from Jesus and settles elsewhere, the message of the Christian gospel can't remain intact.
On one level I have quite a lot in common with Ken Ham in this book. I share his belief in a literal creation. I agree with his critique of outdated evangelistic methods which presuppose foundational Christian beliefs (e.g. God as creator, the reality of sin, etc) and his insistence that we need to know our culture in order to communicate effectively. I agree regarding the crucial importance of the foundational teachings found in Genesis. I quite like his 7 Cs overview of the Biblical story and his 4 stage apologetic/teaching approach (chapter 10). I appreciate the materials available from the creation ministries as an evangelistic resource. (And I enjoyed his one liner about the differing types of "convictions" held by the founders of the USA and the founders of Australia!)
Having said all that, I have major concerns with the book, and thus with Ham's Creation evangelism. Ham strongly argues that his position on the doctrine of creation is the only valid Christian position -- a "closed hand" issue. In apparent contrast with his promotion of culturally appropriate communication, he quotes from the KJV throughout. I was concerned with his interpretation of the Parable of the Soils and of Jeremiah 4:3 as the basis for his idea of "plowing the ground" of society by attacking evolutionary teaching in order to create good soil for the gospel.
Start to finish, the book is very concerned with the declining moral fibre of western nations, and a major aim of Creation evangelism is to reinstate Christian moral values in our societies. There seems to be an uncritical assumption that Christendom is a good thing and should be reinstated, with little reference to what it means for the church to be a persecuted minority in a hostile environment -- as it was in the early church, has often been in the non-Western church throughout history and may be in future in the West. This leads to a lack of clarity about the mission of the church and the goal of creation evangelism -- is it to share the gospel of Jesus, or promote Christian morality?
A second and greater concern is the super-literalism of Ham's position. He argues that the only possible position regarding Genesis 1 is simple, straight forward literalism. He appears to suggest that the fall has impeded our ability to think, and thus we should not attempt to treat the bible as an object of scholarship or serious study (chapter 12). He insists that if is it even considered that the 6 days of Genesis 1 might not be intended to represent literal days, the battle is already lost because we have communicated that "we don't need to take the Bible seriously" (Chapter 13). I would argue that in fact his position is self defeating -- to treat the Bible as Ham does is to not take it seriously. With full confidence that it is God's authoritative Word, we must seek to understand what it means, trusting God to make it clear. This means undertaking serious exegesis of the text, considering issues of genre, context, intended meaning and so on, which Ham refuses to allow.
My greatest concern with the book is that it promotes a "Genesis-centred" view of the Bible and of Christian ministry (or a "creation-centred" view), rather than a Christ-centred view. The gospel of Jesus Christ (his life, death, resurrection and return) are mentioned in the book, but the focus is clearly elsewhere -- the gospel of Creationism, perhaps. The core gospel message seems to be assumed -- once the foundational message of Genesis is communicated, suggests Ham, communicating the message of Jesus will be a piece of cake. The many testimonies throughout the book seem to communicate the same thing, with story after story of people for whom creationism was the key issue of conversion, with faith in Jesus an implied and apparently obvious addition. Does "creation evangelism" hope for a cultural, moral conversion or a conversion to faith in Jesus Christ? When the main 'battleground', the focus and centre of the Christian message, shifts away from Jesus and settles elsewhere, the message of the Christian gospel can't remain intact.
January 19, 2022
This book started out with solid points, primarily focusing on the idea that evangelism is more effective today by beginning with the Creation account in Genesis. The thought being that starting at the beginning and proving the authenticity of Creation shows that the rest of the Bible is just as trustworthy. Further, the importance of the Fall of Man leads to a deeper level of understanding of sin and the need for Jesus as our Savior. I also liked the discussion about how using the approach of the disciples is not necessarily the best, for they mostly preached to Jews who had the same foundational basis of the law, understanding of sin, etc. Instead, Acts 17 is referenced, as Paul witnesses to the Greeks and uses a different method because they had no absolute authority behind their conduct or laws and no foundational Biblical understanding . This led to a discussion about polytheistic religions and how those practicing them don’t understand the concept of God, and just assume He’s one of many rather than the One.
The book then devolves rather rapidly. First, the focus seems to be leading Christians to surround themselves only with other believers. This is not only not practical, it does not lead to a true faith that has survived being tested. (See James 1:2-4: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.). The author then points out common Biblical questions from skeptics that Christians are unable to answer. The same questions are repeated several times, but no answers are provided. There isn't even advice given on where to begin finding these answers to convey to those without a faith foundation. The book then gets worse by turning into an advertisement for other books and study materials by the author. The final chapter is entirely comprised of testimonials the author received from those he helped to lead to Christ through Creationism. This read as a completely self-serving attempt for the author to uplift himself, not Christ.
I agree with the points the author made at the beginning of this book and am a firm believe in both Creationism and the Bible as fact. However, this book could have been an informational pamphlet and only weakened the author's own stance by failing to keep its focus on God and the Bible.
The book then devolves rather rapidly. First, the focus seems to be leading Christians to surround themselves only with other believers. This is not only not practical, it does not lead to a true faith that has survived being tested. (See James 1:2-4: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.). The author then points out common Biblical questions from skeptics that Christians are unable to answer. The same questions are repeated several times, but no answers are provided. There isn't even advice given on where to begin finding these answers to convey to those without a faith foundation. The book then gets worse by turning into an advertisement for other books and study materials by the author. The final chapter is entirely comprised of testimonials the author received from those he helped to lead to Christ through Creationism. This read as a completely self-serving attempt for the author to uplift himself, not Christ.
I agree with the points the author made at the beginning of this book and am a firm believe in both Creationism and the Bible as fact. However, this book could have been an informational pamphlet and only weakened the author's own stance by failing to keep its focus on God and the Bible.
March 15, 2017
The "they" in the title refer to the natural person in the world today. There seems to be an attack against Christianity by the world because of the false teaching by ungodly people in our public schools and college institutions. This has be going on for a long time, therefore many people do not believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and they rather believe in evolution instead of creation. Since our foundation for witnessing is based on the Book of Genesis and creation which are fundamental to the gospel, many people are being affected by the ungodly teaching they have received through our schools. I believe that all people should read this book and examine what they really believe.
September 21, 2007
Well, this book was ok for the first 4 or 5 chapters but then Ken Ham kept repeating himself over and over again..
I thought some of it was interesting though... read it for school!
I thought some of it was interesting though... read it for school!
Read
December 11, 2019Question for all of you who think this book was wonderful. There are two books that will guide you to the right Scriptural answer.
1. The Book of John. It was written (20:31) that through belief in what John wrote they will have eternal life. THIS IS A WHOLE BOOK ON THE WAY TO GET SAVED. Where do you find Ham's "creation evangelism" in the Book of John? If you don't, then you are not following an Apostolic example.
2. The Book of Acts. It contains APOSTOLIC examples of how to witness. Where do you find Ham's "creation evangelism" in the Book of Acts? If you don't, then you are not following an Apostolic example. You do however find the Apostle Paul using "intelligent design" in his practice in chapters 14 and 17.
Question, if you can't find Ham's practice of evangelism to 2 whole books of the New Testament that specifically deal with the Gospel and evangelism, why do you think it is a great book? Ham is adding to the Gospel and making a new foundation to it.
1. The Book of John. It was written (20:31) that through belief in what John wrote they will have eternal life. THIS IS A WHOLE BOOK ON THE WAY TO GET SAVED. Where do you find Ham's "creation evangelism" in the Book of John? If you don't, then you are not following an Apostolic example.
2. The Book of Acts. It contains APOSTOLIC examples of how to witness. Where do you find Ham's "creation evangelism" in the Book of Acts? If you don't, then you are not following an Apostolic example. You do however find the Apostle Paul using "intelligent design" in his practice in chapters 14 and 17.
Question, if you can't find Ham's practice of evangelism to 2 whole books of the New Testament that specifically deal with the Gospel and evangelism, why do you think it is a great book? Ham is adding to the Gospel and making a new foundation to it.
December 30, 2022
This book, since it was first printed 20 years ago, is spot on with how our society currently views the truth of the Bible. Ken Ham hits it on the spot of how our foundation has changed from one that was built on the God of the Bible and a literal Creation to now a foundation of the belief in evolution & the consequences that result.
In reading this book, so many things that I know and see in our society just clicked with the reason why it is that way now. This book has broken my heart toward the lost, yet given me hope for our future. It has helped me have a greater understanding of, as the title states, why they won’t listen. It has given me practical ways to defend the Bible and share what it says in a way that will reach our society as it is today. It has challenged me to truly know what the Word says.
There is so much good in this book, it is a must-read and one to keep on your shelves for the generations after you to read.
In reading this book, so many things that I know and see in our society just clicked with the reason why it is that way now. This book has broken my heart toward the lost, yet given me hope for our future. It has helped me have a greater understanding of, as the title states, why they won’t listen. It has given me practical ways to defend the Bible and share what it says in a way that will reach our society as it is today. It has challenged me to truly know what the Word says.
There is so much good in this book, it is a must-read and one to keep on your shelves for the generations after you to read.
November 16, 2022
One of the reasons the church is losing young people is they tell them what to believe without sufficiently explaining why to believe it. Church is good at transmitting a code of behavior but fails to ground the behaviors in ultimate reality. This book is good because it starts at the beginning and uses logic, critical thinking and proper interpretation of the entire Bible in context to propose a better way to make disciples. The best reason to believe in Jesus is because He is real and the truth, not because of emotional experience or to live your best life now. The book also includes many good apologetics resources in the appendix.
February 4, 2021
An absolutely fantastic book for anyone to read, especially if your faith in God, the Bible, Jesus, or even life itself is wavering. Ken Ham engagingly shows us why the book of Genesis is absolutely essential to our belief in the New Testament teachings. We can’t just dismiss it as allegory, parable, or myth, because it is the foundation to all Christian beliefs. The Audible book was wonderfully read by Tom Dooley.
July 14, 2021
This book is excellent and engaging. If you have a desire to communicate the Gospel well, are headed to the mission field, or engage in evangelism outreach this is an important read!
Ken Ham does a great job explaining why, without Genesis and Biblical authority, the Gospel message is missing what truly makes it effective.
Ken Ham does a great job explaining why, without Genesis and Biblical authority, the Gospel message is missing what truly makes it effective.
March 7, 2023
Wow! Great book! If you don't think Genesis 1-11 are literal, then you probably don't believe in the Biblical Jesus. If you have been misled to accept the religion of evolution, you have GOT to read this book! Creationism is a spectacular evangelism tool; almost too hard to resist let alone argue against. You got to do this book start to finish.
February 19, 2020
It’s not Shakespeare; Ham is a little redundant with his points and he’s no poet about making them, but they are excellent nonetheless. This is a word every believer needs to take to heart, especially if they are in a leadership or teaching position.
January 8, 2019
Spectacular!
October 19, 2024
Very cogent. Evanjellyfish totally lost the sense of what the premises of the gospel are.
June 13, 2014
This book was okay, but seemed a little repetitive. I realize he has written other books for this purpose, but I wish he had given more solutions and spent less time identifying the problems. Still an interesting read.
March 16, 2015
eye opening!!
This book opened my eyes to how I was failing my family by not giving them the tools to properly defend their faith. I thank God for bringing this book to me and for Ken Ham and his wonderful ministry.
This book opened my eyes to how I was failing my family by not giving them the tools to properly defend their faith. I thank God for bringing this book to me and for Ken Ham and his wonderful ministry.
June 13, 2015
A must-read for every Christian who wants to be obedient to the Great Commission.
August 3, 2018
A proven path to effective evangelism to counteract what the compromise with the Darwinism philosophy of death has done to kill the church as established by Jesus Christ.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews