Hugh Ross (astrophysicist)


Hugh Norman Ross is a Canadian Astrophysicist, Christian apologist, and old Earth creationist.
Ross obtained his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Toronto and his B.Sc. degree in physics from the University of British Columbia. He established his own ministry in 1986, called Reasons to Believe that promotes progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism. Ross rejects both evolution and abiogenesis as explanations for the origin and history of life, instead promoting the argument of intelligent design.

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.

Apologetic 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", 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. Ross has publicly debated scientists Jerry Coyne, Eugenie Scott, Victor Stenger, Peter Ward, Lewis Wolpert, Michael Shermer, Peter Atkins 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."

Old Earth Creationism (OEC)

Ross believes in progressive creationism, a view 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 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. He rejects the young Earth creationist 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 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.
Ross is a critic of young-Earth creationists, in particular Russell Humphreys and Ken Ham.