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			{{Short description\|Australian young earth creationist and chess player}}
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			{{distinguish\|Jack Sarfatti}}
	Dr '''Jonathan D. Sarfati''' (born ] ]) is a ]/] ] who currently works for the ] ] ] ] (AiG). He has a ] in ] and he is also a ].
			{{Use New Zealand English\|date=August 2013}}
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=August 2020}}
			]

			'''Jonathan David Sarfati''' (born 1 October 1964) is a ] who writes articles for ] (CMI), a non-profit ] ministry. Sarfati has a PhD in chemistry, and was ] in 1987 and 1988.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=39623\|title=Jonathan D Sarfati\|publisher=chessgames.com\|access-date=9 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web \|url=http://creation.com/content/view/3547/ \|title=Dr Jonathan D. Sarfati BSc (Hons.), PhD, F.M. \|access-date=7 January 2009 \|publisher=Creation Ministries International}}</ref>
	== Biography ==
	Born in ], ], Sarfati moved to ] as a child, where he became a ]. He attended ], and later he graduated from ] with a B.Sc. (Hons.) in ] and a Ph.D. in ], based on his ]: ''A ] Study of some ] ] and ]s.'' He has also had papers published in ]ed ]s including co-authoring a "Letters to Nature" submission on ]s which appeared in 1987 in the journal '']'', when he was 22.<sup></sup>

			==Background==
	Ethnically ], Sarfati converted to ] in ]. He describes himself both as a ] and ], which he uses interchangeably (there are distinctions as well as overlap between the ]).
			Born in ], ], Sarfati moved with his family to New Zealand as a child, where he became a ] ]n and ] citizen. He attended ] in New Zealand, later graduating from ] with a BSc (Hons.) in ], and a PhD in the same subject for a thesis entitled "A ] Study of some ]ide Ring and Cage Molecules". He co-authored a paper on ]s that was published in '']'' in 1987 ("Letters to Nature"),<ref>Mawdsley, A., Trodahl, H.J., Tallon, J., Sarfati, J. and Kaiser, A.B. (1987) </ref> and from 1988 to 1995, had five papers on ] of ] samples published in other ] scientific journals.<ref>Five articles can be found by searching for at </ref> In 1996, he returned to ], ] to work for the ], then ], then its current name ]. In 2010, he moved to the American office of that ministry.<ref>{{cite book \|title=The Genesis Account \|publisher=Creation Book Publishers \|page=786\|year=2015 \|first=Jonathan \|last=Sarfati \|isbn=978-1-921643-91-0 \|author-link=Jonathan Sarfati}}</ref>

			==Creationism==
	In ], he returned to ], ] to work for the Creation Science Foundation (now ]) as co-editor of their magazine, '''' magazine, and (Technical Journal).
			Sarfati was a founder of the Wellington Christian Apologetics Society in New Zealand, and has long retained an interest in Christian apologetics and the ].<ref>Sarfati's biography at CMI-Australia, </ref> His first two books, ''Refuting Evolution'' in 1999, and ''Refuting Evolution 2'' in 2002, are intended as rebuttals to the ]' publication ''Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science'' and the ]/] series '']'', respectively. ''Refuting Compromise'', published in 2004, is Sarfati's rebuttal of the ] teachings of ], who attempts to harmonise the ] with mainstream science regarding the ] and the possible size of the ], against which Sarfati defends a ] timeline and a global flood. ] and ] of the ] called Sarfati's ''Refuting Evolution 2'' a "crude piece of propaganda".<ref>Scott E.C. and Branch G. (2003). ''BioScience'': '''53'''(3):282-285</ref>
	Sarfati is married, with one stepson.

			Sarfati is a critic of ],<ref>Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, , creation.com, 12 February 2015.</ref> the ]<ref>Jonathan Sarfati, , ''Creation'' '''35'''(3):20–23, April 2013.</ref> and ] teaching,<ref>Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, , creation.com, 3 September 2016 .</ref> ] behaviour,<ref>Jonathan Sarfati, , creation.com, 30 June 2012.</ref> and ]<ref>Jonathan Sarfati, , creation.com, 2002.</ref> except to save the life of the mother.<ref>Jonathan Sarfati, , creation.com, 3 January 2014.</ref> While opposing ] research, he supports ] research.<ref>Jonathan Sarfati, , ''Journal of Creation'' '''15'''(3):19–26, 2001;</ref> Sarfati also supports ] and rebuts ].<ref>Jonathan Sarfati, , creation.com, 2018.</ref>
	=== Writings ===
	Sarfati has written numerous publications, including three books, with a fourth soon to be released. ''Refuting Evolution'', his first book, was published in ], a rebuttal to the ]' teachers' guidebook ''Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science''. It has since sold more than 450,000 copies. This was followed by a sequel, ''Refuting Evolution 2'', a response to a major ]/Nova 7-part series and a ] article.

			]
	His latest book, ''Refuting Compromise'' is a rebuttal of the ] teachings of Dr. ], who attempts to harmonize the ] with the belief that the earth is billions of years old, a position which Sarfati rejects.

			==Chess==
	Sarfati has co-authored other books and authored a number of booklets. He has also contributing chapters and articles to numerous books and magazines, and written many of the articles on the ] website. He is a popular speaker at churches and conferences on the issue of creation versus evolution.
			Sarfati is a ] ], and achieved a ] against former ] ] during a tournament in ] in 1988,<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1129514 \|title=Jonathan D Sarfati vs Boris Spassky 1988 \|access-date=7 January 2009 \|publisher=ChessGames.com}}</ref> and was ] in 1987–88.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.poisonpawn.co.nz/titles.htm\|title=Title and Trophy Holders\|access-date=7 January 2009\|publisher=Poison Pawn\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318234430/http://www.poisonpawn.co.nz/titles.htm\|archive-date=18 March 2008}}</ref>

			Although tied with Rey Casse for first place in the ] of 1981, he was not eligible to share the title as he was a resident of New Zealand at the time.<ref>{{dead link\|date=April 2017 \|bot=InternetArchiveBot \|fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He represented New Zealand in three ]s: the 27th in ]<ref></ref> in 1986, the 28th in ]<ref></ref> in 1988, and the 30th in ]<ref></ref> in 1992. He also represented New Zealand on top board at the 5th Asian Teams in ].<ref></ref>
	Sarfati was one of the top 1000 reviewers at ]. In addition to chess-related books, his reviews also cover religious and scientific books .

			He has given ] exhibitions at chess clubs<ref> {{webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322121835/http://www.croydonchess.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=nuUo7sinjIs%3D&tabid=64&mid=476&language=en-AU \|date=22 March 2012 }}</ref> and other events,<ref>{{cite news\|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=18&articleid=20110903_18_A15_CUTLIN574018 \|title=Creationist to speak on young Earth theory\|work=Tulsa World \|first=Bill \|last=Sherman\|date=3 September 2011 \|access-date=6 September 2011 \| location=USA}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|last= Richardson \|first= Bryan \|date= 27 August 2013 \|title= Check Mates \|newspaper= The Manhattan Mercury \|location= ] \|publisher= Seaton Group }}</ref><ref>{{cite web \|url= http://www.kstatecollegian.com/2013/08/27/speaker-challenges-evolution/ \|title= Speaker challenges evolution, offers alternative view \|last1= Lawrence \|first1= Jeana \|date= 27 August 2013 \|website= ] \|access-date=22 December 2013}}</ref> and has played twelve such games simultaneously.<ref></ref> His previous best was winning 11/11 at the ] Chess Club in New Zealand.<ref>Roberts, Earl N., , ''New Zealand Chess'' '''29'''(3):23, June 2003.</ref>
	===Moral issues===

	Sarfati has strongly defended the pro-life cause, thus opposes abortion for any reason except to save the life of the mother,and opposes embryonic stem cell research, while supporting adult stem cell research. He also also argued that the Bible contradicts slavery and apartheid.,, and argued that Nazism owed much to evolutionary ideas.,,

	He defends marriage as one man and one woman, while opposing polygamy. Similarly, he opposes homosexual behaviour, while advocating "love the sinner, hate the sin," condemning the "vile murder of the homosexual ] by young thugs," and denounced gay-hater ] as "on the lunatic fringe of Christendom, with virtually no support from conservative Christians."

	Sarfati has endorsed ]'s suggestion that ] ]s who molest teenage boys should be called "gay priests" rather than "pedophile priests", since (as according to this position), the latter usually involves little girls. In the same article, he also referred to homosexuals who advocate the imprisonment of pastors who preach on the traditional teaching that homosexual acts are sinful as "homonazis" and "sodomofascists."

	:"Homosexuals are now a politically protected victim group, about which it is ''verboten'' to say anything negative. And certain homonazis want Christians punished if they quote from the Bible against homosexual behavior. Indeed, 63-year-old Pastor ] was jailed in Sweden for just that, because they have such a sodomofascist law restricting Christian freedom. Fortunately to the ire of homosexual activists, by a higher court because it was such an egregious violation of Sweden’s free speech laws"

	=== Chess ===Sarfati is the club captain/director-of-play for the . A former ] he represented New Zealand in three ]s: the in ] (1986), the in ] (1988), and the in ] (1992). He also in the ] (1981), but his (then) New Zealand residency made him ineligible to share the title.

	In a ] tournament in ], Sarfati achieved a draw against former ] ].

	=== Scientist ===

	Critics and supporters of Sarfati often disagree whether he should be considered a scientist. ] is considered a ] by almost all scientists. Supporters would argue that he has a doctorate in physical chemistry and has published in undisputed scientific journals, so is a scientist. Another issue is whether one can be a scientist in some domains of work even if one advocates an ostensibly non-scientific position in others. However, the young Earth creationist site '']'' lists many creationists who are active in science (though many for work unconnected to creationism), and points out that many of the founders of modern science, such as ], ], ] and ] were biblical creationists. , though Darwinian theory was not seriously developed until after all of the preceding had died. In response, Sarfati has argued that in reality evolutionary ideas date back at least to Greek philosophers, and these scientists were well aware of them.

	Sarfati received his PhD in physical chemistry. Thus, some critics find it reasonable to question his knowledge in apparently unrelated fields- namely the creationist perspective in biology and astronomy. Sarfati himself has raised this point regarding writers in skeptic journals, eg he called one such writer "An anthropologist, so anything he says about radiometric dating should be taken with a large grain of salt." In addition, Sarfati has written:

	:"We have always tried to avoid saying or implying ‘believe me because I’m a scientist trained in such and such a field’, therefore we were not guilty of this fallacy. Rather, we try to rely on the strengths of our arguments, the soundness or unsoundness of which are independent of who is making them. Hopefully, the only time we appeal to our qualifications is defensively, to refute the charge that ‘no intelligent person/no real scientist believes creation/doubts goo-to-you evolution, or to point out to ‘professional biologists’ resorting to that fallacy that we also have ‘professional biologists’ on staff. "

	=== Education ===
	*B.Sc. (Hons.) in Chemistry (with condensed matter and nuclear physics papers substituted)
	*Ph.D. in ] (Chemistry)

	=== Honors/Awards/Associations ===
	*1988, ] Master title, The International Chess Federation

	== Bibliography ==		== 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 ] 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}}

	=== ~~Books~~ ~~by Sarfati =~~==		== References ==
			{{reflist}}
	* ''Rescuing the Bible from John Shelby Spong'' (ISBN 0890514178) (to be released)
	*''Refuting Compromise'' (ISBN 0-890514-11-9) 2004
	* ''The Revised & Expanded Answers Book'' (ISBN: 0890513953) 2003; with ] and ] (edited by ])
	*''Refuting Evolution 2'' (ISBN 0-890513-87-2) 2002
	*''Refuting Evolution'' (ISBN 0-890512-58-2) 1999

	===Articles by Sarfati ===

	*
	*, ''TJ'' '''12'''(2):142–151, 1998
	*, ''TJ'' '''17'''(3):14–18, 2003 (defends Masoretic chronology of Gen. 5 & 11, and rejects gaps)
	*, ''TJ'' '''12'''(1):29–34, 1998
	*, ''TJ'' '''15'''(3):19–26, 2001 (opposes ] research; supports ] research)
	*, ''TJ'' '''12'''(2):137–138, 1998
	* ''Apologia'' '''4'''(1):3–27, 1995
	* (6 June 2005 reply to AiG feedback)
	* (23 May 2005 reply to AiG feedback)

	==External links==

	*
	*
	*
	*
	*
	*

			== External links ==
	*
			* at creation.com
			* {{FIDE\|name=Jonathan D. Sarfati}}
			* {{Chessgames player\|name=Jonathan D. Sarfati}}

			{{Creation Science}}
	*
			{{Authority control}}

			{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarfati, Jonathan}}
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Latest revision as of 19:09, 24 December 2024

Australian young earth creationist and chess player Not to be confused with Jack Sarfatti.

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.

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"), and from 1988 to 1995, had five papers on spectroscopy of condensed matter samples published in other peer-reviewed scientific journals. 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.

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. 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 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".

Sarfati is a critic of geocentrism, the Myth of the flat Earth and flat Earth teaching, homosexual behaviour, and abortion except to save the life of the mother. While opposing embryonic stem cell research, he supports adult stem cell research. Sarfati also supports vaccination and rebuts anti-vaccination arguments.

Chess

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

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. He represented New Zealand in three Chess Olympiads: the 27th in Dubai in 1986, the 28th in Thessaloniki in 1988, and the 30th in Manila in 1992. He also represented New Zealand on top board at the 5th Asian Teams in New Delhi.

He has given blindfold chess exhibitions at chess clubs and other events, and has played twelve such games simultaneously. His previous best was winning 11/11 at the Kāpiti Chess Club in New Zealand.

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

"Jonathan D Sarfati". chessgames.com. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
"Dr Jonathan D. Sarfati BSc (Hons.), PhD, F.M." Creation Ministries International. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
Mawdsley, A., Trodahl, H.J., Tallon, J., Sarfati, J. and Kaiser, A.B. (1987) Thermoelectric power and electron-phonon enhancement in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-6 Nature 328: 233–234.
Five articles can be found by searching for Jonathan D Sarfati at Science Direct
Sarfati, Jonathan (2015). The Genesis Account. Creation Book Publishers. p. 786. ISBN 978-1-921643-91-0.
Sarfati's biography at CMI-Australia, Creationist Physical Chemist and Spectroscopist
Scott E.C. and Branch G. (2003). Antievolutionism: Changes and Continuities BioScience: 53(3):282-285
Robert Carter and Jonathan Sarfati, Why the Universe does not revolve around the Earth: Refuting absolute geocentrism, creation.com, 12 February 2015.
Jonathan Sarfati, The flat earth myth, Creation 35(3):20–23, April 2013.
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 .
Jonathan Sarfati, Gay ‘marriage’ and the consistent outcome of Genesis compromise, creation.com, 30 June 2012.
Jonathan Sarfati, Antidote to abortion arguments, creation.com, 2002.
Jonathan Sarfati, What about abortion to save the mother’s life?, creation.com, 3 January 2014.
Jonathan Sarfati, Stem cells and Genesis, Journal of Creation 15(3):19–26, 2001;
Jonathan Sarfati, CMI, vaccines, and vaccination, creation.com, 2018.
"Jonathan D Sarfati vs Boris Spassky 1988". ChessGames.com. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
"Title and Trophy Holders". Poison Pawn. Archived from the original on 18 March 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
Search for Rey Casse and Chess
Chess Olympiad 1986
Chess Olympiad 1988
Chess Olympiad 1992
Asian Teams 1983
Croydon chess club Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
Sherman, Bill (3 September 2011). "Creationist to speak on young Earth theory". Tulsa World. USA. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
Richardson, Bryan (27 August 2013). "Check Mates". The Manhattan Mercury. Manhattan, Kansas: Seaton Group.
Lawrence, Jeana (27 August 2013). "Speaker challenges evolution, offers alternative view". The Kansas State Collegian. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
Chess games at Logan Chess Club site (archive)
Roberts, Earl N., Chess from behind a blindfold?, New Zealand Chess 29(3):23, June 2003.

External links

Jonathan D. Sarfati at creation.com
Jonathan D. Sarfati rating card at FIDE
Jonathan D. Sarfati player profile and games at Chessgames.com

v t e Creation science
People	Thomas G. Barnes John Baumgardner Walt Brown Harold W. Clark Raymond Vahan Damadian Robert V. Gentry Duane Gish Ken Ham John Hartnett Kent Hovind Dean H. Kenyon Frank Lewis Marsh Henry M. Morris John D. Morris Paul Nelson George McCready Price Georgia Purdom Marcus R. Ross John C. Sanford Jonathan Sarfati Andrew A. Snelling Walter Veith John C. Whitcomb Carl Wieland William A. Williams Kurt Wise
Organizations	Answers in Genesis (AIG) Anti-Evolution League of America Biblical Creation Society (BCS) Caleb Foundation Creation Ministries International (CMI) Creation Research Society (CRS) Creation Science Movement (CSM) Geoscience Research Institute (GRI) Institute for Creation Research (ICR)
Facilities	Creationist museums
Lawsuits	Hendren v. Campbell (1977) McLean v. Arkansas (1982) Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) Webster v. New Lenox School District (1990)
Legal and philosophical	Creation and evolution in public education Creation–evolution controversy Creationism Creationist cosmologies Cryptozoology Intelligent design movement Objections to evolution Omphalos hypothesis Pseudoscience "Teach the Controversy"

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