Ken Ham - Will They Stand: Parenting Kids to Face the Giants

First printing: November 2020
Fourth printing: May 2022

Copyright 2020 by Ken Ham. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. For information write:

Master Books , P.O. Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638

Master Books is a division of the New Leaf Publishing Group, Inc.

ISBN: 978-1-68344-256-1

ISBN: 978-1-61458-766-8 (digital)

Library of Congress Number: 2020946139

Cover by Diana Bogardus

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture noted NIV is from the Holy Bible, New International Version , copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture noted NKJV is from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture noted NASB is from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Please consider requesting that a copy of this volume be purchased by your local library system.

Printed in the United States of America

Please visit our website for other great titles: www.masterbooks.com.

For information regarding author interviews,

please contact the publicity department at (870) 438-5288.

Dedicated to our family:

Our son Nathan and his wife Kristy, and their children Malachi and his wife Abigail, Kathryn, Noah, Madelyn, Emma, and Olivia. Our daughter Renee and her husband Bodie, and their children Kylie, Caleb, Lacey, and Lexi. Our daughter Danielle and her husband Joe, and their children Nicole, Kendra, Declan, and Lillianne. Our son Jeremy and his wife Susan, and their children Josiah, Amelia, Tiberius, and River Primrose (our #18 grandchild), and our "California girl," our daughter Kristel.

Ken and Mally Ham

Contents

preface

Ave ry Foley,

writer and speaker with Answers in Genesis

94% of Belgian Doctors Support "After-birth Abortions" for Babies Born with Disabilities

Pennsylvania District Mandates White Supremacy Lessons for Kindergartners

California Legislators Approve TaxpayerFunded Sterilization of Transgender Children

Drag Queen Story Hour UK Reveals True Colors with "Love Has No Age" Tweet

By the time you read this, those headlines will be forgotten, replaced by even more startling, more extreme headlines as our Western culture dives deeper into the abyss of depravity. Freed from the once Christianized heritage that kept it moored to God's Word and a form of Christian morality, it seems with each passing day, our culture becomes more akin to the world before the Flood when "every intention of the thoughts of [mankind's] heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).

This is the world our children and grandchildren are growing up in. A world where drag queen story hours are j ust something that happens. Where taxpayers foot the bill for the mutilation of perfectly healthy organs as men yearn to "be" women, and women men. Where children with disabilities are discarded before, or after, birth. Where fighting racism means teaching it in a different form.

The title of Ken Ham's original book was Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World. In our Western culture, we no longer live in "merely" an ungodly world we are living in an anti-God world. Biblical teachings are mocked and reviled, slapped with the label of "hate speech." Those who believe the Bible, and live and act according to these beliefs, are vilified and face harassment, public censure, and slander for their stance. It's a hostile world, and Western nations are no longer the refuge they once were for those who believe the Bible.

How do we raise young men and women who will stand for biblical truth and the gospel in a world that just wants to silence them? In this book, Ken challenges parents (and this applies to grandparents as well!) to apply biblical principles to their most important job of all discipling the next generation for Christ.

I had the sincere privilege of interviewing Ken's wife, Mally Ham, for chapter 11 of this book, as well as giving my thoughts on the initial manuscript and writing this preface at Ken's request. As a parent to three young children, I believe this book is a powerful resource and a loud wake-up call to parents to prayerfully consider the legacy they are crafting and to get back to the authority of God's Word and what matters most when it comes to parenting so we can raise a generation that knows what they believe, why they believe it, and can boldly stand on the gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Word in a world filled with so many towering giants.

introduction

Ken Ham

This is a very different book certainly different from anything I've written so far. It is part journal, part tribute, part devotional, and part "how-to." It's also all heart, an expression of a passion, conviction, and commitment to the Word of God, all of which was instilled in me by my parents. It's very personal too, as I offer glimpses into my childhood, adult life, and a number of my life experiences. You will find these glimpses sometimes humorous, frustrating, or convicting, but as learning experiences for us all.

As I share with you journeys in the Ham family, you will see us, warts and all. I will share stories of being raised in Australia, a country that by anyone's standards would be considered non-Christian and pagan. I'll talk about my years as a student and a teacher, and about the surprising paths that brought me to where I am today as one of the leaders of the worldwide Answers in Genesis ministry. I'll even give you my bird's-eye view of the church as I've ministered in hundreds of churches worldwide now that opens the door for some very interesting stories! Although I include many biographical details, this book is not a biography, but takes selected events from my upbringing to specially deal with the topic of raising godly offspring. I pray that the words ahead will bring glory to God for all He has done and all He continues to do for my family and yours as well.

In my capacity as a speaker for Answers in Genesis, I write and speak most often on topics related to the creation/evolution debate and Genesis. Over the years I have also developed messages about how the Genesis foundation (and the doctrines that are built upon it) impacts day-to-day life. I have come to understand that the battle over Genesis (particularly the history in Genesis 111) is not just about origins, it's about the foundation for our Christian worldview that affects every area of life.

I am greatly concerned with the condition of many church families. The statistics are discouraging, and the situation appears to be going from bad to worse, with the possibility that much of the coming generations could be entirely lost to the ways of the Lord. In the USA (and this is also true to an even worse extent in the rest of the Western world), only 11% of millennials (Generation Y) attend church weekly, As a result, the worldview of the culture is changing catastrophically. Because of my unique upbringing and understanding of the authority of the Word of God, I have been convicted to write this book in the hope that many more godly offspring will be produced for the Lord. I earnestly believe the trends we see can be reversed, one family at a time. But this is going to take some dramatic changes in many families.