Paul Nelson

Nelson was a contributor to the book Three Views on Creation and Evolution, edited by J. P. Moreland and John Mark Reynolds, in which he, along with Reynolds, represented the young Earth creationist position. In their discussion in that book he and Reynolds acknowledged that "natural science at the moment seems to overwhelmingly point to an old cosmos." Ideas consistent with present-day Young Earth creationism were abandoned around the start of the 19th century. Today, such proposals are rejected by the scientific community, and the courts have ruled Young Earth creationism to be a religious belief.

Nelson was a cast member in the 2017 creationist documentary film Is Genesis History?. After the film's release, he published an article stating that the film distorted his arguments and presented "a false dichotomy" between naturalistic evolution and young Earth creationism while omitting other viewpoints. Director and Producer Thomas Purifoy wrote a response entitled A Tale of Two Dichotomies in which he presented the full film interview with Nelson as evidence and stated that "as a philosopher, Paul seemed to be shifting back to viewing things from a philosophical perspective. The film, however, was not about comparing two different philosophies, but two different histories."

In 1998, Nelson gained a PhD in philosophy from the University of Chicago.

Paul A. Nelson (born 1958) is an American philosopher of science noted for his advocacy and intelligent design.

Nelson is the grandson of the creationist author and Lutheran minister Byron Christopher Nelson (1894–1972) and edited a book of his grandfather's writings. He is married to Suzanne Nelson, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University.