Kent Hovind, a former high school science teacher turned creation science evangelist, said that evolution is the "dumbest and most dangerous theory on planet Earth" at a program in the Union on Dec. 6.
Posted on 12/17/2005 3:58:48 AM PST by PatrickHenry
A former high school science teacher turned creation science evangelist told an audience at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee last Tuesday that evolution is the “dumbest and most dangerous theory on planet Earth.”
Kent Hovind, founder of Creation Science Evangelism, presented “Creation or Evolution … Which Has More Merit?” to a standing-room only audience in the Union Ballroom on Dec. 6. The event was sponsored by the Apologetics Association, the organization that brought Baptist minister Tim Wilkins to UWM to speak about homosexuality in October.
Members of the Apologetics Association (AA) contacted biology, chemistry and geology professors at UWM and throughout the UW System, inviting them to debate Hovind for an honorarium of $200 to be provided to the individual or group of individuals who agreed.
Before the event began, the “No-Debater List,” which was comprised of slides listing the names of UWM science professors who declined the invitation, was projected behind the stage.
Dustin Wales, AA president, said it was his “biggest disappointment” that no professor agreed to debate Hovind.
“No professor wanted to defend his side,” he said. “I mean, we had seats reserved for their people … ’cause I know one objection could have been ‘Oh, it’s just a bunch of Christians.’ So we had seats reserved for them to bring people to make sure that it’s somewhat more equal, not just all against one. And still nobody would do it.”
Biology professor Andrew Petto said: “It is a pernicious lie that the Apologetics (Association) is spreading that no one responded to the challenge. Many of us (professors) did respond to the challenge; what we responded was, ‘No, thank you.’ ”
Petto, who has attended three of Hovind’s “performances,” said that because Hovind presents “misinterpretations, half truths and outright lies,” professors at UWM decided not to accept his invitation to a debate.
“In a nutshell, debates like this do not settle issues of scientific understanding,” he said. “Hovind and his arguments are not even in the same galaxy as legitimate scientific discourse. This is why the faculty here has universally decided not to engage Hovind. The result would be to give the appearance of a controversy where none exists.”
He added, “The faculty on campus is under no obligation to waste its time supporting Hovind’s little charade.”
Hovind, however, is used to being turned down. Near the end of his speech, he said, “Over 3,000 professors have refused to debate me. Why? Because I’m not afraid of them.”
Hovind began his multimedia presentation by asserting that evolution is the “dumbest and most dangerous” theory used in the scientific community, but that he is not opposed to science.
“Our ministry is not against science, but against using lies to prove things,” he said. He followed this statement by citing biblical references to lies, which were projected onto screens behind him.
Hovind said: “I am not trying to get evolution out of schools or to get creation in. We are trying to get lies out of textbooks.” He added that if removing “lies” from textbooks leaves no evidence for evolutionists’ theory, then they should “get a new theory.”
He cited numerous state statutes that require that textbooks be accurate and up-to-date, but said these laws are clearly not enforced because the textbooks are filled with lies and are being taught to students.
Petto said it is inevitable that textbooks will contain some errors.
“Sometimes, this is an oversight. Sometimes it is the result of the editorial and revision process. Sometimes it is the result of trying to portray a rich and complex idea in a very few words,” he said.
The first “lie” Hovind presented concerned the formation of the Grand Canyon. He said that two people can look at the canyon. The person who believes in evolution would say, “Wow, look what the Colorado River did for millions and millions of years.” The “Bible-believing Christian” would say, “Wow, look what the flood did in about 30 minutes.”
To elaborate, Hovind discussed the geologic column — the chronologic arrangement of rock from oldest to youngest in which boundaries between different eras are marked by a change in the fossil record. He explained that it does not take millions of years to form layers of sedimentary rock.
“You can get a jar of mud out of your yard, put some water in it, shake it up, set it down, and it will settle out into layers for you,” he said. Hovind used this concept of hydrologic sorting to argue that the biblical flood is what was responsible for the formation of the Grand Canyon’s layers of sedimentary rock.
Hovind also criticized the concept of “micro-evolution,” or evolution on a small, species-level scale. He said that micro-evolution is, in fact, scientific, observable and testable. But, he said, it is also scriptural, as the Bible says, “They bring forth after his kind.”
Therefore, according to the Bible and micro-evolution, dogs produce a variety of dogs and they all have a common ancestor — a dog.
Hovind said, however, Charles Darwin made a “giant leap of faith and logic” from observing micro-evolution into believing in macro-evolution, or evolution above the species level. Hovind said that according to macro-evolution, birds and bananas are related if one goes back far enough in time, and “the ancestor ultimately was a rock.”
He concluded his speech by encouraging students to personally remove the lies from their textbooks and parents to lobby their school board for accurate textbooks.
“Tear that page out of your book,” he said. “Would you leave that in there just to lie to the kids?”
Petto said Hovind believes the information in textbooks to be “lies” because his determination is grounded in faith, not science.
“Make no mistake, this is not a determination made on the scientific evidence, but one in which he has decided on the basis of faith alone that the Bible is correct, and if the Bible is correct, then science must be wrong,” he said.
Petto said Hovind misinterprets scientific information and then argues against his misinterpretation.
“That is, of course, known as the ‘straw man’ argument — great debating strategy, but nothing to do with what scientists actually say or do,” he said. “The bottom line here is that the science is irrelevant to his conclusions.”
Another criticism of Hovind’s presentation is his citation of pre-college textbooks. Following the event, an audience member said, “I don’t think using examples of grade school and high school biology can stand up to evolution.”
Petto called this an “interesting and effective rhetorical strategy” and explained that Hovind is not arguing against science, but the “textbook version” of science.
“The texts are not presenting the research results of the scientific community per se, but digesting and paraphrasing it in a way to make it more effective in learning science,” he said. “So, what (Hovind) is complaining about is not what science says, but what the textbooks say that science says.”
Petto said this abbreviated version of scientific research is due, in part, to the editorial and production processes, which impose specific limits on what is included.
He added that grade school and high school textbooks tend to contain very general information about evolution and pressure from anti-evolutionists has weakened evolutionary discussion in textbooks.
“Lower-level texts … tend to be more general in their discussions of evolution and speak more vaguely of ‘change over time’ and adaptation and so on,” he said. “Due to pressure by anti-evolutionists, textbook publishers tend to shy away from being ‘too evolutionary’ in their texts … The more pressure there is on schools and publishers, the weaker the evolution gets, and the weaker it gets, the more likely that it will not do a good job of representing the current consensus among biologists.”
Hovind has a “standing offer” of $250,000 for “anyone who can give any empirical evidence (scientific proof) for evolution.” According to Hovind’s Web site, the offer “demonstrates that the hypothesis of evolution is nothing more than a religious belief.”
The Web site, www.drdino.com, says, “Persons wishing to collect the $250,000 may submit their evidence in writing or schedule time for a public presentation. A committee of trained scientists will provide peer review of the evidence offered and, to the best of their ability, will be fair and honest in their evaluation and judgment as to the validity of the evidence presented.”
Wales said the AA’s goal in bringing Hovind to UWM was “to crack the issue on campus” and bring attention to the fallibility of evolution.
“The ultimate goal was to say that, ‘Gosh, evolution isn’t as concrete as you say it is, and why do you get to teach everyone this non-concrete thing and then not defend it when someone comes and says your wrong?’ ” he said. “It’s just absurd.”
That's from Hovind's own website, right? Amazing! Even if the good Doctor doesn't allow himself one day of rest per week, that's more than two shows a day! Who says Vaudeville is dead?
don't believe I mentioned flash flooding. Can someone raise a hand if they did?.. Anyone..
If you read the article, His first example of "a lie" was the difference in opinion on the formation of the Grand canyon. I said, thinking a "30 min." flashflood forming the canyon, was ignorant. You implied that it was entirely possible, based on what happened at Mt. St. Helens. Have you made the connection, yet?
Go back and look at the exchange. The poster claimed Hovind to be wrong without any real discussion and apparently in ignorance of the fact that Hovind does provide citation, that is why I jumped on it. Had they any first hand information on what Hovind was actually saying/presenting, they'd have known this. They did not. And it was apparent from the git go. The poster had no real argument, he merely had a slur he couldn't support and resorted to nonsensical games when pressed. It isn't my claim to support. His assertion was challenged and he couldn't back it up by debunking the citation or Hovind either one or he'd have done it. And I'm still waiting for that party to show they know the first thing about whence they speak. So far, nothing.
If you're going to be dishonest, I'm going to point it out to others. And that was just plain dishonest. If you got a problem with that - tough. If you're going to slander the guy, back it up. If you can't, shut up.
Havoc did respond to you then and will now as well. The topic was dating something using "ice rings". The examples grabbed for were used as commonly referenced errors in dating. Any number exist so it's not as though my entire opinion on the matter is lost on either or both of the examples. There are plenty to go around as any honest person would admit. The examples merely highlight the point - that all the dates are arived at by assumption - not by technical know how. The assumption is the weakest link. And the assumption is usually that there is a constant involved - be it 14C accumulation, or radioactive decay rate, etc. With "ice rings" the matter of assumption is the time period represented by the layers of ice. The specific point being that in absence of accumulation data there is absolutely no possible way to KNOW what the layers represent. And the opposition did their level best to cloud that point. They don't want it made. As for lying, well, I'll leave that to you.
There's a lot of anti-Bush websites out there too - making all sort of claims. Hmm...
Gee, did I call that one or what.
Take it up with Jim Robinson. You're on his website.
I see the reference to the fountains of the deep. I think it's a misreading to see this as anything other than a source of the rain.
At any rate, looking for a naturalistic cause or naturalistic evidence of Noak's flood is nonsense. There isn't any. You accept the flood and its subsidence as a miracle or you don't. Looking for evidence makes men into fools and liars.
Actually, I speak over 700 times a year without fees. I don't even take up a collection.
The coup de grass (that's French, you know)
................................................
Yeah that "grass" again. Isn't it just like EVOS to claim truth based on so much erroneous "science"?
Coupe de grace----just so you know.
That's 'coup de grace' .
Nothing more pathetic than spelling police who get it wrong.
I wish they could see where he lives. It's a three bed room house, one level, older, with a hands on kiddie activity park in the back yard.
I don't know what kind of deep seated hatred causes you to spew vitriol like that, but please seek help.
Amen. :-)
GOOD! So, despite the time and bandwidth wasted, you're finally ready to provide the citations where mainstream "scientists" said in print of the big bang that "something exploded from nothing".
Please proceed.
" I don't know what kind of deep seated hatred causes you to spew vitriol like that, but please seek help."
That projection thing again.
Not to be confused with the Coupe de Ville.
The same goes for the KKK. Very God-fearing rednecks.
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