Religion, Epsilon Clue, Page 43

Creationism Religion

Why Are Fundies Illiterate?

I seem to have attracted a number of fundies and creationists, most likely due to the fact that I’ve been talking about Kent Hovind. curvemudgeon has pointed out that for some reason, they can’t seem to go four sentences without committing crimes against the English language (so it’s not just me). Why is that?

Aside from the obvious, I mean. That they’re uneducated rednecks who’ve tragically never been taught to think or how to learn, otherwise they wouldn’t be creationists?

I know that there are smart and educated people who can’t spell or compose a sentence, but still, I think we have a large enough sample to draw some conclusions.

Andrew Arensburger

Jan, Tue, 2007

Creationism

Hovind Sentencing: Whiny Git Update

The Pensacola News Journal has
another article
about Kent Hovind’s sentencing. This one points out the contrast between Hovind’s behavior before the trial:

In a recording of one of the telephone conversations played in court Friday, Hovind said the Internal Revenue Service, presiding judge and prosecutor broke the law by going after him, and there were things he could do “to make their lives miserable.”

Comparing himself to a buffalo in a lion fight, Hovind’s voice was heard saying “As long as I have some horns, I’m going to swing. As long as I have some hoofs, I’m going to kick. As long as I have some teeth, I’m going to fight. The lion’s going to know he’s been in a fight.”

and after spending two months in jail:

Before his sentencing, a tearful Kent Hovind compared his situation to that of the lion and the mouse in Aesop’s Fables.

“I feel like the mouse,” Hovind told U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers. “I stand here in great fear of the power of this court. Your decision can destroy my life, my ministry and my grandchildren.”

Note, also, the subtle difference between Hovindland and the real world:

“I am not a tax protester and never have been,” Kent Hovind told Rodgers. “The laws are just fine. It is just that some are enforcing laws that are not there.”

The recordings, compiled by the IRS from phone conversations from jail, showed Kent Hovind was trying to hide assets from the government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Heldmyer said.

See? Just because he hid money from the government and didn’t pay payroll taxes, doesn’t mean he’s a tax protester. And besides, he’s a fine upright moral citizen:

“My father is not a man who is in love with money. He’s in love with God,” son Eric Hovind said. “He is a man who loves this country and loves others.”

Hovind’s supporters don’t get it either. Apparently a man is either 100% good or 100% evil. They can’t imagine that Hovind might be a liar and a crook, and also be kind to puppy dogs.

Oh, and the judge didn’t let the bit about loving his country slip by:

When handing down the sentence, Rodgers admonished those present the trial “is not and has never been about religion.”
…

Furthermore, Rodgers contended Kent Hovind had failed his fellow citizens and the men and women of the military — who fight to defend his freedoms — by refusing to pay taxes.

So let’s not have too much bogus sympathy for Hovind. He brought this on himself. He had every chance in the world to comply with the law, to make restitution before the matter came to trial, to plea-bargain. Heck, he didn’t even mount a defense, and tried to play tough throughout. Well, it looks like he picked a fight with the wrong federal agency. Maybe he’ll learn something in Federal PMITA Prison, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Andrew Arensburger

Jan, Sat, 2007

Creationism

Hovind Sentenced to 10 Years

The Pensacola News Journal finally has the story:

U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers ordered Hovind also:
— Pay $640,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
— Pay the prosecution’s court costs of $7,078.
— Serve three years parole once he is released from prison.

Unflattering Comparison

Say, Dave Simpson wouldn’t be
a bit of a heretic,
would he? 🙂

Andrew Arensburger

Jan, Tue, 2007

Religion

The Dangers of Moderate Religion

This story in the Hamilton Spectator describes one of the dangers of nonviolent religion: country songwriter Darrell “Wayne” Perry died of cancer in 2005 after a preacher, Darlene Bishop, convinced him that God would heal him.

Perry’s family is suing her for discouraging him from seeking proper medical attention. Read More

Andrew Arensburger

Jan, Thu, 2007

Creationism Intelligent Design

“Do you even know what intelligent design is?”

On the Pensacola News Journal’s letters page, one John Pasquale writes:

Do you even know what intelligent design is? Does your child?
…

Look into the work of biochemist Dr. Michael J. Behe or go to www.ICR.org (Institute for Creation Research).

At the ICR site, we learn that

The first human beings did not evolve from an animal ancestry, but were specially created in fully human form from the start.

and also that evolution has never occurred and is not happening now, and could never happen at all. Furthermore, “the millions of years postulated by old-Earth advocates never happened.”

Michael Behe, on the other hand, writes in Darwin’s Black Box, pp. 5-6:

For the record, I have no reason to doubt that the universe is the billions of years old that physicists say it is. Further, I find the idea of common descent (that all organisms share a common ancestor) fairly convincing, and have no particular reason to doubt it. I greatly respect the work of my colleagues who study the development and behavior of organisms within an evolutionary framework, and I think that evolutionary biologists
have contributed enormously to our understanding of the world.

When I asked him, Behe confirmed that he accepts evolution, natural selection, and common descent.

(And let’s not forget that ID proponents are quick to point out that they are not creationists.)

So why would Pasquale recommend learning about ID from both the ICR and Behe? Either 1) ID is so broad a concept that it encompasses both a young and an old earth, both evolution and no evolution, both common descent and separate creation, and is therefore probably far too broad to be of much use; or else 2) Pasquale doesn’t know and doesn’t care about the differences between ID and young-earth creationism.

This seems to be a common affliction. It looks as though the Discovery Institute has a PR problem on its hands: on one hand, it wants to pretend that ID is scientific, which means accepting common descent and denying a literal interpretation of Genesis. On the other hand, it needs the political support of the uneducated rubes who want to believe that “I ain’t related to no monkey”. So no wonder the suckers are confused.

Andrew Arensburger

Jan, Sat, 2007

Religion

For Jimmy

I’ve gotten entangled in a discussion in the comments on another thread. It has drifted far off-topic, so I’m giving it its own thread.

Color Me Converted

I’ve just picked up Ellis Weiner’s book, Santa Lives!: Five Conclusive Arguments for the Existence of Santa Claus. The arguments are:

The Ontological Argument

We can imagine a perfect Santa Claus. A Santa Claus who exists is obviously more perfect than an otherwise identical one who doesn’t exist. Therefore existence is a necessary perfection. Therefore Santa Claus exists.

The Causal Argument

Everything has a cause. Therefore Christmas has a cause. We are ineluctably led to the conclusion that Christmas was caused by Santa Claus.

The Argument from Design

Christmas is a highly nonrandom event: the presents, retail frenzy, and festive holiday napkins all point to design, not chance. Clearly, Christmas must have been designed for a purpose by the master gift-giver himself, Santa Claus.

The Experiential Argument

Millions of people (mostly children) have had direct personal experience of Santa Claus. Surely not all of them are lying, insane, or deluded.

The Argument from Morality

Why do people strive to do good and avoid naughtiness? In ancient times, people made laws, and the laws were obeyed to avoid punishment. But Santa Claus provides a better basis for morality: presents.

Along the way in this slim volume, Dr. Weiner tackles such difficult questions as, could it be that Santa Claus is not an American? Is it possible that Santa Claus’s secret identity is Luciano Pavarotti? What is Mrs. Claus’s maiden (or, indeed, first) name?

The book’s site includes an excerpt. And for those who won’t or can’t read, a Flash animation of the author reading an excerpt.

Andrew Arensburger

Dec, Fri, 2006

Creationism Miscellaneous

Hovind Prison Update

On Monday, a
new post
appeared on Kent Hovind’s weblog, describing life in jail. As you might expect, he plays the Christian persecution card. He also has a list of reasons God allowed him to be sent to jail. Oddly enough, neither “I’m guilty” nor “there are no gods” is on the list.

He also writes,

If the case is not reversed, I face anywhere from parole to 7 to 12 years.

This is a man who believes that the Earth is 6000 years old when in fact it’s 4.5 billion years old. So presumably that means that he’s looking at between 5.25 and 9 million years in prison.