Blog Debating

For the past several months, I have been looking up blogs on Kent Hovind on debating other bloggers about his views on creationism/evolution and his IRS trial and conviction.

There were few bloggers that I found were intellectual in their debating such as Sprittibee, whom I occasionaly check her posts from time to time, and Mike Janitch.

But there are others who have no sense on how to debate. Julia took several weeks to respond to my first comment and it has been several more since my proof of Hovind's errors.

Then there is Fighting For The Truth, who said I was getting into a spitting contest and Color Of My Mind, neither have been updated.

There is Daily Creationism which still dormant after a month and half, probably because he does not want to get into a debate.

There was The Sheep Dog which can confused me if this person was convinced by the opposing arguments or if this was satire.

The Northern Chroncles originally posted my comment on Hovind's video, then he deleted it and then you could not post a comment. I asked him if he thought he was Christian to delete my comment. He never posted that comment but he did allow comments on moderation. Like the others it has not been updated recently.

And finally, there is Amazing Six whose blog on Kent Hovind was deleted after I informed her that Hovind was on trial for tax evasion.

Overall, it has been good way for me to inform about Hovind's lies. Unfortunately, there are people who do not want accept the truth and will continue to live blindly all in the name of God

Kent Hovind Quotes

With the Kent Hovind trial getting under way, I found some quotes attributed to him on Wikiquote.

"The ACLU (The American Communist Lawyers Association, no, I'm sorry, it's the Anti Christian Lawyers Association)"
Is that not an ad hominem?

Communism
"American capitalism has helped finance the communist take over of the world. Somebody is going to answer to God for this."

"Evolution was Vladimir Ilich Lenin’s problem. Lenin lead the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 and took over Russia. He killed the Zar [sic] and his family in cold blood. There would not be communism in Russia today if had not been for Charles Darwin's book on evolution."

"The Earth is billions of years old. The geologic column is the way to interpret it, and Charles Darwin's evolution is right." That is what they teach in order to be a good communist. Did you know that Russian teachers come to America to study education because the American educational system is considered the best in the world for teaching students these three principals. This prepares them to be good communists and to doubt the word of God."
Principals? No wonder, he will not debate in written form.

In 2005 Hovind claimed, "Spanish conquistadors" in 1571 found drawings of dinosaurs on stones, and "on them you will see people doing brain and heart surgery as well as every known dinosaur clearly depicted. Several hundred of them show humans and dinosaurs together."
I wonder what encyclopedia you can find this information.

"GUN CONTROL! That is what the Branch Davidian compound attack was all about. David Koresh was a gun collector and a tax evader. Boy, they didn't like him, and one of the purposes for that raid was to scare the American people into submission. You better register your firearms. Make sure they know. They might come for you as they did for Koresh."
Is this why Hovind had guns in his church?

"What do HIV, West Nile Fever, Gulf war syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Wegener's disease, Parkinson's disease, Crohn's colitis, Type I diabetes, and collagen-vascular diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Alzheimer's have in common? These plagues were all developed as a joint effort by the money masters and governments of the world under the guise of biowarfare research."
Conspiracy theory and post hoc argument


"[Evolution Theory] is the motivating factor for guys like Hitler and Stalin and George Bush, by the way, who is a Satan worshipper, like we don't know that."
George Bush is a fundmentalist Christian, isnt' he?

"Could it be that people accept evolution because [....] They know that evolution is the only philosophy that can be used to justify their political agenda of: communism, Racism, Abortion, Nazism, Socialism, Gay rights, Women's liberation, Extreme environmentalism, Euthanasia, Pornography, Humanism, New Age Movement"
Another conspiracy theory.

During a debate with Farrell Till, Hovind made the following claim about Donald Johanson: "[He] found the leg bones of Lucy a mile and a half away from the head bones. The leg bones were 200 feet deeper in a deeper layer of strata. I would like to know how fast the train was going that hit that chimpanzee."
Hovind continues to make this claim even thoughhe has been informed of this.

"B17 is becoming more difficult to get because the FDA is cracking down on people dealing with B17 because, after all, doctors don't get any money off of this - it's a vitamin. And they [doctors] make a lot of money when you're sick, they don't make any money when you are well. The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil."
It also states in 1 Timothy 6, anyone who teaches false doctrines has "an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicisions and constant friction between man of corrupt mind."

"I suspect SARS is one of the many, many, many man-made pathogens to purposely lower the human population. That's just what I would suspect. I love my country, I fear my government, okay. There have been all kinds of things produced in the last 50 years in various laboratories - and things like that - that are designed to kill people. Bottom line. I think SARS is probably one of those man-made pathogens, like probably AIDS is the same thing."
SARS was discovered in Asia, and has only been a few deaths in North America.

"My take on what happened with the moon landing was [......] they suspect [sic] that on impact that the cameras would be damaged because back in 1969 cameras weren't, you know, like they are today, as good. So they had a studio set up at CBS to mimic the moon landing. And sure enough the cameras broke and so they flipped, you know, the CBS studio on. And what you saw of the footage of the '69 moon landing was actually at CBS studio."
Moon landing conspiracy. What about the other moon landings and astronaut James Irwin, who was inspired to try to find Noah's ark?

"I'm going to be real surprised if we go two more years. We are so close [to the New World Order]. All we need is one good disaster - which will be manufactured - they create their own disasters. Like the Twin Towers - they blew it up themselves - and they do that so they can bring in their solution. And what they want - if you look at what they want - they want a one world government - a New World Order - with Satan in charge. Period. That's the goal."
He wil surprised, when it does not happen.

"When the Twin Towers collapsed do you know what was in the basement? [...] Lots of gold. Do you know where it is? [...] Nobody does. It disappeared. Did those buildings drop down to cover a great crime being committed? Somebody is taking all this gold out of the Twin Tower basement. Makes you wonder."
Who told him that?

"With Pearl Harbour I think our people know full well it was coming. They always have a cover story, of course. [.....] They knew full well Pearl Harbour was going to be bombed. [....] They wanted that to bring us into the war. So I think people wanted very much something like 9-11. Whether those specific buildings or not, I don't know. A lot of shady stuff, like the buildings, I understand, were sold or something or insurance policies taken out, you know, just a few weeks before that. Buildings that hold 50,000 people only had, you know, 3000 killed. Lot of folks were told not to come to work. Somebody knew what was going on."
Evidence to back his claim?

"Oklahoma City bombing was done on purpose. Did you know the Federal Government blew up their own building to blame it on the militias and to get rid of some people that weren't cooperating with the system?"
Another lie.

In a court document the Hovinds referred to the United States Government as "the 'bankrupt' corporate government" and said they were revoking their United States citizenship and social security numbers to become "a natural citizen of 'America' and a natural sojourner."

In reference to a federal 58 count indictment Hovind wanted to plead, "subornation of false muster," but the Judge did not accept the plea. When the Judge pushed for a plea "Hovind said he was entering a not guilty plea 'under duress'."

When asked by the Judge were he lives, Hovind replied "I live in the church of Jesus Christ, which is located all over the world. I have no residence."

Kent Hovind is not only with the law, but also with God.

Where's My Generation

This Thursday, there was ongoing meeting to try to reverse allowing same-sex marriages in Canada. Leaders from the Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Hindu were there to talk about it, but fewer than 100 showed up. And most of the people were over 55. Where are the 20 to 40 year olds? Where is my generation in this debate?

A man was interviewed said that he would have not existed if his parents were not married. An old way of thinking on what makes a family.

Insensitive Comments About 9/11

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson made comments blaming various groups for the attack.

When asked why God would allow such an event to happen to America, Falwell said:

"And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen'."

Robertson then responded:

Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we're responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And, the top people, of course, is the court system."

Robertson later claimed he was having problems with his earpiece at the time and had not heard Falwell's full remark before responding. Falwell later told CNN:

I would never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize.

In an interview given on September 30 ,2002, for the October 6 edition of 60 Minutes, Falwell said:

"I think Muhammad was a terrorist. I read enough by both Muslims and non-Muslims, [to decide] that he was a violent man, a man of war."

The following Friday, Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, the spokesman of Iran's Ayatollah Alin Khameini, issued a fatwa for Falwell's death, saying that Falwell was a "mercenary and must be killed," and, "the death of that man is a religious duty, but his case should not be tied to the Christian community."

During ABC's This Week, on April 30, 2005, Robertson was speaking about judicial activism when he said, "Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that’s held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings." This statement prompted outcry from several September 11th support and survivor groups.

It is no doubt, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, who continue to make insensitive and outrageous comments, are an embarrassment and shows what is wrong with the Christian right.

Poor Storytelling

I may have not read the Bible from cover to cover, I tried but it soon became boring and not interesting, but I find the Bible to be very poorly written.

It is well known that the Gospels do not speak of Jesus when he is in his twenties. Also, there is no reference to what the many characters in the first part of Genesis did. There are no stories about Seth, Enosh, Methuselah, Shem, etc. There is the Tower of Babel story which seems out of place since it does not deal with any of the characters in Genesis. Also, there are two versions of the Creation and of Noah's ark. There is at least two versions of the Ten Commandments.

The end of 2 Chronicles stops in mid-sentence and the last two verses are the same two verses at the beginning of Ezra. The rooster crows at a different number of times in the gospels.

Were You There

This question often made by creationists to disprove evolution. I have come across the comment on two posts, Fighting For The Truth and TarzanInChrist.

The obvious problem with this statement is that it is a slothful induction. This argument is equally effective against creationists and the argument makes all human acts of logical deduction meaningless. A crime committed is still a crime, even if there were no witnesses there to observe its occurence.

Events in the past leave traces that last into the present, and we can and do look at that evidence today. A more useful and more general question is, "How do you know?" If the person making a claim can not answer that question, you may consider the claim baseless. If you can not understand the answer, you probably have some studying to do. If you get a good answer, you know to take the claim seriously.

More is on Talk Origins and EvoWiki.

Daily Creationism Gone

On a post from my other blog, I noted the return of The Daily Creationism. After only one post on the subject, Big Bang Myth is shutting it down, apparently to work on an online Christian radio program.

Several months ago, someone questioned whether a sloth could have got to Noah's ark when it travels so slowly and Big Bang Myth said that God brought the sloth to the ark. So I asked how the sloth got off the ark and travelled all the way to South America. The next day, the blog was completely deleted.

On his new post, he refers to the belief that Noah took only one dog on his ark to represent the "kind." I asked how the variety of dogs come about in such a short time. After several weeks, now, he has decided to that he cannot talk now. I guess I scared him off with my logic.

Condemn Clinton, Ignore Sex Abuse

Rev. Gerard Bergie, the auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Hamilton, says Clinton is an inappropriate guest speaker for the Catholic Family Counselling Centre in Kitchener and is urging Catholics to boycott an upcoming fundraiser and is urging Catholics to boycott it. He says that Clinton's support for abortion, his marital infidelity and promotion of condom use to prevent the spread of AIDS go against Catholic Church doctrine and claims that he has received complaints from Catholics across the country.

Cathy Brothers, a spokeswoman for the centre, said it is a non-denominational agency and that the fundraiser is "not about our Catholicism."

Of course, the problem is, that Catholicism includes Protestants such as Lutherans and Anglicans. That is why they should be called "Roman" Catholics.

Then, there is Bishop Bergie condemning Clinton, yet ignoring the sex abuse scandal that is plaguing the Roman Catholic church including a recent guilty plea from a Chatham, Ontario, priest last month. There is a request from victims to have that priest defrocked. The Bishop Bergie has made no comment on this issue ignoring his own church problems.

Christian Coalition Founder Flees

From The Star Tribune:

Robert B. Beale, founder of the Minnesota Christian Coalition, who has campaigned against tax laws owes at least $1.6 million. The IRS says he did not show up in federal court the millionaire CEO of a Maple Grove computer products company has been working overtime to keep himself from the clutches of federal authorities.

Robert B. Beale has written to President Bush and U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales requesting that charges against him be dismissed. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.

Beale allegedly drew $5.7 million in income from Comtrol between 2000 and 2004, and paid no state or federal taxes, court records say. In a trial brief filed last week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Rank wrote that Beale "engaged in a concerted effort with others at Comtrol to conceal and disguise the source, location and amount of Beale's income."

In federal documents he filed himself, Beale has accused the government of engaging in fraud and seeking to deprive him of his liberty. He fired his attorney, Dan Scott, saying that for Scott to represent Beale, the person, is "an absurdity." He has kept Scott on to represent him as a "corporate entity."

Robert's son, Bradford Beale, said his father is no longer involved in politics with the Christian Coalition. He said he would have preferred that his father would have made his court date Monday. "The whole Beale family as well as the company would like this concluded as soon as possible," he said.

So a person who wants to fight for not paying for taxes? Is that what a righteous person would do?

Intro

As a child, I believed in the literal interpretation of the Bible. That was until, in my Grade 7 geography class, we were shown a video on how the earth was formed. This changed my thinking of the world around me. Since my childhood, I would read encyclopaedias and other reference books. This is where I get the wealth of my information along with newspapers, radio, television and the Internet. I do not believe everything that is told by the media and I do not believe in everything that is written in the Bible. The Bible is written by man who is considered to be fallible by the religious right.

I have written many letters to the editor on religious opposition to homosexuality, abortion, evolution and providing sex information to teenagers. Now, after ten years, I have decided to write about the truth behind the religious right.