Kent Hovind

From SkepticWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit] Definition

Kent Hovind is noted as a prominent proponent of Young Earth Creationism.

[edit] Biography

Hovind has a doctorate in "Christian Education" from the correspondence school Patriot University (now Patriot Bible University)

Hovind was born in 1953 and "born again" in 1969. He has a graduate degree and doctorate in religious education. Between 1975 and 1988 Hovind worked a pastor and high school science teacher. In 1989, Hovind started Creation Science Evangelism, a ministry devoted to promoting Creationism, through seminars, debates, and his website, drdino.com[1] he also owns a theme park in his back yard called "Dinosaur Adventure Land"[2].

In 1996 Hovind sued (unsuccessfully) for bankruptcy to avoid paying his taxes. The judge in the case described him as acting "in bad faith", and described his arguments as "patently absurd". [3]

On January 19, 2007 he was sentenced to ten years in prison for tax fraud and related charges.

[edit] His dubious education

Although Hovind seems very proud of his doctorate, to the extent of naming his website "drdino.com", it was awarded in "Christian Education" by a theological college of dubious credentials. Patriot Bible University is not accredited by any recognized accreditation agency and is almost certainly a diploma mill. He has no scientific qualifications. He has refused permission for the thesis which earned him his doctorate to be published in full on the Internet, but he cannot prevent people from getting hold of his thesis and reading it, since a thesis is by its nature a public document.

His dissertation has some very odd features for an academic thesis: it has no title; it has no table of contents; the introduction outlines sixteen chapters, but the thesis contains only four; it has no bibliography; pages 50-51 are identical with pages 60-61; page 56 reappears almost word for word as page 63 and page 64; the text is full of scientific howlers such as "geological epic" for "geological epoch", and "centrifical force" for "centrifugal force". Also (and this will annoy readers with real doctorates no end) it contains no original research whatsoever, which is the basis on which a PhD is supposed to be awarded[4].

[edit] His colorful opinions

Amongst his varied opinions, Kent Hovind believes that laetrile cures cancer[5], that Columbus "proved the world was round", and is a Tax Protestor who believes that paying income tax is voluntary [6]

He believes vaccination to be a sinister plot:

Satan is seeing to it that well meaning parents are destroying their children's immune system by putting over 22 viruses into their system before they are two. [7].

He knows who's behind the plot (besides Satan, of course):

The globalist, the Council of the Committee of Three Hundred, has as one of their goals to reduce the world population from six billion to one-half billion people. There are too many people here that cannot be controlled; so get rid of them. That's why AIDS was purposefully developed in a Maryland laboratory to wipe out population. [8].

And he has even set a date for this coming holocaust, a fact which he may now regret:

And this New World Order will deplete the earth's population to only a half billion people by May 5, 2000! [9]

He thinks that the Leviathan mentioned in the Bible is a fire-breathing dragon[10], and maintains that "mammoths were not designed for a cold climate"[11], thinks that plants aren't really alive[12], and has his own theory about the Pyramids (he doesn't believe that they were built by Egyptians); he thinks that white bread causes heart attacks, that an engine has been designed that gets two hundred miles to the gallon but that it's been hushed up, and that human activity doesn't damage the ozone layer in any way[13]. He worries that his television may be watching him:

I have heard that the cable TV system is going to be set up where not only can you watch the TV, the TV can watch you to monitor what is in your room. Kinda like Orwell's 1984. Big Brother is watching, course in our case it will be Big Sister [Ma Bell?] [.....] I'd suspect the technology is here where the TV can watch you, even if you have it shut off, your TV can watch you to see what is going on. [14]

And he has developed his own theory of linguistics:

Probably, after the Flood, the Tower of Babel took place. God put them into different language groups. They spread out. Those that spoke French went one way. Those that spoke German went a different way. Those that spoke Spanish went a different way. [15]

He also seems to be working on his own theory of physics which will prove Einstein wrong:

Einstein's theory was that the speed of light is a constant. Time is the variable. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe time is the constant and light is the variable. [16].

In a less humorous and more sinister vein, he distributes the anti-Semitic hoax The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and teaches that democracy is "evil and contrary to God's law"[17]

He is best known, however, for his promotion of Young Earth Creationism.

[edit] Young Earth Creationism

Hovind's opinions on Creationism are rigidly literalist: he believes that the text of the Bible was transmitted without copying errors, that the King James Version of the Bible is an inerrant translation, and that the Bible is the infallible word of God[18]. He is a believer in a six day creation, a young earth, and Noah's flood.

Hovind seems to have contributed little original to Young Earth Creationism, preferring to recycle arguments discredited long ago and disavowed by the more reputable creationists. The accuracy of his scholarship is well summarized by his self-revealing remark:

I may not always be right, but if I am saying it in my seminar then I don't know it to be false.[19]

His attitude to the truth is sufficiently cavalier that it has managed to shock other Young Earth Creationists, who regard him, it seems, as something of a loose cannon in their midst. For example, on Hovind's recycling of the Creationist myth about moondust, the YEC group Answers in Genesis write:

[This] is a form of bearing false witness. It verges on the painful to have to point out such simple, straightforward matters.[20].

One of the most notable tendencies in his propaganda is to continually misstate the theory of evolution:

I can’t believe these guys think there are scientifically credible arguments for the idea that all life came from nothing, 18 billion years ago.[21]

It is not only science which he attempts to defeat with arguments against his own straw men: his fellow creationists suffer equally, should they have the misfortune to disagree with him. His fellow-creationists at "Answers in Genesis" (AiG) write:

It’s also important to note that ‘AiG’ in Hovind’s response does NOT necessarily mean what AiG actually says, but Hovind’s attempt to summarize what we say. Sadly, this is sometimes far from accurate, as a cursory glance [...] would show.[22].

The Biblical Research Society, another creationist group, have this to say about Hovind and his associates:

Baugh, Patton and Hovind have shown no interest in publishing their "findings" in a scholarly way. This has meant that peer review of their claims has been by-passed, and their popular literature, videos and web site materials create the impression that creationists are a bunch of deluded amateurs who specialise in sensational reporting and have no commitment to scholarship or science. Furthermore, some significant breaches of ethical conduct have taken place in order to prop up the façade of championing truth... We have passed the stage where the activities of Baugh and his friends [including Hovind] can be tolerated or ignored. Their activities are a cause of dishonour coming upon on the name of Christ and the need now is for repentance, confession and reformation. [23]

[edit] A Bogus Challenge

Kent Hovind offers $250,000 for anyone who can prove the theory of evolution, which he redefines with his usual panache:

No one has ever offered any evidence to demonstrate that a dog can produce a non-dog, let alone that a dog can come from a rock 4.6 billion years ago. We’ve been offering $250,000 to see this evidence for over ten years. Where is this “evidence” they talk about? [24]

Obviously as no-one has claimed that "a dog can come from a rock 4.6 billion years ago", so no-one has offered to prove it. There is, on the other hand, ample morphological, genetic and fossil evidence for the evolution of the Carnivora, dogs included, and any time Kent Hovind is willing to offer $250,000 for such proof, and will make this offer legally binding, the queue of people willing to take his money off him will go around the block --- assuming, of course, that the money exists.

One or two scientists have offered to take Mr Hovind's money. A geologist named Kevin R. Henke contacted Hovind and offered to demonstrate evidence for evolution in the fossil record[25]. Hovind replied that the only proof he'd accept would be the replication of the Big Bang in the laboratory, something which according to physicists is impossible. He also offered a rather miserly $2,000 dollars if Hencke would "demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that dogs and bananas had a common ancestor." Hencke accepted, on the condition that the judges should be scientists, Christians, and neutral on the issue of origins. Hovind refused, stipulating that he himself must pick the judges: he refuses to reveal the names and qualifications of the judges.

There the matter rests.

Similarly, one Dr Barend Vlaardingerbroek, a lecturer in Science Education, offered to take the prize[26]. Hovind replied:

"What evidence do you have for any type of evolution besides minor variations that some call micro-evolution?"

Now providing evidence for "macro-evolution" is like shooting fish in a barrel, and Dr Vlaadingerbroek was eager to offer evidence and suggested the following contract:

"That if Barend Vlaardingerbroek, acting on behalf of himself and Christopher J. Roederer, submits evidence of an evolutionary transition between biological taxa above the Linnaean Family, subsequently judged as making the intended case beyond reasonable doubt by a majority of a panel of impartial peers, here defined as people with postgraduate qualifications in science who are not professing creationists, then Kent Hovind will immediately release to Barend Vlaardingerbroek and Christopher J. Roederer the sum of $250,000 as per their instructions."

Hovind refused to accept this offer.

John D. Callahan, of Faith & Reason Ministries, has also offered to relieve Hovind of his money by proving "scientific evolution as it is appropriately taught in our schools" [27] : that is, to prove the actual theory of evolution rather than Hovind's nonsense about "dogs coming from rocks".

Hovind, unsurprisingly, doesn't want to play.

[edit] Debates

With a modesty typical of the man, Hovind claims:

I’ve had ninety debates now, and have won them easily every time. [28]

His website does not provide transcripts of the debates he has "won", but an mp3 file is available here[29] and transcripts of debates are available here[30] and here[31].

[edit] Kent Hovind - Tax Protestor

Amongst his other remarkable opinions, Kent Hovind is part of the tax protest movement: a bunch of dingbats who believe that the laws of the United States do not require them to pay income tax. Hovind's arguments [32] include:

  • Dollars are not, in law, money:
Declarant states in the course of the year or years in question, all compensation Declarant received, regardless of source, were promissory deferred payments in the form of Federal Reserve Notes or bank credits denominated in Federal Reserve Notes, the latter redeemable solely in Federal Reserve Notes and other obligations of the United States. Declarant did not receive payment in current coin of the United States authorized by Article I § 10 of the Constitution of the United States or in any other commodity with inherent or intrinsic value.
  • The States of the Union are not, in law, part of the United States:
Declarant is not now and never has been a citizen or resident of the geographical United States, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
  • The term "whoever" does not include Kent Hovind:
Declarant is not nor has ever claimed to be a “whoever” as that term is construed in the statutes.
  • Kent Hovind is not, in law, a person:
Declarant is not nor has ever claimed to be a “person” as that term is construed in the statutes.

His ten year jail sentence has not convinced him that judges know the law better than he does.

[edit] Writings available on the Internet

[edit] Articles on the Bible

[edit] Articles attempting to disprove evolution

[edit] Hovind on the media

[edit] Hovind's political opinions

[edit] Articles attempting to support creationism

[edit] Personalia

[edit] Poetry

[edit] Websites critical of Hovind

Retrieved from "http://skepticwiki.org/index.php/Kent_Hovind"
Personal tools