Hey Ken Ham: The Devil’s Gainin’ On Ya!

This looks like the beginning of a ton of fun. Look what we found at the website cincinnati.com, online home of an unnamed newspaper that is part of the Gannett chain — possibly the Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky. The headline is: New Kentucky academic standards for science advance despite critics.

Northern Kentucky is home to the creationist empire run by Ken Ham (ol’ Hambo), the ayatollah of Appalachia. As you know, ol’ Hambo is co-founder of the on-line ministry Answers in Genesis (AIG), which also operates the infamous, mind-boggling Creation Museum.

Let’s see what the news story is all about. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us:

The Kentucky Board of Education on Wednesday approved new academic standards for science education in public schools, including updates on evolution and climate change that have drawn the ire of some conservatives. The standards, approved 9-0, result from 2009 legislation to overhaul content in core academic areas and more closely align curriculum with entry-level college requirements

Evolution in Kentucky? Egad — what’s going on here? The story continues:

Officials worked with 25 other states during the past two years to develop the changes with input from teachers, college faculty, scientists and engineers. Proponents say the standards are key to improving science education, along with career readiness and Kentucky’s economy.

It sounds like they’re talking about The Next Generation Science Standards that we discussed here: Kansas Is Having a Lucid Moment. Can this really be happening in ol’ Hambo’s back yard? Well, there does seem to be some resistance. Let’s read on:

Senate Education Chairman Mike Wilson, a Republican from Bowling Green who manages a Christian radio station, has criticized the new standards for pointing to human activities as a factor in climate change and to evidence that evolution can result in new species.

Wilson’s right! Those new standards are definitely pro-evolution. And it looks like this isn’t a done deal — not yet. We’re told:

The new standards cover all areas of science education from kindergarten through high school. Before becoming final, they are subject to the state’s regulatory process, which involves public hearings and a review by the House and Senate committees on education, where critics may seek changes.

Yes, we expect that critics will be seeking changes. Here’s the final paragraph of the story:

Education Commissioner Terry Holliday said officials carried out the due diligence requested by Wilson. The new standards will reflect the latest research but change little else about how evolution and climate change are taught in the classroom, he said. “Certainly people can make their own judgments,” he said. “We are not asking people to change their beliefs. We are just asking people to understand the science so they can be successful in entry-level college science courses.”

Up until now, ol’ Hambo has been surprisingly non-political — except when it comes to getting tax breaks for his own operation. But we have no doubt that we’ll be hearing quite a bit from him on this issue. This should be interesting.

Copyright © 2013. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

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Jason Lisle and the Solar System

We’ve all been wondering what happened to Jason Lisle since he left Answers in Genesis (AIG), the online creationist ministry of Ken Ham (ol’ Hambo), in order to become Director of Research at the Institute for Creation Research (ICR).

While he was at AIG, Jason provided us with much to think about, including Jason Lisle’s “Instant Starlight” Paper, and also Jason Lisle Tells Us How To Think, and most recently Jason Lisle: Mathematics is Creationist.

At ICR, Jason seems to be working on the mind-boggling contradictions between what astronomers have been telling us, compared to the simple universe described in scripture — with a flat, unmovable Earth in the center, where humanity was designed as the ultimate goal of creation. It’s not an easy task.

Jason’s latest article is elegantly titled The Solar System. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us and scripture references omitted

One of the wonderful things about astronomy is that it is so different from our everyday experience. Things are not what they might seem at first glance. Who could have guessed that those tiny little specks of light in our night sky are actually “suns” hundreds of times larger than Earth? Who would have suspected that the “evening star” is actually a rocky planet about the same size as our own?

None of those who wrote scripture ever guessed such things, which is why, for example, there’s only one mention of planets in the entire bible (in 2 Kings 23:5) — a derisive reference to those who burn incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets. Otherwise, they’re never mentioned at all — the phrase used is always “the sun, the moon, and the stars.” It’s also why — according to scripture — The Earth Is Flat! and The Earth Does Not Move! Jason continues:

How unexpected to find that the solid earth beneath our feet is actually moving at 67,000 miles per hour around the sun, all the while spinning like a top! God has constructed the universe in a truly marvelous way. As we study it, the universe continually surprises and delights us by challenging our understanding of how things work.

Be careful, Jason. Those “unexpected” discoveries that challenge our scriptural understanding can get you in trouble — big trouble. Next thing you know you’ll be thinking that evolution makes sense — and you know where that kind of thinking will get you. Yeah, the Lake of Fire!

Let’s read on to see how Jason navigates through this minefield of scientific surprises and delights:

Our solar system is a great example of this. We can actually see much of the solar system on a cloudless night. Most of the planets are visible to the unaided eye — appearing as tiny points of light. In reality, they are enormous spheres, some comparable in size to the earth, while others are much larger.

Then why doesn’t the bible tell us that, huh? Come on, Jason. What’s going on here? He continues:

The stars, sun, moon, and planets rise and set with clockwork precision. They seem to pay tribute to the earth as they respectfully circle around their master. But the truth of the matter is that Earth rotates as it moves around the sun. Every new discovery in astronomy is a surprising and delightful revelation that God is even more amazing, creative, and powerful than we previously supposed.

This is an outrage! How can Jason accept all these Satanic teachings that contradict scripture just by waving aside everything that’s written in the Good Book and then saying: “God is even more amazing, creative, and powerful than we previously supposed”? That makes heresy just too easy, and there’s no limit to where it can lead.

The next several paragraphs are elementary school stuff about the planets, which we’ll skip. But Jason’s not done with his scripture twisting. There’s this:

The orbits of all the planets are nearly circular. Creation scientist Johannes Kepler, in the 17th century, discovered the true shape of these orbits. He analyzed data from the orbit of Mars that had been obtained by Tycho Brahe. Kepler discovered that planets orbit in ellipses — “squashed” circles.

Kepler was a creation scientist? So that’s how he did such important work! Here’s more:

It was another creation scientist who discovered the principles behind Kepler’s laws. Isaac Newton, a brilliant scientist and Bible scholar, discovered and rigorously proved that gravity is the cause of the orbital motions of planets.

Where would we be today were it not for the contributions of creation science? Moving along:

Bible critics sometimes view laws of nature as a replacement for God’s power. But that certainly is not a biblical view. The Bible teaches that God directly controls the universe — that by the expression of His power everything is upheld . God is not a god of confusion, but upholds the universe in a consistent and often predictable way.

That’s good to know. Another excerpt:

Laws of nature are not a substitute for God’s power; rather, they are examples of it. God’s consistent and law-like sovereignty over the universe makes astronomy possible.

By golly — he’s right! No God, no astronomy! Nothing could be more obvious — especially to astronomers. Here’s how the article ends:

The solar system is a lesson in humility. When we contemplate the sizes of these worlds, the distances involved, and the God who holds every atom in its place, it is amazing to think such a God would show so much compassion and mercy toward us. [Scripture quote.]

So there you are. Now you know how to reconcile the differences between astronomy and scripture. And although he didn’t mention it, we are confident that Jason’s reconciliation technique will not work with biology — so stay away from there.

Copyright © 2013. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

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Intelligent Design and the “Rat” on Mars

NASA pic of “rat” on Mars

Everyone has seen the “news” that NASA has a picture of what looks like a small rodent on Mars. The pic above this post comes from Fox News (we assume they got it from NASA and it’s not copyrighted). Their story is here: ‘Mars rat’ spied by NASA’s Curiosity rover. Fox News says:

Is that a rat on Mars? A photo from the mast camera on NASA’s Curiosity rover reveals the dusty orange, rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet — and what starry-eyed enthusiasts claim is a dusty orange rodent hiding among the stones.

No, Fox doesn’t think it’s a rat. No one does. Nevertheless, that photo is causing consternation for the Discoveroids. They’ve assigned one of their top science experts to deal with it — Casey Luskin. His post at the Discoveroids’ creationist blog is Design Inference? Smelling a Rat in a Mars Photo. Casey says, with bold font added by us:

According to a Fox News story, [the one to which we linked above], a rock photographed by NASA’s Curiosity rover looks like a rat. You can see what they’re talking about in the picture below: [Casey uses the same pic that we did].

We’re all wondering: What does a keen thinker like Casey have to say about this great mystery? First, he demonstrates that he’s not an absolute idiot. Even Casey isn’t fooled by the photo. He tells us:

Obviously it’s not a rat — it’s a rock. UFO believers may believe some crazy things, but I don’t think even they would suggest there are rats running around on Mars.

Casey never expected any life on Mars anyway. We already know the Discoveroids’ dogmatic hostility to life elsewhere — see Klinghoffer: Life on Mars? No Chance! But that’s not Casey’s angle here. Instead, he’s worried about the Discoveroids’ theory of intelligent design. Pay close attention to his next statement:

So this is what we call a false positive for a design inference.

Oooooooh — a false positive! It looks designed, but thanks to the Discoveroids’ inherent ability to know things that we don’t know, they’re able to determine that it’s a false positive. Does Casey explain how they make that determination? In a way, he does. Let’s read on:

But given the vague similarity between the rock shape and a rat, this clearly has low CSI, and should not have a triggered a design inference in the first place.

Ah, it “clearly has low CSI.” That explains it! Hey — you remember what CSI is, don’t you? If not, here’s a refresher course: Casey Defines “Complex and Specified Information”. There we discussed Casey’s brilliant explanation. We thought it was incoherent and incomprehensible then, and we still think so, but don’t take our word for it. Check it out for yourself.

Casey concludes his Martian odyssey with this:

What I want to know is who is spending so much time scouring Mars photos to find this sort of thing?

Hey, Casey — the photo also had low PCR (Potential for Curmudgeonly Ridicule), so we were quite content to ignore the “rat on Mars” story. You’re the one scouring the photo to search for CSI. And you did a good job — your post has a very high PCR rating. Once again, the theory of intelligent has proved its scientific value.

Copyright © 2013. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

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Rev. David Rives Debunks the Big Bang

This is another video about the Big Bang by the brilliant and articulate leader of David Rives Ministries. We’ve posted about a few others, for example: What is the Big Bang?, and also Beware the Big Bang.

But this one is the best of all. It’s called Fact and Theory, and it takes a full two and a half minutes for the rev to explain things. When you’ve watched it all, you’ll see that the Big Bang is going the way of other discredited theories he mentions. This isn’t an anti-science rant. No, dear reader, this time the rev has proof!

Don’t let those smarty-pants scientists lie to you any longer. Click on the video. Do it now!

Afterwards, please feel free to use the comments as an Intellectual Free Fire Zone.

Copyright © 2013. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

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