Up until mid-January this year, I used to be a Christian. Not the warm, fuzzy, orange-squash-drinking Anglican that anyone can get along with though. The sort who had started to believe in Creation, Exclusivism, Calvinism... basically, I'd never properly questioned anything. Neither did I face up to telling "un-believers" about how wrong they were because I knew that, really, I couldn't prove anything to them and I'd quickly lose the argument.
Since I bothered to question things (by reading different books, paying attention to science, and yes, praying) I've concluded that if every near-fundamentalist Christian went through this process, there would be none of them left. I'm aware now of the outright stupidity of what I had faith in, the "emotional blackmailing" and anger I caused. If anything can come close to making up for that, it would be fighting for good causes and appreciating the scientific community.
I think one way to show respect for Scientists - and that definitely includes decent earnestly religious scientists - is to make it clear the pseudosciences really are rubbish. So, the title of what I've started is: Sceptical Inquiry into the Institute for Creation Research.
Because I am inexperienced in some areas covered in the report, I owe thanks to the wisdom of everyone from a helpful Internet community who would prefer to remain anonymous, who helped. I'll make sure to thank them properly later on.
Those of you who feel strongly about real science being fought for, not just by professional scientists, please follow this Blog, offer constructive criticism and encouragement.
I think this is a great idea. As a professional scientist involved in science communication I find that a disproportionate amount of time can be taken up with debunking ID claims, which muddy the public's understanding of genuine science. It's great to see some support from outside the science fold. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI didn't see anything in your introduction or page that would even begin to prove that ICR is "all bunk". What I did notice is that you pointed out that ICR begins their starting point of accepting that the creation account in Genesis is "True". Your suggestion that this biases the Creation viewpoint is factually true, however what you fail to point out is that the Atheist position (Which is the basis for Evolution) is also a Metaphysical unproven proposition which is also subscribed to by "faith", and biases those who believe in Atheism. Atheists are also "trying to tell a story", using psuedoscience in most cases.
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What the creationists fail to understand from a Biblical perspective is that God created all things out of nothing simply by His spoken Word. He did NOT have to looks at His clock and wait 24 hours between creations periods.
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