Creationists' "Statements of Faith", or How Creationists Disqualify Themselves from the Right to Claim that they are Scientists.
This goes to the heart of what is rotten about creation "science" and why it is inimical to science and to science education. Several for-profit creationist covens have similar declarations. As usual, on my pages, my comments are in red, commenting on creationist material which is in black.
From Kenny Ham,
From Kenny Ham,
- "In order to preserve the function and integrity of the ministry in its mission to proclaim the absolute truth and authority of Scripture and to provide a biblical role model to our employees, and to the Church, the community, and society at large, it is imperative that all persons employed by the ministry in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, should abide by and agree to our Statement of Faith, to include the statement on marriage and sexuality, and conduct themselves accordingly."
- "By definition, no apparent, perceived or claimed evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the scriptural record. Of primary importance is the fact that evidence is always subject to interpretation by fallible people who do not possess all information."
Whose definition is this, I wonder? Is it yours, Ken? Are you an infallible person who possesses all information? Clearly, by your own admission, you cannot be.
As for the "scientists" who write for Answers in Genesis and for similar for-profit creationist blogs, acceding to this statement is tantamount to abdicating your positions as scientists. Regardless of whether or not you have scientific qualifications and a track record of scientific achievement, to relinquish the basic scepticism inherent in the scientific mindset is to relinquish science. Presuppositionally plumping on an outcome and seeking to promote it, whatever the evidence actually suggests, is an anathema to science. Indeed, we gain confidence in scientific ideas precisely because we seek to destroy them and see if they withstand our examinations and tests, rather than shield them from such examination. The fact that they withstand testing is the way in which we gain confidence in their veracity. If creationist ideas were true, they would not need to be corralled away and protected from examination in this way. To sign up to a faith statement like this is essentially to admit to having no confidence whatsoever in the truth of creationism! It should be an unnecessary statement if creationism is indeed true. A statement like this is only necessary because creationism is fundamentally unsupportable.
Creation Ministries International, also has, on its "What we believe page", https://creation.com/what-we-believe,
We can tell from this that scientific evidence is of no value or significance whatsoever to these people. They will only try to sound "sciencey" if they can cherry-pick or distort evidence to try and fool their marks. It is a thoroughly cynical and dishonest activity. And it is also the height of arrogance to believe that the nature of the universe has to meet with your personal approval.
See also, "The Doctrine of Personal Infallibility" https://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionprof/2019/02/the-doctrine-of-personal-infallibility.html?
Here's a summary from AI GPT-4.
https://barryhisblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/on-creationist-statements-of-faith.html
As for the "scientists" who write for Answers in Genesis and for similar for-profit creationist blogs, acceding to this statement is tantamount to abdicating your positions as scientists. Regardless of whether or not you have scientific qualifications and a track record of scientific achievement, to relinquish the basic scepticism inherent in the scientific mindset is to relinquish science. Presuppositionally plumping on an outcome and seeking to promote it, whatever the evidence actually suggests, is an anathema to science. Indeed, we gain confidence in scientific ideas precisely because we seek to destroy them and see if they withstand our examinations and tests, rather than shield them from such examination. The fact that they withstand testing is the way in which we gain confidence in their veracity. If creationist ideas were true, they would not need to be corralled away and protected from examination in this way. To sign up to a faith statement like this is essentially to admit to having no confidence whatsoever in the truth of creationism! It should be an unnecessary statement if creationism is indeed true. A statement like this is only necessary because creationism is fundamentally unsupportable.
Creation Ministries International, also has, on its "What we believe page", https://creation.com/what-we-believe,
- "Facts are always subject to interpretation by fallible people who do not possess all information. By definition, therefore, no interpretation of facts in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the scriptural record."
We can tell from this that scientific evidence is of no value or significance whatsoever to these people. They will only try to sound "sciencey" if they can cherry-pick or distort evidence to try and fool their marks. It is a thoroughly cynical and dishonest activity. And it is also the height of arrogance to believe that the nature of the universe has to meet with your personal approval.
See also, "The Doctrine of Personal Infallibility" https://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionprof/2019/02/the-doctrine-of-personal-infallibility.html?
Here's a summary from AI GPT-4.
"The blog post criticizes creationist organizations, particularly Answers in Genesis and Creation Ministries International, for their "Statements of Faith," which, according to the author, disqualify them from being considered as scientists. The "Statement of Faith" asserts that no evidence, regardless of the field, is valid if it contradicts scriptural records. The author argues that such a statement rejects the skeptical mindset inherent to science and the principle that scientific ideas gain credibility through rigorous testing and examination. The author further alleges that these organizations cherry-pick or distort evidence to align with their beliefs, disregarding the inherent value and significance of scientific evidence."
"Cargo cult science" is a term introduced by the great Richard Feynman to describe pseudosciences that assume all the trappings of real science. It is a "pseudoscientific method of research that favors evidence that confirms an assumed hypothesis. In contrast with the scientific method, there is no vigorous effort to disprove or delimit the hypothesis". https://barryhisblog.blogspot.com/p/kkk-kreationist-kargo-kult-science.html
"Cargo cult science" is a term introduced by the great Richard Feynman to describe pseudosciences that assume all the trappings of real science. It is a "pseudoscientific method of research that favors evidence that confirms an assumed hypothesis. In contrast with the scientific method, there is no vigorous effort to disprove or delimit the hypothesis". https://barryhisblog.blogspot.com/p/kkk-kreationist-kargo-kult-science.html
https://barryhisblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/on-creationist-statements-of-faith.html
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