Atheist Revolution: Ken Ham Organizing Creation "Science" Fair

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Ken Ham Organizing Creation "Science" Fair

Most of us in the reality based community have at least some appreciation of science, and many of us are downright excited about it. Of course, we have also learned to recognize that not everything claiming to be scientific is in fact science. According to Panda's Thumb, Ken Ham's Creation Museum is hosting a creation "science" fair next year. As Pharyngula notes, there is certainly nothing wrong with Christians engaging in science, however, this fair has precious little to do with science. Among the entry requirements, the children must agree to AIG's Statement of Faith.

I am hard pressed to think of anything less conducive to the scientific method than the injection of faith. Panda's reaction is spot on:

Those, of course, are the antithesis of science. Having kids sign on to presuppositions that reject the evidence that has been accumulated over centuries is the height of science denial, and it is a fraud to label the exercise “science.”

Absolutely. Reading the statement should make it clear to anyone that creation "science" is not science at all. It is merely religious dogma thinly veiled in pseudo scientific jargon.

Pharyngula adds:

That's not how science works: you don't get to specify ahead of time what answers you will find acceptable. If you read that statement of faith, you will discover that many of its article insist on the truth of claims that have long been refuted — such as that there was a global flood, the earth was created in 6 literal 24-hour days, the earth was created recently, etc. — and others are just plain silly. You have to agree that homosexuals are perverts in order to present at this "science" fair!

Events like this remind us that we all have a vested interest in promoting scientific literacy.