Kent Hovind
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Kent E. Hovind (born 15 January 1953), the self-styled Dr Dino, is an American Young Earth Creationist (YEC) evangelist who is currently offering US$250,000 to anyone who can prove evolution "is the only possible way," that the Universe and life arose, although the offer is widely considered to be spurious. He is the founder of Creation Science Evangelism, his non-profit ministry.
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Biography
Hovind was born in 1953. On 9 February 1969, Hovind has said that he "accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior". He graduated from East Peoria High School in 1971. In 1974 he graduated from Midwestern Baptist College with a bachelor's degree in religious education. The college is not accredited by the North Central Association. Hovind is married.
Between 1975 and 1988 Hovind was a pastor and a high school science teacher. In 1989, Hovind started his Creation Science Evangelism.
After the Internet came into common household use, Hovind created his "Dr. Dino" web site and began producing articles and information as well as selling his products — video tapes, books, fossil replicas, etc. — to a mass market. None of his material is copyrighted, and he encourages people to copy his material and distribute it to others. His efficient use of the web site led to increased fame and numerous public speaking engagements. He claims to speak at hundreds of churches, schools and other venues each year. His audiences often number in the hundreds or even the low thousands (for debates). His son, Eric, has lately engaged in similar speaking engagements, although attendance may be much lower for his events.
Education
Hovind was awarded a masters's degree and doctorate in "Christian Education" from the unaccredited correspondence school Patriot University (now Patriot Bible University) in 1988 and 1991 respectively.
Critics of Hovind have charged that Patriot Bible University is a diploma mill (or degree mill), as it has unreasonably low graduation requirements, lack of sufficient faculty or educational standards, and a suspicious tuition scheme, among other issues. The university has varied its policies over the years, and no longer offers the Ph.D. Hovind received. However, their current policies allow students to attain bachelor's degrees, master's degrees and even "Doctor of Ministry" degrees in months, rather than years, for about $45 per month (the university offers a monthly fee, unlike most universities, which only charge per-credit fees[1] (http://www.patriotuniversity.com/financial.asp)). The University itself has claimed that it simply does not "choose" to be accredited by standard associations.[2] (http://www.patriotuniversity.com/accreditation.asp) Patriot Bible University is authorized to operate as a Bible College and to legally issue religious degrees by the State of Colorado Higher Education Commission (http://www.state.co.us/cche/colleges/sem&bible.html).
Hovind has made a number of statements about both the topic and length of his dissertation which critics who received copies of it from Patriot have criticized as being deliberately deceptive.[3] (http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/bartelt_dissertation_on_hovind_thesis.htm) The paper appears to be well below college-level material in many respects. Also, it fails to fit the description Hovind ascribes to it as a thesis on teaching evolution in public schools. Hovind himself has claimed that he has continued to modify it over the course of a decade and refers only to the "final" version of it, not the one for which he received his PhD.
As a result of Patriot Bible University's status and his allegedly poor thesis, his educational credentials are often dismissed by opponents. While he uses the title "Doctor", many of his critics decline to acknowledge the title. Hovind says that if people don't like his education, they can call him whatever they like, including "Mr." and "Hey you." Hovind claims his critics are more out to attack him and his credentials rather than his arguments pertaining to creation and evolution.
Tax Evasion
In 1996 Hovind unsuccessfuly filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying federal income taxes. Hovind was found to have lied about his possessions and income[4] (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hovind-decision.html). He claimed that as a minister of God everything he owns belonged to God and he is not subject to paying taxes to the United States on the money he received for doing God's work (citing US tax code §508(c)(1)(a)). The court ordered him to pay the money and supported the IRS view that Hovind's claim "was filed in bad faith for the sole purpose of avoiding payment of federal income taxes." In the ruling, the judge called Hovind's arguments "patently absurd." The judge also noted that "the IRS has no record of the debtor ever having filed a federal income tax return," although this was not the court's reason for denying the bankruptcy claim.
On May 13, 1998, Hovind and his wife attempted to evade all responsibility for any previous promises, debts, or legal agreements made prior to April 15, 1998, by filing a document called "Power of Attorney and Revocation of Signature"[5] (http://205.152.130.14/or_1b.asp?uinstr=1998483189) with the Escambia County Clerk of Courts. The document reads, in part: "I/we do hereby revoke and make void... all signatures on any instruments...". The Hovinds claimed they had signed government documents "due to the use of various elements of fraud and misrepresentations, duress, coercion, under perjury, mistake, 'bankruptcy'."
In the document, the Hovinds argue that Social Security is essentially a "Ponzi scheme" (though this itself is not an entirely novel accusation).The Hovinds referred to the United States Government as "the 'bankrupt' corporate government" and said they were revoking their United States citizenship, saying they were each "a natural citizen of 'America' and a natural sojourner." They referred to their home state of Florida as "the State of Florida Body-Politic Corporation." Judges and the IRS did not appear to honor this as a legally relevant document in future decisions.
In 2001 Hovind started "Dinosaur Adventure Land", a YEC-theme park in Pensacola, Florida.
In 2002 Hovind was again in trouble for not paying his taxes, and unsuccessfully sued the United States Internal Revenue Service for harassment. In 2004, IRS agents raided Hovind's home and business to confiscate financial records. IRS agent Scott Schneider said none of Hovind's businesses had a business license, nor tax-emempt status. The Associated Press quoted Schneider as saying "Since 1997, Hovind has engaged in financial transactions indicating sources of income and has made deposits to bank accounts well in excess of $1 million per year during some of these years, which would require the filing of federal income taxes."[6] (http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/18/State/Biblical_theme_park_s.shtml) On June 3 2004, the IRS issued tax liens[7] (http://www.clerk.co.escambia.fl.us/) of $504,957.24 against Hovind and his son and their businesses. A separate lien was filed for each, due to previous legal maneuverings on the part of the elder Hovind to evade taxation by moving property between himself, his son, and other legal entities.
Theology
Hovind considers the Bible the inerrant word of God and must be taken literally to its word in context, and because of this, all findings of science will eventually be found to agree with Scripture — which he claims is a priori known to be truth. But, he claims that evolutionists also have a priori assumptions as well, namely that God does not exist (or at least not one that performed special Creation) thereby distorting their own application of science (though the biological theory makes no statements about the existence or nonexistence of God, though many people have, since the day of Darwin, taken it to have theological implications).
He does not, however, take Biblical literalism as far as do the Flat Earth Creationists, who believe the Earth is (or at least was) flat because of their particular interpretation of the Bible. The reason for this, Hovind says, is because the Bible talks about the "circle of earth" in Isaiah chapter 40, verse 22, which contains the Hebrew word khug meaning "roundness" and is thus compatible with a globe. This, he says, is evidence that the Bible describes a circular earth rather than a four-cornered flat earth. Most scholars say that the Bible uses equivocal language so is not saying anything one way or the other.[8] (http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v14/i3/flat_earth.asp) Also, the church has overwhelmingly affirmed a round earth throughout its history.[9] (http://id-www.ucsb.edu/fscf/library/RUSSELL/FlatEarth.html) The references to the "four corners of the earth" are clearly parabolic, according to Hovind and most Bible scholars.[10] (http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v17/i3/creationists.asp)
Many YECs denounce "literalism" as a straw man, since they claim to believe the Bible as the author intended, so they take history as history, poetry as poetry etc.[11] (http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v16/i1/genesis.asp)
Hovind is also a staunch advocate of the King-James-Only Movement, which means he believes in using only the King James Version of the Bible, claiming that it is the only reliable translation of the word of God for the English-speaking peoples. According to him, many of the numerous other English translations of the Bible are in some way corrupt, not being based on the Textus Receptus. He is out of step with many leading creationists on this, including Answers in Genesis.
Hovind and other creationists
Hovind has come into conflict with other young earth creationists, who believe that many of his arguments are invalid and therefore they undermine their cause. One in particular, Answers in Genesis has publicly criticised him,[12] (http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2002/1011hovind.asp) after he had criticised AiG's article Arguments creationists should NOT use (http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/dont_use.asp). (It is worth noting that the mainstream scientific community considers most of AiG's arguments against evolution to be unsound as well.)
Hovind and mainstream critics
Critics charge that Kent Hovind's creation/evolution presentations are a mix of pseudoscience, Christian Fundamentalism and conspiracy theories.
Hovind is mostly known for his debates with evolutionists. The best-known contemporary evolutionists, Richard Dawkins and the late Stephen Jay Gould, have in the past refused to debate Hovind by claiming that debate is not how science works and gives charlatans more of an advantage than systematic inquiry (see: scientific method). Hovind disagrees, and feels that they avoid debate simply because the audience will perceive that evolution is not as factual as evolutionists claim it is.
In Hovind's debates, he traditionally focuses on trying to discredit evolutionary theory rather than providing evidence for Creationism. However, he does occasionally present what he says is evidence for a Biblical flood, among other creationist theories such as the canopy theory. He is regarded, even among many other Young Earth Creationists as being crude in his argumentation. The vast majority of scientists do not take Hovind's work very seriously or agree with his interpretation of the facts.
Hovind's $250,000 Offer
Hovind offers $250,000 to anyone who can meet the statement,
- I have a standing offer of $250,000 to anyone who can give any empirical evidence (scientific proof) for evolution.* My $250,000 offer demonstrates that the hypothesis of evolution is nothing more than a religious belief. [13] (http://www.drdino.com:8080/Ministry/250k/)
Critics view this to be spurious however, not least because of the conditions which Hovind imposes. The winner would have to convince Hovind of the reality of evolution and would be required to scientifically prove God doesn't exist. The asterisk denotes the terms which he claims show significant gaps in the gradual progression predicted by the theory of evolution:
- *NOTE: When I use the word evolution, I am not referring to the minor variations found in all of the various life forms (microevolution). I am referring to the general theory of evolution which believes these five major events took place without God:
- 1. Time, space, and matter came into existence by themselves.
- 2. Planets and stars formed from space dust.
- 3. Matter created life by itself.
- 4. Early life-forms learned to reproduce themselves.
- 5. Major changes occurred between these diverse life forms (i.e., fish changed to amphibians, amphibians changed to reptiles, and reptiles changed to birds or mammals).
Critics argue that this is merely a publicity stunt, that it is deliberately designed to be impossible to win, and that it reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of both science and the scientific method. Critics say that his description of evolution does not match with the scientific definition and that he conflates evolution with other unrelated issues in the description of his challenge (see Hovind's list of "five major events" above).
Some creationists also do not approve of Hovind's offer, e.g. "[Answers in Genesis] would prefer that creationists refrained from gimmicks like this."[14] (http://www.answersingenesis.org/news/ross_hovind_analysis.asp)
Hovind has said a panel of judges would decide if a claim had met his criteria, but he has refused to say who would be (or is) on that panel. He has even refused to say what their qualifications might be. Challengers who have submitted claims to Hovind have found that he does not actually use a panel of judges, in spite of his promise to do so.[15] (http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/kent_hovind's_lies.htm)
External links
Pro-Hovind
- Dr Dino — Hovind's web site (http://www.drdino.com/)
- Dinosaur Adventure Land (http://www.dinosauradventureland.com/)
Creationist but critical of Hovind
- Maintaining Creationist Integrity: A response to Kent Hovind (http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2002/1011hovind.asp), by AiG.
- Ross–Hovind Debate, John Ankerberg Show, October 2000; Analysis by Jonathan Sarfati (http://www.answersingenesis.org/news/ross_hovind_analysis.asp) also by AiG.
Critical of creationism
- Talk.origins on Hovind (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hovind/)
- Analysis of Kent Hovind (http://www.kent-hovind.com/)
- The Kent Hovind Page (http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/kent_hovind_page.htm)
Court records
- Hovind bankruptcy decision, 1996 (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hovind-decision.html)
- Hovind v. Schneider, 2002 (http://groups-beta.google.com/group/talk.origins/msg/f8326b5d20c18392)
- Escambia County (Pensacola, Florida) Clerk of Courts (http://www.clerk.co.escambia.fl.us/)