Yikes.

A relative sent over a couple of tapes to help swing us over to the anti-evolution dark side. So I dug out a notebook & pen & rusty BSc. Zoology degree in prep for some serious notetaking as I was going to make the effort to refute every single nonsensical point being made.

First impressions: This guy (if I have his name correct) is really likeable. This guy is a master speaker. This guy has really put something together here. This guy is beyond "out to lunch". This guy is quite infuriating. This guy has created some exquisite propaganda here.

About two hours in, I just became overwhelmed with the sheer volume of it all. So now this is going to be a much bigger project for me than I ever expected.

I made careful notes, especially the "astronomical" claims, with the idea that I would present them here for the group. But then I realized that this dude's nonsense was of such quality that the group was probably already very well aquainted with him. So now I would appreciate it if someone could direct me to one of the better anti-Hovind sites of which there must be more than a few out there (and save me from note-taking heck).

Hovind's web site is www.drdino.com

Essentially, Hovind believes the universe was created about 6,000 years ago. And one thing for sure, he "prays" on the ignorant.

Here are a few goodies:

If the Big Bang came from a spinning nothing, the "conservation of angular momentum" has it that all the things that fly out of it should have continued to spin in the same direction. So why do we have planets & moons with an opposite spin?

If the Big Bang were true, all energy out of it would be evenly distributed instead of "lumpy". He says this fact had astronomer Fred Hoyle stating that "a sickly pall now hangs over the Big Bang theory."

Galaxies billions of years old should have lost their spiral shape.

If stars die every 30 years or so, how come we don't see billions of super novas instead of 300 or so.

Numerous ancient astronomers wrote that Sirus was red in colour. The fact that this binary star is now white shows this process occurs over thousands of years not billions.

Jupiter is cooling off. How can it still be cooling off after billions of years?

Jupiter's moon Ganymede is losing heat yet it has a very strong magnetic field indicating a molten core. After billions of years, it should have cooled solid.

Saturn has rings that are moving away from the planet & unstable, how can they be billions of years old?

The earth's moon continues to move away from the planet. Then billions of years ago it must have been close enough to raise havoc. The reverse calculation would have it touching the earth.

Comets lose material & last about 10,000 years. So the universe can't be billions of years old. No evidence for a far away comet belt.

The earth's magnetic field has declined by 6% over the last 150 years. So earlier it must have been too strong for life to exist.

And carbon dating can't actually work because the changing magnetic field would effect the in-coming radiation affecting C14 in the atmosphere.

Magnetic reversals never happened. The mid-atlantic ocean magnetic record shows only stronger-weaker areas, not reversals.

Pangea fits together only if Africa is shrunk by 40% and many other countries eliminated.

The earth's rotation is slowing down at a rate that, billions & millions of years ago, it must have been spinning fast enough to ensure nothing could live on earth.

Why are there no deserts older than 4,000 years (Sahara)?

Annual rings from Arctic ice core samples show only warmer & colder periods, not annual activity. The "Lost Squadron" aircraft were found 263 ft down in 48 years & the ice exhibited hundreds of layers.


Now, interesting note: This fellow states he will debate anyone, anywhere...

RBG