Thu 1 Oct 98 22:44
DAVID RICE
ICR Cult's "Seminar"

I survived the ICRcult's "Back to Genesis" so-called "seminar," but to do so I had to fortify myself with a gallon of hyper-caffeinated soft drinks to remain awake.

Rev John Morris and Rev Doug Phillips kept an audience of 1,200 people in thrall with their ancient lies and known falsehoods. The event was exactly what I had expected: lie following lie following ad hominem following lie following argumentum ad numerum following lie following argumentum ad verecundiam following lie following argumentum ad ignorantiam following lie following argumentum ad misericordiam following lie following argumentum ad populum following lie following dicto simpliciter following lie following non causa pro causa following lie following post hoc ergo propter hoc following lie following petitio principii following lie following fallacy of interrogation following lie following ignoratio elenchi following lie following slippery slope argument following lie following argumentum ad antiquitatem following lie following argumentum ad nauseam following lie following bifurcation following lie following plurium interrogationum following lie following non sequitur following lie following reification following lie following shifting the burden of proof following lie following straw man.

Indeed, since the speakers claim to be "full-Bible" Christians, one must wonder why they refuse to follow Job 13:2-14 where it states unequivically that lying in the name of the Lord God is a sin that results in eternal death.

Many of the known false claims were asserted: mis-statement of the Second Law of Thermodynamics; the "sea salt in the ocean" equivocation; the false claim that the Mount Saint Hellens' erruption "looks just like the Grand Canyon;" and nearly every other falsehood that has come from the cult in the past thirty years.

Rev John Morris (who has published three real science papers in his career, the last being 15 years ago) went on and on about his "evolutionary colleagues" (i.e. real geologists) as if he were an actual scientist doing work in the field: his inability to know schist found at the Grand Canyon from pumice and lahar at Mt. Saint Hellens would astound real scientists. Whatever cereal box he got his degree from, well, they should revoke it.

Rev Doug Phillips wailed and moaned about how "evolutionism" (a term neither reverend bothered to define) is the source of all human ills, including death. Both reverends went on and on about how the entire universe was created for "man's" use (the stars for "a calendar") in such a arrogant, hubristic way, I am astonished that God did not strike them dead for their blasphemy. It was therefore astounding when they then went on to assert that "evolutionism" promotes "arrogance" and "man worship."

What's more arrogant? Believing that one hundred billion galexies, each with one hundred billion stars, many or most with several planets, spanning 94 trillion miles (16 light years)--- all made for humans; or the acknowledgement of the fact that Earth is an insignificant speck in a vast ocean of space, and humanity just a brief speck of life in the cosmos, utterly trivial? The ICR cult claims the latter is "arrogant" and "worships man, not the creator(s)."

The "tower of Bable" myth, we were told, was a result of what they called "evolutionism." Indeed, death itself was due to "evolutionism." Racism is due to "evolutionism." Feminism and equality is due to "evolutionism." Child abuse is due to "evolutionism." One of the most bizarre statements made was that "evolutionism is the foundation of abortion" and something they called "the partial-birth abortion" (which my research shows does not exist).

I have nine hours of audio recording from the cult's "seminar." At the moment I have no idea what to do with it. Rev Morris gave his blessing to distribute their occult speal, with the only stipulation that it not be sold. I might use these tapes to write up a more detailed account of the cult's circus.

Speaking of which, the cult made a bundle of money at their "seminar." Many hundreds of expensive books were sold (after they packed up their wares, I counted 30 large empty boxes they left behind). It is very clear that Creationism is big business, raking in millions of tax-free dollars every year.

... "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!" -- Adam West, 1966