One of the most active and zealous members of the Answers in Genesis gang, Mortenson is a Creation Museum employee, an avid public speaker, and has published several papers in Answers (Answers in Genesis’s “research” journal). For volume 2, he contributed “Christian Theodicy in Light of Genesis and Modern Science”, which is a critique of Old Earth creationist Bill Dembski’s attempt at solving the problem of evil in an “Old Earth framework”. Mortenson’s objection pretty much consists of accusing Dembski of heresy. His second contribution to the volume is “Systematic Theology Texts and the Age of the Earth”, which is also an attack on theologians who don’t believe in young earth creationism. His clinching point is that, given the metaphorical interpretation of the “days” mentioned in Genesis, God would have had to wait awfully long between creating the oceans and creating man. That’s “Answers” for you.
The alleged evidence for the age of the earth is the product of an atheist conspiracy among geologists. But it’s really all about a conflict of world-views, you see. Mortenson wants to have his post-modernist cake and eat it too.
Mortenson was the main speaker at an AiG-sponsored event (at an elementary school) in Minnesota. The program is here. He presented the overwhelming evidence for young earth creation (without any Q&A session because his “voice was failing”). It is interesting, but hardly surprising, that fundamentalist Biblical literalists violate commandments with such audacity and lack of concern. PZ Myers live-tweeted the event; you can read about it here. As expected, attendees were served a smattering of lies, distortions and quote-mining concerning science, and a lot of Bible.
Mortenson likes to accuse evolutionists of being inherent racists, but reveals that he would have fit in rather smoothly in certain environments some eighty years ago himself.
Diagnosis: Licensed arch-whackaloon and professional Liar-for-Jesus – ardent enough to have acquired some influence by sheer force (but mostly preaching to the choir).
Could you possibly add a section on each loon that details their credentials, both real and false? That would be a big help in talking these nutters down on the internet.
ReplyDeleteMortenson calls himself a "doctor" when he's peddling books, but that comes from his PhD in Geology; they all know the 2-digit IQs love books written by doctors.
DeleteThis must be one of the silliest articles to be pushed by the AiG - and imagine the competition for that! Here is a discussion of his appeals to presuppositions and conspiracies, and here yet another discussion of how Mortenson (and other creationists) try to distort science into serving their goals.
ReplyDeleteJust like the evolutionists distort their hypothesis??? Maybe you should explain what God did. You seem to know more about it. God does not lie and His words are the truth. He's the creator of all things. We are His creation, so we are going to tell Him how things are made???? Show us some proof of what you all are saying against God. You all did not create anything.
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