Thursday, August 15, 2019

#2228: Ben Scripture

J. Benjamin Scripture is a creationist with a PhD in Biochemistry (he is sometimes presented as having a PhD in biology, which is different). Since he has a PhD, he was eligible to sign the Discovery Institute’s silly petition A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism, but calling Scripture a “scientist” would be, shall we say, a bit of a stretch, and his dissent from Darwinism is not remotely scientific. He is nevertheless teaching biology and biochemistry at Grace College and Manchester College, dark and angry fundamentalist Bible schools that wouldn’t welcome real biology in their classrooms anyways.

Hardly a bigshot in the creationist movement, Scripture nevertheless gives talks and participates in “debates” on creation and creationism. Indeed, he even appears to have his own radio show, “Scripture on Creation”, where he e.g. rejects the results of radiometric dating, recommends Expelled, points to evidence of dinosaurs being described in the Bible (the behemoth – it is likely to be a dinosaur since “what animal alive today fits this description?” ) and discusses the layout of the Ark. He is, however, perhaps most notable for his inability to distinguish random rocks from fossilized brains.

Diagnosis: A reasonably minor character, but Scripture is making his own, small contribution to the erosion of trust and truth as generally recognized values in today’s society. 

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