#1503: Herman Cummings

A.k.a. The Genesis Genius

A.k.a. Ephriam

Herman Cummings is, according to himself, “the leading expert on the book of Genesis” (“[t]here is no ‘close second’”), which he also interprets as more or less literal truth (“Genesis is a book of history, and advanced math & science, being literally true”). So much for his expertise. He is also the author of the book Moses Didn’t Write About Creation! which apparently is based on a revelation from “Lord Jesus” he received back in 1991.

One of Cummings’s endeavors is to instruct science teachers. In 2008 he apparently offered his service to Louisiana, where teachers have the “academic freedom” to use “supplemental materials” in science classes. What could he offer? “I teach a 6-hr class for science teachers which gives them an overview of the first three chapters of Genesis, as it pertains to the appearance, and extinction, of life forms during the geologic history of Earth. This is the correct opposing view of evolution as should be presented in biology classes. Creationism is not the opposing view to evolution. Creationism would oppose the theory of the ‘Big Bang’.” We are not completely sure what he is talking about but are pretty sure that he doesn’t either. But in more detail his offer was: “[B]y providing my class to your teachers, I also give protection against lawsuits which the ACLU is certainly anxious to file. I contacted the Dover Area school district in Pennsylvania, but they ignored me, and they lost both their jobs and the court case. I contacted both the Cobb County Board members and their law firm in Georgia, in 2004, and they both ignored me, and they lost their district case. I know how to defeat the ACLU in open court in such cases, to the point that they would be discouraged from filing such lawsuits again. But I would have to be invited to work with the defense.”

We are not sure anyone took him up on his offer. He also contacted the Discovery Institute “in an effort to create a united front against the false teaching of evolution,” and informed them that “‘ID’ is a waste of scholastic time, and is too inept and shallow to be of much value.” Even Barbara Cargill ignored him, and she has certainly failed to ignore some pretty ridiculous stuff in the past. So, yes: home-made theory; declares himself an expert (but has no relevant education); rejects virtually all of science; everyone else is wrong; tries to promote it by sending letters to institutions and organizations, including the White House, Congress, the US Dept. of education, “every State Governor” and the Pope; seems to be confused when they don’t respond or he isn’t taken seriously (“[s]o far, every ‘so called’ rabbi/scholar I’ve written to (830+) in the USA & Israel has either been an infidel (denying the truth of the Pentateuch), or a scriptural coward”) and concludes that they’re afraid of him; and his enemies (the ACLU) should be afraid of him, since he is completely able to beat them up. We’ve covered these kinds of people before.

But what, exactly, are his objections to evolution? Ah, glad you asked. It really deserves to be given some space: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Fish, reptiles, and birds lay eggs. If these adult species are only given life by means of the egg hatching process, how did the first fish, reptiles and birds come into existence? Evolution? If so, why isn’t all life hatched out of an egg? Is this to be explained with the same sort of reasoning which produced the theory that a bear fell into a lake/river and became a whale? Let’s address the “chicken or the egg” question. An egg cannot just drop out of the sky, or wash upon the shore all by itself. An egg, which signifies life waiting to develop, has to be laid by a egg laying female animal, unless you want think up a theory on how the first egg materialized….; those that are in denial can go there. Therefore, let us focus on the female chicken, or actually the hen. The hen can lay eggs without the rooster, but the eggs will not produce life (will not hatch). So little chicks can’t come into existence (in the wild or in the distant past) without the hen mating with the rooster. Therefore, both the hen and the rooster came first.” And the fact that scientists don’t see this and immediately reject evolution is apparently proof of a conspiracy. The whole of science seems to be a conspiracy, in fact: “Why is it that the scientific world will hide information from the public, such as the truth about Comet Showmaker-Levy-9 [sic], to avoid answering certain questions?” Evolution is also a doctrine of atheism and therefore a religious belief, and as such – unlike (his version of) creationism – illegal to teach in public schools.

So, what about creationism? “Genesis 1:1 should be interpreted as ‘4.6 billion years ago, God created this universe, starting with the planet Earth’. Yes, Earth was the first, and is the principle celestial object in this universe. All of the other objects in this universe are at least two days younger than our Earth. So now, you should be able to determine that I am not ‘young Earth’, and that I embrace the literal meaning of the scriptures, unlike ‘old Earth’ creationism. Reconciliation was achieved seventeen years ago [that was his 1991 revelation – apparently it said, simply, that “the days in Genesis are not in one week”].” 9/11 can be blamed on our failure to see the truth.

And his own view? “Adam was formed in about 7200 BC. The modern animals, along with the birds, were made in about 7100 BC, and Eve came along in about 7000 BC. I’m guessing that the animals lived in and out of the Garden, and Adam probably took Eve out on sight-seeing trips to lands surrounding the Garden. They did this for 2,733 years…, until they ate of the evil tree. It is then that the years of Adam’s age begins to be counted, because that is when he ‘began to die’. So from 7200 BC, till 3337 BC, when Adam died, Adam had lived for 3,863 years.” Apparently only Herman Cummings knows this. He is also the only one who knows that “Genesis is declaring the existence of pre-historic man, which lived more than 60 million years before God made Adam and Eve. The world of science won’t admit to mankind being on Earth any earlier than 10 million years ago…, which shows how misinformed they are. Or is it that they are in denial?” There is a simpler explanation, but that one has apparently not occurred to him.

But he has evidence, doesn’t he? “Why has the news media failed to publicize the discovery of a man-made pyramid, from the Jurassic period? A Ukrainian scientist made the discovery in his native land […] This proves mankind was here more than 65 million years ago. Another foolish theory (evolution) bites the dust. […]” Oh, yes – bring it on: “The Ark of the Covenant was found several years ago, and will be shown to the public in about three years. You can be learn about it by going to these links [not replicated here].” Moreover, “NASA found out that the Moon is hollow, when they exploded a bomb in an effort to widen an opening at its south pole. The Moon rang like a bell for several hours, causing a BIG surprise,” which means that “the Earth is also hollow, which proves the (false) theories of science to be in error.” And so it goes.

Diagnosis: Internet access has not been an indisputable blessing to everyone. At least we noticed Herman Cummings, even if Popes and presidents did not.