Bill,
I do not doubt the stories you have just related. I have also somewhat
similar experiences at the hands of my non-christian peers in the
anthropology field. Recalling just one: years ago while participating in
a summer long archeological dig, I was reading W.F Albright's From the
Stone Age to Christianity. One of my co-workers, a friend, made the
comment "Oh, that must be the story of devolution"; For the remainder of
the summer I was the butt of many jokes. True, my livelihood was not at
stake, but it did make for a long uncomfortable, and at times lonely,
summer.
Robert J. Priest, an anthropologist at Trinity International University,
has written a fascinating paper titled: Missionary Positions: Christian,
Modernist, Postmodernist in the February 2001 issue of Current
Anthropology. He discusses the flagrant opposition to and degrading of
Christianity so widely prevalent within the anthropological community. I
strongly recommend this article to all on this list. It is quite
eye-opening.
Nonetheless, this is a knife that cuts two ways. I feel that the bashing
I have received at the hands of my supposed brothers and sisters has at
times cut deeper than any "persecution" I received at the hands of
unbelievers. I have already related on these pages once the story of how
I had worked with international student through IVCF for a number of
years... When my own church decided to begin a ministry to these very
same students, I was deemed "unfit" to participate in this ministry
because of my heretical views on science. Many of these students my
church was reaching out to were my friends, whom I saw and ministered to
outside of church on a daily basis.
I also assert that many who read these pages could relate similar
experiences.
Yes, there is prejudice and persecution of YEC proponents by the academic
and professional mainstream; but I suggest that we all remove the planks
from our own eyes before we complain about fiery darts cast at us by
others.
I expect the criticism and persecution from the unbelievers - they are
unregenerate sinners and are simply behaving in a way that is natural to
them. We, as redeemed children of the living God, have no excuse.
Blaine
On Mon, 4 Jun 2001 23:20:54 -0600 Bill Payne <bpayne15@juno.com> writes:
> On Tue, 05 Jun 2001 07:42:49 +1000 Jonathan Clarke
> <jdac@alphalink.com.au> writes:
>
> > > The current scientific consensus is an iron collar choking sfree
> inquiry.
> > > Professionals in America get fired if they challenge the
> reigning
> > > paradigm. Ask me how I know.
> > >
> >
> > How do you know this?
>
> Sorry, I didn't really intend to get off on this, but in a nutshell:
> I
> was the editor for the Alabama Geological Society Newsletter for
> about 6
> months in ~1995. I wanted to foster open debate/discussion about
> my
> favorite topic (origin of coal), so I invited Steve Austin (PhD in
> Geology from Penn State) to write an article presenting his view
> that
> coal consists of transported organics. I also innocently invited
> Bob
> Gastaldo (geology professor at Auburn University at the time) to
> submit a
> parallel article presenting evidence supporting his view that coal
> consists of in situ organics.
>
> Bob and I had a rather tense telephone conversation. The next day
> he and
> another geologist from the University of Alabama called the Society
> President and complained to him along the lines of the following
> e-mail
> that Dr. Gastaldo sent to every geology department in the State,
> along
> with at least one state agency for which I do most of my work. Here
> is
> the text of his e-mail, which was faxed to me:
>
> *************
>
> I received a telephone call today from Bill asking if I'd write a
> short
> generalized article on coal formation for the Alabama Geological
> Society
> Newsletter. Bill has taken over as the Newsletter Editor and wanted
> to
> "level the playing field" by having my short article "balanced" by
> one
> written by Steve Austin. For those of you unfamiliar with Dr.
> Austin, he
> works for the Institute for Creation Research in El Cajun,
> California,
> and
> is prominent in their literature and videos. Dr. Austin has been
> very
> active for over the past 20 years in the fight to bring "balanced
> treatment" to the classrooms of America. His present model for
> coal
> formation states that coal can form "very quickly." He uses the
> accumulation of trees in Spirit Lake after the blast of Mt. St.
> Helens as
> a
> model for coal formation. His previous model purported to having
> "floating
> forests" in nearshore marine settings. This model validated the
> idea
> that
> all coal formed during the Noachian Flood. The article I wrote in
> 1984
> discrediting this hypothesis can be made available to you upon
> request.
>
> I told Bill that I was unwilling to "balance" the presentation in
> the
> Newsletter because Dr. Austin's premises are not based upon
> scientific
> inquiry. I also told him that if the push to present "creationist
> views"
> continues in the Alabama Geological Society, that I will withdraw
> my
> membership and suggest that others do the same.
>
> The "push" towards "balanced" (read pseudoscience) treatment has
> already
> begun in the Newsletter. If you read the article in vol. 9 (no. 3)
> that
> was sent in August (dated 1 Aug), you will see that Bill Payne has
> used a
> book by van Flandern to cast suspicion on the accuracy of the
> geological
> time scale. The article is entitled "Fundamental Principle of
> Geology:
> Uniformitarianism/Cosmic Catastrophe." I can supply you with a copy
> if
> you
> do not have one available.
>
> As you are probably aware, there is a group of individuals in
> Alabama who
> are associated with the Eagle Forum, a christian-fundamentalist
> group who
> have tried to place their agenda into the State school system. They
> were
> partially successful this year with the inclusion of the "nobody
> was
> present when the first organisms appeared on Earth and, therefore,
> nobody
> can state how life appeared" statement NOW found in all Biology
> texts in
> the state. I believe that the Alabama Geological Society will be
> used as
> a
> "pawn" in this game, particularly if "pseudoscientific" articles,
> designed
> to cast skepticism on the principles of geology, appear on an
> issue-by-issue basis. With the Alabama Geological Society granting
> their
> "approval" of these ideas by publishing them, we will become
> unwitting
> cohorts in this deceptive game. In the end, we (the members) will
> all
> "agree" with what has been published and this will be further
> confirmation
> that "balanced treatment" is the right thing to do.
>
> If the inclusion of creationist-style articles continues in the
> Geological
> Society Newsletter, I hope that you will react accordingly and drop
> your
> membership. I would also hope that those of you who regularly
> participate
> in the meetings/functions of the Society take a stand against this
> incursion. Please inform your colleagues of this situation.
>
> Robert A. Gastaldo
> Alumni Professor of Geology
> Auburn University, AL 36849
>
> *******************
>
> The next day I received a call from the Society President who said
> he was
> getting calls from all over the State about me, and asked for my
> resignation. I felt at the tiime, and I still do, that as a matter
> of
> principle I was correct in what I had done, and refused to resign.
> A
> week later I got a letter saying I had been replaced.
>
> I have reviewed the 1984 article Gastaldo referenced above; it may
> be
> found at:
>
> http://www.calvin.edu/archive/asa/199804/0389.html
> http://www.calvin.edu/archive/asa/199805/0030.html
> http://www.calvin.edu/archive/asa/199805/0119.html
>
> I invited Bob to respond, but he hasn't quite gotten around to it
> yet.
>
> These types of stories are not all that uncommon. You may remember
> the
> editor who was hired for Scientific American who was terminated
> before he
> began work because it was discovered that he was a creationist.
>
> Dean Kenyon, author of "Of Pandas and People," had been an
> evolutionist
> for years, until he began to realize that the naturalistic
> explanations
> for life were lacking and he became a creationist. As I recall the
> story, his administrators at the Univ of California (?) tried to
> fire him
> but his fellow profs came to his rescue, saying he was exercising
> his
> academic freedom.
>
> And of course there was Halton Arp, who was denied telescope time
> because
> he kept finding evidence that redshift was not due to recessional
> velocity. Arp finally moved to West Germany where he could
> experience a
> little academic freedom again.
>
> And a highschool teacher, maybe in Oregon, who has been prohibited
> by his
> administrators from presenting problems with the theory of
> evolution.
> And a public grade-school teacher here in Alabama who was fired
> (actually, his contract wasn't renewed, and they don't have to tell
> you
> why) because he taught (I think) the concept of intelligent design.
> I
> understand that he was a great teacher and the kids loved him.
>
> I'm sure Phil Johnson could fill a book with examples. The point is
> -
> this trend is real and those who come after you are not very polite
> when
> you threaten their religion.
>
> Bill
> ________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________
"To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand."
Jose Ortega y Gasset
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jun 05 2001 - 01:33:43 EDT