Re: Dawkins and increase in information

Glenn R. Morton (grmorton@waymark.net)
Tue, 29 Sep 1998 21:10:48 -0500

At 08:56 AM 9/29/98 -0700, Arthur V. Chadwick wrote:
>What genuinely puzzles me is that we were so quick to condemn the
>interviewere who produced the tape, but we have no condemnation for Dawkins
>who obviously has lied and fabricated a backpeddling of enormous
>proportions to cover himself. Sounds like a certain president I know of.
>But the question is why? Why do we not give our brothers the benefit of
>the doubt, but we accord Dawkins complete innocence. Even Glenn in his
>explanation offered no suggestion that Dawkins was anything but innocent.
>What gives here? And, what about his silence on that question, which after
>all seems to be the question of the hour here?

Art,

I was presented with a video which my observation (and I try to be a
careful observer of events) told me was doctored in some way. The narrator
appeared to be in one room and Dawkins in another. I viewed the video
several times examining the lighting . The narrator was against a white
wall when he asked the question, Dawkins was in a room with a stereo on a
bunch of bookshelves. The narrator was shown in other segments against
bookshelves. I looked long and hard to see if I could find a single common
object on the book shelves that the narrator was against and the
bookshelves shown with Dawkins. I could find no common object. Thus I
concluded that the video had been edited. (And indeed it had been).

Now, Gillian (whom I am sure will eventually get this note) admitted the
editing, and I deplored it and told her so, precisely because it undermines
HER credibility! She could have informed the reader that the narrator was
repeating a question, but they went to some length to make it look like the
narrator was facing Dawkins. That in and of itself is a deception in my
book although others, including Gillian, say it is common practice in the
video world. I will go to my grave thinking that that practice is unwise.

And as to Dawkins, before you assert that I was kind to Dawkins, I think
you should see

http://www.calvin.edu/archive/evolution/199807/0117.html

I am appalled that Dawkins initially couldn't remember the event, and
indeed Art, it is my possession of his original e-mail that told you that
he didn't. I remember when Carl Baugh sent a guy to interview me in 1983 or
so under false pretenses. I remember what the guy asked and I remember what
he looked like. Why Dawkins couldn't remember initially wanting to throw
Gillian out of the house is beyond me.

But to conclude. Christians are supposed to be moral. I don't think
doctoring tapes without alerting the viewer is moral. Do you?

glenn

Adam, Apes and Anthropology
Foundation, Fall and Flood
& lots of creation/evolution information
http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm