Friday, February 10, 2012

Parallel Universe: bibliolatry v. reality

A few months ago I wrote a short item about Mail-oder Theology Degrees. My friend Richard Hope left a comment,
It's like there's a parallel universe in which it's the title that counts, regardless of its provenance. Pure Kent Hovindry. Hey--"Hovindry" as a term for it. That's more succinct than my previous term, inflationary credentialism.

As it happens, the notion that creationists live in an alternate (if not exactly 'parallel universe' since I think they are skewed) has some other promoters. Karl Giberson, and Randall Stephens wrote an OpEd for the New York Times last October 17th, which mentioned
"... many evangelicals created what amounts to a “parallel culture,” nurtured by church, Sunday school, summer camps and colleges, as well as publishing houses, broadcasting networks, music festivals and counseling groups. Among evangelical leaders, Ken Ham, David Barton and James C. Dobson have been particularly effective orchestrators — and beneficiaries — of this subculture. "The Evangelical Rejection of Reason," (The New York Times, October 17, 2011).

We have to award priority to Giberson, and Stephens, if only by one day.

It is no surprise that Giberson and Stephens are attacked in the fundy press, or that one attack comes from creationist historian, Discotute Richard Weikart "Should We Believe the Intellectuals?"

I hope to attend to that over the weekend, as well as Joseph Kuhn: Part 3.

2 comments:

RBH said...

I just read Stephens and Giberson's book (once through rapidly), and as far as I can see, Weikart reviewed a different book from the one they wrote and I read.

Gary S. Hurd said...

I am thinking that Weikart only reads books to find ways to support his creationism.

I don't know that he has ever read their book, and might just be slavering over their NY Times essay. His reading ability there is pathetic as well.