Articles

Buzzing Evolutionists

By Karl C. Priest 11-10-08 (Revised 12-29-08)

A few years ago, after fighting some local battles, Dr. Joseph Mastropaolo and I concluded that the time had come to confront evolutionists in a way they had never experienced. The ways of ICR, AiG (for example), and even Kent Hovind had (and have) their place, but (as the saying goes) "if you do the same old thing you will get the same old results."

After a local (and vocal) atheist used a "top" scientist (Dr. Massimo Pigliucci.) in a discussion with me Dr. Mastropaolo offered assistance by challenging the Pigliucci.to debate. (During some of my local battles Dr. Mastropaolo had issued debate challenges to local extreme evolutionists.) Then, some obscure skeptics jumped on one of my articles. http://www.insectman.us/articles/karls/two-bugs-swatted.htm They received the challenge and quickly became mute. It became obvious that evolutionists are "all hat and no ranch", so (as they say on the streets) "it was on." The Life Science Prize was born.

D. Mastropaolo and I only select obnoxious and/or prominently publicized evolutionists to challenge.

Most of those challenged ignore us and hope the truth of their intellectual cowardice will go away especially (and unfortunately) since most leading creationists want to keep on doing what they have always done. After all, it keeps the donations coming into the creationist ministries and the battle is never ending. A never ending battle is unacceptable because each year hundreds of thousands of children are indoctrinated in a worldview that is seriously harmful (even spiritually fatal) to them.

A few evolutionists (like Dogmatic Dawkins) make the mistake of engaging us in dialogue. They usually do it in a mocking way thinking their (in their minds) superior intellect will prevail. The Q/A section of the Life Science Prize is based upon many (as well as several sincere questions form honest folks) of the evolutionists' sneering attempts to belittle me and Dr. Mastropaolo.

Some of the bluffers really get bugged. The evolutionist (arguably) main Internet site, TalkOrigins, designated a response to the Life Science Prize at http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CA/CA343.html. One of the dodgers, Dr. Michael Zimmerman, posted a response (http://ncseweb.org/rncse/25/5-6/life-science-prize) on the website of the spearhead anti-creation organization--the mis-named National Center for Science Education. Dr. Kevin R. Henke. Cried to the liberal West Virginia Attorney General who, amazingly, wasted several hours of the valuable time of a West Virginia State Trooper who had to come and investigate me for fraud! (I guarantee you that the West Virginia State Police have better things to do.)

One of the funniest incidents was whn Dr. Brahama D. Sharma, in the midst of an email exchange, told Dr. Mastropaolo, “I will sue you. Get prepared.”

Dr. Mastropaolo’s response is a classic example of wit and courage. He responded:

Dear Dr. Sharma:

You have threatened me with, "I will sue you." Then, you advise, "Get prepared."

Before you begin, my advice is to consult your attorney. You may find his legal fees in excess of $10,000 with little hope of recovering them or punitive damages from me. He also may remind you that the courts frown on trivial lawsuits and may rule attorneys fees and damages against you.

Contrarily, if you use that $10,000 for your entry fee for a Life Science Prize mini-trial, you have the possibility of collecting your fee plus mine if you have the requisite scientific evidence. Not only that, but you may collect the $1000 reward for finding an evolutionist champion that has contended for the Life Science Prize. Furthermore, the Prize may be won ad libitum, not just once like a lawsuit, and you may continually win it until your wealth becomes burdensome or until you feel you have punished me sufficiently for whatever slights, real or imagined, you perceive I have committed. Additionally should you win, the publicity is likely to make you world famous amongst your evolutionist colleagues, for none of more than 269,000 of them had the courage or acumen to do what you would have accomplished.

In summary, sue and you likely lose tens of thousands with little or no return monetarily or in satisfaction. Contend for the Life Science Prizes and potentially win scores of thousands with enormous satisfaction and worldwide fame.

Let me know which you prefer. If you prefer the lawsuit, please have your attorney contact me with the complaint. If you intend to contend for the Life Science Prize, then please indicate that you have your $10,000 ready to hand the judge and that you are committed to abiding by the rules (http://www.csulb.edu/~jmastrop/prize.html).

Either way, I am prepared and look forward to our day(s) in court.

Best wishes.

Joseph Mastropaolo

In 2008 two evolutionist extremist were brought to my attention via an Answers in Genesis fund raising letter.

Dr. Arthur Caplan is (as far as I can tell) is an atheist and Dr. Karl Giberson is a professing Christian.

Much to my (pleasant) surprise both of those true believers responded. Perhaps evolutionists felt braver due to the 2008 liberal political power. Or, maybe evolutionists were getting irritable as their big year (2009) approaches and Darwinism is dangling by a thread of censorship and abuse of authority. Whatever the reason, you have gotten to see classic examples of how evolutionists respond to the Life Science Prize challenge.

Anyway, Caplan (by derision) and Giberson (by diversion) provide classic examples of how evolutionists react when forced to face a demand to defend Darwinism with science in a fair venue.

Let’s first take a look at Caplan’s reactions. He cried “fraud” and tried to claim the Dover (PA) decision as a life preserver. When he realized that Dover was irrelevant he continued to use “fraud” as an argument and got real personal when he told me, “You sir are a despicable fraud.”

To which I replied:

It is interesting to be called “sir” and a “despicable fraud” at the same time.

Name calling will not get you out of the predicament in which find yourself.

You bragged, you were challenged on your bragging, then you dodged the contest your bragging instigated. When you call for a contest, then decline to compete, you have lost by default. Even six-year-olds know that.

That’s not fraud. That’s the truth.

If it will bolster your confidence, you may form a team that includes Judge Jones and all who testified at the Dover debacle. In fact, your team may consist of all true believers in evolutionism—worldwide.

I trust you will share our complete email exchange with your students.

The last line of my email was in reference to Caplan’s comment (in the email where he called me “despicable”): “I use your rules and debate terms in all of my classes now as examples of the lies of creationists and I thank for the example. My students now refer to the Life Science Prize as (sic) hoax.”

Well. I’d love for Dr. Caplan’s students to hear both his impotent bluff and our potent stuff. After all, until I got fed up with the blatant lie that evolutionism is, I sought to allow public school students to hear evidence both for and aginst evolution. I believe, if put on a level playing field, truth will always prevail.

So, after receiving a curt, “You are, sir, quite simply a fraud. My students fully understand that.” I responded with:

To paraphrase Dr. Mastropaolo: You said you had a jumping frog that can beat our jumping frog but you refused to put you money where your mouth is. If you say you have a runner who can beat our runner, or a jumper who can jump higher than our jumper, let's put them on a level playing field and see. The proof is in the results of the contest.

Your students may be impressed with your hot air.

Do you give me your word of honor that you will provide a copy of our entire email exchange?

If you do not advise your students with ALL of the facts, you not only are a purveyor of anti-science (I like Dr. Mastropaolo’s description below), but would become a hypocrite regarding academic honesty.

I agree with Dr. Mastropaolo that “Evolution is a zillion times more impossible than the Blue Fairy, the Witch of the North, Aladdin's genies, the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, the Headless Horseman, and the mathematical definition of impossible all put together.”

Please tell your students that they have permission to contact me or Dr. Mastropaolo.

Either of us would be happy to point them toward actual observable reality science.

Finally, I grew weary of Dr. Caplan’s irrational behavior and told him:

If you have any integrity you will allow your students to see each and every part of our email exchange.

I hope someone gets the word to Dr. Caplan’s poor brain-washed students.

Now, let’s look at the professing Christian and theistic evolutionist--Dr. Karl Giberson.

He tried the diversion tactic.

First, he tried to take over the challenge with an “acceptance”, but under his terms. He refused to verify that he accepted the rules and had $10,000 ready to hand the judge. That exchange was with Dr. Mastropolo. With me, Giberson exhibited snobbishness by saying (regarding a suggested mid-point location), “Are Dr. Mastropaolo's arguments somehow only valid in some academically impoverished backwater in the rural south?”

That insulting comment motivated me to ask Giberson to “please tell me what you (as a scientist and a Christian) think about the fact that Massachusetts has an interest in promoting homosexuality to children.”

That gave Dr. Giberson a straw to grasp and he said, “I am quite proud to live in a state like Massachusetts that believes hateful and anti-Christlike persecution of gay people is wrong. Just as Jesus did not condemn gays, neither do we here in the educational capital of the country.”

I responded with some questions which Dr. Giberson would not answer. Here are the questions and the reader should easily discern why the “Christian” Dr. Giberson wold not answer.

You failed to respond to my queries with direct answers, so let me be more specific and assume you will answer forthrightly.

Do you have prejudice against Southerners? Are we less intelligent than New Englanders?

Would you condemn a motto of a university that says, “Truth for Christ and his Church”?

I do not hate homosexuals and know of no Christians who do.

Is anal intercourse a normal and healthy practice? If not, why should society accept the non-Biblical marriage of two men?

Is Jesus God? Did God inspire the Bible? Does the Bible condemn sodomy?

Please do not dodge those questions. All are simple and can be answered without equivocation. Evolutionists, without any science, are forced to deride (like Caplan) or divert (like Giberson). The LSP ends all of their hot air escapades.

Caplan and Giberson represent perfect examples of what Dr. Mastropaolo and I have dealt with for 10 years.

There are enough Darwinian Disciples on the Debate Dodger list to easily gather $10,000 and take on Dr. Mastropaolo just to shut us up.

They do not, because they would lose and they know it.

Evolution only survives by censorship and persecution.

Despite the frantic swatting, as long as God gives us strength, Dr. Mastropaolo and I will continue to buzz evolutionists.

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Also see Joe’s Gems.

MY TESTIMONY