(mis) adventures At the Creation Evidence Museum

[Alyrium Denryle]

Hey folks,

As some of you might know, I have recently transplanted from Arizona to Texas, and joined a local freethinkers group. Over the weekend we decided to go down the Glen Rose (the Paluxy river) to visit the Creation Evidence Museum run by "Dr." Baugh. Now, I use the quotes because like most creationists he got his Ph.D from a trailer.

So, we first get there, and the first thing I notice is that they have some wonderful petrified wood out front, and that there is a 2 dollar entry fee. Of course there is! We didnt pay. We walked in, waited until the guy at the booth was busy and snuck by. No one noticed. So before the serm...er I mean lecture started we walked around a bit. My first thought was "what the hell did these bastards do to that pheasant?" because they had a desecrated pheasant corpse made up to look like a mutated archeopteryx. So, I am looking around and the place was not impressive. Mostly because no one in their right mind would give these people fossils. They had a few casts which I am pretty sure were not real casts (feeling them they were neither plaster, nor fossilized bone) . The most impressive thing in the (small) building was a set of massive wooden doors supposedly from some ancient jewish temple. I will get into why that is interesting in a moment, and a tapestry supposedly from the wailing wall. There were also empty display cases that "once they collected 7 thousand dollars for a security system" would have scrolls from somewhere in them.

They also had an obviously fake set of "Man tracks" you know, the tracks from the Paluxy river that supposedly have human and dino walking side by side? Yeah, obviously carved human feet from a vandalized therapod track.

Needless to say I was kinda pissed. As in, wanted to murder someone pissed. But then the "lecture" started. "Dr" Baugh got up and started to extol the virtues of the massive set of hebrew doors the museum had just received and how the several jews for jesus he knew had worked so hard to get them etc etc etc. Then the awfulness started. He then went on a short but profound anti-semitic diatribe about how essentially jews that were not christians were greedy deceptive shysters

"Now, thank the Lord (so and so) was a christian, because other jews would have made us pay three times for those doors". Complete with a highly offensive and racist impression of a money-grubbing jewish merchant. It was like something out of a nazi propaganda piece of wagners operas. This was not met with chuckles, or laughter from the audience as befits a poorly crafted joke. No. It was met with "Amen brother!" and other things christians do to show approval from the lily-white congregation (yes... congregation).

That was my first clue that the lecture would be more like a church service run by Stormfront.org

The second clue was that "Dr. Baugh" knew most of these people by their first name. They were regulars. Indeed a congregation.

The third and final clue that I was not at a lecture but a church service was the 20 minutes of hymns that followed. Through all this, the four people, Myself, Daniel, Amanda and Elijah (not a jew, but a unitarian) sat in stoic if horrified silence.

Then the lies began.

This motherfucker then proceeded to slander scientists, misrepresent their work, and outright lie to everyone in attendance. Apparently the moon's recession from the earth is plotted on a linear curve instead of an exponential curve, the sun does not have a nucleus, God stretches time so the speed of light is not a problem, and other discovery fun goodfacts.

And of course he structures the after sermon portion such that he can face no actual opposition or questioning. He takes three questions from hand-selected people. None of us even bothered to ask, because all he would do was lie. After the lecture, all four of us left and screamed in the car....

Then we went to the river to see real dinosaur tracks, and catch northern cricket frogs...

[Alyrium Denryle]

Oh, and I forgot. I will have to go back. WIth a hidden camera to see if I can get these fuckers on fraud and tax code violations.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Sounds like it's nothing more than an egotistically-named church with an eccentric collection of knick-knacks, rather than something that should be called a "museum".

[Kamakazie Sith]

Wow. I commend you for keeping your cool. A lot of that would be close to intolerable.

[Kanastrous]

A less level-headed and law abiding person than yourself - or anyone else around here, of course - would doubtless have been entertaining thoughts of arson.

[Vehrec]

Reminds me of my visit to the Creationist Museum-on my next trip I'll try to document everything they have there. A few pics on a cameraphone don't do the horror justice.

[FireNexus]

A less level-headed and law abiding person than yourself - or anyone else around here, of course - would doubtless have been entertaining thoughts of arson.

He snuck in without paying. How law abiding is he?

Just kidding, AD. I wouldn't want those pricks to have my money either.

[Darth Wong]

I don't think I would have been able to resist doing one of those *coughbullshitcough* sounds.

[Rye]

I would've been that guy who laughed too long and too hard at the wrong parts of the sermon. Just long enough for everyone to feel uncomfortable. "So God gave his only begotten son so-" "HAHAHAHAH!!!" "-in the resurrection" "<just audibly> erection, hahah".

The evangelical attitude toward the jews has often flown along these lines. Hitchens gives lots of examples of Billy Graham, Falwell and Robertson doing much the same as the vile obscurantist demagogue in the OP.

[Kamakazie Sith]

A less level-headed and law abiding person than yourself - or anyone else around here, of course - would doubtless have been entertaining thoughts of arson.

Just to clarify. I didn't mean to imply violence. I would have been very tempted to call bullshit on that fucker, and point out the bullshit that I could identify. Though it would be a fruitless effort considering the fact that he was surrounded by an audience of "me-too" morons.

[Zablorg]

Wow. I commend you for keeping your cool. A lot of that would be close to intolerable.

Seconded. I don't think I could go on for more than fifteen minutes before I started something.

Did he demonstrate a history of the moon's recession in any way? It would be pretty tricky to say it moves in a linear equation if something as basic as a line graph could blow that to dust. Unlike science which uses many big words that can be misused, the moon's drift can be clearly represented by solid math.

Does anyone know the precise equation, by the way?

[Count Chocula]

Those people really exist? Damn, you have a stronger stomach than I.

I once went to a Pastor John Hagee sermon in San Antonio (long story). I thought he was the worst Texas could produce.

I stand corrected.

[Count Chocula]

Zablorg, do you mean something along the lines of Kepler's equation or those of orbital mechanics? If so, I'm afraid there are far too many strange mathematical symbols for the average seminary student to understand.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Wow. I commend you for keeping your cool. A lot of that would be close to intolerable.

Seconded. I don't think I could go on for more than fifteen minutes before I started something.

Did he demonstrate a history of the moon's recession in any way? It would be pretty tricky to say it moves in a linear equation if something as basic as a line graph could blow that to dust. Unlike science which uses many big words that can be misused, the moon's drift can be clearly represented by solid math.

Does anyone know the precise equation, by the way?

Cant say I do, but the basic model is an exponential curve IIRC.

Wow. I commend you for keeping your cool. A lot of that would be close to intolerable.

I practically kissed the ground at the fossil bed...

I also had my darwin shirt on under an unbuttoned hawiian print, that way I would be protected by the Geneva Convention if I got caught. Wouldn't want to be executed as a spy in the culture wars now would I?

A less level-headed and law abiding person than yourself - or anyone else around here, of course - would doubtless have been entertaining thoughts of arson.

I stayed sane by fantasizing about coming back with a rocket launcher...

[Akhlut]

Did he say anything about evolution being the source of racism?

I'm just curious because I'm a huge fan of irony.

[Frank Hipper]

It was catching "Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr." Carl Baugh on Trinity Broadcast Network years and years ago that led me to the wonderful world of intardnet creationism.

Anyway, I've seen Baugh spout off on (I shit you not) the factual existance of near-Ptolemaic crystal spheres and clorophyl lodged in Tyranosaur teeth.
The crystal spheres of the firmament being required for the pre-flood hyperbaric nature of earth's atmosphere, and the clorophyl in T-Rex's teeth proving, of course, that before the The Fall, all creatures existed in herbivorous harmony in Eden.

The man is really the worst of the breed. By far...

The episode with him and Kent Hovind was a real kicker; I could have thrown a brick through the television, it had me howling in rage.

I've never seen him indulge his anti-semitic leanings on TV, though, fascinating.

[Kanastrous]

I've never seen him indulge his anti-semitic leanings on TV, though, fascinating.

Seeing as Jews control the media, it would probably be a bad move on his part. No future access to the airwaves, you know...

...more likely he realizes the same thing that the Nazis did: not everybody as equally receptive to the Jew-hatred; in fact it will turn some potential supporters off. So be prudent in choosing venues in which to air it.

[Raptor_Pilot]

Creation Evidence Museum?

My brain just exploded into pieces. I am continually amazed at stupid people's ability to believe anything they are told.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Creation Evidence Museum?

My brain just exploded into pieces. I am continually amazed at stupid people's ability to believe anything they are told.

It's not even a good excuse for a museum.

At least the Creation Science Museum in Kentucky apes the appearance of a real museum and has the funds to make professoinal-looking displays and the like. Though of course that's actually a bad thing, as it makes it more convincing to uninformed children that what they're experience is legitimate science.

[Raptor_Pilot]

Though of course that's actually a bad thing, as it makes it more convincing to uninformed children that what they're experience is legitimate science.

That kind of parenting makes me sick, indoctrinating children at a young age before they are able to form their own oppinions about life.

This is off topic, but I remember a girl that was in my elementary school who was maybe 8 years old spouting a bunch of religious nonsense to me after school while we were walking home. I asked her whether she really believed all of that stuff and she never thought that anyone else didn't believe it. She thought everyone else had the same ideas. I asked her why she believed that rock music "was the devil" and being friends with boys "was the devil" and she couldn't answer me. Two weeks later she moved away. I guess her parents thought I was "the devil sent to tempt their daughter" because a friend of her's told me her family moved away because of me. I never found out if that was true or not, but it has given me a mission in life: to be a bad influence on kids

[Alyrium Denryle]

Creation Evidence Museum?

My brain just exploded into pieces. I am continually amazed at stupid people's ability to believe anything they are told.

It's not even a good excuse for a museum.

At least the Creation Science Museum in Kentucky apes the appearance of a real museum and has the funds to make professoinal-looking displays and the like. Though of course that's actually a bad thing, as it makes it more convincing to uninformed children that what they're experience is legitimate science.

I am actually pretty sure this "museum" is one massive case of tax fraud... I would have to look up the different rules governing museums and churches...

[SisterMiriamGodwinson]

1. Are you sure you just didn't accidently misrepresent what he said to you during his speech in your mind?
2. Do you think that he really meant what he said?
3. Did he really say it?

All the same question, but I never considered that the Carl Baugh I knew would ever say anything anti-Semetic. Conservative Christians are acting less and less anti-Jewish these days, although I don't get out much, so I"m just saying that I"m apalled if what you say is in fact true.

[Alyrium Denryle]

1. Are you sure you just didn't accidently misrepresent what he said to you during his speech in your mind?
2. Do you think that he really meant what he said?
3. Did he really say it?

All the same question, but I never considered that the Carl Baugh I knew would ever say anything anti-Semetic. Conservative Christians are acting less and less anti-Jewish these days, although I don't get out much, so I"m just saying that I"m apalled if what you say is in fact true.

Yes to every last one.

Come the fuck on. The man is already a lying con artist and charlatan. What is a little anti-semitism among idiots? It isnt like they are not a bunch of christian zionists who's entire theology doesnt revolve around the jews being genocided(again) as a pre-cursor to the end times... Why do you think they are so "pro" israel? It isnt because they like jews. It is because they NEED a second holocaust.

[SisterMiriamGodwinson]

Alright fine...

[Darth Wong]

Conservative Christians are acting less and less anti-Jewish these days, although I don't get out much, so I"m just saying that I"m apalled if what you say is in fact true.

Uh, no. Conservative Christians are increasingly pro-Israel, but that doesn't mean they're increasingly fans of Jews.

I know how modern crypto-racists operate. The same guy who shakes his head about how badly we've treated black people will suddenly discover his inner racist when his daughter brings home a black boyfriend. Quite frankly, I think it would be naive to believe that conservative Christians' antipathy for anti-Semitism runs any deeper than that.