Imagine being an evolutionary biologist in a country where 73% of your fellow citizens are either outright young-Earth creationists (42%) or theistic evolutionist who believe God guided evolution (31%). Fewer than one person in five (19%) accepts evolution as the purely naturalistic process that I teach (and that is supported by evidence). And so the public is about to be bombarded by yet another creationist movie, “Is Genesis History?” The answer, of course, is “YES!”
Have a look at the 3-minute trailer below, in which they purport to dig up “scientists” who support the Genesis account. See how many outright lies you can spot.
Date: Thursday, February 23
Time: 7:00 p.m. (local time)
Run Time: 2 hours (approximate)
Ticketing: Tickets are available by clicking on the orange “Buy Tickets” button. If online ticketing is not available for your location, you can purchase your tickets by visiting the box office at your local participating movie theater.
Special Fathom Features: A special panel discussion with distinguished scientists and scholars about the current status of the Creation vs. Evolution Debate moderated by Dr. Del Tackett
Fathom Events is excited to present Is Genesis History?, a special one-night event in cinemas nationwide on Thursday, February 23.
Dr. Del Tackett treks the globe to meet with top scientists and scholars and asks the questions surrounding the most controversial book of the Bible that everyone is curious about: Was everything created in six days? Did we evolve from apes? Were Adam and Eve real? Was there a global flood? What happened to the dinosaurs? Was there a tower of Babel?
This first-of-its-kind documentary seeks to throw new light on the origin of man and his true history as revealed in Genesis.
Curiously, none of the “scientists” are identified. Do you know any of them?
The only good aspect of this is that the movie will be shown on one night only: February 23. If you want to see it on that night, the cinemas are here.
h/t: Frank
Religious colleges have “science” departments, but their faculty have to swear fealty to their church doctrine, which will often include creationism. I’m guessing the “scientists” in this movie are from places with names like ‘East Jesus College of Scriptural Truth,’ or BIOLA, or “___ Baptist College”.
Here is a link to the website that identifies the talking heads in the movie.
http://isgenesishistory.com/experts
All men.
Is Kurt Wise the “honest creationnist” of Dawkins? (Google “Sadly, an Honest Creationist”) The one who made his PhD in SJ Gould’s lab and said:
“I am a young-age creationist because that is my understanding of the Scripture. As I shared with my professors years ago when I was in college, if all the evidence in the universe turns against creationism, I would be the first to admit it, but I would still be a creationist because that is what the Word of God seems to indicate. Here I must stand.”
If the others are like him, this would indicate the degree of scientific objectivity in that film: a very small drop… in an ocean of faith.
Yes, and many of the others at that link will be recognized by anyone whose followed the creationists with advanced degrees over the years. Such as: Steve Austin, Robert Carter, Danny Faulkner, Paul Nelson (Discovery Institute Fellow), Marcus Ross, Andrew Snelling, Todd Wood, and of course, Kurt Wise.
Yes, I read about the sad story of Kurt Wise. He made the thought experiment of cutting all passages out of the bible that were incompatible with his paleontological training. There was not much left. Astonishingly (for a trained paleontologist) he did the opposite of what one would expect, and ditched science.
And such is the power of doctrine indoctrinated into a young mind. It is very hard to let go both logically and socially.
My guessing is getting pretty good! — nailed it on Biola, but failed to mention the possibility that they’d drop lower than that (Creation Research Soc., Liberty U., Answers in Genesis, etc.) There was at least one from Baptist joint. There was one archaeologist from a legitimate university (Wilfrid Laurier U.), and even he had a history at religio-crackpot places (Novosibirsk Biblical-Theological Seminary [wow!!, literally in Siberia], Shepherds Theological Sem.)
The only one I’ve heard of is Snelling, who has degrees from a reputable university and writes for mainstream journals from a scientific point of view, and for Christian journals from a YEC point of view. For an extended discussion of this guy try reading Telling Lies for God
Also read, Will the real Dr Snelling please stand up?
Amusingly (well, to me at least), just as this post comes in I’m reading a small bit about the geology of the Appalachians (in chapter 15 in Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods) and thinking how much more interesting even this little bit is than anything I ever learned in 25 years of being religious.
Thinking the stuff in Genesis is literal is not only boring, but puerile. It is no different, really, from pretending that Santa Claus or the tooth fairy are real, and cuts oneself off from real history, real science, and what has so insightfully been called “The Magic of Reality”.
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I said something similar in another comment (another site) just a little while ago.
Compared to the spectacular wonder of real reality and its explanations, religion is so simple and simple minded and tedious and boring. And as you said.
I have googled “Dr Del Tackett” but can not find what it is he is a doctor of. I am really sick of pundits on the left or the right who use “Dr” in front of their name to pretend to have some authority in what they are talking about.
Isn’t Revelations the most controversial book in the Bible? Maybe not, since most people agree it’s BS.
He’s listed as a DM.
I found the following about Dr. Del Tackett on the internet. I assume the other “scientists” are of similar education and professional standing.
“Dr. Del Tackett is former president of the Focus on the Family Institute and a former Senior Vice President of Focus on the Family. He is also the creator of Focus on the Family’s The Truth Project—a nationwide initiative designed to bring the Christian worldview to the body of Christ.”
On a different note: I recently read a volume of 20th century sci fi short stories and encountered an author I didn’t know named James Morrow. I haven’t read them yet, but among others, he has written the following books with a different perspective on God and Christianity:
Only Begotten Daughter
Towing Jehovah
Blameless in Abaddon
The Eternal Footman
This is the Way the World Ends
The Last Witchfinder
I’ve started on “The Last Witchfinder” set in England in the time of James II. Imagine proponents of the “Malleus Maleficarum” in conflict with advocates of Isaac Newton’s
“Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica”.
I hope those of you who hate science fiction will forgive me for mentioning these books.
“Imagine proponents of the ‘Malleus Maleficarum’ in conflict with advocates of Isaac Newton’s ‘Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica'”
You mean exactly like here and now?
Those who hate science fiction are best ignored.
The Truth Project also states:
The Colorado Doctoral Studies currently offered all seem to be various flavours of managment. Strange that the Truth Project doesn’t specify the disciplines, only the degree levels.
That reminds me of the scary connection between the criminologist pseudoscience of “profiling” and the persecution of Jews (and others) in the early Christian Roman (“Byzantine”) Empire. Apparently historians can find the connection – I read about it in the latest criminologist white-wash attempt of comprehensive textbook.
Dr Del Tackett’s birth name is Buford Tackett – I have no idea why “Del” – maybe a middle name.
He claims to have been director of technical planning for the National security Council during the Bush era, but I can’t find his name associated with the NSC anywhere except for his own claims & the claims of various Christian sites
Also he claims to being a fighter pilot in the USAF during the Vietnam war who didn’t go to Vietnam [he was grounded due to a ligament problem or some such…]
His doctorate is a DM [Doctor of Management] from Colorado Technical University: “…the terminal degree for management professionals. The program prepares students to think and act strategically and enhance their abilities to make positive contributions in their chosen area of management expertise.”
CTU appears to be heavily vocational with nothing to indicate the academic staff are involved in any form of research i.e. it churns out nurses, accountants etc & avoids areas of education that require expensive equipment & laboratories: http://www.coloradotech.edu/degrees/doctorates/management
His bio stinks – massaged somewhat I suspect:
http://desiderantangeli.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/extended-biography-of-dr-del-tackett.html
A ligament problem, I bet it is a calcification, aka a ‘bone spur’ 😂
(Note, ‘bone spurs’ do not prevent people from running Marathons or even longer races)
James Morrow would, if America were a rational country, be a national treasure.
Besides the novels you mention, he also has a book of short stories, Bible Stories for Adults. His retelling of the stories of Noah’s flood, the tower of Babel, the giving of the ten commandments, and Job are really something.
I’ve liberally quoted from his novel Only Begotten Daughter on this website in the past, usually this: “Science has all the answers; we don’t have all the science.”
However, for purposes of the OP, this one fits even better:
“I’m really interested in this stuff.” Julie rubbed a carton labeled ELEMENTARY PARTICLES.
“Physics?”
“Physics, biology, stars, everything.”
Howard said, “Good for you. These days most people prefer to impoverish their minds with mysticism.”
Much more on his Wikiquote page.
I suspect that where they say cinemas they actually mean a cinema
This one-star review of Bible Stories for Adults sold it to me:
Amazon Verified Purchase
Most mis-leading. You should give more information about the books you sell. I wanted a straight forward resume of the Old Testament not a nasty scurilous confection of horrible stories. If I cannot return this book to you I shall burn it
🙂
OK, a whole week late, but I just thought of this. Imagine not having any problem with committing genocide, but thinking that making fun of such a horrid myth is “scurrilous”!
Focus on the Family? I guess that makes him a family-doctor 😆.
‘Malleus Maleficarum’ (the Hammer of Witches) a handbook for torture or the ‘Principia’, a ‘rape manual’, choose your hobby!
I’ve read Towing Jehovah, several years ago. Basic outline is god has died and his physical form, which is ginormous, needs to be towed to a final resting place. It’s basically hitched to a ship which is taking it to the Artic. Of course, he begins to rot a bit and all that so that is one of the issues with towing him. He’s two miles long.
Here’s a link to the Amazon listing: http://tinyurl.com/zxfd3g6
“God is dead, and Anthony Van Horne doesn’t feel very well himself. Van Horne–whose captaincy of a mammoth oil tanker during an Exxon Valdez -type spill has left him unemployed, estranged from his family and suffering nightmares–is hired by the Vatican to pilot his former vessel as it tows the Supreme Being (found dead of unknown causes) to a tomb in the Arctic that His angels have built for Him.”
It’s a good read.
It is kind of like my “friend” who is in the SDA church. His proof positive that g*d exists is – you are alive. Leaves me speechless.
…and around 100 bilion people have already died, making god seem rather wasteful.
Yes, and then, there are the sharks.
And when you die, does this mean God ceases to exist, too?
I think they missed a word. “Fake”, which should be put between Genesis and History. Sadly the lack of education and the made up controversies about evolution,a lot of people will believe this. Hugs
“Curiously, none of the “scientists” are identified. Do you know any of them?”
No, nor do I know of Dr T. I Googled him, and didn’t find much, not even a Wikipedia article. I don’t believe in giving these non-entities and their cause oxygen.
So many untruths…
One sees and hears the expressions of earnestly expressed belief, couched with all the right nuances of eye contact, sincerity, and artful tongue. Wrapped in a documentary with emotive music and visually appealing pictures that is aimed to persuade. But what is being said is godgodgodgodditygodgodgodiditgoddidit…
is it significant that the button to push for the tickets is ORANGE???
The Menckenian producer (who’s never gone broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public) meets the Barnumesque consumers (who’re the suckers born every minute).
It appears to have been financed by crowd funding, although they raised less than $1 million. I wonder if they had other backing.
http://genesismovie.com/crowd-funder.php
The cinematography seemed great but I suppose that’s a lot easier now with HR drones.
The only thing I found notable was the appearance by Paul Nelson. For many years IDers took great pains to distance themselves from creationists but it seems they’ve stopped that.
They dropped the mask years ago. As far back as 2009, the Discovery Institute hired outright YECs for their “research unit”.
Archive link to the Disco Toot’s announcement.
None of the creationist stuff would be of any interest if originating with the average street preacher.
It’s the politics and power not the message — tragic and horrifying given our times.
Oh, Lawdy! I love Fathom events- their Met Opera simulcasts and Bolshoi Ballet simulcasts, especially.
First of its kind documentary??
Re: “Curiously, none of the “scientists” are identified.”
Here they are:
http://isgenesishistory.com/experts
The biologist is from Liberty University.
Best comment on the ticket web site: If evolution were true, and Blu-Ray’s came from CD’s, why are CD’s still around?
In reference to a comment above.
The story of television and sound recording and video recording and all the theory and technology behind it is extremely interesting.
Far more interesting than any religious story.
But where are the transitional DVDs, eh?
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Dawkins’ refusal to debate creationists seems more reasonable every day.
Looks really interesting. I’d love to see it. It’s wonderful to have these debates….and it’s wonderful to have people feel they can put their opinions and feelings out there. Without that it would not be a ‘free world’. I don’t like being told what to think but I do like to hear offerings and opinions. Earth would be boring without it. Never fear – Darwin was once regaled as eccentric – the Truth is out there, whatever it is.
@onyajay
[1] By whom exactly & about what exactly was Darwin “once regaled as eccentric”?
[2] You “don’t like being told what to think?” – what are you on about? Who is telling you what to think?
[3] And – the way you write about this new movie/documentary as if it’s part of a legitimate debate is just wrong! The ‘expertise’ marshalled in the creationist camp that’s listed for this documentary… that’s just about the entire team of ‘experts’ that the creationists have globally.
NONE of these people are interested in science or debating.
ALL of them have had their scientific ‘arguments’ refuted numerous times & yet they keep churning out the same discredited points – they don’t actually research, experiment or adapt their views when presented with a solid refutation. This is because they know their fundamentalist Christian audience doesn’t care about such things.
I suggest you look up Snelling & Steve Austin to start with & see why nobody in the world of science takes these people seriously. There’s links in this thread for Snelling. To put it bluntly – these people are dishonest.
Exactly. There is no educated exchange of ideas with the creationists, they are fixated on an ancient myth and nothing can dissuade them that it’s not literally true.
Wow Michael, you like the sound of your own voice don’t you. You seem to be the type of person that gets annoyed with complete strangers online,even polite ones! I can’t imagine why you’ve responded by giving me your numerically dot pointed “To Do” list. Perhaps you believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion as long as it’s the same as yours. Wow. Again. That’s pretty sad.
I’ll just take my pleasantly neutral comment, a polite “Thankyou for the interesting post” directed at the OP, not at you, and shove it where the-sun-don’t-shine, shall I? Or is that a bit too creationist for you?
As I have both feet planted firmly in the evolution camp, I’m surprised that someone as obviously superior as yourself is not aware of the difficulties Darwin faced when presenting his theories to a widely Christian community. However, I’m sure you know much better than I. Or probably Darwin.
onyajay – you choose to swerve around all my queries & points. Perhaps you can’t clarify or rebut them?
Darwin [& his take on evolution] wasn’t regarded as “eccentric” by his Christian detractors as far as I know – it was actually an existential threat to the whole edifice of ‘English’ life & ultimately Empire. “Eccentric” doesn’t cover it & THAT was my point – what Darwin started & the misinterpretations of Darwin was/is a big deal. The biggest idea there ever was.
You’re prepared to put your earnings into the pockets of these hucksters [“I’d love to see it”] so that they are further fuelled to spread their lies. Your whole post is so imbued with a lack of awareness of the situation throughout the US today that it needed a bit of acid to dissolve the fluffy bunnies.
aaaah. You’re American. That explains it.
I’m Irish born & I live in the UK – so no – a click on my link would have you prepared with a more pertinent post. LOL
Perhaps their god exists only in the sense that these people feel good about doing what they imagine is his will.
I am rewarded by the idea therefore god exists.
Rather like many other pleasures it is difficult or even impossible to rationalise.
Just a thought.
I know this type of stuff shouldn’t get me as down as it does, but it does get me down, often scarily so.
Carl Kruse
Laugh it up, our incoming vice president is a YEC, as well as being a cigarette smoking/lung cancer denier.
I don’t want to sound cynical, in the sense of sounding like a person who believes people are motivated primarily by their own self-interest, but I can see that the tremendous amount of work Dr. Coyne devotes to this website does offer at least some return to him, in the form of reassurance that there are plenty of us out there who know that science wins because it works.
And yet….conservative Christian pundits will still cry about the media having too much of a secular progressive agenda.
“Is Genesis History?”….Must be another one of those new situation comedies I won’t be watching.
Genesis should be history.
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With my Film Critic hat on,and even though its a Trailer, I have never heard such unadulterated bullshit in the space of 3 mins.
Amazing.
My usual question to the proponents, whoever they are: how do you think people who first realized Genesis *wasn’t* history came to the conclusion?
(I asked a creationist the same sort of question about how people changed their mind on the age of the earth. This was an unexpected question to him. I’m guessing that the proponents have no answer to this.)
In fundamentalist circles (trust me, I know) the usual answer is either “they were apostasizing, and substituting man’s word for god’s” or “they were looking for excuses to justify their immoral lifestyle” or some conflation of the two. See (or better yet, don’t see) Ken Ham’s ravings for substantiation.
A more-or-less ex-friend sent me a sermon by some creationist. I responded to him with a detailed written critique, part of which was exactly your question: Given that in 1800 or so not only was Genesis accepted as history, but also the entire culture was permeated with a christian ethos that would slow or prevent any change away from this position, how did it happen? I explained some of the evidence, too. He never responded.
Notice that no *argument* is offered. (I’m sure you did, just drawing attention to it.) When Spinoza tells you Moses could not have written Deuteronomy (without being a jerk, anyway), he tells you why. I wonder if these folks ever consider this.
99.9999% of them couldn’t identify Spinoza with a history of philosophy and three copies of Wikipedia at their side.
As for reasons, remember House’s dictum: “If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people.”
i watched this to see if i recognized any of the scientists. Now i feel dirty.
Perhaps move the link in the second comment into the post, so no one else suffers like I did?