The Panda's Thumb: Casey Luskin and the evolution of an IDEA

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Casey Luskin and the evolution of an IDEA

Posted by PZ Myers on June 11, 2004 09:00 AM

I've written before about Casey Luskin and his IDEA club, which exists to promote Intelligent Design on college campuses. I've criticized it for having purely religious motivations (which Luskin tries desperately to conceal), and for their very poor understanding of the science they claim to criticize. Jack Krebs and Wesley Elsberry here at the Panda's Thumb have also ripped into Luskin over both of these issues.

Luskin, as you might guess, is indignant. In particular, he is irate that he was caught with a current listing at a conference that describes the IDEA club as a "ministry". It wasn't his fault, he protests. At length. At extravagant length.

But a look at the history of the IDEA club reveals a different story.

Continue reading "Casey Luskin and the evolution of an IDEA" (at Pharyngula)

Trackback URL: http://www.pandasthumb.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/260

Comment #3683

Posted by Mike on June 11, 2004 11:37 AM (e) (s)

The conference purpose, from the flyer:

1. The secular worldview which is humanistic in nature placing man at the center of all philosophy.

2. The Biblical worldview which looks to the Bible as the ultimate authority of all truth.

Sounds like a ministry to me. Then there are the speakers:

Mark Eckel: Associate Professor of Educational Ministries at Moody Bible Institute,…

Dr. Kenneth Boa President of Reflections Ministries…

What part, then, of “ministry”, is inapplicable?

I certainly have no problem with ministries. Just let’s not try to call them something they aren’t - or not call them something they are.

Comment #3691

Posted by darwinfinch on June 11, 2004 03:37 PM (e) (s)

As Mike says, it’s the endless, and shameless, willingness to lie and lie again, about anything, and eventually everything, while carping endlessly about the unfairness and duplicity of scientists, who have in general many better things to spend their time on, that has changed my attitude toward the creationism movement from one of puzzled negotiation to one of absolute and disgusted opposition/
I’m not a Christian, myself, but I’ve seen nothing that could be described as Christian (in the admirable sense, anyway) in the tactics used by such organizations or individuals.

Comment #3695

Posted by Pete Dunkelberg on June 11, 2004 06:03 PM (e) (s)

In coming down hard with the l-word, are you and others here overlooking other possible explanations?

Comment #3696

Posted by Bob Maurus on June 11, 2004 09:00 PM (e) (s)

I feel obliged to inform y’all here that Casey and I are engaging in a quite civil email discussion. I have no clue where it will lead, but for the moment at least, it’s open and honest. If he consents, I’ll post it here. If he doesn’t, I obviously won’t - that’s life.

Comment #3766

Posted by Mike S. on June 14, 2004 07:17 AM (e) (s)

Pete,

That’s a brilliant essay from Morton. We all have our “Maxwell’s demons” about something - we’re just infuriated by other people’s demons!