Blogger Randy Kirk, a self-described fundamentalist Christian, also attented the Skeptic Society Confernce last weekend at CalTech, and came away a little bruised by the experience. He says:
I have been attending fundamentalist churches for the last 20 years, and have gone to countless conferences during that time. I can’t remember a single time when positions were taken in those meetings that were so pompous, so biased, or so lacking in humility. Those in the leadership of the Christian “right” never say that the debate is over. In this conference, that was the refrain. I think there is a problem in our scientific community. The consequence of this problem may only result in horrible science, but it could result in tyranny.
There is no apparent irony in the fact that Kirk’s blog is called “The Truth About Everything.”
That said, Kirk’s reportage is clear and thoughtful, even if he is not conscious of the contradictions. And his analysis is also on the money: the academics at the conference presented their findings in a way that left no scope whatever for arguing, say, the Theory of Evolution.
That’s as it should be given the scientific evidence debunking Intelligent Design (an earlier target of the Skeptic Society), but Kirk does a nice job representing the fundamentalist Christian position. And he brings a degree of sincerity to the task that you might miss while watching Fox News or listening to the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
