Hovind has been inducted into the Creation Science Hall of Fame, which is nothing but a website run by a crank. It seems a fitting honor.
I was amused that half the write-up about him had to consist of making excuses for the fact that he’s a jailbird, though.
The Creation Science Hall of Fame believes that Kent is in jail out of principle, and not deceit as per our discovery.
Kent Hovind is a tax protester. His is only one of many tax protests that Americans, from time to time, have lodged in the federal courts. Did Kent make mistakes during his attempt to prove his point? Yes, and he admits to them. None of us are perfect.
What the judicial system calls “tax crimes” was an attempt to invalidate the tax structure. In America at least, the simplest way to get standing to invalidate a law as unconstitutional is to break said law and suffer punishment for said breach. Kent Hovind gambled that he would find a righteous judge. He lost. And his experience bears witness to us all that our entire national judiciary is willing to accept disagreements on principle as illegal acts worthy of punishment. This is why the Creation Science Hall of Fame believes that Dr. Kent Hovind is in jail out of principle and not deceit and that he should be honored, especially among the Christians who believe in a super natural creation as described in Genesis by God.
He cheated on his taxes and lied about it; he made efforts to conceal his income by, for instance, making multiple bank withdrawals of less than $10,000 in order to avoid automatic reporting, and he also paid employees under the table to avoid having to pay taxes on that. He was not standing up for a principle, he was doing his damnedest to avoid getting caught lining his own greedy pockets.
(via Robert Baty)
Eric Hovind has shown up in the comments to claim that none of my allegations are true. However, the wikipedia summary of the charges is clear.
On July 11, 2006, Hovind was charged in the District Court in Northern Florida in Pensacola with twelve counts of willful failure to collect, account for, and pay over federal income taxes and FICA taxes, forty-five counts of knowingly structuring transactions in federally insured financial institutions to evade reporting requirements, and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the administration of the internal revenue laws. Twelve of the charges were for failing to pay employee-related taxes, totaling $473,818, and 45 of the charges were for evading reporting requirements by making multiple cash withdrawals just under the $10,000 reporting requirement (a technique known as “smurfing”). The withdrawals, totaling $430,500, were made in 2001 and 2002. Jo Delia Hovind, his wife, faced 44 charges.
He and his wife were found guilty on all charges. Every one.
I’ll try to use this excuse in future. “No, officer, I wasn’t shoplifting. I am an anti-capitalism, anti-property protester, and I am attempting to invalidate the legal structure that declares theft a crime. What better way to invalidate those laws than to break them?” I’m sure I’ll be as successful in my line of argument as Hovind.
Gotta love that one. If you believe you are acting on principle, you are not breaking the law. So teaching Genesis in science class? You’re good. Stoning a homosexual? No problem. Rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesars? It’s coo . . .
Oh.
Never mind.
Now if only we could stop the real tax crime of classifying contributions to religious organizations as “charitable”.
PZ, How you manage to write so much untruth I don’t know, but Kent Hovind did not “cheat” on his taxes, did not “lie” about it and was not making withdrawals to hide anything. When you read the court transcript you will discover that employees paid their own taxes, Kent did not even file income taxes, and claimed such the entire time without lying about it.
Just thought I would let you know the truth, even though I know it does not make any difference to you as you will continue to tell it in your own way.
What your dad thought was irrelevant. He lied, he cheated, he bullshat like you do, and was convicted for his dishonesty. As it should be. Liars and cheats need to learn not to lie and cheat.
Eric, care to tell us what a sovereign citizen is?
erichovind:
Did he pay his taxes, as required by law? Did he render unto Caesar that which is Caesars? Why should the law not apply to Kent Hovind?
Ogvorbis, look up sovereign citizen and there is your answer.
It’s funny, but if you read almost any court transcript, the defendants will repeatedly protest their innocence. And yet, when you read the court’s ruling, it’s almost as if the judges heard the defendant’s arguments, and were skeptical of it for some reason..
Starting out with a fiction as your basis for “truth” does lead to peculiar notions of “fact,” doesn’t it, Eric?
Still, you can’t just make up everything, eventually you collide with reality. Then you whine and whine, but it reality doesn’t care.
But just tell yourself that findings of fact are a conspiracy against the bullshitters of this world. It’s all that you can do to maintain your pack of lies.
Glen Davidson
Janine:
Oh, I got the sovereign citizen, citizen of the kingdom of god connection. I just wondered if erichovind would actually answer.
Always missing the point aren’t you. I never said that he did not have to pay taxes, I simply pointed out that he did not “cheat” or “lie” about them as was stated in the post.
Why would Eric answer? To do so would admit that Kent was actively avoiding paying taxes.
Well, getting associated with is probably an improvement for a creationist.
Not as far as the law is concerned.
Sorry, your evidenceless assertion is *POOF* dismissed as utter fuckwittery, same as your idiotic presuppositional arguement for your imaginary deity. Your dad lied and cheated. That is by not acknowledging and paying the taxes required of him. Prove otherwise with appropriate third party evidence, from legitamate sources outside of you and your dad’s delusional OPINIONS.
Eric:
I know you’re unaccustomed to dealing with reality, what with that silly religion thing, but your dad lied.
It really is that simple.
So Eric, did he or didn’t he make all his bank withdrawals under $10,000 to avoid the bank’s legal reporting requirement?
If he was trying to make a test case to challenge the tax laws, then having it come to the attention of the judicial system would be necessary and he would not have tried to hide under the radar of the reporting requirement limit. Seems like “cheating’ to me.
You poor delusional people, always trusting in scientistism and ‘evidence’ and ‘facts’. There ARE other ways of knowing the Truth (patent pending).
Well, Eric,
some people call it lying when you claim to have no income while you do, or cheating when you withdraw half a million from your bank account in small amounts to keep the bank from reporting…
Actually most people see it this way.
You don’t. Is it because your dad is exempt from basic morals, not to mention the grand commandment?
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_States_of_America_v_Kent_Hovind_and_Jo_Hovind
Hey LiarforJesus Jr.,
Your scum sucking father intentionally didn’t report income so he wouldn’t have to pay taxes on it. He intentionally and knowingly avoided doing anything that might alert authorities that he was avoiding paying his taxes, which he owed.
That is the very definition of lying and cheating.
He lied about owning property, and intentionally obfuscated said ownership (ie, your father is a lying sack of shit). He declared bankruptcy to avoid paying income tax, and his claims were found to be patently absurd (your father is also a cheating sack of shit). The IRS filed Federal tax liens against YOU and your father because of all your legal maneuverings shifting property between you, your convicted felon father, and various third party business holding in order to lie and cheat the IRS out of rightfully owed taxes.
You father is a proven and convicted Liar and Cheater. But it’s for Jesus, so it must be ok, right?
When you have to a) set up a google alert for your family’s name, b) follow them all to each website to try and protest your family’s innocence and c) have to lie to do so, one would hope some introspection about how you got to this place in your life would occur.
Well, of course he did, which was seen during the trial, but he claimed it was just a coincidence (or some other unfeasible claim), no doubt Eric would try and push whatever lie Hovind Snr told in court.
Eric sonofa Lying and Cheating Convicted Felon,
I really like this bit I read.
“… Hovind’s court room behavior was in stark contrast to phone calls he made while in jail and played by the prosecution. The tapes, posted online by the Pensacola News Journal, included one conversation with Kent and his son, Eric Hovind, plotting to hide a motor vehicle title and property deeds to prevent the government from collecting the property to pay for owed debt.”
So, were you an accomplice to your lying and cheating father’s lying and cheating, or was that a brother? Did you or he spend any time in prison as an accomplice, like your mother did?
That’s the way it’s supposed to be, if you understand the principles of non-violent protest – even if the protest is an honest one. Maybe I shouldn’t expect a wing-nut Christian to understand this. In a case of true protest against an unjust law, some people will be impressed and will make efforts to change the law. In your case, Kent, people will only derisively laugh at your amateur conniving.
Come back Eric!
Your pithy and well cited retorts have almost converted me into believing in Jeebus, or Jesus, or … whatever.
You want me to come around to believing what you believe (or at least what you’re selling), right?
Just come back and play. Who knows? Maybe your remarkably intelligent, logical and well thought out responses might open our atheist hearts! Please, don’t be frightened away!
Seconded.
Who was also named Eric?
(…There are very Catholic places where apparently every woman has “Mary” as her first name and goes by her second name. Three distant cousins of mine are examples; they’re sisters. …But “Eric”?)
In other words: going to jail for a vaguely political reason isn’t enough to make you the next Nelson Mandela.
If he failed to pay taxes he was required to pay, then he cheated.
@ David M.
I suppose I could say I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. George Foreman named all 5 of his sons George. He even named his grill George.
“Creationist Hall Of Fame” is just like the Football Hall of fame, but instead of having a bust cast in bronze, you have your picture hot-glue-gunned to a mound of steaming cow shit.
Fine, Eric, we don’t have to call him a cheater. “Fraud” works just as well. Also “thief”.
So the Hovind family has problems with “evidence”?
Not seen that anywhere before, no siree.
@David #27
C: “I’ve got a license for me pet dog Eric, and I’ve got a license for me pet cat Eric…
S: Are all your pets called Eric?
C: There’s nothing so odd about that: Kemal Ataturk had an entire menagerie called Abdul! “
Hovind is “honored” as much as Gir is “advanced: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inR02pEesCQ
The tax dodging of Hovind is one more data point in the “believing in God does not necessarily make you more moral” argument.
Even when one of their own has blatantly broken the law these gobshites are still martyrs. People who dodge paying tax “out of principle” are less noble freedom fighters and are really just spoilt, whiny, selfish douches.
oh and I didn’t see Eric H on here. I wonder, with his excuses, does he think his god will accept them? Dad didn’t “Really” cheat, didn’t really ignore the bible (Romans 13 doesn’t give any excuses for not following every leader since God put them *all* there), didn’t really treat his god like a vending machine thinking that “salvation” was always at hand no matter what he did, just as long as he said the magic words “I like Jesus!”.
Tsk.
“In America at least, the simplest way to get standing to invalidate a law as unconstitutional is to break said law and suffer punishment for said breach.”
This is pretty much irrelevant, but when it comes to taxes, the system has a built in process where if you disagree, you can protest the taxes, which can lead to having standing to filing a court case. There is no need to “break” the law in order to have standing.
But we know they are just trying to rationalize why he is in prison and still can be a “good” guy, but of course in this case the rationalization is complete bunkum.
Handy, that list of crackpots.
As I recall, Hovind pleaded “subordination to false muster” which I think means he didn’t recognize the Government (or the IRS) as having jurisdiction over him. Also, on recollection rather than spending 10 minutes Googling – sorry – Hovind claimed that he didn’t own any property nor received any compensation, rather it was all owned by the Lord. So, by that twisted logic, the US of A couldn’t prosecute Hovind because Hovind didn’t owe any taxes to the US of A; I guess the Lord did, take it up with him.
Anyway, his defense didn’t pass “muster” nor did his specious claim of moving vast sums of money around in $9000 batches “coincidentally” under the reporting threshold. Sort of like gangsters being “business men,” yeah, that sort of fing. And little Eric, so cute! A misdemeanor off the old felon if I ever saw one.
However, all cockfloppery aside, my main point was a report on NPR some years ago about rebuilding judicial system in Iraq. The American advisors were having a difficult time figuring out how to restructure the court system to be based on the rule of law. Under Iraqui law the judge has the final say. The judge can bypass judicial process, ignore evidence, ban witnesses and just about anything else. The judge is the judge. What the judge says goes whether it’s “legal” or not.
Ironically, many on the Christian right lament that they don’t get Christian judges who would DO THE SAME THING. It’s bizarre. We heard this during Kitzmiller when the creationists were jumping for joy because Judge Jones was such an Upstanding Christian Man. Whoops! Yes, Kent is such a Good Man ™ the law doesn’t apply to him. Whoops!
Well, if the principle you’re disagreeing with is ‘the laws of the USA apply to me because I’m living in the USA’, that comes under the heading ‘no shit, Sherlock’.
“He cheated on his taxes and lied about it…”
But to be fair, it doesn’t do any good to cheat on your taxes if you’re not going to lie about it. Just saying.
Sometimes when a whole bunch of experts tell you that you are wrong, and tell you that any reasonable judge will believe you are wrong, you should listen to them instead relying on what you think God is telling you.
Wait, this is about tax law? Nevermind.
Please shut off all irony meters (to protect them from damage):
One of Kent’s whiniest shticks about evolution is that it is a “religion” being taught in schools funded by OUR taxes (yes, he includes himself in that “OUR”). I have seen this complaint in his thesis, in his DVD series and in some interviews he has given. Kent, honey, YOU didn’t pay any taxes so none of your taxes were being used to fund schools.
Leading me to conclude that the Lord is mad about Kent for not paying taxes and the IRS is the earthly arm of His justice.
(What? That logic works for religious folk who steal land, imprison, torture and kill in the name of god. Why can’t the IRS be doin’ god’s work?)
Amazing site. Completely unqualified board of directors, one with fake PhDs. Lots of recruiting of brilliant dead scientists who believed what they did on the evidence of their time and who may have well believed differently today.
Especially interesting contrast between dead and living: the likes of Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell on the one hand and Ian Juby and Ken Ham on the other. What a difference a century or so makes.
Now, if Kent had openly taken the money he owed in taxes and donated it to charity, that would have been principled. Stuffing one’s own pockets though is greed, pure and simple. It doesn’t matter how much you insist that those were God’s pockets. Any attempt to conceal his actions dumps him squarely into the criminal category. If he acted no differently than a common criminal, what difference do post hoc rationalizations make?
But Kent did donate the money to charity. As it says in the bible “charity begins at home” or something like that.
I wonder if God’s signature is on the ownership documents? Has he given up inscribing tablets of stone with lines of fire in favour of using a biro?
The Creation Hall of Ignorance does not even agree with Kent’s own sentiments in the matter. Surely, they are not accusing Kent of lying? They surely are.
Kent does not claim to be in jail over a matter of principle. What he actually claimed was that he spent over 200 hours on the telephone and consulted dozens of (unidentified) lawyers seeking legal advice on how he could arrange his affairs so that he did not have to pay certain taxes. The following is what he actually claims taken from the blogged testimony of one of Kent’s semi-deluded supporters who attended the trial:
Contrary to the Creation Hall of Ignorance’s claim, that does not sound like the words of a tax protestor to me. Unless, of course, Kent was engaged in extensive perjury. Nah – not Kent.
By the way, are the rumours true that Paul Taylor is starting to get on Eric’s
titsnerves?1. Kent Hovind has been inserted into the Creation Science Hall of Fame.
2. Kent Hovind is in jail.
3. Therefore jail = CSHoF.
I nominate all of Hovindkind for a spot in the CSHoF.
This Hovind fellow is a recognised liar. He’s one who says the earth is 6000 years old, gawd did it, the dead baby jesus was a magic jew that you can have a relationship with and so on. One lie after another. Can his other criminal activity be a surprise?
Guys, The Hovinds cop this kind of criticism all the time and they’re so crazy it generally just washes off them. I once wrote an article PZ linked to which compiled all the stupidity that they believe http://baliset.blogspot.com.au/2007/07/when-you-cant-convince-unreason.html and it just beggars belief. Dinosaurs are alive and well in Borneo. Fluoride in the water is government mind control. Avoid big Pharma if you’ve got cancer; they’re all trying to kill you. 9/11 was a government setup, as is AIDS. The pyramids weren’t built by the Egyptians. UFOs are demonic. The world is run by a Jewish conspiracy. That’s the problem. Calling them crazy doesn’t sting. They eat, sweat and shit crazy.
I came to the conclusion that there is only one insult that might possibly get under their skin. Eric? I hope you’re reading this:
I used to be a Christian, but people like you and Kent have significantly contributed to my loss of faith. The poor witness you and your family offer makes a mockery of Jesus Christ. Your disastrously wrong focus on supposed scientific bolsters for the Bible is out of step even with your brethren. Finally, choosing to lie to defend criminal behaviour condemns you. That you and Kent still exist in a complete state of angry denial without any sign of contrition, shows you have no awareness of the principles Jesus and Paul espoused. You repulse and disgust Christians the world over, barring the small and irrational clique you have managed to dupe. For every convert you think you make, you send a thousand away, shaking with anger at the corrupted parody you make Christianity seem. Since you believe in God, know that scandal, infamy, humliation, ignominy and imprisonment are the least of God’s judgements upon you.
I actually kind of sorry for Eric. Here is a grown man who can Never become his own person.
Searching Eric hovind immediately returns his fathers wiki page.
He’s only ever worked in his dads business.
His education consists of a 1 year education on ken hams university. And 4 years a a private university with some strict rules.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erichovind (yes he has a linked in page)
Overall he has become a lesser version his father. Repeating the same business and speeches. To bad he was never able to break away.
“Kent Hovind did not “cheat” on his taxes”
“Kent did not even file income taxes”
Sounds like a tax cheat to me.
I agree that Eric Hovind has been destroyed by his own family. He can only be a liar and creationist for the rest of his life unless he gets a clue and breaks from the cult. But, he makes a living being a liar creationist and pulls in a few bucks with is DVD’s but that can’t be much of a living.
What is really sad is that a smart young guy like Eric has been totally fucked up by his own family and will never amount to anything as a result. Too bad, really.
From the Creation Hall of Fame “donate” page:
“It’s is our intention to construct a brick-and-mortar museum between Answers in Genesis Ark Encounter and The Creation Museum for all to visit, so that the world can see that creation scientists are ready and able to give and answer for what they believe. Goal: $4 Million”
Susan B. Anthony actually voted, did you know that? The story is described in the documentary “Not For Ourselves Alone”. To protest the unjust “penis-havers only” voting law, she openly went to the ballot box and demanded a ballot at an election. They ended up giving her one, because they had no idea what to do and possibly because she was at that time pretty famous for her suffragist work. She voted, then went home, and later that night the cops came for her and she walked right up to them with her wrists out, telling them to cuff her. They didn’t want to go that far, but they did take her into custody and she was charged, tried, and fined some monetary amount (I can’t remember offhand how much it was). She said right there that she would never pay it, and she never did.
You will notice she didn’t shuffle up to the voting place in men’s clothes with a big fake mustache on her face, calling herself Mr. Anthony Susan or make any other attempts to hide the “crime” she was committing, which was to vote without fulfilling the prerequisite of having a penis. She didn’t fight the charges and she didn’t make weaselly excuses in order to try and skirt the charges. She marched right up there, openly, as a woman, disobeyed the law openly, and stood tall when the cops came for her. She stood tall in court, too, and made it clear that she deliberately broke an unjust law.
You see, that’s what actual standing on principle/civil disobedience fighting an unjust law looks like. What Kent Hovind did was not even in the same neighborhood.
Breaking News: Several creationists unable to admit that lies are lies, even when topic isn’t creationism. More details upcoming as the event unfolds.
Okay, this is confusing me. Obviously Hovind Jr. is obsessively looking for online criticisms of his family. But he must know what Pharyngula is, or I reckon that more accurately, he has a broken idea of it. Either way, he has to be aware that he isn’t going to fool anyone here or gain a micrometer of ground in defense of his dad on this site. And he obviously isn’t here to debate, only to speak. So why waste time here in the first place? All he’s done is make himself and his dad look even worse.
Ahhh but you don’t live in Hovind land where up is down and truth is fiction.
Hovind is here to reinforce his fantasy that he is being persecuted because he is right. He eschews places like biology class and tax court for online blogs where he can ramble on until he starts a fight. Once the hostile responses start coming in, he leaves. He has no interest in actually having any sort of a discussion on any topic other than his own right-ness.
Hmmmm. Does that mean Kent Hovind should have paid taxes to the Queen? Yes, that one.
Christians the world over have no idea the Hovinds exist, unless they happen to hang out in specific corners of the Internet a lot.
I have no idea if he’s smart. And I don’t think anyone, himself included, will ever find out if he’s smart as long as he can’t manage to break away from parroting his father.
He has been here before, several times, usually to preach about creationism. (As described in comment 60, he doesn’t respond to counterarguments.)
I just noticed the coverage of this and the reference to me.
I have not had time to review all of the comments, but I noticed the one from someone using the ID of “EricHovind” attempting to deny the Hovinds’ tax evasion.
In a recent U.S. Tax Court decision, Jo Hovind was found liable for the civil fraud penalty in addition to a lot of income tax related to her part in the family business/ministry.
Kent’s case is pending and he has refused to properly prosecute his case before the U.S. Tax Court. As a result, the Court has asked the Government to file a motion for decision by tomorrow, January 7, 2013.
It is expected that Kent’s decision from the U.S. Tax Court will, like Jo’s, carry the civil fraud penalty.
I’d say that’s pretty good evidence, legally, that Kent is guilty of “tax evasion”; but there really never was any doubt from a practical point of view.
I might also add that the U.S. Tax Court cases of Kent and Jo Hovind are independent of the prior criminal cases in which they were convicted and served, are serving time in federal prison.
The Tax Court cases involve their personal income tax liabilities and I estimate that the total, including tax, penalties and interest will be in excess of $7,000,000.00 dollars.
Forbes ran an article on the case back when Jo’s decision first came down. Here’s the link to that:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterjreilly/2012/10/05/young-earth-creationists-whipsawed-by-irs/
Just so you know, erichovind is their son, Eric Hovind. He makes semi-regular stops on this blog. Usually, he has a handful of his students, all declaring that god is real. If not, logical thought would be impossible.
It is as tedious as it sounds.
robertbaty, re comment #62
Since you are following the case, if there is a link to the Tax Court decision being handed down, please post it here as a follow-up comment.
Thanks.
Nathan,
Thanks for asking.
Here are the Tax Court docket references for both Jo and Kent Hovind:
Jo:
https://www.ustaxcourt.gov/UstcDockInq/DocketDisplay.aspx?DocketNo=10001362
Kent:
https://www.ustaxcourt.gov/UstcDockInq/DocketDisplay.aspx?DocketNo=10004245
Don’t forget the second pages of both docket histories.
Only some of the documents recorded are viewable.
It might also be worth mentioning, since Eric Hovind has apparently made his appearance here, that Eric is one of the “honorable mentions” on the Creation Science Hall of Fame website.
He’s #2 at:
http://creationsciencehalloffame.org/honorable-mention/
Also, on a somewhat related matter, you might want to consider supporting the White House sponsored petition asking Obama to ask Congress to repeal IRC 107, the law that allows ONLY “ministers” income tax free income:
http://wh.gov/QQOh
Fascinating.
I followed the links in comment #66 to the Tax Court’s document repository and it makes for delicious schadenfreude. Eric Hovind? Here’s what’s on display for the whole world to see about your family:
1. Kent Hovind asked the U.S Tax Court to re-address their finding that he and his wife Jo Hovind had evaded their taxes by failing to file any returns for the better part of a decade. Here was a chance for him to set the record straight and rebut those nasty allegations he was a criminal.
2. Kent blustered and was upbraided by the judge for making “patently frivolous and irrelevant” arguments. His ‘Lionel Hutz’ of a lawyer was warned that wasting a Court’s time attracts siginficant penalties. In short, making both look like fools.
3. There was a reasonable suggestion that Jo Hovind’s trial and Kent Hovind’s be held simultaneously at the same venue in Alabama. Kent agreed to this, but Jo Hovind disagreed, seeking her matter to be separated. Trouble at home, Kent? The Court overruled them and ordered for joint trial.
4. The Court ordered Kent Hovind to meet various deadlines for the submission of reports and responses. Kent missed the deadlines completely despite being the initiator of the court action, because as we know, Kent is a busy man.
5. Kent eventually realises he’s merely building another scaffold upon which to have everyone see him handed his ass, and files a motion to cancel his original petition. The court refuses, saying Kent provided “no grounds” in his withdrawal, and so the case would churn on.
6. This case, which Kent started to “clear his name”, has turned out to be exactly like all Kent’s other projects: a farcical circus, causing destruction to himself, his family and the reputation of Jesus Christ.
Just more proof Kent has earned the title of the world’s biggest fool, and that Eric is the fruit which has fallen all-too-close to the tree.
Nathan,
You are welcome, and that’s a pretty nice summary of the matter.
I do wonder about the family relations aspect of the matter since Jo is already facing over $3,000,000.00 in personal liabilities as determined by the Court, after she took her separate case to trial. In so many similar cases the family relations have been strained to the breaking point.
Based on the latest Order in the case of Kent Hovind, he’s got until the end of this month to respond to the motion from the Government for an entry of decision based on Kent’s failure to properly prosecute his case.
As the Court put it:
> Failure to comply with this Order will result
> in the granting of respondent’s motion and entry
> of decision sustaining the determinations set
> forth in the notice of deficiency on which this
> case is based.
I attended a church in the late 1990’s that had “Dr.” Hovind as a guest. Unlike most of my contemporaries, I did not grow up in the church but went through a C.S. Lewis type process getting there. Because of my journey, I tend to pick things apart. Within the first hour of his “presentation” I got up and left because it was clear that he was a fraud. His argumentation was consistently illogical. The most glaring example was in accusing opponents of his views of “linear assumptions” and then, literally within minutes, using linear assumptions to defend his own views. Now anyone can be in error, but when the foundation of one’s entire position is build upon error after error…. Anyway, I never came close to going for my Ph.D., but it was blatantly obvious to me that his doctorate was not earned from any university accredited by a reputable accreditation group. It irritated me that the congregants were being misinformed by someone clearly unqualified in the subject matter.
Years later when he was imprisoned, I was not shocked or even surprised. Once a con artist…