American Evangelist and Young Land Creationist Kent Hovind: Biography, Activities and Interesting Facts

Kent Hovind is an American young earth creationist, whom many consider one of the most authoritative experts in science and the Bible. He often performs in schools, churches, as well as on radio and television. In his sermons, he calls to refuse to teach the theory of evolution in favor of a literal reading of the Bible. The amazing ability of Kent Hovind to represent complex scientific concepts in an easy to understand format makes this information available to both young people and ordinary people, as well as to professors.

Years of Youth

Hovind was born on January 15, 1953. His conversion to Christ took place on February 9, 1969. In 1971, Kent graduated from the school, and in 1974 received a bachelor's degree in religious education at the Midwestern Baptist College, an unaccredited religious school. Hovind is married, he has three children and five grandchildren.

From 1975 to 1988 he worked in secondary school as a pastor and teacher of natural sciences. Since 1989, the main business that Kent Hovind has devoted himself to is creationism and its popularization.

What is Young Land Creationism?

One of the most important fundamental beliefs of modern evangelism is the "infallibility of Scripture." According to the Young Land Creationists, including Kent Hovind, the creation of the world took place only about 6,000 years ago. This is too small for any significant evolutionary changes to appear in the biosphere of the planet. Geologists can also tell about the problems in the theory of young earth creationism. Therefore, many Protestant theologians are trying to reconcile the statement about the "infallibility of Scripture" with the theory that the Earth appeared many billions of years ago. For example, as preacher William Thornton says:

"There are many conservative Christians who believe that the Bible is infallible and inspired by God, and does not recognize evolution, but believes that the Earth is very old." I admit that a lot of evidence testifies to the antiquity of our planet. "

Growth of popularity

When the rapid development of the Internet began, Hovind Kent created a site www.drdino.com, where you could find videos, books about fossil animals, as well as their mock-ups. At first, its video content was not copy-protected. The success of this site became the reason for the growing popularity of the preacher, and the attendance of his public lectures grew from a few dozen spectators to a many thousands audience. According to his own statements, he continued to perform annually in hundreds of churches, schools and other places. His son Eric not long ago began to organize similar events, in which he speaks, like Kent Hovind himself, about dinosaurs, evolution and the Bible.

On November 2, 2006, the Federal Court of Pensacola, Florida, found Hovind guilty of 58 cases of tax evasion and transfer of social payments. The preacher was sentenced to ten years in prison. In July 2015, he was released from custody. On October 21, 2014, the same court tried to convict Hovind of two episodes of fraud. Hovind does not plead guilty. Initially, the process was to take place on December 1, 2014, but later it was postponed to February 9.

Kent Hovind: evolution is just another religious belief

Hovind offers a large amount of money to anyone who can prove that the theory of evolution is correct: " I offer $ 250,000 to anyone who can give me scientific proof of evolution, this proposal must demonstrate that the theory of evolution is no better than any other religious belief."

However, not all supporters of creationism share Hovind's arguments. Organization Answers in Genesis believes his arguments are largely outdated, and the action, where $ 250,000 is proposed for proving the theory of evolution, is counterproductive.

Under the conditions of the assignment, Hovind specifies that the scientific proof of the theory of evolution must be presented in such a way that "there remain no reasonable doubts" (without any reasonable doubt).

Kent Hovind explains his understanding of evolution in the following words:

"Using the word" evolution ", I do not mean small changes that can be detected within a single genus (microevolution) .I mean the general theory of evolution, which believes that the following five major events occurred without divine intervention:

1. Time, space and matter appeared on their own.

2. Planets and stars were formed from cosmic dust.

3 Life itself emerged from matter.

4 Early forms of life have learned to reproduce themselves.

5. Large transformations occurred between different forms of life (that is, the fish turned into amphibians, amphibians turned into reptiles, and reptiles transformed into birds or mammals). "

Hovind understands the theory of evolution in a much broader sense than the generally accepted one. Charles Darwin himself described the theory as: "the change in life forms as an effect of mutation and natural selection." The fact that Hovind places there the appearance of the cosmos, planets and life, often leads to a misunderstanding regarding the subject itself, which requires proof.

Since Hovind demands to prove that the god could not interfere in these processes, and that the mentioned theory of the appearance of the universe is the only possible, the fulfillment of all the requirements is impossible.

Criticism

John Piret, one of the critics of Kent Hovinds, is confident that the latter will save his $ 250,000 - the very demand for proof shows a very superficial understanding of the methodology of scientific research, because scientific theory can be falsified, but not proven (induction problem). Therefore, his proposal should be regarded only as a PR move.

For the prize offered by Hovind for proof of the theory of evolution, even a parody of the Boing Boing site came out. Humorists promised one million dollars to someone who proves that "Jesus is not the son of a flying pasta monster."

Doctor degree

Kent Hovind is the author of a doctoral dissertation on "Christian Education", which is called "The Effects of Teaching Evolution on the Students in Public School System." He defended this thesis at the non-state university Patriot Bible University, all the training took four weeks. The work was not properly published, so it can not be viewed through university libraries or ordered. This is contrary to the norm, since scientific research should be available to both other scientists and students. Critics repeatedly asked to send them a dissertation, but Hovind denied them. His supporters claim that the work, which was supposedly increased by 250 pages, will undergo additional processing, after which it will appear in the form of a book. This in principle contradicts the academic tradition, which prohibits the subsequent change in accepted scientific works.

Chemist Karen Bartellet still received the original 101-page text of Hovind's thesis from the university, in which this work was accepted. She came to the conclusion that the thesis of Hovind in no way deserves the name of a doctor's, because it did not comply with almost all the requirements that are required for scientific work. Instead of writing about teaching the theory of evolution in schools, Hovind filled his work with criticism of recognized theories and even drawn parallels between Darwinism and Nazi ideology. Formulations and spelling do not correspond even to the level of a college graduate, and as the main point of criticism is the assertion that labor has not created any new knowledge. The implication is that the Patriot Bible University is just a diploma mill.

Dinosaur Adventure Land Park

From 2001 to 2009 in Pensacola, Florida, there was an amusement park called Dinosaur Adventure Land. The park, founded and directed by Hovind, told visitors that people and dinosaurs lived together in 4000-2000 BC. E. In 2009, when Khovinda was convicted of tax offenses, the park was closed until further notice.

After the prison

Now Hovind Kent is again at large. It was released in the summer of 2015. Now he is building a new, expanded and improved park in Alabama, the Dinosaur Adventure Land. "Doctor Dino" has created a successful channel on YouTube and is looking for investors for a new venture. In his sermons, Kent Hovind also talks about the last time, predicting severe trials for believing Christians around the world.