It's Everywhere
Published on February 23, 2008 By KFC Kickin For Christ In Pure Technology

We've been discussing quite a bit here on Evolution Science vs Creation Science and the differences in interpretation and free speech for those who have a diff take on this interpretation of evidence.  Recently I came across this article which gives a realistic view of what kind of politics a Creationist Scientist is up against in the Science field.  When you read this keep in mind that the journals Science and Nature are considered the two best journals in the world to publish in.
 
Dr. D. Russell Humphreys, a physicist working for the prestigious Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico (who is involved with the laboratory's particle beam fusion project, concerning thermonuclear fusion energy research) is a board member of the Creation Research Society. He has about 30 published articles in mainstream technical journals from 1968 to the present. In the last eight years a lot of his work has been classified, so there has been less of it in the open literature.
Russell Humphreys said in a 1993 interview: "I'm part of a fairly large scientific community in New Mexico, and a good number of these are Creationists. Many don't actively belong to any creationist organization. Based on those proportions and knowing the membership of the Creation Research Society, it's probably a conservative estimate that there are in the US alone around 10,000 practicing scientists who are biblical creationists." ("Creation in the Physics Lab", Creation Ex Nihilo Magazine, Vol. 15, No. 3, pages 20-23).


Creationists such as Humphreys have extensive publications in mainstream journals on non-creationist topics. Creationists who publish scientific research in mainstream journals have found that they can publish articles with data having creationist implications, but will not get articles with openly creationist conclusions published. When they attempt to do this, their articles are usually rejected. Those who are well-known to evolutionists as creationists have more difficulty even with articles which do not have obvious creationist implications.


In the summer of 1985 Humphreys wrote to the journal Science pointing out that openly creationist articles are suppressed by most journals. He asked if Science had "a hidden policy of suppressing creationist letters." Christine Gilbert, the letters editor, replied and admitted, "It is true that we are not likely to publish creationist letters." This admission is particularly significant since Science's official letters policy is that they represent "the range of opinions received." e.g., letters must be representative of part of the spectrum of opinions. Yet of all the opinions they receive, Science does not print the creationist ones.

Humphrey's letter and Ms. Gilbert's reply are reprinted in the book, Creation's Tiny Mystery, by physicist Robert V. Gentry (Earth Science Associates, Knoxville, Tennessee, 2nd edition, 1988.)


On May 19, 1992 Humphreys submitted his article * "Compton scattering and the cosmic microwave background bumps" to the Scientific Correspondence section of the British journal Nature. The editorial staff knew Humphreys was a creationist and didn't want to publish it (even though the article did not contain any glaring creationist implications). The editorial staff didn't even want to send it through official peer review.
 
Six months later Nature published an article by someone else on the same topic, having the same conclusions. Thus, most creationist researchers realize it is simply a waste of time to send journal editors openly creationist articles. To say that a "slight bias" exists on the part of journal editors would be an understatement.

* The Institute for Creation Research published a laymanized version of Humphrey's article in their Impact series [No. 233, "Bumps in the Big Bang", November 1992]. Reference 5 of that article contains information about the Nature submission.
 the full link with references can be read here:

http://www.rae.org/crepub.html.


Comments (Page 3)
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on Mar 09, 2008
kfc writes:
We've been discussing quite a bit here on Evolution Science vs Creation Science and the differences in interpretation and free speech for those who have a diff take on this interpretation of evidence. Recently I came across this article which gives a realistic view of what kind of politics a Creationist Scientist is up against in the Science field.


KFC,
You must have written this article during the time I was away from JU due to computer problems.

Anyway, I think you are right on the mark. I've been closely following the Creation/Evolution debate for about 10 years now ever since my kids were indoctrinated with "Evolution as fact" at school.

This article exposes a different angle of the problem in getting the Creation side of the debate to the forefront...it's been and is being repressed.

There was a news story out of Boston dated Dec. 9, 2007. The gist of it is about a biologist who is suing the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution claiming he was fired in 2004 after he told his boss he does not believe in Evolution as a scientific fact. He's seeking $500,000 for his firing which he claims was a violation of his civil rights.
on Mar 09, 2008
Ock posts:
If the purpose of all these articles was to prove creation science correct or evolution science wrong, then it would be foolhardy indeed


Foolhardy? This is kinda short sighted isn't it, Ock? It's not like Evolution Theory has been proven....until that happens, let the debate go on and on, and on.

I think the solution is far simpler - that these articles weren't ever intended to prove something one way or another. Evolution has withstood over 100 years of furious bombardment from ALL kinds of scientists.


Most Creationist's articles that I've read either give scientific evidence that refutes Evolution Theory or supporting evidence of Creation Theory.


It's true Evolution Theory (ET) has withstood bombardment...but that doesn't mean ET is fact...and that's the problem...it's purported as fact and any evidence that refutes ET claims are not taught in schools, repressed by the media and not allowed in scientific journals. We got a problem Houston!










on Mar 09, 2008
KFC POSTS:
PS.....how did those fossils get on them thar mountains anyhow?


SAN C posts:
I'm interested to see what they have to say, and what you choose to share. As of this moment, I've never heard anything even remotely credible from the Young Earth Creationists as to the Genesis of these bones (and this goes for the YEC in my own congregation, which are more than just a few). Everything from "they were put there by God to test us" to "they were put there by Satan to tempt us" to "they were from different planets when God used matter from other worlds to create this one".

They're all kinda laughable, so I'll be curious to see what these people present and what you deem worthy of sharing with us.


Think Noah's Flood, SC. Zoo, KFC and I have been discussing this on another blog.

on Mar 09, 2008
There was a news story out of Boston dated Dec. 9, 2007. The gist of it is about a biologist who is suing the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution claiming he was fired in 2004 after he told his boss he does not believe in Evolution as a scientific fact. He's seeking $500,000 for his firing which he claims was a violation of his civil rights.


oh ya. I remember that story when I was living up North as well. Whatever happened to the guy? Did he win?

Foolhardy? This is kinda short sighted isn't it, Ock?


Well we all have our biases. Ock is biased just like we are only I'm not sure he'll admit it or not. He just thinks we're foolish and I guess if I were on that side I would too.

on Mar 10, 2008
Think Noah's Flood, SC.


Yeah, I didn't comment on that one over there, but your theories were pretty funny. Zoo already explained why, but thanks for the chuckle.
on Apr 25, 2008
The reason Science does not post creationist papers is that Science is peer-reviewed. Scientific peers, among them biologists who have accepted the theory of evolution for over 100 years, immediately see the faults in biblical stories.

Ed Lewis was a famous geneticist (researched hox genes in drosophila) who published infrequently. But infrequent publishing is not the norm, not because to do so is lazy but because to do so usually means losing your job. It's a good thing Cal-Tech left him alone!
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