Kent Hovind

Kent E. Hovind (born 15 January 1953), the self-styled Dr Dino, is an American Young Earth Creationist (YEC) evangelist who is currently offering US$250,000 to anyone who can prove evolution "is the only possible way," that the Universe and life arose, although the offer is widely considered to be spurious. He is the founder of Creation Science Evangelism, his non-profit ministry.

Hovind's $250,000 Offer

Hovind offers $250,000 to anyone who can meet the statement,

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:I have a standing offer of $250,000 to anyone who can give any empirical evidence (scientific proof) for evolution.* My $250,000 offer demonstrates that the hypothesis of evolution is nothing more than a religious belief. http://www.drdino.com/articles.php?spec=67&kws=250,000

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Critics view this to be spurious however, not least because of the conditions which Hovind imposes. The winner would have to convince Hovind of the reality of evolution and would be required to scientifically prove God doesn't exist. The asterisk denotes the terms which he claims show significant gaps in the gradual progression predicted by the theory of evolution:

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:*NOTE: When I use the word evolution, I am not referring to the minor variations found in all of the various life forms (microevolution). I am referring to the general theory of evolution which believes these five major events took place without God:

Related Topics:
Evolution - Microevolution - God

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::1. Time, space, and matter came into existence by themselves.

Related Topics:
Time - Space - Matter

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::2. Planets and stars formed from space dust.

Related Topics:
Planet - Star

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::3. Matter created life by itself.

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::4. Early life-forms learned to reproduce themselves.

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::5. Major changes occurred between these diverse life forms (i.e., fish changed to amphibians, amphibians changed to reptiles, and reptiles changed to birds or mammals).

Related Topics:
Major changes - Fish - Amphibian - Reptile - Bird - Mammal

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Critics argue that this is merely a publicity stunt, that it is deliberately designed to be impossible to win, and that it reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of both science and the scientific method. Critics say that his description of evolution does not match with the scientific definition and that he conflates evolution with other unrelated issues in the description of his challenge (see Hovind's list of "five major events" above).

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Some creationists also do not approve of Hovind's offer. Answers in Genesis said they "would prefer that creationists refrained from gimmicks like this."http://www.answersingenesis.org/news/ross_hovind_analysis.asp

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Hovind has said a panel of judges would decide if a claim had met his criteria, but he has refused to say who would be (or is) on that panel. He has even refused to say what their qualifications might be. Challengers who have submitted claims to Hovind have found that he does not actually use a panel of judges, in spite of his promise to do so.http://home.austarnet.com.au/stear/kent_hovind's_lies.htm

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