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Tim Makinson: Perry ‘Just another gullible journalist’

To the editor:

Did it ever occur to your writer Michelle Perry to check the veracity of Bob Frey’s “evidence” or his credentials to make claims about paleontology, astrophysics and demographics, before presenting them without contrary scientific opinion?

You claim that, “Frey presented photos of present-day trilobites, or marine animals, which scientists say existed 5 million to 6 million years ago.” But trilobites became extinct 250 million years ago. If modern-day examples had in fact been discovered, it would have been a major news item, so why has no news of this momentous discovery come to light?



“Frey said the sun is shrinking at a rate of 5 feet in diameter per hour. If scientific calculations are correct, the sun would have touched the earth 11 million years ago … ” But even assuming that Frey’s shrinkage rate is correct (a big “if”), his conclusion would be correct only if the sun had been shrinking at a constant rate for the past 11 million years, in spite of an apparent massive change in diameter –a ludicrously heroic assumption.

(The article) claims that the big-bang theory “asserts that the universe began with the explosion of an atom,” but this theory makes no such assertion.



“(Frey) said evolution in education has led to an increase in teen pregnancy, higher abortion rates and more teen suicides.” However, in his book, “Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like The Rest Of The World?,” Ronald J. Sider cites poll after poll showing “that evangelical Christians are as likely to embrace lifestyles every bit as hedonistic, materialistic, self-centered and sexually immoral as the world in general.”

Bob Frey is just another Creationist “lying for Jesus” about topics in which he has no expertise. And Michelle Perry has shown herself to be just another extremely gullible journalist letting them get away with it, even on glaring falsehoods.

I wonder how much “controversy” there would be over evolution if journalists were willing to simply check the (dubious) facts, quotations (often out of context) and citations (often irrelevant and occasionally antithetical) employed in the debate.

Tim Makinson

Dunedin, New Zealand

Editor’s note: Craig Daily Press photographer and writer Michelle Perry wrote an article, published in Tuesday’s edition, about Bob Frey’s presentation about evolution at Yampa Valley Baptist Church. Frey called for an end to teaching evolution in public schools.


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