This is a portion of e-Skeptic that I found *most* enlightening!
-------------------------------------------------
FOLLOW THE MONEY TO PHILLIP JOHNSON
The following is from our friends at the Americans United for Separation of
Church and State.
>From Genesis To Dominion
Fat-Cat Theocrat Funds Creationism Crusade
by Steve Benen
Anti-evolution crusader Phillip Johnson, dedicated his 1997 book,
Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds, to "Roberta and Howard, who
understood 'the wedge' because they love the Truth."
The mysterious reference is apparently a note of thanks to Howard F.
Ahmanson Jr. and his wife Roberta, a wealthy and secretive Orange
County, Calif., couple who have generously funded the anti-evolution
movement and other right-wing causes that advance their fundamentalist
Christian
outlook.
Howard Ahmanson, however, is no ordinary fat-cat. The savings and loan
heir has maintained a long-time relationship with Christian
Reconstructionism, an extreme faction of the Religious Right that seeks
to replace American democracy with a harsh fundamentalist theocracy.
Reconstructionists believe conservative Christians should take
"dominion" over American society. Under their version of "biblical law,"
the death penalty would be required for over a dozen categories of offenders,
including adulterers, homosexuals, witches, incorrigible children and
those who spread "false" religions. They regard the teaching of evolution
as part of a "war against Genesis."
Ahmanson served for over two decades on the board of directors of the
Chalcedon Foundation, Rousas J. Rushdoony's Reconstructionist think
tank that serves as the intellectual center of the movement. Ahmanson has
also generously supported the Foundation's work.
As for Ahmanson's interests in opposing evolution, his relationship
with leaders such as Johnson raises a series of questions about how the
movement to "defeat" evolution is paid for and what the larger agenda
might be.
There is little doubt that the Ahmansons have the resources to help
finance anti-evolution efforts. The family's wealth grew exponentially
during the 1950s and '60s when Howard Ahmanson Sr, made billions in the savings
and loan industry. After his death, his estate was divided between his
son Howard F. Ahmanson and the Ahmanson Foundation, which had $663 million
in assets at the end of 1996. (H.F. Ahmanson & Co., the parent company of
Home Savings of America, had over $47 billion in assets in 1997.)
With a vast fortune in hand, the Ahmansons are playing an active role
in ensuring the anti-evolution movement's success.
According to Reason magazine, promotional materials from the
Seattle-based Discovery Institute acknowledge that the Ahmanson family
donated $1.5 million to the Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science
and Culture for a research and publicity program to "unseat not just
Darwinism but also Darwinism's cultural legacy." In fact, the August 1999
issue of
the Discovery Institute's Journal recognizes an Ahmanson outfit for providing
the Center's start-up funds.
With such high-powered assistance, the Center has quickly become a
leading anti-evolution organization. The center's senior fellows include
some of the highest profile advocates of "Intelligent Design" creationism,
including David Berlinski, William Dembski and Michael Behe. Johnson
himself is listed among the center's two official advisors.
Additionally, Roberta Green Ahmanson provided the funding for Dembski
to appear at her alma mater, Calvin College, a conservative Christian
school in Michigan, to promote his approach to attacking evolution.
Although he claims to be interested only in the scientific "evidence" against
evolution, Dembski's appearance was listed as part of the college's
"Seminars in
Christian Scholarship."
Funding from the Ahmansons is not always obvious. For example, the
Fieldstead Institute is an extension of the Ahmanson empire, which
frequently provides financial support for creationist causes. Dembski's
appearance at Calvin was sponsored by a group called Fieldstead and
Company. (Both appear to derive their name from Howard's middle name,
Fieldstead.)
Ahmanson has also taken an interest in providing money for other
political causes, including support for voucher subsidies for religious
schools and opposition to gay rights and pornography. In the January/February
1997 issue of Religion & Liberty, published by the Acton Institute for the
Study of Religion and Liberty, he argued that the Bible opposes minimum wage
laws.
Ahmanson's opposition to evolution remains part of his larger agenda of
establishing a fundamentalist "Christian nation." In the coming years,
as different groups and personalities step into the anti-evolution fray,
Ahmanson's role bears watching.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, 2000.
All rights reserved.
--------------------------------------
Copyright 2000 by Michael Shermer and the Skeptics Society. Copies of
this internet posting may be made and distributed in whole without further
permission. Credit: This has been another edition of E-Skeptic Hotline,
the internet edition of Skeptic magazine and the cyberspace voice of the
Skeptics Society. For further information about the magazine and society,
contact
P.O. Box 338, Altadena, CA 91001; 626/794-3119 (phone); 626/794-1301 (fax);
skepticmag@aol.com and www.skeptic.com or send your message
telepathically and we will respond in kind.
For those of your not familiar with the Skeptics Society or have not seen
Skeptic magazine, see our web page: http://www.skeptic.com
---If this message was forwarded from a friend and you'd like to jointhe distribution list (it's FREE), e-mail join-skeptics@lyris.net
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Jul 29 2000 - 09:35:17 EDT