Carl Baugh

Infobox Person
name = Carl Baugh
residence = Glen Rose, Texas
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birth_name = Carl Edward Baugh
birth_date = Birth date and age|1936|10|21
birth_place = USA
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known = Advocate of young Earth creationism, Promoter of pseudoscience
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religion = Baptist
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website = [http://www.creationevidence.org/ www.creationevidence.org]
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Carl Edward Baugh (born 1936) is an American young earth creationist who, with others, claims to have discovered human alongside dinosaur footprints near the Paluxy River in Texas.cite news |first=David |last=May |title=Rock-solid proof? |url=http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/homepage/local_story_210093256.html |work=Mineral Wells Index |date=2008-07-28 |accessdate=2008-09-21] [cite news |url=http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/rncse_content/vol24/2562_the_coso_artifact_mystery_fro_12_30_1899.asp |title=The Coso Artifact: Mystery From the Depths of Time? |publisher=National Center for Science Education |date=2008 |first=Pierre |last=Stromberg |coauthors=Paul V Heinrich |accessdate=2008-09-21] [cite news | url=http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2005/IN/234_indiana_legislation_contemplat_11_5_2005.asp | title=Indiana Legislation Contemplating ID? | publisher=National Center for Science Education |date=November 5, 2005 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] His claims have been rejected by the scientific community and other creationists as pseudoscience. [http://www.dallasobserver.com/1996-12-12/news/footprints-of-fantasy/ "Footprints of Fantasy"] , by Kaylois Henry, "Dallas Observer", December 12, 1996. Retrieved August 15, 2008.] His educational credentials have been called into question. [http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A283058 "Creationism Alive and Kicking in Glen Rose"] , by Greg Beets, August 5, 2005, "Austin Chronicle".]

Biography

Born in Kenedy, Texas, Baugh graduated in 1955 from Abilene High School in Abilene, Texas. He currently appears on Trinity Broadcasting Network's show called "Creation in the 21st Century." [cite news | url=http://www.tbn.org/index.php/2/4/p/3.html | title=Carl Baugh: Creation in the 21st Century | publisher=Trinity Broadcasting Network |date=2008 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] Baugh is also president and alumnus of the Pacific International University, which many accuse of being a diploma mill. [ George Brown. [http://www.auqa.edu.au/auqf/2004/program/papers/Brown.pdf Protecting Australia's Higher Education System] from Australian Universities Quality Agency] [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/paluxy/degrees.html A Matter of Degree-Carl Baugh's Alleged Credentials] from talk.origins (Originally published in NCSE Reports Vol 9, No. 6, Nov-Dec. 1989.)]

In 1984, Baugh started the Creation Evidence Museum which is a double-wide trailer in Glen Rose, Texas, near Dinosaur Valley State Park, to promote creationism. All of the museum exhibits have been strongly criticized as incorrectly identified dinosaur prints, other fossils, or outright forgeries. [http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1989/PSCF3-89Armstrong.html "Seeking Ancient Paths"] , John R. Armstrong, PSCF 41 (March 1989): 33-35, American Scientific Affiliation. Retrieved August 15, 2008.] [http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1988/PSCF9-88Hastings.html "The Rise and Fall of the Paluxy Mantracks"] , by Ronnie J. Hastings, PSCF 40 (September 1988): 144-154. American Scientific Affiliation. Retrieved August 15, 2008.] In 2008, a descendant of a family that found many original Paluxy River dinosaur tracks in the 1930s claimed that her grandfather had faked many of them. [http://www.star-telegram.com/news/columnists/bud_kennedy//story/820344.html "Human footprints along with dinosaur tracks?"] , by Bud Kennedy, August 10, 2008, "Fort Worth Star-Telegram".] Others, such as purported dinosaur claws, were identified by University of Texas at Austin paleontologist Wann Langston as crocodile teeth.cite news | url=http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/3868_issue_15_volume_5_number_1__4_23_2003.asp | title=Creation/Evolution | publisher=National Center for Science Education |date=Issue 15 (Volume 5, Number 1 - Winter 1985) | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19]

In 1996, Baugh presented his "man-tracks" in the controversial program "The Mysterious Origins of Man". [http://paleo.cc/paluxy/nbc.htm "A Review of NBC's 'The Mysterious Origins of Man'"] , 1996, Glen J. Kuban. Retrieved August 15, 2008.] Creationist Ken Ham, of Answers in Genesis, criticized the claims in a review titled "Hollywood's 'Moses' Undermines Genesis," regarding Baugh: "According to leading creationist researchers, this evidence is open to much debate and needs much more intensive research. One wonders how much of the information in the program can really be trusted!" [cite news | url=http://www.csicop.org/sb/9603/origins.html | title=NBC's Origins Show | publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry |date= March 1996 | first=Dave | last=Thomas | accessdate = 2007-02-19] He also has been given television exposure by the tele-evangelist Kenneth Copeland. He has authored several self-published books on such topics as the age of the universe, dinosaurs coexisting with humans and critiques of evolution. [Greg Neyman. [http://www.answersincreation.org/cem.htm Creation Science Exposed: Creation Evidence Museum Lacks Evidence!] . Answers in Creation".]

In 2001 Baugh and Creation Evidence Museum were featured on "The Daily Show" where Baugh likened human history to The Flintstones and the show poked fun at his claims about the hyperbaric biosphere, pterodactyl expeditions, and dinosaurs.cite news | url=http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=105921&title=Tyrannosaurus-Redux | title=Tyrannosaurus Redux | publisher=The Daily Show |date=November 14, 2001 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19]

He is a promoter of intelligent design. In 2002 he appeared with William A. Dembski at a conference in Texas and has built his more recent web material around ID and Dembski. [Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross. "". 2004, page 293]

Claims and criticism

Both scientists and creationists have criticized Baugh's claims. In 1982-1984, several scientists, including J.R. Cole, L.R. Godfrey, R.J. Hastings, and S.D. Schafersman, examined Baugh's purported "mantracks" as well as others provided by creationists in the Glen Rose Formation.cite news | url=http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/3868_issue_15_volume_5_number_1__4_23_2003.asp | title=Creation/Evolution | publisher=National Center for Science Education |date=Issue 15 (Volume 5, Number 1 - Winter 1985) | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] In the course of the examination "Baugh contradicted his own earlier reports of the locations of key discoveries" and many of the supposed prints "lacked human characteristics." After a three year investigation of the tracks and Baugh's specimens, the scientists concluded there was no evidence of any of Baugh's claims or any "dinosaur-man tracks".

Baugh has a history of deception. On September 27, 1984, Al West, a Baugh co-worker for two years, who followed the mantrack claims since 1974, and friend of Glen Kuban, publicly announced that Baugh "never had evidence for manprints as claimed. Gayle Golden, writer for "The Dallas Morning News", reported that Baugh "paid $10,000 for his Moab skeleton and confirmed that Baugh knew at their purchase that the bones had already been dated at 200-300 years. However Baugh later claimed that the bones were found in Cretaceous deposits."

One of Baugh's more famous claims, aside from the dinosaur tracks, is an alleged out of place artifact of an "18th century miner's hammer" found in million-year-old Ordovician rock (he has also claimed it is in Cretaceous rock) found in 1934 from London, Texas.cite news | url=http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/3868_issue_15_volume_5_number_1__4_23_2003.asp#If%20I%20Had%20a%20Hammer| title=If I Had a Hammer | publisher=National Center for Science Education |date=Issue 15 (Volume 5, Number 1 - Winter 1985) | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] cite news | url=http://paleo.cc/paluxy/hammer.htm | title=The London Hammer: An Alleged Out-of-Place Artifact | publisher=The Paluxy Dinosaur/"Man Track" Controversy |date=14 July 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] Baugh asserted this as evidence against scientifically known ways that rocks form. However, laboratory tests discounted his claim about the hammer's being formed in the rock. J.R. Cole wrote, "The stone concretion is real, and it looks impressive to someone unfamiliar with geological processes. How could a modern artifact be stuck in Ordovician rock? The answer is that the concretion itself is not Ordovician. Minerals in solution can harden around an intrusive object dropped in a crack or simply left on the ground if the source rock (in this case, reportedly Ordovician) is chemically soluble." [Cole, J. R. 1985. "If I had a Hammer" Creation/Evolution, Issue XV, pp.46-47]

In July 2008, Baugh was in contact with Alvis Delk and James Bishop, who claimed to have found a dinosaur-human print fossil.cite news | url=http://www.creationevidence.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=48 | title=Alvis Delk Cretaceous Footprint | publisher=Creation Evidence Museum |date=2008 | first=Carl | last=Baugh | accessdate = 2007-02-19] Bishop is a convicted murderer and Delk has a history of selling faked artifacts. [cite news |url=http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_225091209.html | title=Rock's finders discovering celebrity not always pleasant | publisher=Mineral Wells Index |date=August 12, 2008 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] Baugh bought the "fossil" from Delk who used the money to pay his medical bills. [cite news |url=http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_224120721.html | title=One step at a time | publisher=Mineral Wells Index |date=August 11, 2008 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] On the authenticity of the claims, reporter Bud Kennedy noted, "since no scientists were involved, about all we really know so far is that the museum has a new rock." [cite news | url=http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/820344.html | title=Human footprints along with dinosaur tracks? | publisher=Star-Telegram |date=Aug. 10, 2008 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] Biologist PZ Myers critiqued Delk's "fossil" saying Baugh "is falling all over himself praising the authenticity of this blatant fake." [cite news | url=http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/07/transparent_fakery.php | title=Transparent fakery | publisher=Pharyngula (blog) |date=July 28, 2008 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-19] [cite news | url=http://paleo.cc/paluxy/delk.htm | title=The Alvis Delk Print | publisher=The Paluxy Dinosaur/"Man Track" Controversy |date= 8-17-2008 | first=Glen | last=Kuban | accessdate = 2008-08-19]

Creationist organizations such as Answers in Genesis have criticized Baugh's claims saying he "muddied the water for many Christians. . . . People are being misled." Don Batten, of Creation Ministries International wrote: "Some Christians will try to use Baugh's 'evidences' in witnessing and get 'shot down' by someone who is scientifically literate. The ones witnessed to will thereafter be wary of all creation evidences and even more inclined to dismiss Christians as nut cases not worth listening to." [cite news | url=http://paleo.cc/paluxy/whatbau.htm | title=What About Carl Baugh?| publisher=Creation Ministries International |date= 1998 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17] Answers in Genesis (AiG) lists the "Paluxy tracks" as arguments "we think creationists should NOT use" [emphasis in original] .cite news | url=http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/dont_use.asp | title=Arguments we think creationists should NOT use | publisher=Answers In Genesis |date= 2008 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-05-17] Also Answers In Creation reviewed Baugh's museum and concluded "the main artifacts they claim show a young earth reveal that they are deceptions, and in many cases, not even clever ones."metallic hydrogen surrounded the early earth. Furthermore, he professes that hexagonal water, or, "Creation water" as he calls it, is capable of healing. Such claims have been addressed by scientists as pseudoscience, and his hypotheses and credentials are not accepted in academia. John Stear criticized Baugh's claims, writing "Baugh is a charlatan second only to 'Dr' Kent Hovind." [cite news | url=http://www.noanswersingenesis.org.au/carl_baugh_page.htm| title=The Carl Baugh Page | publisher=No Answers in Genesis|date= 2008 | first=John | last=Stear | accessdate = 2007-02-19]

Baugh has claimed several degrees, at one point professing to earning three doctorates. [http://paleo.cc/paluxy/degrees.htm A Matter of Degree: Carl Baugh's Alleged Credentials] by Glen J. Kuban, NCSE Reports Vol 9, No. 6, Nov-Dec. 1989. (Updated August 2006)] All three "doctorates" are from unaccredited "schools." One is an honorary "Doctor of Philosophy in Theology" from the non-accredited California Graduate School of Theology. His 1989 "doctorate" and Masters Degree in Archaeology comes from the non-accredited Pacific International University, of which Baugh was the president. His dissertation titled "Academic Justification for Voluntary Inclusion of Scientific Creation in Public Classroom Curricula, Supported by Evidence that Man and Dinosaurs Were Contemporary" was reviewed by Brett Vickers who criticized its "descriptions of his field-work on the Paluxy river 'man-tracks', speculation about Charles Darwin's religious beliefs and phobias, and biblical evidence of Adam's mental excellence." [cite news | url=http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/credentials.html | title=Some Questionable Creationist Credentials | publisher=talk.origins|date= May 31, 2002 | first=Brett | last=Vickers | accessdate = 2007-02-19] In 2005, Baugh completed a doctorate in Theology from the unaccredited Louisiana Baptist University.Tobia, P.J. [http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/News/2006/10/19/Reading_Writing_and_Jesus/index.shtml "Reading, Writing and Jesus: What nearby schools don’t know about the Bible class they soon may be teaching"] , "Nashville Scene", October 19, 2006. Accessed December 19, 2007. "While there are a few reputable legal and theological minds from solid universities associated with the group, they are far outnumbered by the likes of Carl Baugh, who holds a Ph.D. in theology from Louisiana Baptist University, an unaccredited online school."]

Baugh is currently the president of Pacific International University and also a 1989 alumnus. The university had no accreditation and offered doctorates for a lump sum payment.cite news | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060506023610/http://www.paciu.edu/student/distance-learning-student-enrollment.shtml | title=Fees | publisher=Pacific International University |date= May 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-06-17] The fees ranged up to 2,500-3,000 USD for a Doctor of Theological Studies degree. The school has an "administrative office," but no campus, so no classes are held on site.cite news | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060504034057/http://paciu.edu/main/distance-learning-contact-information.shtml | title=Contact Information | publisher=Pacific International University |date= Jan. 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-06-17] There are no minimum educational requirements to apply other than two references, one academic and one church related.cite news | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060519205659/http://paciu.edu/docs/distance-learning-student-application.shtml | title=Application | publisher=Pacific International University |date= March 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-06-17] Nonetheless, the university noted it "is in good standing with the American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions, Inc. (North Carolina) and is also a member of the Association of Christian Colleges and Theological Schools (Louisiana)," but for legal reasons makes it known "these memberships do NOT constitute accreditation by the U.S. Office of Education."cite news | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20060504034113/http://paciu.edu/profile/distance-learning-credentials-recognition.shtml | title=Credentials and recognition | publisher=Pacific International University |date= Jan. 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate =2007-06-17] In the United States without recognition from the United States Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation to approve the accreditation agency such accreditations are "bogus" to the academic community. [ [http://www.chea.org/pdf/fact_sheet_6_diploma_mills.pdf Fact Sheet for Diploma Mills] from Council for Higher Education Accreditation.]

Bibliography

*"Dinosaur" Promise Publishing (paperback) - 1987, 152 pages, ISBN 0-939497-01-8
*"Panorama of Creation" Hearthstone Publishing, Ltd. (paperback) - 1992, 91 pages, ISBN 1-879366-01-0
*"Jurassic Park: Fact Vs. Fiction" (with Bill Uselton) Hearthstone Publishing, Ltd. (paperback) - 1993, 30 pages, ISBN 1-879366-35-5
*"Footprints and the Stones of Time" (with Clifford Wilson) Hearthstone Publishing, Ltd. (paperback) - 1994, 162 pages, ISBN 1-879366-17-7
*"Why Do Men Believe Evolution Against All Odds?" Hearthstone Publishing, Ltd. (hardcover) - 1999, 160 pages, ISBN 1-57558-049-7

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.creationevidence.org Creation Evidence Museum] Baugh's official website
** [http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.drcarlbaugh.org/ Baugh's "doctoral dissertation"] from Archive.org
* [http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/3868_issue_15_volume_5_number_1__4_23_2003.asp Analysis of Baugh's Dinosaur Tracks] , National Center for Science Education Issue 15 (Volume 5, Number 1 - Winter 1985)
* [http://paleo.cc/paluxy/degrees.htm A Matter of Degree: Carl Baugh's Alleged Credentials] by Glen J. Kuban, NCSE Reports Vol 9, No. 6, Nov-Dec. 1989. (Updated August 2006)
* [http://paleo.cc/paluxy/whatbau.htm What About Carl Baugh?] by Dr Don Batten, of Creation Ministries International
* [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/ce/3/part2.html Cretinism or Evilution? No. 3] from talk.origins