In the last week or so, creationist Kent Hovind was released from prison after 9 years. When I was first getting into the whole evolution “controversy”, Hovind was perhaps the most well-known advocate of young-Earth creationism. I present, from memory, my top three Kent Hovind debates.
3: vs Farrell Till (1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4wNVkVRfFE
The late Farrell Till was an expert on the Bible, and his debate with Hovind was more about the reliability of the Biblical account than the science of evolution.
2: vs Michael Shermer (2004)
This debate was the first time I saw Hovind in action (or Shermer for that matter), and it concentrated on whether the scientific evidence supported creationism or evolution.
One highlight (1:26:00) was when Hovind claimed that the best evidence for creationism was the “impossibility” that things came about without a designer. Shermer drew applause by noting that this does not constitute a real answer, as Shermer himself recalled here:
Who won the debate? Intellectually, I did, with Hovind once again conceding defeat on the last question of the evening: “What is the best evidence for the creation?” He answered: “The impossibility of the contrary” (evolution). In that simple statement, Hovind confessed the scientific sin of all creationists: Disproving evolution does not prove the creationist contrary.
1: vs Massimo Pigliucci (2002)
The Infidel Guy Show (presented by Reginald Finley) was always good value, with good guests and some fun debates. The stand-out debate was Hovind’s debate with Massimo Pigliucci, who used the back-and-forth format to really nail him to the wall and expose his rhetoric.
Say what you want about Hovind, but he doesn’t shy away from leaving his comfort zone, and debating strong opponents in hostile territory.
Bonus: vs Ali G (2003)
Ali G and Kent Hovind chat about science, techmology, and other things…
