If you google “Kent Hovind IRS persecution” you will find things like this:
Kent Hovind’s followers, however, contend he was prosecuted because of his religious convictions – and because he was so effective in exposing what he calls “the big lie of evolution.”
Is that true ?
What Got Me Into This
The recent Tax Court decision in the case of Jo Delia Hovind was followed, probably coincidentally, with the honoring of her husband, Kent Hovind, a federal inmate, by the Creation Science Hall of Fame. CSHF has been refining its discussion of Mr. Hovind’s unfortunate circumstances but throughout, Nick Lally, the chairman, has maintained that Mr. Hovind is in prison “out of principle and not deceit”.
I at least look at every Tax Court decision and actually read most of them. I look for items of practical value, matter for reflection and humor in deciding which ones to write about. Mainly, I like the cases that have interesting stories to them which made Ms. Hovind’s case practically irresistible. If there is interest in the story, I will follow other aspects of it. That accounts for the two posts I have so far done on the Hovinds. This third and possible final one will seek to address one of the many questions that have been raised. Basically has the government been picking on the Hovinds out of hostility to “creation science” ?
Creation Science
I have seen at least one comment on another site to the effect that I obviously don’t know much about creation science. Guilty. The explanations that I put in the previous posts were meant just to alert readers to the general nature of the argument. Let me try it again. If you are a Christian who accepts the concept of “scriptural inerrancy” and you adopt a literal interpretation of Genesis, which not all Christians, even all conservative Christians do, you will conclude that the earth is about 6,000 years old.
If you go into the geology or biology departments of most colleges and universities, you will have a really hard time finding a lot of support for that view. Hence the need for creation scientists to expose the errors of establishment science, which, since it contradicts Genesis, must be wrong.
OK. Here’s the deal. I’m not taking a public position on that issue, but I welcome commenters who wish to use the space below as a forum to talk about things like helium in zircons, radioactive half-lives and people running around with dinosaurs. I’ll probably call your comments out and I won’t delete them unless you violate my entirely arbitrary and constantly changing standards of decorum. Generally speaking, try to be kind to the poor deluded people who hold the view opposite yours and I’ll be glad to have you here.
Is The Federal Government Persecuting Creationists ?
If the Federal Government is persecuting creationists, it is doing a very poor job of it. According to Gallup 46% of Americans believe that God created humans, as they are now, less than 10,000 years ago. The percentage has not changed much in the last thirty years. Of course lack of progress does not prove lack of intent, but there is other evidence that, they are not even trying.
Check out the Form 990 of Answers in Genesis, Inc which grossed nearly 25 million dollars in the fiscal year ended 6/30/11. The people of the Creation Science Hall of Fame hope that when their hall takes tangible form it will be a neighbor of AiG’s Creation Museum. AiG is working on an Ark Encounter theme park. There is talk of it being a public private partnership with state economic aid because of its development impact. AiG is merely one of the largest exempt organizations collecting tax deductible contributions to spread the word.
Another example is Creation, Evoloution and Science Ministries which will take you on a tour of the Grand Canyon where you will be shown original CREATION rock, Pre-flood strata and Judgment layers which were laid down during the flood. The Grand Canyon is under the supervision of the National Park Service, by the way, and I can say from personal experience well worth seeing.
Bottom line, it seems rather unlikely that when federal agents went into Kent Hovind’s Dinosaur Adventure Land, it had anything to do with what was being taught there.
Corporation Sole
“Corporation Sole” is a way to vest title to property in the holder of an office. It makes sense for hierarchical organizations where the office holder is subject to appointment and removal. It does not make sense for individual led ministries particularly those that do not have an independent board. There is no way to distinguish between the property of the ministry and the individual controlling the ministry. From reading the Tax Court decision in Jo Hovind’s case, it is pretty clear that “Corporation Sole” and the associated bells and whistles are at the root of the Hovinds tax problems.
On May 12, 2003, Mr. Hovind created a personal ministry using the CSE Foundation Trust package Mr. Stoll provided. Mr. Hovind executed formal written trust agreements for two trusts, Creation Science Evangelism Ministry and the Creation Science Evanglism Foundation. Mr. Hovind named the Director of Ecclesiastical Enterprises and the Firm Foundation, corporations sole established by Mr. Stoll, as trustees. In the trust package both the Director of Ecclesiastical Enterprises and the Firm Foundation are identified as being under the jurisdiction of the “Kingdom of Heaven”. Mr. Hovind is listed as the “CEO Manager” of Creation Science Evangelism Ministry. Petitioner is listed as the “First Position Successor”.
Mr. Hovind’s Defense
You can find extensive documentation of Mr. Hovind’s defense on this site. I have corresponded with him a bit and he places particular emphasis on this document. It is a memorandum of law to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence. It is focused on the defects he perceives in his original indictment. To kick off our discussion he wanted me to give him an opinion on it (To be fair I should mention that he offered to discuss numerous things that I alluded to in my post. One of his messages to me is on his facebook page labelled how to debate an evolutionist.) He specified one at a time. I may hear more from him, but at the present time, when it comes to discussions about the federal government, he seems to be focused on the legal flaws in the government’s prosecution of him. The Eleventh Circuit did uphold his conviction, but apparently he still thinks there is hope.
If you study the documents and agree with him or think he should be free for some other reason, you can sign a petition for his release here. And of course:
You can follow me on twitter @peterreillycpa.
Originally published on Forbes.com Feb 8th, 2013