John Mackay
Some of the information we have on John Mackay is in the section on Creation Research UK. Our prime interest is to provide background on the key players and organisations in the UK (at least for the time being). However, Mackay is of particular interest despite being based in Australia. This is because he is a very regular visitor to the UK and openly wants creationism taught in schools. Moreover, he has his own operation in the UK, Creation Research UK, which we conclude is a very significant player amongst the half dozen or so creationist organisations in the UK.
Further details of Mackay's style can be inferred from the section on Randall Hardy.
Readers unfamiliar with John Mackay's background are advised to read the section following this paragraph - after which you can jump to the report on Margaret Buchanan. That includes allegations of necrophilia (we jest not).
General Background on John Mackay
John Mackay is an Australian and has been involved with the fundamentalist movement since the 1970s and has been (and still is) closely associated with other creationist movements. He is understood to be 59 (as at April 2006).
Mackay has a doctrinaire (dogmatic) belief in his religion; he has absolute belief in the absolute certainty of the revealed truth of the bible, as literally interpreted.
He was originally a school teacher and holds a degree in geology from a reputable Australian university (Queensland). What Mackay has never been is a professional, practising geologist. Despite the name of his ministry, he has never had a peer-reviewed article in any scientific or geological journal. Nor is the author of this report aware that he has ever submitted such a paper.
Mackay has also been described as a geneticist, presumably because he undertook a course in this subject as part of his BSc. However, one thing Mackay is not is a geneticist. What he would have learned in a 1st degree in geology is both years out of date and well below the breadth and depth of education which most consider necessary to be a practising geneticist. Mackay certainly has never practised as a geneticist.
Nor does Mackay appear to have any theological qualifications whatsoever.
Mackay describes himself as International Director of Creation Research, rather than its head, or founder. However, the organisation looks to be wholly controlled by Mackay and appears to have been established solely by Mackay.
Mackay appears to have been involved in the creationist movement since the 1970s. At an early stage he worked with Ken Ham in an organisation called Creation Science Educational Media Services. This operated in Queensland, ministering to churches.
Around this time the Queensland government made teaching of creationism compulsory in state schools under its jurisdiction.
The main creationist organisation in Australia at that time was the Creation Science Association (CSA) which operated in every state except Queensland. In 1979/1980 the two were merged to become the Creation Science Foundation (CSF). Both Ham and Mackay were part of the seven-man board of this new operation. At this stage Mackay was described as a school teacher but by 1984 he was being described as a missionary.
All did not go well for the CSF during the 1980s. It was subject to fraud (but there was no wrong-doing amongst its members) and it lost $92,363. This is a lot of money for a small outfit. The loss became apparent to the world in 1986.
In 1987 Ken Ham went to America to join the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) and Mackay pulled out of CSF to set up his own operation. The only information about Mackay's split that the author has found is that it was over a personality clash with a member of the CSF staff. However, subsequent information suggests that Mackay has little regard for either CSF's Carl Wieland or Ken Ham.
Mackay believes firmly in the unquestioning religious indoctrination of children. He believes that all Christian teachers have a duty to teach according to the literal interpretations of the bible in all subjects. There is to be no questioning of any of the so-called biblical truths.
His exceedingly dogmatic view of religion appears to be reflected in what is known about his other opinions. Like many fundamentalists, he appears to dislike the feminist movement. Writing for his Creation News publication (August 1997) he discusses:
"the declared feminist desire to be able to clone humans, so [women] could dispense with men..."
and provides this insight into the science of cloning:
"Can you imagine the results of feminist-controlled cloning? A planet full of cloned female offspring whose similar physical characteristics would react identically to the same conditions, i.e. get sick at the same time, have the same monthly syndrome, wear the same face, like the same colours and fashions. Such feminist clones would bore themselves to death at the same predictable age."
As far as this author is aware, Mackay is married. His wife is called Anne.
Creation Research also appears to blame the 9/11 attack on belief in evolution. Its UK web site is reported (Guardian 25 March 2002) to have commented that:
"believers should not be surprised when things like this happen ... The root cause of this increasing violence is sin - sin which is rooted in the refusal to glorify The Lord as the God who created the universe."
"In recent western culture this refusal has been built around evolution and the denial of a god of any sort."
(Note that Evolutionary Theory dates back to at least 1809 (Lamarck). There is nothing recent about it in western culture at all. Sin and violence also existed before 1809, as historians of Australia are, um, aware.)
The Independent Newspaper, 21 April 2006, stated that his website argues that the theory of evolution was introduced by Satan and that the idea has already undermined Western society and must not be allowed to spread to the Third World:
"Satan has only recently begun introducing evolution to Third World countries in order to destroy missionary enterprise. Let's get in first with our spiritual armour on and provide Third World missionaries and others with the weapons to do battle against the subtleties of Satan as he seeks to undermine confidence in God's Word and missionary enterprise."
A little thought clearly shows that this is a fantasy statement and patronising as well. Evolutionary theory is known universally (in every country) and has been for generations.
Appearance: Mackay likes to play the larrikin. His dress style is what I could best describe as "outback casual". That is to say, typically a short sleeve shirt, casual trousers and a leather hat. In some ways Mackay comes over as the Australian "bloke next door"; easy going, not at all pompous, no airs and graces. However, he does have a beard (not entirely socially acceptable in the UK, at least). He reminds one of Rolf Harris without the glasses.
At 59, Mackay has the slight plumpness one would expect at that age but he is certainly older and not as slim as the photographs of him on his web site would otherwise suggest.
It's when he opens his mouth that many feel uncomfortable with him. It is his absolute certainty that he is right and everyone he disagrees with is wrong that is immediately off-putting. He also has a patronising streak that he displays towards those he disagrees with.
It is also pretty clear from past comments that Mackay carries a lot of what many would regard as right-wing, conservative views. At least in the public arena, he doesn’t appear to push these all that hard but it is clear that this is a man driven by ideology, not rationality and reason.
Maybe Mackay still has the school master in him – and the old-fashioned school master at that.
Queensland in the 1970s and 1980s: Queensland is an odd part of Australia – long regarded as corrupt and socially backward, its conservative government, until 1987, did everything to reinforce this view.
Amongst its actions was making the teaching of creationism compulsory in state schools. That law was soon thrown out by an incoming Labor administration. However, many in Australia felt wary that Queensland demonstrated how easy it was for creationists to hijack the educational system for their own ends.
The fundamentalists apparently lobbied the state government hard to stop teaching of social sciences in schools; that battle they won in 1978. In 1980 the state government allowed the teaching of creationism in science classes. It is not known to what extent either John Mackay or his then partner Ken Ham were involved in the lobbying or the subsequent selling of creationist publications to state schools.
Gough Whitlam, Australia's former prime minister is on record as having called Joh Bjelke Petersen, head of the Queensland conservative regime for many years and during these two events, as "that bible-bashing bastard, Bjelke". Others described him as a Hillbilly dictator.
Mackay also teaches at the online/postal "university", the Master's Divinity School and Graduate School. This is based in Evansville, Indiana (USA). It is believed not to be an accredited university.
Whilst Australia has become somewhat notorious for acceptance of creationism, it looks to be much less widely accepted there than in the USA. Indeed, it also appears that much of the drive behind creationism has come out of just one state, Queensland. There is also a very vocal movement in Australia opposed to the creationists and their methods.
