Randall Hardy

Randall Hardy

Randall Hardy is a fundamentalist who heads up the UK/European arm of John Mackay’s Creation Research organisation. It operates under the name Creation Research UK and is based in Ashton-under-Lyne in the Northwest of England. It appears that Hardy operates this on a part time basis. Hardy is a long-time creationist and fundamentalist activist.

Hardy has his own operation which appears to operate under the name Amen.org.uk (see http://www.amen.org.uk). The other person who appears to have been active in this is an ex-civil servant, Richard Johnstone, who has long retired.

Hardy's main role in the creationist movement in the UK in recent years appears to be organising the increasingly discredited John Mackay's tours of the UK which look to be an annual event. We understand that this includes raising finance from other fundamentalists in the UK.

Hardy came to national prominence in the UK in the Spring of 2006 following heavy press coverage of Mackay's tour. One of his roles was to act as press spokesman and he was responsible for issuing two very questionable press releases.

As far as we are aware, Hardy has no theological training of any significance (in the form, say, of a degree or attendance on a full time one or two year course) or any scientific qualifications from higher education. Indeed, we have no evidence that he holds a degree in any subject. He is an electrician by occupation.

Our research has also show that Hardy has long-standing connections with other parts of the creationist movement in the UK; many of the details can be found on his web site. It appears that he has worked closely with some of the signatories to the 2002 Estelle Morris letter as well as Stephen Layfield.

We consider Hardy to be one of the movers and shakers amongst the creationist movement in the UK and, in particular, in the Northwest of England. Nick Cowan, the creationist head of Blue Coat School in the Northwest has said that he has contributed (with others) through Hardy to the costs of John Mackay's 2006 tour of the UK. Mackay presented his scientific mumbo-jumboism to Blue Coat school pupils during that tour.

However, Hardy's position as a mover and shaker looks to be under serious threat given allegations made about John Mackay by Creation Ministries International in the Autumn of 2006. This included the fact that Mackay was excommunicated from his church for very serious charges including that he had libelled Margaret Buchanan (wife of Carl Wieland, head Creation Ministries International). See the section of our web site on Margaret Buchanan for further details of this sordid matter. The libel included claims that she committed necrophilia and practiced witchcraft. Mackay has never, ever, produced any evidence to that effect but, according to CMI, continued libelling and slandering her for years.

Hardy has not distanced himself from Mackay despite the evidence from CMI that points to him being a very nasty piece of work.

Indeed, rather than distance himself, Hardy posted a link on his web site to the "BCSE Revealed" smear campaign campaign (http://bcse-revealed.blogspot.com) against the British Centre for Science Education. BCSE has detailed the CMI allegations about Mackay. The smear campaign is headed and run by an obscure trainee pastor and young earth creationist, David Anderson. However, such cowardice, twisting and smearing in public relations appears also to be Hardy's stock in trade.

Hardy is no fool as can be seen from his press releases in the Spring of 2006. They are wily to say the least.

Creation Research's dodgy press releases

5th May 2006

In response to growing public interest in Mackay's tour, Creation Research UK has recently responded with two very mendacious press releases. We have analysed these in some depth to show the techniques fundamentalists use to handle the public.

Firstly is the analysis of the 12th April press release (Exhibit One, below) posted to Creation Research UK's web site (see http://www.amen.org.uk/cr/CR_PressRelease060412.htm) This was in response to press enquiries about Mackay's tour.

The author of this report has seen thousands of press releases in his time (and produced more than a few) and this one takes the biscuit. It displays every fundamentalist creationist trick in the book. From experience, the author has become well used to reading between the lines in PR statements. This one is as wily as they come.

One purpose of this section of the report is to is to show the tricks used by fundamentalists, in particular, the "fundie shuffle", the martyrdom/self-pity complex, the smear and innuendo tactics and the outright dishonest use of the English language. This one's got the lot and also manages to breach the Ninth Commandment to boot.

Read this part, for example: "Whilst Creation Research welcomes invitations to speak in schools and universities, we do not "target" them or any other institutions. What we do target is the unbelief in Jesus Christ which is underpinned in some people's minds by the claims that evolution has been unequivocally proved."

Odd, isn't it, that Randall Hardy's web site shows him to have been closely associated with Stephen Layfield and that it shows Layfield was proposing the exact opposite; i.e. that he (Layfield) was proposing targeting schools. Those proposals were still on Hardy's web site in the summer of 2006 – seven years after proposed by Layfield!

And the same web site shows that Hardy has been associated with at least one of the signatories to the 2002 Estelle Morris letter.

No mention, of course about Creation Research's own religious beliefs which are far from mainstream – just the bogus and meaningless trick of stating that "some people" believe that evolution has been "unequivocally proved." It's rhetoric meant to cast doubt in people's minds. Without having the courage to say so, it was implying that some, wiser, people believed otherwise. It stops short of actually claiming that evolution is unproven.

For what it is worth – Nobody believes that The Theory of Evolution is proven, not even its most dedicated advocates amongst biologists and geologists. It's science and the basis of all science is scepticism. It's always being revised as new evidence comes to light.

Randall Hardy is using dirty tricks to imply otherwise.

Hardy then moves onto the standard Martyrdom trick of fundamentalist creationists (it's as old as the hills). That is, how unreasonable is it for people to oppose academy and faith schools and all they want to do is ridicule Christian fundamentalists. No mention, of course, that there is serious public debate about the issues which run well beyond the religious issues (such as selection, quality of results, local control, the high costs…)

No, Hardy whines on that the whole shooting match is dominated by atheists and people stupid enough to join them. Hardy also whinges on that "it is convenient" to ridicule fundamentalists, whatever that means? See – no precise meaning to the words – all rhetoric, no substance.

Hardy also demonstrates a brilliant example of the "fundie shuffle" (old, old trick). Instead of calling the media atheists who misrepresent everything (as he has previously done so), he now provides no explanation why he is not answering their simple question – what s the name of the school where Mackay is teaching for three (or four or five) days. (It turned out to be Millfield School and was for five days and included four Creation Research people.)

One report, on the Ekklesia web site, according to Hardy, carries the headline 'Creationists target schools and universities in Britain'. "This is a report put together without any direct contact with ourselves and suffers from lavish amounts of spin."

Thus, instead he "attacks" a mainstream religious web site, Ekklesia (no URL given – it is, though http://www.ekklesia.co.uk). Unlike the Observer, the BBC, TES, Sky News and others that have approached Randall, this is a soft target for him.

Judge for oneself if the Ekklesia article is full of "lavish amounts of spin" as Hardy suggests: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060410creation.shtml. We can't see a word of spin in it anywhere.

Somewhere in the deeper recesses of the minds of Creation Research, someone has figured out that you get bad publicity if you ridicule the national media. Hence, I assume, targeting Ekklesia instead.

Let's look again at Hardy's fundamentalist creationist trick "We are good guys" and how unreasonable people are to "us". To quote: "Whilst Creation Research welcomes invitations to speak in schools and universities, we do not "target" them or any other institutions".

Really? In 2002 Creation Research bragged that it was targeting every academic in the UK to see what their views were.

Sadly, Randall Hardy must have a definition of 'target' that this author is not aware of. What he is trying to say is that Mackay's visit to the UK is solely a result of requests, not a managed event to have maximum impact. Managed it is; Hardy is one of the managers. The target is people (including children) who it thinks will be amenable to its proselytising. That includes those in schools and universities.

Now, here is the biggest lie of the lot: "Unlike the British Humanist Association we are not involved in a political campaign." Randall missed out the word "yet" turning a statement into a breach of the Ninth Commandment (indeed, twice, so – see below).

Note how Randall Hardy carefully associates the BHA with politics in contrast to his own squeaky-clean outfit. The fundamentalists in the USA want to take over the nation.

In contrast the BHA is a registered charity and is therefore prevented by law from being involved in political campaigns, a fact that Hardy has either overlooked or ignored. In either case, he has managed to add a second breach of the ninth commandment in a single sentence.

Having given up his past attacks on the media for being atheistic, Randall Hardy now carefully tries to lead the reader into believing that the real opposition are the atheists at the NSS (a single issue organisation whose aims are supported by many Christians) and the BHA.

So, there it is folks, the wicked NSS sent round an email pointing out a press report in a free newspaper. How unreasonable of them. Obvious trouble-makers.

Hardy moves on:

Note also how Hardy carefully tries to include all Christians as well as fundamentalists as being onside to his views. Never mind that the mainstream denominations oppose his scientific hocus-pocus or that the Anglican clergy in Lancashire have (in their own words) "hit the roof" over Mackay's teaching in state schools there.

Then there is the outright smearing:

No evidence is being presented that these (unnamed) secular groups are "seeking to prohibit open debate", just the innuendo that Hardy is "concerned" that they are. It's neither a statement that they are or they could be. It's just a nasty piece of rhetoric claiming that secularists intend to close down all open debate everywhere.

The issue is about teaching creationism in schools. This is not public debate. It's proselytising fundamentalist religion to children unskilled to debate or question the scientific hocus-pocus. It's also about the fundamentalists gaining access to these children without their parents being aware or the local education authority to which the school is answerable.

Then Hardy goes on to suggest that the press can meet Mackay on the 24th April (three days after he starts his tour – are those the three days when he teaches in Lancashire?). So why not just tell the journalists today the name of the school? Why wait 12 days (no explanation given)? It's easily done today, on the web, and won't take up Mackay's valuable time in his busy itinerary.

By the 28th April it had become public news that the school that was hosting Mackay's "teach-in" was Millfield School at Thornton Cleveleys, near Blackpool. It isn't entirely clear what happened but it appears that the headmaster dropped the whole idea and cancelled the event. However, how much pressure he was under to do so has not been placed in the public domain.

According to the Times Educational Supplement for 28th April 2006, "Alan Harvey, head of Millfield High, on Lancashire's Fylde coast, said that John Mackay's views rejecting the theory of evolution were too extreme and his presentation of them too unbalanced." A local newspaper, the Citizen (5th May 2006), put it slightly differently, quoting the headmaster as saying "The view of the RE department head was that he [Mackay] was extremely fundamentalist and really it wasn't a broad enough approach, which is what we would have preferred." The school also claimed to be concerned that Mackay had not submitted a lesson plan.

However, Millfield's statement is a public relations disaster for Mackay as the school - with which, hitherto, he claims he had cordial relations - has now branded him an 'extreme fundamentalist'. Moreover, Mackay cannot resort to blaming atheists as the school says it was its religious education department's assessment of him.

The Second Press Release: Creation Research followed up the cancellation by posting a press release on both its Australian and UK web sites.

The press release (see http://www.amen.org.uk/cr/CR_PressRelease060428.html it is Exhibit Two below) follows the same style as that issued on 12th April; that is to say, it contains innuendo, half truths and opinion masquerading as official statement.

In paragraph one we learn that the Millfield event was intended to last five days – two days longer than originally suggested by Creation Research UK.

In paragraph two they use inverted commas around the term 'worried reader' - thus - suggesting (but not saying) to their audience that said reader was bogus.

The press release goes on to suggested that parts of the media had deliberately and knowingly undermined the work of Creation Research in recent weeks (it did it all by itself). No evidence is given. Your correspondent has not seen any TV, radio or print reports that have done any such thing. He therefore concludes that the comment is unsubstantiated and without foundation. One is again reminded of the ninth commandment at this stage.

The press report claims that the media has repeated and sensationalised material being circulated by humanist groups in the UK. No evidence is given; nor are the humanist groups named. The only secular group your correspondent is aware of that has been involved in opposing Mackay's visit is the National Secular Society. Other, non-secular groups have been involved and these include practising Christians.

The press release, failing to point this out, then tars all opposition as being atheists. Breach of the ninth commandment once more. The press release also fails to point out that many, if not most, of those who opposed Mackay's planned proselytising to children and others are trained scientists, many far better qualified that Mackay.

Their reason for opposing him is not religion, as the press release states, but because they believe his scientific claims for creation are bogus and don't stand up to scrutiny. Most scientists see Mackay as a crackpot. Back to the ninth commandment problem yet again.

Bizarrely, the press release trots out an old chestnut; that atheism is a 'faith position', and thus it is on a par with religious faith. The argument just doesn't stack up as it is completely meaningless. Atheism is a worldview that there is no supernatural deity or deities. There are a number of religious beliefs, wholly compatible with this position, that fit within the broad territory of this worldview. Buddhism is one example. In a similar manner, Christianity is a religious belief that resides within the broad territory of theism - the idea that there is a person-like god or gods. But that doesn't make theism itself a 'religion'.

Hardy's press release states that Humanists had been discussing holding protests outside the schools and hoping that the British Association (for the Advancement of Science) would send scientific material there. It appears that Creation Research and others had been monitoring the National Secular Society's newsline but wholly mis-understood what was being considered.

Had the NSS and others been told which school was involved, it had planned to put forward the idea of sending the school decent science books for its library, giving the professional, scientific view of Evolutionary Theory. The idea that there would be demonstrations outside the school were dropped quickly and that was apparent from the NSS and the Science Just Science forums.

As far as this author is aware, the cerebral British Humanist Association had never considered demonstrating. That is not the way it operates.

Moreover, it is perfectly within anyone's rights, and the rights of the parents of the school, to demonstrate in public against the teaching of creationism in state schools, especially when the whole issue has been arranged behind the backs of the parents and the taxpaying public. By refusing to reveal the name of the school, Mackay was denying the very basic right of a parent to know what his/her child is being taught, Schools are not exempt from demonstrations on moral grounds.

Hardy's press release (which we believe Mackey either wrote or had a major hand in drafting) then goes on to an ad hominem attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury, claiming that his views in teaching creationism in science lessons will help lead to the eradication of religion in society. No explanation is given to this preposterous, arrogant statement.

Looking back to the 12th April press release, it looks likely that the intention is to undermine the general credentials of the CofE given that the Rev Michael Roberts (a BCSE forum participant) has (successfully) been involved in opposing Mackay's attempt to teach at Millfield School.

Finally Mackay/Hardy ends up with the fundamentalist's whinge. The country's going to the dogs and if you don't let us teach children our deeply contested 'scientific' and religious views, you're all going to hell in a handcart. It's all dressed up as something deeply profound but, in practice, is spurious polemic, not news.