This challenge is void in jurisdictions where it is unlawful, or requires a license, or is otherwise subject to prior restraint.
The owner of origin-of-religions.org will award $25,000.00 to the first person presenting unambiguous evidence which proves “Creation Science” or “Intelligent Design Theory” or which disproves certain conclusions published at origin-of-religions.org or which disproves the modern understanding of the Theory of Evolution. Here are the particulars. The $25,000.00 will be awarded to the first person who presents unambiguous evidence which
Disproves the modern understanding of the Theory of Evolution, or
Disproves certain conclusions published at origin-of-religions.org, namely that religions evolve according to rules similar to those driving evolution of computer viruses and the evolution of life, that the resulting religions have acted and continue to act as a significant pressure on the human gene pool, and that as one consequence of that selection pressure, the human gene pool has been skewed toward brains with a genetically mediated predisposition to harbor religion.
Proves “Intelligent Design Theory” where “Intelligent Design Theory” means the pseudo-hypothesis that a pre-existing and magical being created the universe including a special planet just for us humans. (Prize award only for proving the religion-based version of “Intelligent Design Theory” not my version as defined in the Essay “The Irony of the proof for Intelligent Design Theory,” because I've already “proven” that version!), or
Proves “Creation Science” - where “Creation Science” means the pseudo-hypothesis that a supernatural deity fashioned the universe with Earth as its center and did so less than 10,000 years ago.
Evidence presented must be “scientific” in nature, where “scientific” means some combination of repeatability, knowledge of provenance, or other characteristic of the evidence which proves its scientific validity. In particular, evidence is not considered “scientific” if it is self-referential or otherwise relies on “circular logic.” For example, “creationists” often advance the Christian Bible as evidence of “God” and “creation.” Their claim is essentially that the Christian Bible is evidence of “God” and “creation” because the Christian Bible says it is authoritative on these matters. This is a classic example of “circular logic.” The “Christian Bible” is in fact nothing more than evidence of the syncretic evolution of religion. The history of the “Christian Bible” reveals multiple authors and unknown provenance of the various writings which have been bound together. Evidence presented must be presented publicly and be subject to scientific scrutiny and inquiry. For example, it took a very long time to prove the “Shroud of Turin” was a fraud perpetrated by charlatans centuries after the purported time frame of the alleged crucifixion. This delay in getting at the facts was because legitimate scientific scrutiny and testing was not allowed by the Catholic owners of the forgery.
An example of evidence disproving evolution would be fossils found “out of order” in the geological record. For instance, if fossilized primate bones were found embedded in sedimentary rocks which also contained fossilized bones of Tyrannosaurus Rex then that would disprove the modern understanding of the theory of evolution. An even better example of evidence disproving science would be those fossilized primate and dinosaur bones found together in igneous rocks as that would basically disprove central tenets of geology along with biology. Of course I am very confident that such things will not be found (or easily forged). “Artifacts” or depictions seen at the “Creation Museum” are obviously not scientific evidence. Nothing at the “Creation Museum” meets the criteria for scientific evidence because it can all be shown to be of recent manufacture or shown to be misidentified. Basically “evidence” seen at the “Creation Museum” is not credible evidence for the same reason that entertainment products created in Hollywood are not credible evidence.
Another example of credible evidence of a supernatural creator would be if you persuaded your imagined deity to make a public appearance and demonstrate some supernatural ability. History has too many claims of supernatural beings having appeared to various purveyors of religion. There was Moses with the burning bush, Yahweh allegedly giving Moses the Ten Commandments, Allah giving the holy word to Muhammad, and Joseph Smith receiving the latest gospel from the Angel Moroni. There were no other observers present who might corroborate or contradict the “prophet” in any of these examples. This is truly unfortunate for the historical record. If you can get that grave oversight corrected by your deity then it would certainly simplify things!
Why offer such a prize? It is my aim to shame and educate. If successful, then some “creationists” will be shamed into silence as they try and fail to claim the $25,000.00 Hopefully one or more of these attempts will be elevated to public “spectacle” and thereby serve to educate people who might otherwise be taken in by the slick lies of “creationists” such as those seen in the “Creation Museum.”
Other terms and conditions: Prize is twenty-five thousand U.S. dollars. This offer will not be withdrawn unless required by law. This is a guarantee that the offer will not be withdrawn to avoid payment of the $25,000.00 prize. However, the prize fund may be transferred to and managed by a suitably registered non-profit foundation. The owner of origin-of-religions.org will not recognize the authority of any court or legal entity which is controlled by religious interests and acts to force payout of the challenge prize. The payout requires evidence vetted by the scientific community and reported by legitimate journalistic outlets.
At some point in the near future I hope to see management of this challenge transferred to a non-profit entity. The non-profit entity would maintain a prize account so that others could add to the prize account. The eventual goal would be something similar to the “Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge” managed by the James Randi Educational Foundation.
There is no need to contact origin-of-religions.org to claim your prize. If your deity deigns to appear, then I am sure the appearance will be reported and well-documented by legitimate journalistic outlets. Likewise with any legitimate evidence disproving the modern understanding of biological evolution. Any such evidence would surely be newsworthy and be reported by legitimate journalistic outlets.
Prize offer void in jurisdictions where it is unlawful or regulated. Taxes are the responsibility of the prize recipient.