Says Karsten Pultz, author of Exit Evolution:
Recently, I wrote a piece for UD describing how a Danish Christian newspaper, Kristeligt Dagblad, is obviously biased in favour of evolution whenever it covers the creation vs. Evolution issue. In the article “Something Is Rotten In The State Of Denmark” I aired my frustration over the fact that I, as an ID proponent, was deprived the opportunity to respond to allegations about me promoting creationism, featured in the newspaper.
I had submitted an article to the newspaper where I thoroughly explained how ID differs from creationism, and how the labelling of ID as creationism done by evolutionists, is a strategic distraction executed in order to avoid addressing the huge amount ofproblems in their theory which the ID-community points to. The newspaper did not bring my piece during the period where the evolution debate was actually running, and I got rather annoyed as I realized that the current debate had come to an end, momentum was lost, and time had been surpassed. I emailed the responsible journalist three times to get an answer about whether they were going to publish my piece or not, but got no response.
Having been ignored for more than three weeks in Denmark, I was given the opportunity to write here on UD about my problems and about the story that initiated the debate over evolution, a debate that went on for several weeks in the newspaper. I did not expect UD to solve my problem of getting the voice of ID heard, but I was pleased to let off steam in a public forum.
Because I was furious at being ignored I found a slightly perverse satisfaction in emailing the journalist and the chief editor providing both with a link to my article on UD. I did not care if it resulted in me never ever getting anything published in this newspaper, because it wouldn’t make any difference, ID has been and would probably still be tried ignored to death anyway by this ultra liberal Christian Newspaper. And besides, I work for another, although much smaller conservative Christian newspaper, where I can write about ID as much as I like.
But then the miracle happened, – or maybe it wasn’t a miracle. Two days after the link to my article on UD was sent to the journalist and his boss, I received an email from the journalist where he assured me that they were going to publish my piece around New Year — and they did. On the 1st of January my piece about ID was in the paper. Of course it could be that they intended to publish my piece all along and that the journalist just did not respond to my emails. However I like to think—and find it more probable than not—that my piece on UD persuaded the newspaper. Why else would they, after 3 weeks of silence and after the debate was over, suddenly decide to publish my piece?
I see this as a small but important victory for ID in Denmark. Our main problem is ignorance and getting information out about ID is therefore essential if we are going to see any progress. Very few people have heard about ID, and those who have, unfortunately often rely on hearsay or the standard Wikipedia misrepresentation. I would not be able to fight the ID cause without help from abroad like UD and all the wonderful people in the ID community, primarily from USA and Germany. Denmark has the second highest rating when it comes to accepting evolution (ca. 85%), and is also among the most atheistic countries in Europe. so it’s a tough job promoting ID here, and would be an impossible task if it wasn’t for the great support I receive from my ID friends abroad.
Note to Karsten from us here at UD: Some Danes should get out of the house more. Everything’s up in the air now. The genome map did for classical Darwinian evolution what neuroscience did for phrenology.
See also: Something Is Rotten In The State Of Denmark