Readers may recall the contretemps surrounding the Richard Sternberg affair and his alleged mistreatment at the Smithsonian Institute, which he attributes to his having published a paper written by Intelligent Design theorist Stephen Meyer. There are conflicting accounts of exactly what has happened to Dr. Sternberg, but Joe Carter at Evangelical Outpost offers the following as to why he thinks Sternberg is more credible than the gentleman from the Smithsonian who denies Sternberg's charges:
While there is no way for us to know exactly who is telling the truth, let's look at how each side's point of view was presented:
Sternberg filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. By making the claims and signing Form OSC-11 (2-05) , Sternberg acknowledged that he was aware that making a false statement or concealing material fact would be committing a criminal offense punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both. He also agreed to speak on record with a columnist who was writing an editorial for the Wall Street Journal, ensuring that his claims would be on public record in a national newspaper.
Jonathan Coddington was offered a chance to present his side of the story in the WSJ article but chose not to do so. Instead, he thought it would be more appropriate to present his
rebuttal in the comments section of a blog.
This is not dispositive, of course, but Carter's argument is persuasive. Why would Sternberg place himself in serious legal jeopardy if his charges were false, and why wouldn't Coddington, if he were going to deny Sternberg's allegations of mistreatment, use the same venue that Sternberg used? Why announce your denials in a blog? Stay tuned.
