Ben Bridges

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Ben D. Bridges, Sr. (born August 30, 1940, in Madison County, Georgia) is a conservative Republican member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 10th District based about Cleveland. He is chairman of the Retirement Committee.

Bridges worked as a barber for six years before joining the Georgia State Patrol. He retired in 1995 with the rank of captain. He was elected to the Georgia House in 1997.

In 2007, Bridges was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League and others for circulating a memo condeming evolution which said, in part "Indisputable evidence — long hidden but now available to everyone — demonstrates conclusively that so-called 'secular evolution science' is the Big-Bang 15-billion-year alternate 'creation scenario' of the Pharisee Religion... This scenario is derived concept-for-concept from Rabbinic writings in the mystic 'holy book' Kabbala dating back at least two millennia." It also directed readers the website of the Fair Education Foundation Inc., which claims the Earth is not rotating or orbiting the Sun.^[1] Bridges says he had nothing to do with the memo, but the memo's author, Marshall Hall, says he had Bridges' approval. Hall is the husband of Bridges' campaign manager and president of the Fair Education Foundation. Bridges said he did not necessarily disagree with Hall's view; he is quoted as saying, "I agree with it more than I would the Big Bang Theory or the Darwin Theory".^[2]

Bridges' memo was circulated in the Texas legislature by the conservative Republican Warren Chisum of Pampa, the seat of Gray County in the Texas Panhandle.