Assertion 7.1: Many great scientists were creationists.
Analysis:
(i) The scientists creationists cite become scarce as the evidence for evolution mounts up. For instance, one creationist publication (Morris 1982) claims thirty-five "great scientists" for creationism. Of these men, thirteen (Bacon, Kepler, Boyle, Pascal, Steno, Da Vinci, Ray, Linneaus, Woodward, Newton, W. Herschel, Davy, and Cuvier) died before the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859. Fourteen more (Pasteur, Babbage, Maxwell, Faraday, Mendel, Agassiz, Simpson, Maury, Riemann, Brewster, Joule, J. Herschel, Henry, and Morse) died before the rediscovery of Mendelian genetics in 1900. Of the eight who lived into the 20th century (Lister, Kelvin, Fabre, Stokes, Virchow, Rayleigh, Ramsay, and Fleming), only one (Fleming) lived long enough to see the advent of the modern synthesis of evolution.
It is thus pointless to argue from the existence of historical figures who happened also to be creationists to the notion that creationism somehow continues to be acceptable to or compatible with a thoroughly scientific mind.
(ii) None of this is to say, however, that even modern creationists cannot be good scientists when dealing with aspects of science other than those against which they have an ideological bias. There is nothing surprising about a creationist doing fair, novel research in any of a number of scientific fields (incidentally always using the same methodologically naturalistic methods other scientists use), in the same way as an aficianado of power crystals can still be a good engineer. It is just that when it comes to areas like evolutionary biology, these creationists cannot get past their biases, and fail to employ the same methods and standards they otherwise do. This should not be surprising, as it is ubiquitous in life: for any crackpot idea you can think of, you can find someone with an otherwise excellent mind who believes in it.
References
Morris HM. 1982. Bible-believing scientists of the past. Impact No. 103.