November 24th, 2009 - Creation vs Evolution
I know I promised a post last week and that it would be regarding religion. Well, it’s a little late, but here goes. Also, in something totally unrelated, I will be opening up a photo section as the NDA has been lifted on Mortal Online and I’ll be posting screen shots and early reviews of that game.
On to religion! Recently, I heard about this. I admit to not fully reading this particular article, but it has both videos I’m going to mention and gets across the basics of what is going on.
Here’s the short of it. Kirk Cameron and his buddy Ray comfort are going to major universities (well, I’m sure their lackies anyway) and handing out free copies of ‘On the Origin of Species’ by Charles Darwin. What’s this you ask? A devote follower of christianity handing out THE book on evolution? Well, there’s sort of a catch, as there usually is with free stuff. Ray Comfort wrote a new introduction some 30 odd pages long detailing the contrary opionion to evolution that is creationism.
What’s wrong with this you ask? To be honest, almost nothing. I guess they may run into legal trouble with Darwin’s estate (if he has one) for possible slander/libel since Mr. Comfort is trying to win his argument using the tried-and-true ‘Hitler, I win’ approach. You get a free book based in science, and can hopefully throw away the other crap they give you. So long as this is all they are doing and not pressuring you into buying other crap or attending meetings of some fashion, I am ok with this. I would challenge you to actually read the material they give you at least once. It’s free, at least give them that. Then you can throw it out. The reason for this is to kind of beat them at their own game so to speak. What I’m really asking, is for you to take their information with Darwin’s and any other science you choose, and make up your own mind. If you agree with them after reading everything you feel you need to, great. More power to you. I’m not going to say you’re right/wrong, but I will respectively disagree with you. I will say one thing on the Hitler connection. Just because someone believes something, doesn’t automatically invalidate it because of who they are or what they did. While Mr. Cameron tells you to do just that, make up your own mind, we all know that’s not what he really wants you to do. If that was the case, he wouldn’t be trying to destroy evolution by linking it to Hitler and calling Darwin a racist, bigot, and sexist. While I understand that reputation is important most anywhere, including the scientific community, you could be the most horrible person on the planet, but if your idea is supported by consistent data, repeated and repeatable experimentation, and is tested by other members of the scientific community across the globe, it will hold water.
Here’s what I do have a problem with (besides the Hitler nonsense). If you watch the first video in the above link, Kirk is talking about his idea behind doing this. He basically says that this country is going down the shitter because more people aren’t believing in God and creation. He uses sweeping arguments to try and make Christians seem like they are being persecuted which I really don’t think is happening. Of course, this is a time honored tactic, being painted as a victim to get your way. He claims that more and more people are becoming atheists because of a majority of professors that are atheists. He claims brainwashing and indoctrination in schools. If you can stomach watching the whole video, Kirk brings up UC Berkley’s policy on handing out free material. Why? In case they try to shut him down, which I really don’t think would happen unless he’s breaking the law (which they would do for anyone, regardless of what your giving away).
So, why shouldn’t creation be taught as science? Would you teach history as math? Shop as biology? Religion as atheism? No. Because those things aren’t what you would be teaching them as. ‘In 1776, Thomas Jefferson did shit. What’s 1776 minus 1204?’ What? Exactly. Creationism isn’t science. No matter how they dress it up (and they do, look up the magazine, Creation Ex Nihilo). Here’s one of the more glaring contradictions to Kirk’s video. He claims evolution is explains how everything came from nothing. Creation explains how God created everything…..from nothing.
Ok. So I’ll be wrapping this up now. I’ll leave you all with my favorite video, which is actually the second one in the original link I posted in this article. She does a damn good job, I think at least, of tearing down all of their arguments. I just wish they would see it and see that, if you trying to teach someone about apples and you keep showing them oranges, they will slap you in the face for being stupid and take your orange because they are tasty.
November 24th, 2009 at 09:32
Speaking as an atheist, in the strict sense, I’ve always found Mr. Cameron’s and Mr. Comfort’s attempt to link evolution to atheism as a manipulation tactic. They have framed creation vs. evolution as a theist vs. atheist debate and that isn’t true. There are many theists who believe in evolution. Evolution is a fact, proven by experimentation, and continuously reaffirmed. A theist believing in evolution is no stranger than a theist believing in gravity or that the sun is the center of the solar system. By using the polarized positions between atheists and theists, Mr. Comfort and Mr. Cameron approach believers and say, “Only atheists believe in evolution, if you’re not an atheist you must believe in creationism.” Unfortunately, I think they have had some success in this area.