Why Do People Laugh At Creationists

Religion Wants to Rule YOU

http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html

The link above will take you to a talkorigins.org web pages index that explains the faulty reasoning of most Young Earth Creationist, Intelligent Design, and evangelical fundamentalist claims that science and evolution does not explain our world.

My apologies to those who already know of this fantastic trove of information.

If you are a new convert to non-Christianity , atheism, or agnosticism and wish to have more ammunition to fight the evil plot by Christians to take over the world :-); then this spot is for you. I lost count of the number of answers, but it’s probably well over 600.

We have to confront the bad logic of Christian religion claims…with real science, and expose their claims for what they are…junk.

I have found over the years that I have been exploring todays ‘religious right’ that they have no regrets and will lie to anyone to try to advance their agenda. Although lying is generally condemned in the Bible, todays evangelical fundamentalist proselytizers, ministers, pastors, and church leaders are thinking that ‘whatever it takes’ is not a problem when you are faced with declining attendance, slim tithing, and mild cuss words on TV.

The religious right, perhaps best exemplified by Jerry Falwell Jr., Creation Research Institution, the Republican Party, Moral Majority, Christian Voice, Christian Coalition of America, Pat Robertson, Family Research Council, Joel Osteen, Discovery Institute, and many more.

Bill Moyers,

“True, people of faith have always tried to bring their interpretation of the Bible to bear on American laws and morals … it’s the American way, encouraged and protected by the First Amendment. But what is unique today is that the radical religious right has succeeded in taking over one of America’s great political parties. The country is not yet a theocracy but the Republican Party is, and they are driving American politics, using God as a a battering ram on almost every issue: crime and punishment, foreign policy, health care, taxation, energy, regulation, social services and so on.”

I’m sure they have more planned; such as clamping down on same sex marriage, homosexuality in general, loose morals, Playboy magazine 🙂 (had to thrown that in) sexy dresses, mandatory attendance at church, no movies or TV that violates their sense of propriety and morals…PG all the time, how to properly raise your children, prayer (to A Christian God) in schools, teaching Intelligent Design and Creationism in all schools, teach only abstinence to young ones, preparation by all for the Second Coming and/or the Rapture, stop federal funding to all sciences that disprove their views of the Bible, get rid of ‘liberal’ judges, making and enforcing a ‘Blasphemy Law’, Support for religious institutions within government… Department of Homeland Religion…headed by Bishop Chertoff maybe :-), opposition to premarital sex, promiscuity, prostitution, sex trafficking, use of birth control or contraceptives, emergency contraceptive methods…Wow, when I started this list I couldn’t stop.

There are many more reasons to stop this evil plot…remember, “A brain is a terrible thing to waste”.

Believe me, religion is not all warm and fuzzy.

For latest post go: Here

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Thoughts on Creationist Theology

If you dig deep enough in Creationist or Young Earth Creation (YEC) theology, there are very large discrepancies and large leaps of “faith” :-} are required for acceptance. I have recently been looking into their world-view, and I find it both fascinating and mind-boggling. They are quietly wedging their way into secular institutes and using razzle-dazzle and quasi-scientific language to fool lots of people. They keep trying to intrude into science classes in public schools and generally making nuisances of themselves.

Below are just some random things. I haven’t tied them together much; just some notes I am keeping and trying to absorb and eventually string together in a sensible manner.

Early Bronze Age (c. 3500-2000 BC)
Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000-1600 BC)
Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BC)

Early Iron Age (c. 1200-900 BC)

The Noachian Flood that happened somewhere around 2400 to 2300 BCE, demonstrated no affect on the line of metal workers descended from Cain. Lamech, sixth in line from Cain, fathered Jubal and Jabal by his first wife Adah. Jubal was the originator of string and wind music. Jabal was described as the father of “Bronze and Iron” metalworking–although there was No Iron working in his day. They must have been living in Anatolia at the time; as that is where the first evidence of metalworking comes from. Lamech fathered Tubal-Cain by his second wife Zillah. Tubal-Cain is the man held responsible for making/living in tents, and animal husbandry. Lamech, by the way, was the Bible’s first Polygamist.

Side bar: Were Adam and Eve living in caves after their eviction from Eden? I’ve heard rumors of the “Cave of Treasures.”

The complete line of the progeny of Cain was wiped-out in the flood, no survivors.

Now after the flood, Noah and his wife, and his three sons and their wife’s dispersed to the four corners of the world and begat humankind all over again. So what we have at, let’s say 2300 BCE, are 8 people traveling to China, Europe, Asia, Africa, Egypt-(yeah, I know :-}), Australia, South America, Central America, and North America.

None of these people that were doing the dispersing and begating were schooled in the metal working skills (Which is a VERY highly skilled activity), however Noah knew how to make wine, so maybe he went to France.

If you happen to be a Young Earth Creationist (This would include most evangelical sects, Institute for Creation Research (ICR), the “answersingenesis” people, Discovery Institute, etc., you have to work in an ice age sometime after the Flood and before Abram (Abraham) c. 2020 BCE. Personally I don’t think it can be done, and neither does anyone else in the real world, and there is NO physical evidence for such a thing. Beware though; these groups just mentioned above are telling The “BIG LIE.” They are taking a page from Hitler that goes like this: If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.

I’m wondering how the YEC’s are taking the research that is showing ALL of humanity comes out of Africa; will they just ignore it?

I know there are some who pick and choose what they will believe. Some are thinking that the first six days of creation were “ages” or “eons” and after Adam was created, 24-hour days.

Huummm…

Intelligent Design…I Can’t get no Respect.

Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget. – Cheop’s Law. I just knew contractors were always like that :}

People who subscribe to the Intelligent design “theory” are constantly complaining that nobody accepts their “theory.” What they mean is, no real scientists or serious science journal accepts what they say; so consequently, they get no respect.

What they invariably forget to mention is that their “theory” depends on the acceptance of magic as a part of the real world. I can see why they don’t mention this, as there has never been an instance of verifiable, repeatable, testable magic in the whole history of our world.

Have you, or anyone you know, ever been witness to magic? If you think this happened, have there been witnesses, and has it been widely acknowledged as a true event? Don’t say the Bible either, as this book is widely known to be copies of copies and parts are known to be allegory and other parts could be made up theology. Also, the man who went around raising dead people, curing leprosy, and had thousands of followers is not supported in non-biblical writing. I know two billion people believe in it, but one billion people are Hindu’s, with a whole nother’ belief in world history, and apparent validity of their own Gods.

There is, of course, no recognizable physical support for any of the ‘God as a spirit’ believing religions, and there never has been. Of course ID people try to turn this around by saying that there is no evidence for evolution, conveniently forgetting that Darwin has been gathering steam for 150 years, long before ID was even a gleam in anybodies eyes, and it keeps getting stronger in proofs. The ID people need to accept that and stop trying make our whole world fit into their rather small and smothering mold.

All the “facts of science” that ID people advance, generally sound plausible to the layman, or even to the well educated sometimes. But, this same “fact”, when given to someone who is schooled in the science in question, the ID argument invariably falls apart. And the problem for the ID’ers is all of the sciences are advancing so rapidly now that even they can’t stay ahead of the curve.

The biggest problem facing the Intelligent Design fans is that they have so far been unable to come up with any convincing science or proofs to back up their claims. All of their claims (except the paranormal ones, that are inherently un-provable) have been disproved in the real world of physical sciences.

In the February issue of the conservative magazine ‘Townhall‘ (they can be found on the internet at townhall.com) a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, David Klinghoffer, bemoans the fact that people that believe in ID get no respect at mainstream universities. In fact they usually hide their belief from fear of being fired. He writes of Guillermo Gonzalez, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Iowa State University who was denied tenure, reputedly because of his being outspoken on ID. He goes on to describe others who have suffered in the science community because of their beliefs in intelligent design religion.

I wonder if the universities are doing this so they don’t get into the same situation as Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, where Michael Behe, author of various ID friendly books is a professor of biochemistry. The Department of Biological Sciences department, of which he is of course a member, had to come up with a disclaimer, telling the world that they do not subscribe to professor Behe’s theories. Following is that disclaimer:

Department Position on Evolution and “Intelligent Design”
“The faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences is committed to the highest standards of scientific integrity and academic function. This commitment carries with it unwavering support for academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas. It also demands the utmost respect for the scientific method, integrity in the conduct of research, and recognition that the validity of any scientific model comes only as a result of rational hypothesis testing, sound experimentation, and findings that can be replicated by others.

The department faculty, then, are unequivocal in their support of evolutionary theory, which has its roots in the seminal work of Charles Darwin and has been supported by findings accumulated over 140 years. The sole dissenter from this position, Prof. Michael Behe, is a well-known proponent of “intelligent design.” While we respect Prof. Behe’s right to express his views, they are his alone and are in no way endorsed by the department. It is our collective position that intelligent design has no basis in science, has not been tested experimentally, and should not be regarded as scientific.” My emphasis.

I think this is a fair position for the university to take, as they have to compete for serious students and faculty in the real world. Let the ID proponents form their own institutions of higher learning, get accreditation, and compete for credibility. I might add that professor Behe’s testimony in the Kitzmiller vs. Dover School District was singled out by the judge as specious, and that: “intelligent design is not science but essentially religious in nature.”

It helps if you remember that a number of right wing religious organizations are trying to make the whole United States a theocracy…that is; religiously ruled and dominated by evangelical leaders…and real science…no longer taught in our schools.

Now, we as a country have some real problems admittedly, but compared to countries that are ruled by religionists, we are a profound “Paradise.” Can you even imagine how deeply disturbed our society would be if we gave up scientific inquiry in this country or indeed, the whole world?

Can you conceive of a world where trying to understand the physical universe would be considered blasphemy?

Perhaps punishable by brainwashing in government facilities.

Where you would be punished for trying to consider reality.

Intelligent Design…Isn’t

Anti-Science.

To advance their anti-science and anti-secularism agenda, ID creationists at the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture seek to use public schools “to defeat scientific materialism and its destructive moral, cultural and political legacies,” “to replace materialistic explanations with the theistic understanding that nature and human beings are created by God,” and to “see design theory (Intelligent Design) permeate our religious, cultural, moral and political life” (Discovery Institute, 1998).

Do American’s really want this in their public schools? Do we really want to start closing down the blossoming minds of our children and sucking our civilization down to the level of some theistic societies in the Middle East?

Most of the sciences have as their ultimate truth that nature, not God, is the driving force behind the physical world. Can you imagine a science class in lets say archeology. “Well teacher I know that the earth is only 6,000 years old, but the dinosaurs don’t seem to have left any traces along with human remains. We find human bones only in the top levels of earth strata and the dinosaur bones seem to be MANY years lower. At this point we can only surmise that God has separated them for some purpose that is a mystery to us, and that He may reveal to us in his own good time.”

An article in the journal Science, one of the world’s most respected scientific publications says that among 34 countries surveyed, the US ranks second to last in the number of adults who accept the theory of evolution. “The acceptance of evolution is lower in the US than in Japan or Europe, largely because of widespread fundamentalism and the politicization of science in the United States” (2006).

In a 1998 document entitled “The Wedge,” known informally as the “Wedge Document”

(Discovery Institute, 1998; Forrest and Gross, 2004a, 2007a, ch. 2). Using the metaphor of a metal wedge that can split a log, the ID movement aims to use aggressive public relations programs of book publication, lectures, etc., to create an opening for the supernatural (i.e. Magic) in the public’s understanding of science.

The various sciences are today progressing at a record rate, providing the means to enhance human life in many ways. The US cannot afford to allow Intelligent Design, fundamentalist thought, evangelical proponents, or any of the thousand and one religious right groups to hijack our school systems. We need scientifically trained minds as never before in history. Our low level of scientific literacy in the American public is shameful for a nation that has heretofore led the world.

Intelligent Design Pushers LIE

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” — Stephen Roberts

Immediately below is excerpted from Discovery institute website, retrieved on 01.05.08. Their address is:
http://www.discovery.org/

” Peer-Reviewed & Peer-Edited Scientific Publications Supporting the Theory of Intelligent Design (Annotated)
By: Staff
Discovery Institute
July 1, 2007

Editor’s Note: Critics of intelligent design often claim that design advocates don’t publish their work in appropriate scientific literature. For example, Barbara Forrest, a philosophy professor at Southeastern Louisiana University, was quoted in USA Today (March 25, 2005) that design theorists “aren’t published because they don’t have scientific data.”
Other critics have made the more specific claim that design advocates do not publish their works in peer-reviewed scientific journals-as if such journals represented the only avenue of legitimate scientific publication.” end excerpt

Then they go on to list some ‘religious science’ that got peer review in the scientific arena. Among them is this jewel:

Begin excerpt again. “Stephen Meyer, “The Origin of Biological Information and the Higher Taxonomic Categories” Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 117 (2004): 213-239.

Meyer argues that competing materialistic models (Neo-Darwinism, Self -Organization Models, Punctuated Equilibrium and Structuralism) are not sufficient to account for origin of the information necessary to build novel animal forms present in the Cambrian Explosion. He proposes intelligent design as an alternative explanation for the origin of biological information and the higher taxa.” End of excerpt

Well this is great for the ID movement that the Discovery Institute not only backs, but actively pushes on schools and people. They finally got an article published in a scientific journal….but….
….Not long after the article was published, an embarrassed Council of the ‘Biological Society of Washington’ comes out with this statement

excerpt follows from Biological Society of Washingtom
“The paper by Stephen C. Meyer, “The origin of biological information and the higher taxonomic categories,” in vol. 117, no. 2, pp. 213-239 of the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, was published at the discretion of the former editor, Richard v. Sternberg. Contrary to typical editorial practices, the paper was published without review by any associate editor; Sternberg handled the entire review process. The Council, which includes officers, elected councilors, and past presidents, and the associate editors would have deemed the paper inappropriate for the pages of the Proceedings because the subject matter represents such a significant departure from the nearly purely systematic content for which this journal has been known throughout its 122-year history. For the same reason, the journal will not publish a rebuttal to the thesis of the paper, the superiority of intelligent design (ID) over evolution as an explanation of the emergence of Cambrian body-plan diversity. The Council endorses a resolution on ID published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2002/1106id2.shtml),** see below, which observes that there is no credible scientific evidence supporting ID as a testable hypothesis to explain the origin of organic diversity. Accordingly, the Meyer paper does not meet the scientific standards of the Proceedings.” End of excerpt Their address is: http://www.biolsocwash.org/

excerpt from American Association for the Advancement of Science
** “Over the past several years proponents of so-called “intelligent design theory,” also known as ID, have challenged the accepted scientific theory of biological evolution. As part of this effort they have sought to introduce the teaching of “intelligent design theory” into the science curricula of the public schools. The movement presents “intelligent design theory” to the public as a theoretical innovation, supported by scientific evidence, that offers a more adequate explanation for the origin of the diversity of living organisms than the current scientifically accepted theory of evolution. In response to this effort, individual scientists and philosophers of science have provided substantive critiques of “intelligent design,” demonstrating significant conceptual flaws in its formulation, a lack of credible scientific evidence, and misrepresentations of scientific facts. Approved by the AAAS Board of Directors on 10/18/02″

Recognizing that the “intelligent design theory” represents a challenge to the quality of science education, the Board of Directors of the AAAS unanimously adopts the following resolution: ” excerpt ends. It goes on to basically say that ID is not science, never will be, keep it out of our public schools.
The full statement can be read here: http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2002/1106id2.shtml

What this little exercise in ‘investigative blogging’ is showing me, is that the Discovery Institute, as of 01.05.08, is knowingly passing off what they know to be rebutted, as mainstream science. In other words-they lie.

Gives me an all warm and fuzzy feeling when the pastor lies to me.

Peace to all

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