Good article. Looking from outside, the US sure is a strange and interesting place these days. And how could that guy have said that quote above with a straight face or without realising what he was saying?!
I just want to see what they dispute next... Why the sky is blue? Earth goes around the sun? Gravity? I bet that, in their private lives, they violate their god's will MORE frequently than I do, and I don't even follow their god.
We'll see who was right when the Sun explodes, flash incinerating Earth in a 10,000,000 F fireball.
But even more so, I hope a god comes down and is all like "OK look bitches, you're all fucking wrong, every one of you, especially you religious fucks. Now see, it's like this..." _______________ An empty body but it still bled Oil from the axle and it left a trail. Ran down Java street and formed a pool. Manuela saw the moon in there.
In fundie-speak, intellect is a sin; it's in the same category as "sins of the flesh." It was intellect that damned us all when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge. That's why they like Bush so much: http://www.kisol.com/general/eliminable.htm
They'll keep getting bitch-slapped though. Their argument consists of nothing but "evolution is wrong." It's a joke, and their head "intelligent design" proponents are a bunch of flakes: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/14581
since i know most people here will be too lazy to read either of the articles that cthu1hu linked, i'll paraphrase some of their finer points.
the first one is written by a religious person who thinks that having a large frontal lobe, i.e. the part of our brains that allowed us to do things like invent tools, and continues to allow to be one of the most successful species on earth, is a sin. he says that the large frontal lobe is a product of man's original decision to turn his back on spirituality (what he calls "intuitive perception") and persue instead the intellect.
the person goes on to say that the intellect cannot ever explain the existence of the universe, because the "truths" of the universe exist only in a spiritual realm, and the intellect exists only on earth (the carnal physical realm, considered the lowest realm of creation). thus, the intellect has no means of finding the truths of the universe, as it can only perceive the physical realm, not the spiritual realm.
the person then says that the cerebellum is the seat of spirituality, and that it is "pitifully underdeveloped" in humans - a product of our original sin. therefore, all humans who are born are cursed with this sin of having a large frontal lobe and small cerebellum. however, we as a species can eliminate this sin by choosing instead to embrace spirituality.
well then. i don't think there's much more to say about that flimsy little article. i'd rather not dignify it any more by refuting its claims, but there's just a few things i need to get off my chest.
it's interesting how in this person's view, knowing god is equivalent to being dumb. without that large frontal lobe, we'd still be hairless land apes - no complex language, no complex society, and most importantly, no church. it may be the cerebellum that produces feelings of spirituality, but it is the frontal brain that applies cognitive thought to these feelings. it is the frontal brain that allowed mankind to produce the concept of a creator, the concept of religion, and the concept of killing people who don't accept that religion.
i guarantee that the author would change his mind and want to go back to having a large frontal lobe if you were to take away his air conditioning, processed food, computer, and medicine – all things we would not have without the frontal brain.
his concept of "intuitive perception", which could be put in simple terms as "just knowing" is so typical of the pseudo-intellectual religious mindset. "i don't have to be able to explain it, i just know it to be true." how convenient. how flimsy. the author fails to realize that in doing such a thing as putting together a coherent argument, he has thus used his intellect, and committed his own ultimate sin.
now i'm tired of typing, so i'll talk about the second (and might i say, fantastic) article later. _ sun, sun, sun
aren't we all gods in our own little corners of the world? or is my imagination playing tricks on me again? hmm...i think it's my imagination...let's let the church bring back a modern version of the spanish inquisition and see what happens. i'd be part of the lynch mob, but i'd be the one burning at the stake.
do we really need the concepts god and religion anymore?
I want to take a large, wet trout to the face of any cockfuck who thinks Darwin was some anti-God proponent.
"Darwin's theory is a theory ... not a fact," the school board declared in their statement to the teachers.
Guess what else isn't a fact. Go ahead, guess.
"Reading it sends the message that it is a legitimate scientific idea or theory," said Jen Miller, a biology teacher who is also a church-goer and daughter of a minister.
That might be because it is a legitimate scientific theory.
"If we continue to indoctrinate our young people with non-religious principles, we're headed for an internal destruction of this society," he said.
Yeah, and gays are going to pave the way to Armageddon. Jackass.
"There is such a complexity in life, and science wants to hang its hat on a belief that life somehow started -- they say there is no creator, no order ... I believe there is a creator," he said.
Science doesn't say there is no creator. It doesn't say there is a creator, either.
"It took 30 or 40 years to eliminate God in school, it will take probably 30 or 40 years to get him back. You take a little step first, a little bite, then another little bite and another," said Steve Farrell, a nursery keeper, who dreams of the return to prayer in class.
Yeah? Let's bring in Allah, Buddha, Vishnu and the rest of the gang, just for fair representation.
ofcourse, sometimes I occasionally use religion to back an arguement
for example, this works great:
http://bash.org/?126218 _______________ An empty body but it still bled Oil from the axle and it left a trail. Ran down Java street and formed a pool. Manuela saw the moon in there.
Trying to convince a educate (not convince) a religious person about evolution is like trying to change a liberal into a conservative, or vice versa. No matter how much you try, their ideology does not permit them to accept anything other than "God made us". Both evolution and creation are theories, not facts. Personally, I don't think either of the two will be proven true, ever. Some people say that there is physical evidence that supports the evolution theory. Others say there is evidence supporting creationism. Personally, I'm siding with the evolution crowd. I could just write on and on, but I have to go to class now.
I also have to agree with both Advent's and qwertz' posts. They both make very valid points.
-I am not unemployed, I'm an independent IT consultant.
Evolution can be proven provided mankind lasts long enough to monitor changes in other species.
_______________ An empty body but it still bled Oil from the axle and it left a trail. Ran down Java street and formed a pool. Manuela saw the moon in there.
what about, like the second article points out, the rapid development of the AIDS virus, or changes in bacteria that make them immune to antibiotics that used to work? seems like evolution to me.
its like religion works in reverse. can anyone say dark ages? i think its just closed minded. who is to say darwin's theory isnt the scientific explanation for what "god" did. for a mystical being that works in "mysterious" ways, why we would he/she do something as blatant as dropping a fully evolved human being on a planet. doesnt make sense to me. then again, ive been known to be a blatant idiot. *shrug* i dont care much for this, im no follower of any religion, or theory for that matter.
Narco "Both evolution and creation are theories, not facts."
Evolution is a fact. It has been demonstrated, backed by mountains of data and over 100 years of direct and indirect research. The entire science of Biology is based on it. The only ones who still dispute this are Fundamentalist Christians.
What is a theory is the mechanics of it -- whether in short spurts or over long periods of time, etc.. And 'theory' used in the scientific context means the same as fact (ie: theory of gravity). http://www.stargazing.com/evolution.txt
There isn't and never will be any evidence supporting creationism and does not belong in a science classroom or anywhere else outside of a church.
