Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Should we laugh, or cry? Maybe both?

In this vid, all the lines supposedly come from actual messages left on online Christian forums, and the evolution stuff is eerily similar to things I've heard from the mouths of young-earth creationists (and Ben Stein, for that matter)...

9 comments:

tshsmom said...

How 'bout retching uncontrollably?

Young-earthers give me a HUGE pain!! Of course you can't believe in evolution if you believe the earth is only 6000 yrs old!

How do we convince people that not all Christians think this way? Is this really the kind of tripe that fundies want taught in school? ARRGHHHH!!!

tweetey30 said...

Then again coming from those of us that havent been brought up in Christain homes or what nots its hard to believe what matters. Because when you walk into a Museum of any kind and you look at the artifacts you wonder where they came up with these things. Was there life before Jesus or are they just pulling our chains. I mean you read about History but when they talk about certain times it doesnt make sense really.

Jeff mentioned this to me last time we went to Milwaukee and went to the Museum. We were looking at Indian Artifacts and wondered where they got that from since God had made us all. We are missing part of history. Or it seems like we are then. I might have went off topic but its an idea.

S.M. Elliott said...

There's a lot we don't know about the past, a lot of gaps in our knowledge that may never be filled, especially when it comes to ancient cultures that didn't leave much behind. But I think the many different methods people have come up with to measure the age of the earth, the age of bones and pots and rocks, etc., are pretty reliable. And none of this shows that the Bible is wrong in any way; it just makes our history more complicated than some people would like it to be. It would be tempting to think that 6000 years ago (rather than billions upon billions of years ago, which is hard for us to even imagine), everything that's on Earth today was created in a 6-day period and has never changed since that time. However, that's not what the fossil record or anything we know about geology, astronomy, and the other physical sciences tell us about our planet. We know that it's very old, that humans were not always here in our present form, that life became more complex over millions of years, and that many different cultures existed before us. I don't believe you have to deny any of these things in order to be a good Christian, no matter what people tell you. There are many ways to interpret and appreciate what's in the Bible, but it can't really be used as a science textbook because that was not its intended purpose. It was written as a record of God's relationship with his chosen people, and the arrival of the messiah, over a relatively short period of time.

I have a problem with the things said in this video because some Christians reach their own, personal conclusions about what specific Bible passages mean, and they insist that you have to agree with them or you're not really a Christian, or you might go to hell, or whatever. They might even tell you that you have to completely ignore or reject science if you want to be the "right kind" of Christian. I think that's nonsense. Many people of deep faith and with a deep appreciation for the Bible are scientists. We can't let ourselves be bullied into thinking we're "bad" because we don't agree with things that don't really make any sense.

tshsmom said...

VERY nicely said SME!!

Courtney said...

1. !%#@$%
2. "Evolution is a lie" is four words. (I know, I'm nitpicking.)
3. If the fear of God is the only reason some people don't commit murder, then I'm scared.
4. Excuse me while I go F**k a hooker.

tshsmom said...

Courtney, I caught #2 too. Stupid fundie can't even count!

S.M. Elliott said...

It baffles me that people think society would be amoral without the Bible. There were laws, codes, and mores in Pagan and ancient cultures before the Bible, and every major religion has a standard of conduct that really doesn't differ much from that of Christianity. Maybe morality is innate. Maybe we have a conscience.

But no, to these guys if you're not a literalist, you're screwed. You'll sell drugs to 5-year-olds or BBQ babies for dinner. As if you can't figure out for yourself what's right and what's wrong. Sheesh.

The Zombieslayer said...

Music theory is hard to understand. And since music teachers can't put it in simple terms, music doesn't exist. Music, is a lie. They do that intentionally to confuse you with these lies.

S.M. Elliott said...

I knew it all along. Those bastards.