Creationist Panties Up In Bunch Over “Cosmos” Second Episode. As if no one couldve predicted an uproar from the people who think Earth is 6,000 years old. No one could have possibly predicted that religious wingnuts—creationists in particular—would throw a series of massive hissy fits over Foxs reboot of “Cosmos”. I mean, when a science show of this high production value airs in multiple countries worldwide on the very same network that once hired Sarah Palin as a contributor, you can be fairly certain that some folks might get their panties bunched up pretty badly over this stuff.... Especially when this show so effectively destroys the superstitious, and downright false claims made by the bible and its derivative works. The second episode of the twelve-episode series entitled, Some of the Things that Molecules Do, kicks off with a brilliantly illustrated explanation of how evolution by artificial selection shaped the grey wolf into all the different breeds of domesticated dog we have today. Neil Degrasse Tyson, with his usual eloquent and inspirational oratory, explains how the symbiosis between the grey wolf and humans of 30,000 years ago was vital to our evolutionary success and overall survival. He went on to address the indignation creationists and some moderate believers feel when scientists rightly profess our kinship to apes, and he did so with his usual polite articulation and candor. But more than that, the approach to breaching this subject was done very wisely; instead of just stating the facts of the matter, that humans genetic sequence is 98% similar to that of the chimpanzee, Tyson asks the audience, “What of our kinship to the trees?” Indeed, all species of life are descended from the same origin. All life on earth is based on the DNA molecule: trees have DNA, fish have DNA, insects have DNA, mammals have DNA, etc; we are all of us related to each other through our DNA. It seems much easier to accept our kinship with all earthly creatures if we first start with a majestic form of life such as a tree. Of course, I think all life is majestic, but there is something about chimps throwing feces that religious people might find somewhat off-putting. The episode goes on to detail the wonders of natural selection. If humans can breed all the known species of dog from the grey wolf in 15,000 years via artificial selection, what can natural selection accomplish given 13.8 billion years to work with? The answer is all the beauty and elegance and diversity of life we see around us today. With each passing minute, the bible-thumper talking points eroded away; each passing minute demonstrated the ludicrous fictionality of creationism, if not most religious teachings. As stated in the previous “Cosmos” review, the importance of this show in our current day and age of religious pundits constantly trying to muddy the waters of what science is or is not, can hardly be overstated. collegenews/article/creationist_panties_up_in_bunch_over_cosmos_second_episode The threat of fundamentalism: Creationism Fundamentalism of any kind is dangerous; I believe few Americans would argue the oppression that is taking place in the Middle East under the theocratic regimes of Saudi Arabia, Eqypt or Iran. We have sat back and watched the suppression of women’s rights, the acceptance of genocide and terrorism across the globe all in the name of Allah; and now I see a much more subversive but very calculated form of terrorism taking place on my own soil, by my fellow Americans, all in the name of Jesus Christ. A couple of weeks ago I watched the much anticipated debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham, the evolution vs. creationism debate. For those of you who are not familiar with Ken Ham he is a young earth creationist who believes the Bible, the book of Genesis specifically, is the literal infallible truth of God; he is also the founder of the Creationist Museum in Kentucky. As I listened to Ken Ham’s rational for believing such lunacy as the earth is only 6,000 years old and the great flood literally took place only 4,000 years ago I found myself awe struck at how powerful the movement had become; here we are, in 2014, arguing a “truth” that even Pat Robertson himself calls crazy, now that is saying something. The fundamentalist battles against the reliable and factually based theories that make up evolution as a valid origin of man are understandable. If I was devoutly religious I too would have a difficult time reconciling my belief in the God of Christianity, but I wouldn’t condone reshaping the facts to fit my narrative. My issue isn’t with the Christian’s who are happy to allow anyone to worship God as they so choose, and who are confident enough in their faith to leave a relationship with God outside of the classroom. What I take issue with are those that wish to legitimize their fanciful, and let’s face it, absurd notions of origin by creating a pseudoscience and then ask the rest of us to allow them to teach such nonsense alongside genuine science. Men like Ken Ham, and evangelical Christians all over the country, have unjustly turned Charles Darwin into some type of menace, an anti-Christ if you will, simply for bringing to light several mechanisms at play within the beautiful scheme of nature. They have oversimplified his findings to “I ain’t come from no monkey!” To them teaching evolution is a direct threat to their core system of beliefs, that man is made in the image of God so he can’t possibly be reduced to the likes of an animal. Oh how our interpretations of God are encased in such ego. What upsets me the most about the teaching of creationism is its absolutes; there is no “wiggle room” in fundamental Christianity. A very telling moment happened during the Ham/Nye debate, when the moderator asked both men what, if anything, would change their minds Bill Nye answered simply, “Evidence. Show me evidence of the great flood. If you can do that you would change the world.” And Ham’s response, “No one is going to convince me that the word of God is untrue.” That worries me, an unwavering confidence even in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary. Under different circumstances that confidence may be admirable, but when telling the youth of our country to stop asking questions and just settle for what this one book says is, as a patriot, unacceptable. For the religious out there, let’s look at it from a different perspective: If this were Tom Cruise asking for the public schools to teach Scientology’s origin of man alongside evolution how would you feel? Sounds ludicrous, right? Well, that is how I feel when my children are threatened with the possibility of being taught that Noah was a real man who stuffed every species of animal onto one boat 4,000 years ago. When you support teaching creationism in the school you are denying mine, and my children, the freedom to find God on our terms. Darwin belongs in the classroom. Noah belongs in Sunday school. If you can’t fit the theory of evolution into the framework built by your religious convictions then that is your journey to undertake, but don’t make the future of this country give up wondering and asking questions simply because you think you have it all figured out. I will close with a quote from Darwin himself: “In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist, in the sense of denying the existence of God. I feel very deeply that the whole subject is too profound for the human intellect. A dog might just as well speculate on the mind of Newton.” starfl/editorial/letters-to-the-editor/the-threat-of-fundamentalism-creationism-1.287212?page=1 The average person today lives better than the richest kings of old. Better entertainment, better food, better opportunities for travel and trade. But were on a precipice of two directions we could go as a society. On the one hand, were on the brink of increasing that level of comfort many-fold, while simultaneously having the ability to clean up our messes in the landfills and rivers and oceans. Were on the brink of being able to grow high-quality, organic food indoors anywhere, from purified and re-vitalized water extracted either from any running or standing water source or from the air (dehumidifier technology). Were on the brink of having high-quality natural remedies available to heal nearly any malady presently known to us. Were on the brink of peace between all nations. Were on the brink of heaven on earth. But we are also on the brink of seeing nearly all of this modern infrastructure destroyed if we stay on the downward path we are presently on, which the new world order tyrants are leading us down, to enslave us all under their control. The darkest in this cabal seek the destruction of all mankind. They are sociopaths who are blind to the extent of their evil and the impact it will have on them as well. Im talking about the out-of-control destruction of our natural crops through anything-but-healthy GMOs. Im talking about weather manipulation through chemtrails, HAARP, and other things that we haven’t even yet found out about. Im talking about a mass media that is nearly completely under the control of these conspirators (because they own them) to give whatever propaganda they want to feed us. Im talking about poisoned water supplies with fluoride and other compounds to dumb us down, make us docile, and slowly kill us. Im talking about political machinations to get us into wars that are easily avoidable. Im talking about the spy grid being set up to watch our every move and turn us either into tattlers or occupants of concentration camps. Im talking about the zombie apocalypse they are preparing us mentally for. Thats the world they want and are creating. Hell on earth. pesn/2014/02/22/9602444_5-billion-budget_versus_grocery-money-plea/
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 22:50:59 +0000