So You Want To Know What's Wrong With Religion? (7)

Caught this little gem from the Sensuous Curmudgeon, one of the blogs I read quite religiously (pun intended), "Creation alone!", by an Aaron Swartzentruber.  It's hilarious!  Here is his opening:

"Athiests or evolutionists who flat out reject God and Creation is one thing, God have mercy on them and open their blind eyes, but what is worse yet is that there are now many “professing Christians” who are trying to mingle evolution with creation."

Aside from misspelling 'Atheist', I started immediately wondering about his justification for assuming anyone who agree with evolution is an atheist or all atheists agree with evolution, but the rest of the opening made me realize his real target are the multitude of Christians who understand and support real science and real science education.

This guy is setting himself up as the one who gets to decide who is a 'real' Christian and who is not.  Doesn't he know little kennie ham keeps trying for that job himself.  Maybe we will get a pseudo-Christian cage match!  I guess the over 13,900 signatures of Christian Clergy supporting the science of evolution and the teaching of such science to our child just burns his ass!

The rest of his letter is a mix of Bible quotes with him interspersing his own take on what it all means.  Did you ever heard the phrase "There are liars, damned liars, and statisticians"?  What it means is that when you take a set of data, you can often twist it to mean whatever you want it to mean.  Religion is like that as well.  Let's jumble a bunch of Biblical reference, ignore the ones we don't like and force them into a narrow viewpoint that we demand everyone follow.  So how many religions are there that do that and conflict with each other over and over again?  How about all of them!  Even those who use the same starting point, like the Bible.

His final paragraph starts with this line:

"If you are one of those who are mingling evolution with creation, you are doing the Devil’s work and I would be doing you, and God, a disservice to tell you otherwise"

Obviously he doesn't see anyone who doesn't agree with his incredibly narrow viewpoint to be an actual Christian (have to mention again the over 13,900 Christian clergy who disagree with Aaron).  Of course if you look at the claims of the Bible of what Jesus taught, Aaron here wouldn't be a real Christian either.  But he's managed to convince himself that he's doing us all a favor by telling us this.

No, he's not doing me any favors because I don't share his narrow views and I will never share his narrow views!  Apparently the majority of the world doesn't share it either!  But do you think he would listen to anything resembling an opposing view!  Yea, neither do I!

Most Christians do not agree with AIG!

Interesting article in the Centre Daily Times from State College PA, "Noah's Ark theme park is impressive, but its ‘facts’ don’t hold water".  It's from Tom Eblen, a Christian, and it shows a point of view not mentioned often enough in the news.  There are hundreds, if not over a thousand different Christian denominations and they differ in many things, including doctrine and authority.  Little kennie ham speaks for very few.  What interested me the most is the Tom's description of kennie ham and his belief set [I added the underlines]:

"Answers in Genesis’ young-earth creationism is the product of a strain of evangelical Christianity only about a century old that now seems to thrive on authoritarianism, conservative politics and feelings of persecution."

Authoritarianism, conservative politics, and feelings of persecution!  Wow, did he hit the nail on the head or what?  Think about the authoritarian control kennie has on his followers.  If you don't toe the line, you can't even be hired . . . and his line is absolute!  Conservative politics . . . who pulled Kentucky out of the lawsuit over sales tax incentives?  The new Republican Governor, tea-partier Matt Belvin.  Who how many posts of kennie's do you need to read before you realize what a marketing point he's turned the perceived persecution of Christians into?  It's a common theme of his!  I do have to wonder if he really believe this persecution complex or is it just another tactics of his?

I did like his closing comment, and one I wish would make more news than it ever will.  

"Answers in Genesis has built an impressive ark, and those who believe its theology are welcome to it. For me, though, this pseudo-science doesn’t hold water."

The Ark is news, but the simple fact that most Christians don't agree with kennie on anything he represents to be science gets little mention. Every tactic he uses is designed to confuse and obfuscate the fact that he has nothing but he own belief set without any supporting evidence at all.

Push him hard enough and he falls on "Were you there?" argument against actual science. Well, kennie, were you there when Jesus was born, died, or there in the hundreds of years the Bible was written and re-written? We all know the answer, but he will never admit it.  You see to kennie, it doesn't matter that he wasn't there personally, after all God was there.  But when it comes to science, the fact a person wasn't personally there mean it can't possible be true.  Such a ridiculous rationalization, but one he uses . . . religiously.

What little kennie reminds me of, and this is also why I refer to him as little kennie, is a toddler throwing a tantrum.  I once watching a toddler throw an absolute fit because Mom wouldn't buy him candy.  She was very firm and them I watched this  . . . probably about 4 to 5 year old . . . throw a fit and announce to the world how mean his mommy was and how unfair it was . . . he actually used the word 'unfair' which surprised me.  Intelligently, Mom picked him up and took him out of the store.  I don't know what happened after that, but if it had been one of my daughters . . . they might be sitting gingerly for a while and candy would not have been on the foreseeable horizon.

But in all seriousness, that's what little kennie reminds me of.  Suggest public school shouldn't visit his church . . . and you get a tantrum with lots of name-calling.  Withhold tax money because he reneged on his promise to uphold non-discriminatory hiring practices and you get a tantrum and a lawsuit . . . the list is endless.  Anytime you disagree with kennie, you are anti-religious regardless of fact you might believe in a completely different religious tradition.  Little kennie doesn't care, you are either supporting him or he claims you are some sort of atheist anti-religious zealot, he's a toddler who uses the concept of a deity to get his way.

If you disagree with my comment as to most Christians disagree with kennie, just look up the Clergy Letter Project and see the various denominations supporting it.  Right there is one major area where kennie is way out of step with the clear majority of Christianity.  As the author put it, it's their theology . . . I would add that they are welcome to it, because I sure don't want it . . . but their pseudo-science doesn't hold water, and neither will their ark 'replica'.  [Quotes added because you cannot make a replica of something that never existed.]

I guess "under fire" doesn't mean what the Discovery Institute wishes it meant.

A few days back I posted about "The Discovery Institute (DI) Doesn't get Invited to the Really Good Parties" about how the DI wanted to have a table at the United Methodist Church (UMC) General Meeting and they said 'No!'.  The DI, in a host of postings and press releases claimed that the UMC was "under fire" for banning them from their general meeting.

Well, I guess 'under fire' means that the DI is whining into a vacuum, because they don't seem to be getting any traction in raising a groundswell of popular support to force the UMC to change their minds.  Although, in my opinion changing their minds would be tantamount to losing theirs, I was hoping they would hold their ground and keep the DI at a distance.  So far the only fire that seems to be lit is the one under posters from the DI themselves.  Since the 18th of January, they have had 10 posts on their Evolution 'News' and Views site about this subject, that's more than half their output for that period . . . plus that doesn't even count the posts at their blog Uncommon Descent and formal press releases.  My, my, they have been very busy.

Well, it seems there has been some external reaction, but it's not what the DI had hoped.  And by 'external' I mean other than people who already buy into the DI's marketing.  For example here is a link to an article in Christian Today, "Prejudice or principle? Why the UMC banned Intelligent Design from its annual conference".  I think the article summed up the situation very well and in the end said (I added the underlines):

"The UMC appears to have taken the view that giving a platform – no matter how small – to a view as mistaken as this undermines the credibility of the gospel because it encourages people to believe things that aren't true. Building a faith around falsehood is putting people's souls in peril. 

The Discovery Institute may not like it, but the UMC is surely right to stand its ground."

Simply and quite succinctly stated.  Not only does the UMC have the right to exclude any outside exhibitor from exhibiting pseudo-science that is contrary to their viewpoint, but the fact this particular exhibitor would actually undermine the credibility of what they believe should also give them the responsibility to do exactly what they have done.

Of course the DI won't accept that.  They are still screaming at the top of their lungs how unfair the UMC is being for excluding them simply because their pet ideas are considered a falsehood by the UMC.  Funny, how come their definition of fairness seems to be "I have the right to do as I wish, but you do not have the right to do as you wish!"

Here is a post from John G. West, one of the powers-that-be at the DI: "If Intelligent Design Is Based on Science, Why Are We Focusing on the United Methodist Church?"  Two things come to mind when I read it,  first of all, is the UMC General Conference the place for any discussion of ID?  Since I believe, and I might be wrong, the General Conference is primarily a business meeting, I do not see this as the right venue.  Maybe it is, since it was at a General Conference when they decided to support the Clergy Letter Project, but that was a business decision and did not specifically address ID.  But that does tell me the DI should have been trying to get in the door back then, they are way behind the power curve waiting until now.

But the second, and more important, thing I see is that I believe the UMC answered Johnnie's question very clearly.  The UMC has not bought into his [the DI's] marketing strategy of being based on science.  I know, Johnnie probably finds that hard to believe, especially with the amount of other people's money he has spent on hiding their religious beliefs, but, Johnnie, the UMC doesn't believe you . . . and by the way neither do over 13,000 clergy and the members of every major science organization in the world.  I realize that won't stop you from your marketing, but I think the message is pretty clear. 

In case you haven't gotten that message, let's keep it simple -- the UMC believes your message to be a falsehood and 'Building a faith around falsehood is putting people's souls in peril.'  You might want to consider that.  You won't, but you should.

The Discovery Institute (DI) Doesn't get Invited to the Really Good Parties

If you remember back in 2009 the Vatican sponsored a five day conference to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. The subject was the compatibility of evolution and creation. The Discovery Institute was not invited and they were quite unhappy about it.  They made their normal marketing spin on it, claiming that their pet idea, Intelligent Design (ID), was misrepresented . . . which I found funny since the conference hadn't happened before the DI started spinning.  But in any case, the DI wasn't invited.

Well, this time around it's not the Vatican but the Methodists who are annoying the DI.  They are holding a General Conference, and they aren't going to let the DI sponsor an ID information table during their conference.  As I am sure you can guess, the DI is not happy about it.  I caught this from one of my favorite bloggers, The Sensuous Curmudgeon, "Discovery Institute Banned by Methodists".  

If you didn't know, The United Methodist Church (UMC) is an endorser of the Clergy Letter Project.  I haven't written about the Clergy Letter Project in a while so here is a quick reminder in the form of part of the Letter signed by over 13,000 Christian clergy:

"We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as “one theory among others” is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children."

There is also a similar letter endorsed by Rabbis, Unitarians, and Buddhists.  Well, back to the subject at hand.  The DI wanted to have an information table at the annual UMC General Conference and the Methodists said "No!".  Well they might not have used that exact word, but that is certainly the result.  So what does the DI do when they are unhappy?  They whine!

But they don't just whine, they spin!  They posted blog entities and press releases claiming that the UMC is under fire for banning the DI from their conference.  The spin is pretty serious, Bruce Chapman, John G. West, davey 'klingy' klinghoffer, pseudo-historian Michael Flannery and Donald McLaughlin all had things to say about it.  They sure spun up the PR machine in a hurry!  So far the only 'fire' seems to be coming from the DI.  If they were after some groundswell of support, they missed.  They even created a web page listing contact information for leaders within the UMC asking their supporters to "TAKE ACTION: Urge United Methodist Officials to Overturn Ban on Discovery Institute at General Conference".  It's all over Facebook as well, the DI begging for help.  Most of the comments are less than helpful :-).  Still no sign of that groundswell, but it is early days.  I would be willing to wager the majority of comments supporting the DI comes from people who already are associated with the DI and enjoy drinking their kool-aid.

I, being the person that I am, went to their take action page, copied the email addresses for a number of UMC leaders and sent them an email of support!  In fact I encourage you to do the same: 

Ms. Judi Kenaston, Chair, UMC Commission on the General Conference
Bishop Michael Coyner, President, UMC General Council on Finance and Administration
Bishop Warner H. Brown, President, UMC Council of Bishops
Bishop Bruce R. Ough, Chair, UMC Connectional Table
The Rev. Amy Valdez Barker, Executive Secretary, UMC Connectional Table

Here are their email addresses more suitable for cut&paste: 

JudiKenaston@aol.com, bishop@inumc.org, bishop@calnevumc.org, bishop@dkmnareaumc.org, avaldez_barker@umc.org

Go for it, let the Methodists know how you feel about their 'banning' the DI.

Another thing, of course the DI spins, but I really dislike how they are spinning this.  They are claiming that the Methodists are violating their own slogan: "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors."  Does their slogan really mean that every point of view, especially ones you disagree with, should be allowed in the General Conference?  You know, I might have to defend the right of a group like the KKK or NAMBLA to have free speech, but does that mean I should be required to support their efforts?  Think about it.  Letting the DI have a table would be a form of tacit approval of their position.  The UMC has already made their disapproval known, why would they bother letting the DI push their viewpoint?

Does this particular spin sound familiar?  Remember how the DI has this habit of re-defining things for their own advantage?  Their complaint that teaching ID should be allowed based on Academic Freedom, when actual academic freedom has nothing to do with teaching pseudo-science as if it was science.  How about the tactic 'Teach the Controversy', and by 'controversy' they obviously mean something they dreamed up that doesn't actually exist in scientific circles.  Or the abortive 'It's only a Theory', where they bait and switch the definitions of 'theory' in order to confuse folks.  Yes, this type of spin is simply one of their marketing schemes.

According to the DI's John G. West, one of the reasons put forth by the UMC is:

"Discovery Institute was rejected for violating a policy that conference exhibits "are not to provide a platform to survey or test ideas; rather, to provide products / services / resources which are credible and proven" to help church ministries"

To be honest, that makes perfect sense to me, is Creationism/ID credible and proven?  Certainly not very credible and also not having any evidence to support it.  I guess the UMC should make room for the psychics table, the tarot card reader, and the parapsychologists as well.  After all those groups have as much credibility and proof as the DI has for ID.

The UMC already stated that they opposing the introduction of any faith-based theories such as Creationism or Intelligent Design into the science curriculum of their schools.  While the DI continues to deny it, they are a faith-based organization pushing a form of Creationism into schools.  This is the group who wrote a lesson plans for teachers to use questioning evolution and introducing ID, who 'helped' the Dover School Board in their efforts to bring Creationism back into the classroom, and the same organization who lied about support for ID when petitioning the Ohio School Board back in 2002.  That's only a few of their tactics of mistakes, there are many, many more!

I applaud the UMC for sticking to it's guns.   The DI isn't welcome and that should be the end of it.  After all, the UMC is a private organization and should have to ability to select what groups get represented at their conferences!

Does anyone ever try and horn into a DI sponsored event?  Not that I ever heard.  DI sponsored events are usually to an audience of people who already believe in their snake oil, as we wrote about in "So there is nothing religious about ID? Part V".  They seem to stack the deck when they hold one of their mutual admiration meetings.  That particular example was supposed to be a conference on the Science and God debate . . . and yet not only was no one from the scientific community invited, neither were any theologians.  It was four members of the DI presenting their views, a biochemist, a philosopher, a lawyer, and a political scientist.  Talk about stacking the deck!

Imagine the hue and cry if the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) or Secular Students of America (SSA) wanted to attend one of the DI's Summer Seminars . . . oh wait, look at the Admission Requirements for those seminars (my underlining):

"You must be currently enrolled in a college or university as a junior, senior, or graduate student. Required application materials include (1) a resume/cv, (2) a copy of your academic transcript, (3) a short statement of your interest in intelligent design and its perceived relationship to your career plans and field of study, and (4) either a letter of recommendation from a professor who knows your work and is friendly toward ID, or a phone interview with the seminar director." (Summer Seminar on Intelligent Design in the Natural Sciences)

Gee, they assume they have the right to filter attendees for one of their revival meetings, but refuse to allow other groups the same privilege!  They not only want to have their cake and eat it too, they want to have your cake to eat as well.