your crazy just broke the internets.
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This can only make Bill less popular in the eyes of non atheists. My dad (who loves Bill, but also loves jeebus) is rooting for Ham even though heās in the wrong sect and an extremist even though my dad isnāt. Itās all about the atheist message. Most christians donāt understand that obeying a god without question precludes themselves from acting morally. And even fewer understand how religion developed as a coping mechanism for the random distribution of events. If you just jump into a statistical/logical debate without prepping the audience appropriately with the actual facts of the matter, no amount of debate will sway them.
If that were moral from the humanist perspective, Iād totally agree. Secular humanism requires that we at least try our best to reduce suffering. Even for the f**king idiots who we feel donāt deserve it. Itās important to remember that if we punish others who donāt believe similarly to us, weāre no better than the theists.
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Let those bible-o-saurs be, Bill!
Only problem with that is that according to Gallup nearly half of Americans are Young Earth Creationists. Nearly half of Americans think that the Creation Museum is correct, and (presumably) all the other museums have been led astray by Satan.
Perhaps even more extraordinary, among Americans with a postgraduate degree, 1 in every 4 is a YEC. Thatās a quarter of researchers, teaching assistants, tenured professors, etc. in the wealthiest, most technologically advanced nation in the world thinking that the Creation Museum is correct and all the others are lying for Satan.
And bear in mind that this is not just about evolution and biology: cosmology, geology, nuclear physics and countless other well-established disciplines all play a part in undermining the Genesis myth. Indeed it could be argued that their real target is all of science, the very idea that you can figure out how things work by examining them and gathering evidence. That is ultimately what is under threat.
These are the people who vote in elections and choose politicians who decide how to spend tax payerās money on science. They are everywhere, not just on the fringes. They donāt understand anything, and yet, politically, they are substantially in control of it all.
The military power of the USA was built by the scientifically literate, but it is in the process of passing, by a kind of disinterested inheritance, into the hands of a scientifically brain-dead generation.
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You are correct. Mea Culpa.
I hope you just cut and paste this verbiage from your bumper fun file of stuff. Iād hate to think you carefully type it all out each time you want to make a point.
Now thereās a church whose congregation Iām willing to join!
Bill is not going to convert these people with a debate. He should be using his time more proactively and responsibly. Spending time debating a Creationist is as useful as debating on forums such as this. Imagine if the energy spent on these internet comments was spent volunteering in literacy programs or after school science classes? Itās way harder to take the humble, non-flamboyant road, but we all know this to be infinitely more ripe with possibilities than pointless, vacuous debates.
Imagine if the energy spent on these internet comments was spent volunteering in literacy programs or after school science classes?
Imagine an after-school science class in which all the students are from a creationist school. No non-creationist teacher would be invited to speak to them unless it was in the form of a debate. Itās the only way to get the truth in front of them. This is precisely what Nye is doing.
Heāll be addressing a wide audience. Some of them will be dyed-in-the-wool, never-to-be-convinced Creationists like Ken Ham. Some will be people who accept Creationism because thatās what they were taught growing up. Some will be people who never heard a well-articulated explanation of what evolution is and what kind of evidence exists to support it. Some will be children who probably never even had an opportunity to hear the truth before now.
I say if heās got a chance at opening at least a few minds he should go ahead and take it. Dismissive statements like āheās never going to convince these peopleā are unproductive and frankly a little aloof.
Then perhaps you could spend your time more proactively and responsibly?
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Lots of cynicism regarding the futility of debating creationists. While I agree with much of it, there are more ways than one to skin a cat. Sometimes it pays to not give them attention, while at other times it may be beneficial to face them head on.
One thing I am condiment of: a ādebateā like this is unlikely to turn one single science-minded individual into a creationist, but it stands a good chance of at least planting some seeds of doubt among creationists.
I was raised a creationist and had seeds of doubt placed by just such conversations, so by all means, letās keep the dialogue going.
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Indeed, Sir. Good evening.
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