evolution

You fools! Haven’t you ever played D&D? Don’t you know what happens when you open the pagan tomb?

I usually don’t comment on things of no worth¹, but this movie Expelled, which purports to take on evolution being taught in schools, appears to be so dumb that I can’t help myself.

In it, “Darwinism” is depicted as being the cause of and impetus for the Holocaust. It’s been said that this is a form of Holocaust denial — as in ignorance or rejection of the real cause of the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler’s and the Nazis’ crackpot racial theories, based on such scientific pursuits as the occult and Teutonic myth. True science, such as it could be said to exist at that time and in that place, was and remains only a tool, used in that case to perverted ends.

I wouldn’t go quite that far as to call it “denial” — “Holocaust revisionism” seems appropriate — but many of the points are valid.

I have not seen this film — and I don’t plan to, unless I can steal it or someone else pays my way — so I cannot comment fully on its content. I do know that the people who made it were dumb enough to publicly kick P.Z. Myers out of a first screening but allow in his traveling partner, one Richard Dawkins. If this movie is as I understand it, what it tells me is that the Dover decision put these “intelligent design” idiots down for the ten-count — they may be walking around, but there’s nothing behind the punches they’re throwing, if this is all they have left.

1. Yeah. Yeah, I do. [↩]

Tradition dictates that I must file this post each and every year when that fool Pat Robertson opens his mouth:

“The Lord was saying that there’s going to be violence and chaos in the world,” Robertson said on his “700 Club” news-and-talk show.

“We’ve just begun to see what’s going to happen, and the nations are going to be convulsed with violence,” he said, citing as an example unrest in Pakistan after the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Evangelism will increase because more people are going to be seeking God as the chaos develops, he said.

“We will see the presence of angels and we will see an intensification of miracles around the world, which I think is going to be a wonderful thing,” he said.

He also predicted that there will be a recession, oil will reach $150 a barrel and the U.S. dollar will continue to fall. He added that there will be a major stock-market crash in 2009 or 2010.

*sigh* And this is the portion of this Kabuki post where we respond with the official evolution Pat Robertson Rejoinder:

Saudi Sheikh Muhammad Al-Munajid, formerly known for his concern for the rights of women, chastises you all for wearing colored underwear and using public toilets:

Humanity can have no happiness without Islam. Humanity can enjoy no goodness, unless the sun of monotheism*, the Koran, and the Sunna shines upon it. The world without the sun of the divine revelation is a place of eternal darkness, as we can see today – a world of frustration, collapse, injustice, arbitrariness, and wrongdoing. The world today is a jungle – a world of barbarism of all kinds. People in many parts of the world are not happy, because they do not walk in the path of Allah.

There are rules of shari’a in everything. We have counted almost 70 rules about how to urinate and defecate. In contrast, how do those beasts in the West answer the call of nature? They stand in front of other people, in toilets at airports and other public places. They do not care about covering their private parts. Even their underwear is colored and not white, so it can conceal all that filth. We are a nation that has long known the meaning of cleanliness, what to do when nature calls, and what the rules of hygiene are. The others, to this day, live like beasts. To this day, many of them are not circumcised, even though the World Health Organization has advised to circumcise people as a treatment for AIDS, because it has been scientifically proven that circumcised people are less susceptible to AIDS, and are less likely to spread it than uncircumcised people.

If you read this and watched the clips, you’re no doubt thinking the same thing: There are 70 rules for going to the bathroom in shari’a law? No wonder all these folks are wound up so tightly.

UPDATE: Another of al-Munajid’s greatest hits: The Indonesian tsunami of December 2004 was caused by… Western tourists’ love for belly dancers and lounge singers. The original has, of course, disappeared from the ‘net, but Wiki knows all:

“The problem is that the [Christian] holidays are accompanied by forbidden things, by immorality, abomination, adultery, alcohol, drunken dancing, and … and revelry. A belly dancer costs 2500 pounds per minute and a singer costs 50,000 pounds per hour, and they hop from one hotel to another from night to dawn. Then he spends the entire night defying Allah.

“Haven’t they learned the lesson from what Allah wreaked upon the coast of Asia, during the celebration of these forbidden? At the height of immorality, Allah took vengeance on these criminals.

“Those celebrating spent what they call ‘New Year’s Eve’ in vacation resorts, pubs, and hotels. Allah struck them with an earthquake. He finished off the Richter scale. All nine levels gone. Tens of thousands dead.

“It was said that they were tourists on New Year’s vacation who went to the crowded coral islands for the holiday period, and then they were struck by this earthquake, caused by the Almighty Lord of the worlds. He showed them His wrath and His strength. He showed them His vengeance. Is there anyone learning the lesson? Is it impossible that we will be struck like them? Why do we go their way? Why do we want to be like them, with their holidays, their forbidden things, and their heresy?”

I have just one question: Did you hire a belly dancer for the last Pentecost? Don’t lie, you beast.

*: Note to Christians — he’s not talking about you. Remember that whole Jesus/”Holy Ghost” thing? Apparently, they count too.

There’s more than a bit of Mormon-baiting in the Christian “social conservative” set. I had a few friends in college who could fairly be described as being of this sort. They were my friends, but they occasionally would let loose with some really bizarre Mormon-baiting diatribes.

So it’s dumb, but not surprising.

UPDATE [19 June 17:45]: I should note that Brownback has offered and Romney has accepted an apology on behalf of Brownback’s campaign.

The Ten Commandments is on right now, airing at its traditional yearly time. The Greatest Story Ever Told aired on the History Channel hours ago.

What is the best movie that claims to depict a Bible story?

UPDATE [19:44]: Tony has a thread on songs about Jesus.

So strange, in fact, that I think it’s almost worthless. [Via Hot Air's Allahpundit, resident secular conservative.] Newsweek and MSNBC (those paragons of objectivity) polled on several topics, including the usual approval ratings, and on some religious issues. Here is what they “found”:

» On the question (12) “Which one of the following statements come closest to your views about the origin and development of human beings? Humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process (or) Humans developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process (or) God created humans pretty much in the present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so?”, 13% of atheists responded with the latter choice, “created in [their] present form”. 27% responded that “God guided [the] process”. I’d say 40% of atheists are hard of hearing.

» On the question (13) “Do you think the scientific theory of evolution is well-supported by evidence and widely accepted within the scientific community?”, 63% of evangelical Protestants said that it was not, while 18% of agnostics/atheists said that it was not — which makes sense if these 18% believed that there were some explanation other than either God or evolution — something I find unlikely. Although I believe the dichotomy of creation vs. evolution is a false one, that’s how it’s presented in the media, and so that’s why people who don’t follow or understand science (or people who don’t care and use the issue to club their political opponents as Godless/stupid depending on their politics) see it that way.

I don’t think this really gives us much information. There seems to be too large an intersection of non-intersecting answers, one that would not be covered by a reasonable margin of error.

Which leaves me with the feeling that I missed something. Did I?

I can’t decide whether this trend is good or bad. Unthinking devotion to something is bad*, but I myself reject most forms of pop culture; I will not immediately condemn anything that causes others to reject it en masse, and I’m not religious at all. I merely think that most entertainers and “celebrities” are dolts and not worthy of my attention or approbation.

Unfortunately, there appears to be plenty here for everyone to dislike (all emphasis mine):

A 45-year-old married father of three, Luce began his youth ministry, known as Teen Mania, 20 years ago.

“It’s a battle, it’s a very real battle, it’s a spiritual battle for their heart and soul, so we tell them about how they can come close to the Lord, but it is also a cultural war, and essentially we live in a Christian country with a very un-Christian culture,” Luce said.

If you didn’t know any better, you could mistake a BattleCry concert for any rock concert, minus the sexy clothes and alcohol. There’s plenty of loud music, fireworks and contemporary self-expression, but there’s also praise and prayer.

Saturday morning the teens gathered in groups around the stadium and prayed before the entertainment and speakers began inside.

When Luce talks about the “un-Christian culture,” he makes it clear that he is on a crusade against all the influences bombarding kids today.

“BattleCry” would have been a kick-ass name for a metal band. Well, as I was saying, there’s enough here for everyone to dislike. Oh, the irony:

“This is a hateful and narrow and bigoted brand of Christian fundamentalism, which does not represent Christianity, and they do not know and understand the agenda that is behind it,” said Giovanni Jackson of World Can’t Wait, a nonprofit political activist group.

Last year, the San Francisco board of supervisors condemned the event and took some heat for it. This year they issued the following statement: “BattleCry’s efforts to spread the intolerance and bigotry promoted by its leadership to our young people are reckless and irresponsible. We need to increase understanding of our human differences, not teach our kids to be suspicious and hateful toward people unlike them.”

“There are few people that epitomize things that they can’t stand more than the mayor of San Francisco right here, and I’m not particularly offended by their point of view, and I just hope they are respectful and they don’t hurt people in the process,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Those poor put-upon San Francisco politicians.

“Now, such a union is not always possible…”

Genesis 1:11-13

[11] And God said, Let the earth bring forth peanuts, the peanut-butter-yielding seed, and the peanuts yielding peanut butter after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
[12] And the peanut butter brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
[13] And the evening and the morning were the third day. *

Those of you who, like me, are JustCara readers may have noticed that one of her recent posts has gone “missing”. She took it down after someone — who she thinks is the infamous Kansas City blog troll/RACONTEUR/douche known as “The Unthinking Lemming” published in the comments to her post the name of the law firm she works for.

It turns out that she, like me, is not really going to great lengths to hide anything — but the intent to intimidate was clear. So, I am republishing Cara’s post about KC evangelist Jerry Johnston in its entirety. I have changed the formatting so that it will cooperate with my blog engine, but it is otherwise as she sent it to me (at my request). It is interpolated with my own comments in square brackets to provide context. Finally, it is followed by further commentary of my own.

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More on Jenilee and Luke’s wedding [a lavish affair on which, among other things, Johnston has been spending a lot of money]:

• Their page from “The Knot”
• Their guestbook page (see who is chummy with the Johnstons and who likely got the benefit of the Amex Centurion Card [alluded to by a JustCara commenter here].)

More on “Doctor Jerry”

• “Doctor” Jerry Johnston has a personal trainer who he sees three time a week. Not just ANY trainer, mind you - a former Olympic athelete.

Hey (soon to be) First Family Church members - see where your tithe went!

• Jerry & Christie Jo Johnston’s old residence: 10002 120TH ST W OVERLAND PARK, KS 66213 or 11709 OVERBROOK in Hallbrook. (I have gotten conflicting reports on which is home is correct)
• Jerry & Christie Jo Johnston’s new residence:18425 CANTERBURY CT STILWELL, KS 66085. As the KC Star stated, “he lives in southern Johnson County, and his property is appraised at $586,400. The house, with an in-ground swimming pool and high-tech security system, was built in 1999.”
• Danielle Johnston-Newsome and Christian Newsome’s residence: 3605 W 156TH ST OVERLAND PARK, KS 66224 . This 3,328 sq. ft 4-bedroom/3-bath home is appraised at $385,400. (According to a [JustCara?] commenter this might be their OLD home)

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Blessed are the meek, indeed.

As I wrote the other day — at the nexus of money, power, and faith, it is faith that quite often suffers the most. None of this news about Johnston comes as particularly surprising, as he has the same profile as another Kansas-based evangelist who recently received a bit of a comeuppance. If even half of this information accurately depicts the Johnstons’ lifestyle, it represents either fraud or rank hypocrisy of the first order. Her commenter self-describes as a Christian and former parishoner of Johnston’s church, and I would describe the commenter’s tone as “heartsick” or “deflated”.

And as for this “Unthinking Lemming” or whoever it was that attempted to bully Cara, well — I should think that an attempted threat against Cara’s employment would have justified pulling his IP address out of her stat logs, tracing it back to the source, and publishing her results.

But I guess that’s just me.