Assaulted again
I should be getting used to it.
I refer not to some heinous beating (I would probably deserve), but to the christers at work, er, the workplace. I have to admit, I think all of us enjoy beating each others' beliefs to rhetorical pulp.
This whole argument got started when one of the christer crew overheard one of his schoolkids (our bus line transports kids to school, too!) talking about Darwin, something they had been introduced to in class. He was not just offended, but saddened. He felt them too young. This was a private christer school, peopled by the innocent sprogs of christers, and they were being taught a denial of their parents' beliefs. They were being violated too young.
This time I was introduced to what I think is behind the Creationism movement, and for the first time articulated to me without obfuscation: When one follows science "too much" (read, Darwinism), one denies God. As I explained later, this is bullshit; but it seems to be the core to their lack of scientific acceptance, to their hatred.
One thing I like to do is turn things around and confront with the reversed results of their own arguments. I did this to Geo (remember him?). Okay, let's say this lack of morals in our country, every bad thing, in fact, are the result of atheistic instructors, pompous with pride in their blinding science, leading astray the youth and the future by reading the mere tea leaves of ample evidence and deciding that something that can be neither proven nor refuted must not be, ie. Creation. Let's say I am in turn offended, that the lack of scientific education in this country has caused a great swath of ignorance, a plague that has cut our economy to the quick by denying industry the ability to innovate, to invent, due to this scientific stupidity, and that we need to get into those beaker-breaking churches and teach them a thing or two about humility.
This should do good things for our country. Think about the latest serial killer: church goer. Last one too. And the last, if memory serves. In fact, since most of the serial killers on the news lately are church goers, let's smash some churches, or at least raid them to look for the killers of the future.
Not convinced? Years ago, kids were killing themselves after listening to rock 'n' roll. Must be a connection, right? During the furor, a factoid splashed on the newsscreen, breaking down the stats from the suiciders' stated reasons for their own self-destruction: about 50% wanted to be with God. That's right, it was the life after, not this one, that they craved. If some loose canon had not filled their young heads with such idol thoughts, one wonders, would they live today?
So it goes both ways, cross wavers. I am content to leave you to your beliefs, to your church. In fact, please, go. It makes traffic so much lighter on Sundays. I will quietly sit with a science book while you wail away, accompanying your organs.
But as the latest favorite bumper sticker proclaimed: "Don't pray in our schools, and I promise not to think in your church."
I refer not to some heinous beating (I would probably deserve), but to the christers at work, er, the workplace. I have to admit, I think all of us enjoy beating each others' beliefs to rhetorical pulp.
This whole argument got started when one of the christer crew overheard one of his schoolkids (our bus line transports kids to school, too!) talking about Darwin, something they had been introduced to in class. He was not just offended, but saddened. He felt them too young. This was a private christer school, peopled by the innocent sprogs of christers, and they were being taught a denial of their parents' beliefs. They were being violated too young.
This time I was introduced to what I think is behind the Creationism movement, and for the first time articulated to me without obfuscation: When one follows science "too much" (read, Darwinism), one denies God. As I explained later, this is bullshit; but it seems to be the core to their lack of scientific acceptance, to their hatred.
One thing I like to do is turn things around and confront with the reversed results of their own arguments. I did this to Geo (remember him?). Okay, let's say this lack of morals in our country, every bad thing, in fact, are the result of atheistic instructors, pompous with pride in their blinding science, leading astray the youth and the future by reading the mere tea leaves of ample evidence and deciding that something that can be neither proven nor refuted must not be, ie. Creation. Let's say I am in turn offended, that the lack of scientific education in this country has caused a great swath of ignorance, a plague that has cut our economy to the quick by denying industry the ability to innovate, to invent, due to this scientific stupidity, and that we need to get into those beaker-breaking churches and teach them a thing or two about humility.
This should do good things for our country. Think about the latest serial killer: church goer. Last one too. And the last, if memory serves. In fact, since most of the serial killers on the news lately are church goers, let's smash some churches, or at least raid them to look for the killers of the future.
Not convinced? Years ago, kids were killing themselves after listening to rock 'n' roll. Must be a connection, right? During the furor, a factoid splashed on the newsscreen, breaking down the stats from the suiciders' stated reasons for their own self-destruction: about 50% wanted to be with God. That's right, it was the life after, not this one, that they craved. If some loose canon had not filled their young heads with such idol thoughts, one wonders, would they live today?
So it goes both ways, cross wavers. I am content to leave you to your beliefs, to your church. In fact, please, go. It makes traffic so much lighter on Sundays. I will quietly sit with a science book while you wail away, accompanying your organs.
But as the latest favorite bumper sticker proclaimed: "Don't pray in our schools, and I promise not to think in your church."