June 30, 2008

What Type Of Creationist Are You?

I came across the following definitions from this post at Skeptoid. It is pretty interesting and even enlightening to see someone actually define how theists come to terms(or not) with actual scientific knowledge, while still fitting God into the gaps and/or adding God into the equation.

Theistic Evolution:
Evolution by natural processes is the tool God used

Evolutionary Creationism:
Adam and Eve were the first spiritually aware humans

Progressive Creationism:
Humans were a special creation event

Day-Age Creationism:
Six days of creation were six geological epochs

Gap Creationism:
4.5 billion year gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2

Earth was created with the appearance of age and of evolution

Young Earth Fundamentalism:
Invented versions of all natural sciences to explain Earth's age as 6,000 years

To expand:

1. Theistic Evolution. This is the Catholic Pope's officially stated position, and it's embraced by many real scientists of faith. Theistic evolution accepts both the geologic and biologic records, including modern evolutionary synthesis, and posits that these are simply the tools God chose to create the natural world. Theistic evolution allows and embraces scientific research and permits the acceptance of new information.

2. Evolutionary Creationism also accepts the geologic and biologic records, and makes its creationist distinction in that there were a literal Adam and Eve who were simply the first spiritually aware humans, though they came into being in the same way as all early humans.

3. Progressive Creationism goes one step farther. Progressive Creationism accepts the geologic record, and much of the prehistoric biologic record, including the true age of dinosaurs and other early lifeforms, but believes that the creation of humans and perhaps other modern animals was a special creationism event as literally depicted in Genesis. Thus, there can be no biological link between humans and early hominids from the fossil record.

4. Day-Age Creationism is the belief that the six days of creation were really six geological epochs. Usually some effort is made to reconcile specific days in Genesis to specific epochs in Earth history, but since things didn't really all happen separately and consecutively like in Genesis, such efforts are generally somewhat ham-handed. But at least they're trying. Day-Age Creationism is what Jehovah's Witnesses advocate in their Watchtower pamphlets.

5. Gap Creationism is about as far as the Old Earth model can be stretched. This model attempts to unify the true age of the Earth as measured by science with the literal Biblical account. Jimmy Swaggart advocates this model. Gap Creationism states that the first verse of the Bible, God created the heavens and the Earth, was followed by a "gap" of 4.5 billion years, during which time not much happened. And then, the literal creation of Genesis took place in six days about six to ten thousand years ago. Necessarily, this model has to abandon evolution completely, although it adheres to proper geology.

6. Omphalism. This is named after the 1857 book Omphalos, published two years before Darwin's Origin of Species, which explained that the fossil record was God's way of making the Earth appear to be old. Omphalos is Greek for navel, and the Omphalists believe that Adam and Eve were created with navels, thus having the appearance of being created through normal evolutionary biology. Adherents to Omphalism fully accept every scientific measurement of the age of the Earth and every discovery of modern biology, with the important exception that all such discoveries are wrong: God only wanted to make us think that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and that life evolved from lower forms. A true scientist doing real research can be an Omphalist. He will arrive at the correct conclusions, though he will believe that his measurement is merely what God wants him to see.

7. Modern Young Earth Fundamentalism. Here is where the train jumps completely off the tracks. Modern Young Earthers, for lack of a better name, are the ones behind the Creation Museum discussed earlier. They honestly believe in alternate versions of virtually every science known, throwing away every shred of modern science that doesn't point to the age of the Earth as 6,000 years. They literally believe in Adam and Eve (without navels) and all the dinosaurs on Day 1, fossilization taking only a few hundred years, and all major geologic features having been created in a few days in Noah's Flood. They reject evolution, cosmology, geology, and every science that supports them; which, by extension, eventually includes every scientific discipline. However, in their minds, they don't reject them at all; they fully embrace completely wrong, misinterpreted, misunderstood, and misrepresented versions of them. Their worldview is based absolutely on the Bible as a perfect, unerring, literal historical account. As a followup, they have invented their own versions of natural sciences that they pretend supports this view. It is not possible to be a thoroughly researched Young Earther and still retain any grasp on rationality. This is the group making the overwhelming majority of noise in the media and modern culture, but it's not clear how large of a group this really is. They have the largest and loudest web presence, with AnswersInGenesis.org and the Discovery Institute, though out of 3.2 million Ph.D.'s worldwide they've only been able to find 700 who agree with their science, according to their list maintained at DissentFromDarwin.org. This represents 2% of 1% of people with advanced academic degrees.

What Best Describes Your Views About Creation?
Theistic Evolution
Evolutionary Creationism
Progressive Creationism
Day-Age Creationism
Gap Creationism
Young Earth Fundamentalism
No Evidence And/Or Need For A God
God Has Been Benign Throughout With No Plan
God Has Been Benign With A Plan
Free polls from Pollhost.com

I'm pretty OK with the first two on the list. I'm a firm believer that we are susceptible to believe in God, that we evolved this trait. Coming to grips with a Godless universe is not that easy once you are indoctrinated. It takes a lot of honesty and objectivity to become an atheist. And I'm not trying to say that I'm better than a theist, you can draw your own conclusions:)

There is a lot of overlap in the first two camps though. I'm not sure how Dr. Ken Miller, a Catholic who is totally anti-Intelligent Design would answer the question of which camp he belongs. I'm sure he thinks God has a plan, and I think I remember reading something about him believing that Adam and Eve evolved as the first human beings, and were actual individuals who God allegorically spoke about in the bible.

I'd like to think that most critical thinking believers fall into one of the first two categories.

I've discussed the idea of special creation with a Muslim on the internet a while back. He still thought that God poofed man here as man after the dinosaurs were killed off. I'm not sure how many people believe that stuff though. Muslims don't seem to readily accept evolution though. Like Day-Age and Gap Creationism Progressive Creationism denies reality, but not as much as the Young Earth Creationists.

I'm sure I've come across a few Omphalist nuts on the internet. At least these people aren't as dishonest and embarrassing as the Young Earth Fundamentalists who will come up with the most mind boggling and idiotic explanations in order to fit science into the bible.

Unfortunately, in the USA close to 45% of the people are not in the first two categories but the last 5 categories. And there is overlap, I'm sure that there are many people out there who wilfully have no opinion on evolution or the age of the earth. They want to keep their head in the sand and not think about it.

June 26, 2008

More Must See Videos From Potholer54




June 23, 2008

George Carlin: RIP



Here are some Carlin Quotes:






“Religion is just mind control”

Some more:

"We created God in our own image and likeness."







June 20, 2008

Aboriginal Brazilian Tribes Bury Children Alive

NOTE: I was informed the following video is a recreation. Makes sense. I can't see how a cameraman could let it happen. I have a problem with cameramen who film wildlife becoming snacks as well. But I can also see them letting it happen.

The internet has lots of disturbing things on it. But this has to be right at the top of the list:

The Tradition of Infanticide


The Brazilian authorities turn a blind eye to infanticide, out of respect for the tribal culture.

Imagine if these Aboriginal Brazilians wrote a bible today. It might even resemble the Old Testament. God was OK with stonings and murder and sacrifice. The New Testament was definitely OK with Jesus sacrificing himself.

But this goes back to the fact that we evolved a susceptibility to believe in the supernatural.

Man is superstitious by nature. Our ancestors, who probably resembled the tribe in the film, couldn't explain lightning, so they had to make up supernatural causes and buy into them, in order to not go crazy. Faced with self awareness and knowledge of mortality, all sorts of weird ideas could then be put into cultural rituals to appease their God or Gods, and avoid death for at least a while, or make sure that they'll be taken care of after they die.

Surely, their God is not the Abrahamic God, yet they still have a concept of a God who can curse them and give them bad luck if they don't perform rituals that they obviously made up....well they had to make them up, unless one believes that God went to Brazil and gave them the go ahead to bury babies.

Can you believe that this stuff still goes on in the year of 2008? I do. After all, even in a progressive province like Ontario, we still have prayer in the Legislature.

June 18, 2008

Tagged Again: Atheist 13 Meme


Q1. How would you define “atheism”?






Q4. What scientific endeavour really excites you?
















June 15, 2008

Prayer In The Ontario Legislature Is Infantile At Best

I'm actually totally disgusted that 58 MPP's voted to continue having the Lord's Prayer at the beginning of Ontario Legislature sessions. They are mostly cowards who know better than that. Dalton McGuinty and any other MPP who declined to vote no are also cowards.

Prayer does not belong in the public sector. Especially prayer that favours one group over others. In order to have an affective government, one that embraces the right for people to believe whatever they want to believe, there needs to be separation of church and state.

Nobody is saying you can't pray. Pray at home, your place of worship, your car, the elevator, or the can. But faith is a personal matter, and very few people share EXACT beliefs. Imposing a specific religion/belief on the masses is just plain infantile and the sign of insecurity.

We are not a theocracy. If you want to live in a theocracy, move to Saudi Arabia, where it might be a hassle if you want to change your beliefs.

It doesn't matter that the majority of people are OK with the Lord's Prayer (and not an overwhelming majority). The majority of people in Canada are white. Does that mean that whites should have special preferences? Red heads are a minority. Why even let them vote?

The result now is that other faiths will also get time in the Legislature. After each Lord's Prayer, there will be a rotation of either a Jewish prayer, Sikh prayer, Muslim prayer, etc.

I would love to see the 58 MPP's have to bring a prayer rug on Muslim day.

Muslim prayer in the Ontario Legislature is perfect Karma for those Christians who demanded the Lord's Prayer stay. That is the only good thing that came out of this, as there are quite a few knotted panties in the Ontario Christian community now.

Oh, and they didn't forget about atheists and agnostics (who make up around 25% of the Canadian population), as we get to have a silent prayer. Who decided that? I don't want a silent prayer. I want something like this recited:

"Organized prayer has no business in schools, the government, or anywhere in the public sector.
We should not waste valuable time on something as ridiculous as prayer, as there is no evidence that your God exists whether the God you worship is the Christian God, the Jewish God, the Muslim God, or the Sun God, or any of the other 3500 Gods created by man.
There is plenty of time for you to pray at home, your place of worship, while having lunch, or while you are in the can. You have no right to impose your beliefs on someone who does not share your beliefs and isn't interested in listening to your beliefs.
Quit wasting time and get back to real business. The invisible fairy in the sky will understand that you don't need to pray to him, her or it.....AMEN!"

At best, prayer is infantile:

Canuck sums up my thoughts in this comment from back in April on a CBC News story:

"The very same group of people who support keeping this 'Christian' prayer in are the very same people who constantly say 'enough is enough' when it comes to allowing additional rights and religious freedoms to Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddists, etc. Gee ... I wonder why?

For those of you who say 'Canada was built on Christian values' ... do you mean the values of slaughtering the natives and stealing their lands, raping their children in residential schools and inflicting torture to prevent them from speaking their own language? Are those the values you are referring to?

You can act as pious and righteous as you want ... while Canada may not have as tarnished a history as the US ... we as a country are not 'as pure as the driven snow' as many of you like to delude yourself into thinking. We have more than enough blood on our hands too.

Nobody is saying YOU can't pray to your invisible cloud-dwelling deity in your own home or church. What we are saying is that it has no place being funded by OUR taxes. After all, you would no more wa
nt to fund my blasphemy with you taxes then I want to fund your mythical nonsense."

Read There's No Place For Prayer In Ontario Legislature

Also, Lose-Lose Situation On Prayer

June 13, 2008

Jesus Said A Lot Of Stuff He Didn't Really Mean

Youtuber ProfMTH has done a lot of very good videos. What makes his perspective special is the fact that he used to be a Fundy Christian, and is now an atheist. In other words, he really knows and understands the bible.
In the following video he points out the problem bible literalists have. For example, the NT clearly states that one could actually move mountains into the sea if he had faith. Of course, even the most Fundy of Christians dismiss this as complete allegory ("Jesus didn't really mean that"). Why? Because it is impossible to move a mountain into the sea presently in real time, no matter how much faith one has.

See, if something is written in the bible, and it can be falsified in present real time, it HAS TO BE ALLEGORICAL, but if the bible writes about a past miracle or supernatural event (like a talking snake), then to the Bible literalist, the event must be true.
Of course, science falsifies the idea of a young earth created in 6 literal days, and man being poofed here as man less than 10,000 years ago, but again, this is nothing that can be falsified in real time (unless the Fundy isn't wilfully ignorant about science, which is almost impossible).

June 6, 2008

23% Of Canadians Are Atheists

A new Harris-Decima poll has found that 23% of Canadians do not believe in God. In the US most polls find that between 8-10% of Americans are atheists. The numbers are growing all over the West. But I'm proud of the Canadian numbers. It shows that we are an enlightened society. The poll inspired me to make a short video. Enjoy:

I think the internet has started a seeking the truth revolution. Facts can be found and lies can be refuted by simple Google searches. I've said it for a couple of years, the internet will be the death of the Young Earth Creationist movement. The abundance of evidence for an ancient earth and evolution has turned YECs into laughing stocks. The more they show up to try to poke holes in evolution and an ancient earth, the more internet links and proofs are thrown in their faces by obnoxious atheists (like me) or know-it-all theistic evolutionists. What happens? The lurkers see that YECs are pathetic.
Then the lurkers will start questioning the foundations of their beliefs. Many realize that there is no evidence for God's existence, and also realize that man has created over 3500 Gods since written history began.
As for Canada being more progressive than the USA, I'm wondering if multiculturalism has made Canadians question their faiths more and more. It makes sense that when you see a different type of church or mosque or synagogue on various streets within a close proximity that it is a natural response to start thinking that all these people have different beliefs. Obviously, all but one are wrong....scratch that, probably all of them are wrong.
H/T Atheist Revolution

June 4, 2008

Creationism Is Not Biblical

Here is a video from a theistic evolutionist. He makes a very good argument regarding a way to interpret the Bible (Genesis to be specific), so that Creationism can be discounted, while abiogenesis, an ancient universe, and most importantly, human evolution, can be fit into a world view that still includes God and a God inspired Bible:

I've mentioned before that I'm OK with theistic evolution because there is no denying reality involved. Reality is embraced, while God is added to it.
However, it is still a crutch to add God to the equation because there is absolutely no evidence that God exists.

Still, I think this video is a pretty good one to possibly email to reality denying friends and family, just to shake them up a bit. Questioning ones ridiculous faith, leads to at least a mild case of temporary agnosticism. And that is good thing when dealing with those need to deny reality to sleep at night.

Reality denying Young Earth Creationists cause progress to stall, and keep irrational prejudices alive and well.

June 2, 2008

Finally! Evidence That Jesus Christ Does Exist

Woman Says Jesus Told Her to Kill Her Husband

Greenville County (The Greenville News) - A Marietta woman accused of killing her common-law husband told authorities her husband had used the Lord's name in vain too many times and that she shot him because "Jesus told me to do it," according to court testimony Wednesday.

Donna Marie Redding began quoting "all kinds of Scripture" and told investigators that she killed her husband, Gary Dean Parnell, after the two had argued over whether to play rock or country music and over who would roll a marijuana cigarette, Greenville County Sheriff's investigator Chris Miller testified in court.

In her confession, Redding, 35, told investigators that Parnell "is the devil" and that Jesus had told her to kill him, Miller testified during a preliminary hearing in which the prosecution presents for the first time a general outline of its case against a defendant.

It makes perfect sense to me that Jesus would want the Devil to be murdered. This is total proof that Jesus exists.

I wonder what Jesus thought about the common-law arrangement this couple had though. Probably pissed him off as well. Lets face it, they weren't gay and they still didn't get legally hitched.

Now that the Devil is dead, I expect all evil to disappear from the world. Lets face it, the murdered man must have been the Devil. There is no way Jesus would pick out the wrong guy in this inspired shooting.