General Discussion

hunter

(40,705 posts)

116. Yes, certain forms of "Creationism" and Fundamentalism are incompatible with science.

Wed Dec 24, 2014, 11:51 PM

Dec 2014

Textbooks and standardized tests that allow teachers to skip over or deny the observable age of the universe and evolution are an obscenity.

God knows my own cosmologies, some of them posted here on DU, are unconventional, but I'm willing to argue them from either a scientific or theological foundation. Most of all, I'm willing to change my mind in the face of overwhelming evidence.

The evidence of evolution as the foundation of biology, and the evidence that life on this small speck of a planet goes back billions of years, slowly becoming more diverse and occasionally more complex, is overwhelming. Otherwise any "creator" of this life, forever tweaking the operating system of it all, recreating the evidence, is a deceptive and incompetent rat bastard, and not the sort of being I'd choose to respect. Omnipotence is lighting the fire and knowing exactly how it will all turn out. Occasional "supernatural" communications, if they exist or not, do not trouble me. Crazy people who talk to God are not unusual in my family. It's up to the listener to discern if they are actually talking to God or not. Sometimes it's just noise in their heads, and sometimes it's just mean.

And, oh yeah, on this Christmas Eve, if the stories are true, Christ probably wasn't born on Christmas and the Christian Church in it's most ancient and Orthodox Catholic form was simply trying to relate to even older belief systems, especially northern latitude beliefs where there was always a great celebration when the days started getting longer, but people were beginning to die of cold, starvation, and the many diseases people suffer when they are all crammed together in close quarters, with their livestock, dogs, cats, and vermin such as rats and mice.

Stories are important to human beings. Our storytelling abilities seem to be where we diverged from our nearest hominid relatives. My Christian heritage is an important story of my family and my community and I respect that.

Merry Christmas!

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Arizona Professor Is Being MOBBED By Christian Conservatives For DARING TO SHOW THIS SLIDE In Class [View all] Segami Dec 2014 OP

"I try to teach my students sound skepticism and critical thinking" arcane1 Dec 2014 #1

More power to him! And a pox on all Creationists! CaliforniaPeggy Dec 2014 #2

^This^ GoneOffShore Dec 2014 #3

believers insist god is everywhere, but they can't see god on the left side of that slide. unblock Dec 2014 #4

To be fair, I would guess that about half of us believers *do* accept evolution. dawg Dec 2014 #8

I grew up in the Catholic catechism arena during the 1950's, and we were taught that truedelphi Dec 2014 #10

I don't believe God is as "gendered" as most religions depict. dawg Dec 2014 #14

All encompassing everything doesn't have a gender. WHEN CRABS ROAR Dec 2014 #23

yes, i should have been more careful. unblock Dec 2014 #17

I'd say it's more than half Warpy Dec 2014 #31

Data show otherwise whatthehey Dec 2014 #84

I suppose I'm spoiled Warpy Dec 2014 #105

46% young earthers is a frightening rate. There is no reason to believe such a thing at all TheKentuckian Dec 2014 #117

I have no problem sarisataka Dec 2014 #45

I never did either yeoman6987 Dec 2014 #60

Pope Pius XII melm00se Dec 2014 #83

It certainly is more impressive to anyone who thinks about it eridani Dec 2014 #77

This is true. Only to the most literalist fundie are they mutually exclusive. nt treestar Dec 2014 #52

To be fair hootinholler Dec 2014 #67

Hopefully, he will have support enlightenment Dec 2014 #5

This is a prime example of why we need tenure AwakeAtLast Dec 2014 #81

"It didn't contribute to the lecture except to add spite.." SomethingFishy Dec 2014 #6

& humor. I think kids learn better when humor is used to teach. eShirl Dec 2014 #55

I think it added humor. The spite came from the creationists. (n/t) Iggo Dec 2014 #57

I think it added truth - TBF Dec 2014 #78

Creationist bullshitters create a stink. Hilariously pathetic! nc4bo Dec 2014 #7

Silly, aren't they? hifiguy Dec 2014 #24

Mind you, nothing about the slide being wrong ... hadrons Dec 2014 #9

Actually, the illustration suggests human evolution is orthogenic which is mostly wrong. HereSince1628 Dec 2014 #25

Either you're engaging in 11th-dimensional wit or I think you meant to write 'descent' (and KingCharlemagne Dec 2014 #33

Thanks... no I probably misspelled it and missed the autocorrect HereSince1628 Dec 2014 #38

Yep. What HereSince1628 said. I'm a Physicist but (to me) Human Evolution is not as simple as a.. BlueJazz Dec 2014 #40

Actually, the illustration suggests human evolution is orthogenic which is mostly wrong. AlbertCat Dec 2014 #48

What I replied to was the claim that the slide communicates nothing wrong HereSince1628 Dec 2014 #71

What next. He'll be telling his students safeinOhio Dec 2014 #11

One thing you don't do is question "Four Corners" doctrine in KingCharlemagne Dec 2014 #36

I visited that place once. VWolf Dec 2014 #104

beats me why a creationist would be in a biology class anyway. looks like they niyad Dec 2014 #12

Probably to fulfill a requirement. nt tblue37 Dec 2014 #13

And why get upset? AlbertCat Dec 2014 #49

Expansion on tblue 37 Feral Child Dec 2014 #103

I don't understand, according to the Bible the right side of the slide is exactly how they say it Rex Dec 2014 #15

Love that they used the Buddy Christ from Dogma. Initech Dec 2014 #16

Of course, we wouldn't want a university to teach science. Hats off to Mr. Bang. sinkingfeeling Dec 2014 #18

Oh, this will be on Fox "News" for ages sakabatou Dec 2014 #19

I thought it was Yahweh, the angry sky god of Iron Age goatherders, who created people Arugula Latte Dec 2014 #20

Jesus & Skygod are actually one in the same.... Moonwalk Dec 2014 #26

Yes, yes, I'm sure this convoluted piece of primitive mythological nonsense will all make sense Arugula Latte Dec 2014 #27

Were you there when He created the whirlwind? The first recorded STFU in KingCharlemagne Dec 2014 #39

A total rip-off of the Ludlul-Bel-Nimeqi however whatthehey Dec 2014 #85

I'm not familiar with the tradition you reference here, but I'll willingly concede KingCharlemagne Dec 2014 #87

Isn't that the image from the Jesus' General blog? hifiguy Dec 2014 #21

STFU juice...... Enthusiast Dec 2014 #41

Last I knew Boreal Dec 2014 #22

Nope. Because Christianity says Jesus & old testament god are one in the same... Moonwalk Dec 2014 #28

What was a creationist doing in a biology class? Thor_MN Dec 2014 #29

A non-major could betaking it to meet general studies requirements or as a degree requirement HereSince1628 Dec 2014 #37

It wasn't a literal question... Thor_MN Dec 2014 #74

It is rather confrontational. elleng Dec 2014 #30

Really??????? Tommymac Dec 2014 #97

Really elleng Dec 2014 #98

I thought they wanted to "teach the controversy" Warren DeMontague Dec 2014 #32

I like that term�unsubstantiated mystical hoo-hah. Enthusiast Dec 2014 #35

I think they call it "a miracle" Elmer S. E. Dump Dec 2014 #64

Sure. Warren DeMontague Dec 2014 #73

Well, maybe in the cuckoos nest! Elmer S. E. Dump Dec 2014 #75

I like it when Christian Conservatives fly into a vexatious rage. Enthusiast Dec 2014 #34

Especially when accompanied by copious amounts of gnashing of teeth and KingCharlemagne Dec 2014 #42

Sure does. Youch! Enthusiast Dec 2014 #59

It's Always Useful To Remember.... Laxman Dec 2014 #43

Yup. I have a copy of "The Jefferson Bible." SunSeeker Dec 2014 #106

Anything that ridicules any religion is good with me The Green Manalishi Dec 2014 #44

() Roy Rolling Dec 2014 #95

Hilarious! SoapBox Dec 2014 #46

- Lion ROARS - hifiguy Dec 2014 #88

They don't handle ridicule, irony, or satire very well, do they? vlyons Dec 2014 #47

If these people were actually sound in their beliefs, they wouldn't care if someone mocked their chrisa Dec 2014 #50

Whats the problem, that is basically the Biblical position treestar Dec 2014 #51

I love when idiots think they're speaking for everyone Fearless Dec 2014 #53

�Quite a few students in the lecture hall were bothered by the picture, AlbertCat Dec 2014 #54

He'll get the boot Doctor_J Dec 2014 #56

You unbelievers will be laughing from hell! Enthusiast Dec 2014 #58

But we'll be in good company malaise Dec 2014 #62

some of my friends own the ice water concession, so we should all be okay. niyad Dec 2014 #109

I worked with a prof a few years ago who really pissed off a bunch of these guys. Xithras Dec 2014 #61

ohhhh, kudos to that prof!! that was brilliant! niyad Dec 2014 #110

Excellent job Professor. nt BootinUp Dec 2014 #63

What is really absurd about this is that college students can't handle a challenge . . . markpkessinger Dec 2014 #65

Why is he having this discussion. gladium et scutum Dec 2014 #66

Because invaribly the Creationists will bring it up... hunter Dec 2014 #93

So You would Fail A Student gladium et scutum Dec 2014 #99

I can assure you, Curmudgeoness Dec 2014 #101

Hell yes. hunter Dec 2014 #107

So you would fire gladium et scutum Dec 2014 #112

They demonstrably lack certain critical thinking skills. hunter Dec 2014 #113

That is all well and good gladium et scutum Dec 2014 #115

Yes, certain forms of "Creationism" and Fundamentalism are incompatible with science. hunter Dec 2014 #116

Why did Campus Reform watermark the image? hootinholler Dec 2014 #68

These students don't belong at a real university if they can't handle Zorra Dec 2014 #69

My thoughts exactly phil89 Dec 2014 #70

What would Buddy Jesus do? nt MrScorpio Dec 2014 #72

Evolution is an intelligent design indeed Dont call me Shirley Dec 2014 #76

The slide captures . . . MrModerate Dec 2014 #79

So in addition to "truthiness", Teavangelicals also have "sciencyness"? riqster Dec 2014 #80

How would Socrates have fared The Wizard Dec 2014 #82

He should have used "miracle" instead of "magic" Taitertots Dec 2014 #86

"God is not a magician." bklyncowgirl Dec 2014 #89

So-called "Christians" in a vexatious rage DFW Dec 2014 #90

Mocking people's beliefs is never helpful. dawg Dec 2014 #91

sometimes we need the fun--and would not do it if they weren't so darned earnest about the niyad Dec 2014 #111

Sometimes it's necessary. The Christian Right Wing has crossed the bridge to crazy land. RBInMaine Dec 2014 #114

"Zero tolerance policy for fairy tales" should be the Common Core science curriculum standard. True Blue Door Dec 2014 #92

Let's review the definitions for "religion" and "myth" again, shall we? KansDem Dec 2014 #94

I can understand the anger packman Dec 2014 #96

What upsets them the most is the idea that humans weren't always white. Spitfire of ATJ Dec 2014 #100

Love this and good for the Prof amuse bouche Dec 2014 #102

There's also another "magic" connection. Trillo Dec 2014 #108