Creationists seek foothold in Europe
LONDON - After the Sunday service in Westminster Chapel, where worshippers were exhorted to wage “the culture war” in the World War II spirit of Sir Winston Churchill, cabbie James McLean delivered his verdict on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution…. “Evolution is a lie, and it’s being taught in schools as fact, and it’s leading our kids in the wrong direction,” said McLean, chatting outside the chapel. “But now people like Ken Ham are tearing evolution to pieces.”…. Ken Ham is the founder of Answers in Genesis, a Kentucky-based organization that is part of an ambitious effort to bring creationist theory to Britain and the rest of Europe. McLean is one of a growing number of evangelicals embracing that message ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ that the true history of the Earth is told in the Bible, not Darwin’s “The Origin of Species.”…. Creationism is still a marginal issue here compared with its impact on cultural and political debate in the United States. But the budding fervor is part of a growing embrace of evangelical worship throughout much of Europe. Evangelicals say their ranks are swelling as attendance at traditional churches declines because of revulsion with the hedonism and materialism of modern society.
Hey, who needs empirical science when you have Jesus? No, I’m not going to ridicule Creationists (not that I’m lacking for ammunition)…merely their loony, misguided attachment to a theory that places faith above generations of empirical science. Besides, having fun at the expense of Creationists has long since lost most of its allure. They don’t understand, and it’s just become old for me. Today, though, just for old times’ sake, I’ll give it a go.
This reminds of a picture I found on da Interweb some time ago. It shows a woman holding a sign that says “I REJECT THE FUNDAMENTAL TENETS OF SCIENCE- AND I VOTE!!” Apparently having conquered North America, now Creationists are taking their show on the road…and even into schools. That’s the great thing about Europe if you’re a Creationist- no separation of Church and State! If you can convince a school administrator than you’re simply offering an alternative to evolution, you’re in…and you can begin spreading your anti-intellectual, faith-based propaganda as a legitimate “scientific theory”. Whatever….
How a faith-based belief with no empirical evidence can be taught as credible science is something that absolutely baffles. One of my brothers is a “God said…I believe it…end of story…clang!!!” Fundamentalist Christian who views everything…and I do mean everything through the lens of his faith. That’s his choice, of course, and I respect that, but he’s also the same person who once told me that HIV/AIDS is God’s revenge against homosexuals. Thankfully, the “biology is destiny” theory doesn’t extend to religious beliefs. I love my brother, but I cannot in good conscience respect a belief system that filters every aspect of the human experience through the narrow filter of Fundamentalist theology.
Oddly enough, my brother is now working at a Christian school in Vienna, Austria…no doubt endeavoring feverishly to Christianize the savages.
Creationism is no more a legitimate scientific theory than HIV/AIDS is God’s revenge against homosexuals. You are, of course, free to believe as you see fit. From where I sit, though, Creationism and Fundamentalism are merely efforts by the fearful and staggeringly ignorant to control those in need of direction and guidance because they’re simply incapable of facing the world on their own terms. Hey, it worked for the Nazis….
No, I’m not going to seriously compare Nazism to Fundamentalist Christianity…not that your couldn’t. If nothing else, the methods both groups employ to control their flock can be argued to be mirror images.
Having thoroughly Christianized the savages here in North America, these knuckel-dragging Fred Phelps-wannabes are taking their traveling road show to Europe. Apparently, not having to deal with the whole separation of Church and State thing is pretty appealing. It seems that fear, ignorance, and intolerance know no boundaries.
“People have walked away from God; it’s not fashionable,” said congregant Chris Mullins, a civil servant. “But the evangelical church does seem to be growing and I’m very encouraged by that. In what is a very secular society, there are people returning to God.”
School curricula generally hold that Darwin’s theory has been backed up by so many scientific discoveries that it can now be regarded as fact. But Mullins believes creationism also deserves a hearing in the classroom.
“Looking at the evidence, creationism at the least seems a theory worthy of examination,” he said. “Personally I think it is true and I think the truth will win out eventually. It’s a question of how long it takes.”
Terry Sanderson, president of Britain’s National Secular Society, a prominent group founded in 1866 to limit the influence of religious leaders, fears the groups advocating a literal interpretation of the Bible are making headway.
“Creationism is creeping into the schools,” he said. “There is a constant pressure to get these ideas into the schools.”
Because if you can get to children at a young enough age, you can convince them that science is but one “theory”, and that science can’t trump the word of God. This way, you eventually end up with adults whose approach to the world around them is “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” Yes, Fundamentalism truly IS the sound a mind makes when it slams shut. And don’t get me started on “Intelligent Design”….
It’s not Christianity I have a problem with. As a religion and a doctrine, Christianity has a lot of positive things to offer: love, charity, tolerance, and forgiveness come to mind. Unfortunately, far too many Christians are so caught up in their pious self-righteousness that they’ve lost sight of the true meaning of the teachings of Jesus Christ. They go on at some length about how they love Jesus, but their Jesus is a mean-spirited, cold-hearted, unforgiving son-of-a-bitch who would just as soon smite a believer for the sheer joy if it as bless him (or her).
Lord, save us from your followers….
I could go on, but you’ll have to excuse me. The Flying Spaghetti monster is returning to Earth in human form later this morning, and I want to be first in line for pie….
