(Thanks to David Flanders for the tip)
Mocking non-believers for failing to grasp the logic behind the existence of God, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas)…delivered his final point to a chorus of applause as he concluded, “You couldn’t get everything unless there was something that was the creator of everything and that’s the Lord we know.” Gohmert did not elaborate on how he leapt from something to nothing to everything to the “Lord we know” rather than to, say, a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Gohmert also neglected to explain who would have created the Lord he knows, or whether the Lord created Himself before He existed.
I never cease to marvel at the way fundamentalist Christians conclusively “prove” their argument with slight of hand and smoke and mirrors. Concrete and supportable arguments seems to be the province of those whose faith is weak. Why would you have to actually PROVE an argument, when you BELIEVE in an awesome and all-powerful God? Faith means never having to provide evidence…and thus winning every argument with those who haven’t found Jesus.
For most of us, the debate process goes something like this:
- Make an assertion (e.g.- Water is wet).
- Present evidence to support your assertion (I put my foot in the water…ergo, my sock is wet).
- Bask in the knowledge that you’ve conclusively proven your assertion.
- Game, set, match.
If you think like Louie Gohmert, though, you reject the need for any sort of empirical truth to support your argument, because faith in Jesus Christ obviates the need to provide any proof of your assertion. Why would you need evidence and proof when Jesus is riding with you? “Proof” for a true believer is SO much simpler:
- God said it.
- I believe it.
- That settles it.
- Lean back and revel in the smug certainty that your argument is unassailable and irrefutable…because God is perfect and all-powerful and omniscient and your faith in Her is unshakable.
It’s much the same process that holds true for those who believe, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that vaccinations cause autism. Science may have “proven” there’s no link, but that doesn’t mean one has to believe it. Or so the theory goes.
I’ll grant Gohmert his right to his beliefs, but since being a Congressman makes him an employees of the American Sheeple, I’d suggest he stop using work time to promote his intolerant, inflexible, devoid of compassion flavor of Christianity? He’s paid to legislate, not proselytize and condemn those unenlightened sinners and blasphemers who don’t share his One and Only Truth Faith. It’s embarrassing and unseemly, and it completely ignores that most Americans don’t share his “Kill them all, let God sort them out” Christianity.
Bonus: Since Gohmert sees himself as an expert in all things theological, perhaps he could answer this little Zen koan: If his God is all-powerful, can She create something so heavy even She can’t lift it?
