Congressman calls evolution a lie from the "pit of hell"

[angeldeb82]

What a religious nutjob the guy is! I think he should learn the lesson from the South Park episode "Go God Go". As Stan Marsh says, "Couldn't evolution be the answer to how and not the answer to why?"

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/new ... eationism/

[stevesut1]

Our leaders really should be required to pass some kind of test before they can be elected.

[Unassumption]

As far as I can recall all the Republican presidential candidates in the primaries were creationists. This is sadly not newsworthy, though it should be. Denying established science should disqualify you from the race but with so many misinformed or uninformed voters, they can get in - a black mark on democracy as a whole. Then again there are far worse traits that voters are willing to accept but we shouldn't let the bigger problems distract us from this being a problem.

People around the world and political spectrum reject sciences from genetic engineering and 'mainstream medicine' to global warming, so it isn't a uniquely Republican or American problem sadly, this is a manifestation of a deeper flaw.

Our leaders really should be required to pass some kind of test before they can be elected.

If we improve education the people might stop voting for these guys, that's the real problem voters putting these guys in office. Then again when these are one of only two viable candidates the voters don't have much choice if they feel strongly on some other issue like abortion, welfare or taxes.

"Couldn't evolution be the answer to how and not the answer to why?"

I've always wondered why evolution of all sciences is singled out as the one that isn't compatible with faith. Then again creationists (who are diverse and varied, so not all do this) tend to define every piece of natural history they don't like as 'evolution.'
If the other apparent scientific inadequacies and contradictions in the bible can be interpreted away, why can't cleaver wordplay pretend the fact of evolution is compatible with scripture too?
I feel dishonest using this tactic, as I don't think they're compatible but it's a tactic that works to get people accepting reality and it's not like the Discovery institute and other major pushers of creationism don't use far more dishonest tactics :I

[Mamont]

People who deny science should not use comforts that scientific progress provides.

[triplemultiplex]

"This just in: Republican politician denies evolution!"

It's one thing to reject a widely accepted scientific consensus. It's another to couch one's denial in inflammatory rhetoric and pretend those seeking truth are out to get you.

It's tough when one doesn't have reality on their side. You can't really be surprised when they lash out like this. But the false victimhood of the religious right will eventually become tiresome. They may be able to stand in the way of progress for a little while, but you can't deny reality forever. Future generations will point at this kind of ignorant blabbering and laugh.

[BRMBug]

Is he closely related to Garrison at all?

[SaltyBawls82]

Hes showing off for his voter group. No matter who many people he pisses off he still gets the votes hes supposed to.

[Pip Tweek]

Future generations will point at this kind of ignorant blabbering and laugh.

The things is, it's really not funny. In 2012, this extent of ignorance should have been eradicated long ago.

[Zazaban]

He knows perfectly well what's what, it's the voters that he's counting on not to.

[bazi42]

Future generations will point at this kind of ignorant blabbering and laugh.

The things is, it's really not funny. In 2012, this extent of ignorance should have been eradicated long ago.

nah, you'll have to wait a couple of generations for that sort of idiocy to be bred out. people don't learn from history very well you know.

[Unassumption]

Hell doesn't exist.

A guy studying biology in my dorm just became a creationist today. He learned about the cytoskeleton and started waffling in the kitchen about how every electron exists for the purpose of creating life and how interconnected the universe is. So British science students aren't immune from creationism thinking. I fear the search for human cause is pretty ingrained in us;when I learned about the cytoskeleton it made me wonder "how could that possibly evolve." I then searched on google scholar and found out. We'll never overcome the initial reaction of "how did that happen!" Getting people to search for how it happened instead of just defaulting to "i guess goddidit" is the challenge.

Hes showing off for his voter group.

How do you know he doesn't actually believe this? His voter group includes doctors, lawyers and other professionals who don't accept this part of science. A person who isn't totally retarded can have totally retarded beliefs. He may actually believe this - the best liars are those whoa believe their own lies.

[Ex1lepr0]

A guy studying biology in my dorm just became a creationist today. He learned about the cytoskeleton and started waffling in the kitchen about how every electron exists for the purpose of creating life and how interconnected the universe is. So British science students aren't immune from creationism thinking. I fear the search for human cause is pretty ingrained in us;when I learned about the cytoskeleton it made me wonder "how could that possibly evolve." I then searched on google scholar and found out. We'll never overcome the initial reaction of "how did that happen!" Getting people to search for how it happened instead of just defaulting to "i guess goddidit" is the challenge.

What you're referring to is "The God Of The Gaps." Basically, when science can't explain something, religion just fills in the hole with: God did it. This has been the basis for pretty much every religion, who attributed everything from the sun, to hurricanes, to why crops grow, to a deity of some kind.

But now we understand our world better, and using God to fill in the gaps is increasingly becoming irrelevant. When there's a gap, it's not that a deity did it, it's that we don't know yet, and we're searching for the answers.

[Mamont]

What you're referring to is "The God Of The Gaps." Basically, when science can't explain something, religion just fills in the hole with: God did it. This has been the basis for pretty much every religion, who attributed everything from the sun, to hurricanes, to why crops grow, to a deity of some kind.

As my favorite stand up comedian Dara O'Briain would say:
"Science knows it doesn't know everything, otherwise it'd stop. But just because science doesn't know everything doesn't mean you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairytale appeals to you the most."

[Ex1lepr0]

As my favorite stand up comedian Dara O'Briain would say:
"Science knows it doesn't know everything, otherwise it'd stop. But just because science doesn't know everything doesn't mean you can fill in the gaps with whatever fairytale appeals to you the most."

That's a good way to put it. While we're at it, the Earth was created when an alien named Bob decided to play a prank on his ex by crashing his planet into hers.

Makes about as much sense as "God created the Heavens and the Earth."

[Brendle]

People in positions of power in your country actually think an imaginary man in the sky created the universe and actually think evolution is a lie.

What a joke of a country.