Here’s your brain on religion: Tom Cruise babbles about scientology. It’s depressing schlock — the man is so full of himself, yet all he says are empty platitudes and non-sequiturs and scientology slang. It’s the perfect portrayal of a fellow who really isn’t very intelligent, but thinks he is.
I heard this third hand, so it’s not exactly the most well-founded rumor around, but a contact with inside information in the Southern Baptist Ministries has heard that they want to help out with the koo-koo descent into creationist madness that is Florida. They have asked their Florida churches to send information to businesses and school boards — a fine idea, and perfectly acceptable practice, I would think — but you have to see the “information” to believe it.
The rumor is that they’re going to send a tract called Apes, Lies, and Ms. Henn. That’s right, a Jack Chick tract.
I’m torn. It seems unlikely, but on the other hand, it’s just stupid enough that it could be true. On our side we have the whole of the scientific literature; on theirs, a comic book featuring a little girl saying “We didn’t come from monkeys.” And which one will win is uncertain.
Floridians, keep an eye open and let me know if there is a sudden influx of Chick inanity in your community.
Here’s an interesting twist of view: comparing the perspectives of a Law (Paul Davies) and Chaos (yours truly*) and applying the ideas to chess. Even in a relatively simple system where all the rules are fixed and known, is there an orderly, formulaic solution to the problem?
*There is a reason my oldest son is named Alaric, and why there is a shrine to Arioch in the infernal pit in the subbasement.
I’ve heard this show was quite good, but I’ve never seen it. Recommended? Will it aggravate a militant atheist?
Ahhh…in case you hadn’t heard, Apple came out with an new machine yesterday, the MacBook Air. I want. It’s one of those superslim portables, with the usual Apple elegance — this would be a perfect travel machine.
Except for the price: a bit less than $2K for the low end model, over $3K for the high end, all solid state model. I think I’ll have to wait a few years for the price to drop significantly.
Watch Neil Shubin discuss evolution on the Colbert Report — he’s good. He convinced me to run out and order his new book, Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)!
Here’s his latest suggestion: that we we amend the Constitution to be more biblical.
“I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution,” Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. “But I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that’s what we need to do — to amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than try to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view.”
Whoa.
We have a candidate who openly wants to make the US a religious state, and he’s the frontrunner on the Republican side. There are a large number of people who want this demented fuckwit to run the country. And the pundits of the news media are sucking their thumbs and watching; here’s what one commentator had to say:
Geist further noted of Huckabee that if “someone without his charm,” said that, “he’d be dismissed as a crackpot, but he’s Mike Huckabee and he’s basically the front-runner.”
Popularity excuses all affronts, I guess. Did your mother ever ask you, “If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?”
I’m feeling a bit like I’m watching a whole country merrily running towards that cliff right now.
I beat poor Phil Plait in another of those “best science blog” awards. Of course, we both creamed Ars Technica, Gizmodo, and Endgadget — those guys must not have even noticed the competition. Hey, I barely did.
Hagfish are wonderful, beautiful, interesting animals. They are particularly attractive to evolutionary biologists because they have some very suggestive features that look primitive: they have no jaws, and they have no pectoral girdle or paired pectoral fins. They have very poorly developed eyes, no epiphysis, and only one semicircular canal; lampreys, while also lacking jaws, at least have good eyes and two semicircular canals. How hagfish fit into the evolutionary tree is still an open question, however.
It’s a good thing that Minnesota Atheists are making an effort to get on the radio. Have you ever looked at the Christian talk radio programming in your area? It’s like a black hole of rampaging stupid, so awfully banal and inane that it’s terrifying. I was just sent the program guide for our major Minneapolis Christian talk station — KKMS, AM980 — and it offers a rather creepy view of their perspective. There are some surprises, though. Guess what venue the big time Intelligent Design creationists use to spread their ideas?
Tuesday
3:00 Hour – “The KKMS Ministry of the Month” – Dr. John MacArthur, Host of the Grace to You Radio Program will tell us about the history of his ministry and how we can be praying for him as we celebrate the KKMS Ministry of the Month.4:00 Hour – “Understanding the End Times” – R. Paul Stevens, Professor of Martketplace Theology and Leadership at Regent College will walk us through a Bible study he has written that explores the end times and offer some points to consider when studying this topic.
5:00 Hour – “The Creation Museum” – Ken Ham, Founder and President of Answers in Genesis will give us details on how many people have attended the new Creation Museum in Cincinnati, OH so far and how what they’ve seen and experienced there has impacted them.
Wednesday:
3:00 Hour – “Understanding the Times” – Jan Markell, Founder of Olive Tree Ministries
4:00 Hour – “Great Getaways” – Jeanie Johnston, Heartland Tours and Travel Group Sales Director
5:00 Hour – “12 Great Choices Mom’s Make” – Robin Chaddock, Teacher and AuthorThursday:
3:00 Hour – “Responding to Atheists” – Becky Garrison, Senior Contributing Editor for The Wittenburg Door Magazine
5:00 Hour – “Ministering Through Music” – David Olson, Worship Leader for The Gathering at Wooddale ChurchFriday:
3:00 Hour – “The Limits of Darwinism” – Dr. Michael Behe, Professor of Biological Sciences at Lehigh University
4:00 Hour – “The KKMS Church of the Week” – Pastor Tim Skramstad, Pastor of Living Word Lutheran Church in Eagan, MN
5:00 Hour – “Movie Reviews” – Linda Thomas, Twin Cities Film CriticMonday:
3:00 Hour – “The KKMS Church of the Week” – TBA
4:00 Hour – “Terrorism, Christianity and Football” – Jason Elam, Kicker for the Denver Broncos and Steve Yohn, Youth for Christ Videographer
5:00 Hour – “Facts about Intelligent Design” – William A. Dembski, Research Professor in Philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
I’m tempted to listen in on a few of those segments, although honestly, the limited exposure to this kind of crap I’ve had in the past does not benefit my blood pressure, and it really ought to be the obligation of non-atheist moderate Christians to be putting these kooks’ feet to the fire. Not that they will.
By the way, their site has an online poll to see who their listeners would vote for in the presidential election — Huckabee, of course, has an overwhelming lead, while Clinton, of course, is dead last. I urge you all to really screw with their heads and go vote.
If you really want to screw with their heads, though, listen to them or your local Christian talk station and call in … and be polite, rational, and undeluded.
I listened in for a few minutes — and managed to catch the hosts complaining that we were “ruining their poll” and “running up the votes”. They also said they thought about mentioning the url to this article, but … you little savages used naughty language. Now go wash your mouths out with soap and sit in the corner until you repent.
