Archive for the ‘Atheism’ Category
Creation Guys Episode #003: “Intellectual Honesty”
On May 02, 2008 in Atheism, In the News, Science Related
Unfortunately, many people involved feel it is acceptable to ridicule and demean the character of their colleagues over what their views regarding cosmogony and the origin and diversification of life are.
Richard Dawkins stated that “It is absolutely safe to say that if you meet somebody who claims not to believe in evolution, that person is ignorant, stupid or insane (or wicked, but I’d rather not consider that).” Statements like this are not honest, and are rather immature.
Join us in this episode as we cover Intellectual Honesty, and the current state of the Origins Debate.
Efforts of the National Center for Stupid Explanations (NCSE)
On April 16, 2008 in Atheism, In the News
Well, those idiots over at the NCSE in Berkeley are at it again. Seems like they’re pretty upset over all the attention Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed is getting. If I’m not mistaken, their mascot Eugenie Scott was actually interviewed in the video showing how foolish her views are.
So what was Plan B for the NCSE? Make a ridiculous video, put it on the internets, and let the kiddies eat it up.
So I was on Digg yesterday and I came across a new video submission that was getting pretty popular pretty quickly, “Science Teacher Fired for Not Teaching Creationism.” I thought this title sounded awfully bizarre, considering the fact that NO TEACHER IN AMERICA is legally required to teach Creation. I mean, this isn’t 1925 is it? People get fired for refusing to teach Evolution today, not Creation.
So I watched the video. It singles a woman by the name of Chris Castillo-Comer, the ex Director of Science in Texas. She apparently feels like she was fired for “not remaining neutral over creationism.” So obviously she feels as though she’s been martyred for her commitment to Lord Darwin!
This still didn’t seem right to me, something else had to be at play in this. Once the video was over, It all made sense. The closing credits awarded all attention to the National Center for Science and Education - a small store-front building in Berkeley. Little presence, big name. By the way, my new name is King Jonathan the Greatness of All That Is Mighty and Awesome.
So I started doing a little more digging, and I finally came across the actual memorandum Comer’s Boss wrote requesting her termination. The memorandum, oddly enough, was hosted on NCSE’s server.
The memorandum states, “I [Monica Martinez through Sharon Jackson] propose to terminate the employment of Chris Castillo-Comer due to misconduct and insubordination. Ms. Comer has engaged in a series of incidents evidencing a serious lack of good judgment and failure to follow agency policies and supervisory directives.”
Whoa, wait a second, a “series of incidents” doesn’t seem to line-up with “Sniff, Sniff, I was fired, Sniff, for not loving Creationism.”
The Memorandum goes on to say, “As the Director of Science, Ms. Comer should understand that it is her job to explain law and rule regarding the science Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), but not cross the line into providing guidance or opinions about instructional methodology or any other matters about which we have no statutory authority.”
So this lady is in trouble for violating her contractual job description. Her job is to make sure TEKS adheres to what they are legally supposed to adhere to, but not to jump aside and promote/demote any type of ideology unless it conflicts with the relevant laws.
No we’re getting somewhere.
Continuing, “It is essential that Ms. Comer support the integrity of the upcoming TEKS development and revision process and ensure that it does not appear in any way that she is advocating for any given position or stance. Ms. Comer should be well aware of her role in the TEKS revision process and the need to maintain neutrality based on the guidance provided by agency management and division procedures as well as numerous meetings and discussions on this topic.”
So her job is to make sure the TEKS development adheres to the laws of Texas, and not her own personal agenda. Appears also that she had plenty of warning also about what she is to do, and not to do according to many meetings and discussions - she can’t plead ignorance…unless she’s just really ignorant.
If you read the Memorandum, you’ll see that it basically boils down to this. Comer isn’t allowed to do anything in her professional capacity that is:
A) Illegal, or contrary to her job description
B) Done without the prior approval of her agency/employer.
As I write this there are currently around 1,300 comments. And practically all of them resemble “bah, stupid creationists dummies! Science is fact and religion sucks.” Not a single one of these guys wanted to investigate a little further, or else they would have seen that the NCSE is full of crap, and this Ms. Comer is an idiot with an agenda.
What the heck is wrong with the world today? Why don’t people question their own beliefs, and investigate claims made by others? I mean, come on. Even if you’re a Christian, Muslim, or Jew investigate your own beliefs! If you’re an atheist or evolutionist, investigate your own beliefs!
I submit the solution to all of the world’s problems: seek truth, question everything, and don’t be lazy. If this model was enforced by every thinking mind on Earth, we would have far less comments on this digg-submission, and practically all would say “She was fired for insubordination and illegal activity. Not for ‘not teaching Creationism’.”
Link Summary
When Atheists say Stupid Things
On January 19, 2008 in Atheism, Feedback
I’ve been going back-and-forth in the comments of a recent post with an Atheist named Kenny. Initially Kenny seemed like a pretty smart guy. Cool, calm, and collected. But the more he wrote, and the more I responded, it seems almost as though he’s losing his ability to maintain a rational discussion, and has lately began saying some very silly things.
I wanted to take two quotes from one of his recent responses and demonstrate the illogical nature and weak convincing that they reveal.
Intelligent Design does not have the means to prove itself. It does very well when it can present flashy formulas to someone who didn’t pass high school algebra. However, when it does that to an actual mathematician, it fails.
This allegation make a very convincing case that either the person making the claim is willing to lie in order to further his or her belief-system, or the person doesn’t take their belief-system serious enough to be intellectually honest during discussions.
Just a moment of investigation would reveal that one of the major proponents of Intelligent Design, Dr. William Dembski, in fact holds multiple degrees in Mathematics, including a Ph.D., and a Masters from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Additionally, Dr. John Lennox (a name that is becoming even more popular following his debate with Popular Atheist, Richard Dawkins), an Oxford Professor of Mathematics.
The list could go on and on, but it isn’t necessary. Like I said, I cannot trust a person when they make claims like this, because it reveals that they are either lazy, stupid, or don’t even take their own beliefs serious.
It is well known that no matter what evidence is produced, Christians will not accept Evolution.
This statement resembles the last in that it reveals an extreme negligence, stupidity, or the willingness to lie in order to further ones position. It’s a well-known fact that many prominent Evolutionists claim to have been Christians in the past. I could pick one that might shock you, but Charles Darwin would apply. After all, he initially has hopes of being a Preacher. Yet the doctrines of Uniformitarianism and Evolution persuaded him that his life would be spent better pursuing other beliefs.
More recently would be the Editor of Skeptic Magazine, Dr. Michael Shermer who also claims to have been a Christian until learning the beauty of Evolution in explaining the World around him.
If it’s true that Michael Shermer, and Darwin were indeed Christians converted to Atheism via Evolution, then the author of these claims is a liar, lazy, or plain stupid. If Shermer and Darwin were liars, and never really followed the Christian world view, then they are liars, and cannot be trusted.
Making statements like these sets up the speaker for a lose/lose result.
My advice to Atheists out there is this, if you want to be taken seriously, you must first take yourself serious, and always be intellectually honest in your claims and pursuits.
