Let Sleeping Sheep Lie

I know I’ve been negligent in posting this week, but I have been working on a longish post that requires a lot of research.  In the meantime though I have decided to break my usual tradition of avoiding New Years resolutions.

Over the last week I have seen some completely baffling bullshit from people who identify themselves as Christian.  Against my better judgment I have entered into conversation with some of these people. 

This has got to stop.  I am wasting my time and there is no point in debating and issue with someone who will use the Bible as a source of authority. 

Over at BlogCatalog the simplest conversation can be hijacked by people who feel an overwhelming urge to cast aspersions on science for no other reason than to see their words in ‘print’. 

After one such person decided to argue that believing in the Theory of Evolution required an act of faith because its a "theory", I realized that nothing I can say will help that person see past their religiously indoctrinated views.  It  was this comment that did it:

kristilinauer You talk about evolution as if it’s scientific fact. Interesting….

It’s called the THEORY of Evolution. A scientific "theory" is "an accepted hypothesis", and a "hypothesis" is "an educated guess." So Evolution is nothing more than "an accepted educational guess."

Since evolution can’t be proven (which is why it’s not called a LAW), it takes a great deal of FAITH to believe in it.

After reading that, I did respond with a short explanation of how I felt that despite any flaws anyone can find in evolution, its still a better answer than  any alternative I have seen, including the Bible. 

Then Kristi responded by pasting the contents of this article: Scientific Hypothesis, Theory, Law Definitions. I suppose she felt that using  About.com as a definitive source honestly felt to her like an act of intellectual integrity.  In other comments, she had made clear that she felt both Wikipedia and the New York Times were sources that she rejected when quotes from those disagreed with her rigid views on issues.  The issue at that time was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  She had voiced frustration that while the US was expected to help out after any disaster like the Asian Tsunami, no other countries helped the US.  When she said " Yet when tragedy occurs within our own borders, I don’t see other countries lining up to help, as with Hurricane Katrina.", a blogger replied with links to Wikipedia and a New York Times story with this lead:

Hurricane Relief From Abroad Was Mishandled:   Confusion over how to handle the emergency supplies, offers of military assistance and $126 million in cash that poured in from foreign governments after Hurricane Katrina meant delays, and in some cases wasted opportunities, in aiding storm victims, federal officials acknowledged Thursday.  …

Thousands of ready-to-eat meals donated by governments, as well as loads of medicine, were never used, because officials learned only after they arrived in the United States that they did not meet federal health standards. Instead of distributing the supplies, the federal government spent $60,000 to store them.

(This is a very educational article that I highly recommend if you have time to read it.)

After reading her rejection of the New York Times, I couldn’t help hearing echoes of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Ann Coulter’s choral chants about the evil of the ‘liberal media’. 

This post is not about Kristi or any other "person of faith" who chooses to ignore facts in favor of articles of faith.  It’s about my difficulty in ignoring those people.  I am going to make a real effort to just ignore these kinds of statements no matter how much my fingers itch to respond. 

I grew up in an evangelical church and was taught the same things that Kristi and others like her were taught.  Over time I realized that a closed mind is a cold and hard place to inhabit.  I wish I could find the words to get everyone to at least open their minds to the world around us.  The world and all the life in it is so fascinating and ‘miraculous’ to me in both its rich complexity and its simple building blocks.  Why someone chooses to dumb down their senses and mind and emotions regarding the natural world is something I will never understand.  The best I can do is to not waste my own resources beating against a intellectual brick wall.