Ya gotta love the Creation Museum that recently opened in one of America’s true cultural and intellectual hotspots, Petersburg, Kentucky. As far as dumbing down religion, the beliefs espoused at this “museum” rank up there with the Catholic Church’s long-held assertion that the sun revolves around the Earth.
Believe it or not, there are intelligent and educated creationists who actually acknowledge that the Earth is more than 6,000 years old. Rather than deny the validity of proven scientific techniques such as carbon dating, they look for ways to reconcile their strong Christian beliefs with the large base of archaeological and anthropological evidence that shows our planet to be millions of years old.
Like televangelists and Christian Coalition rhetoric, the Creation Museum is geared towards the lowest common denominator amongst Christians, and is either insulting, humorous, or both to those with an ability to read the Bible and think at the same time. The problem with evangelicals is that most are too lazy or lack the education to pick up the Bible and develop their own understanding of what it says without having it spoon-fed by a charismatic preacher in an Armani suit, or the help of a Christian theme park.
As an example, most backwoods Christians think that a “day” from the perspective of Creation means 24 hours. Many educated creationists point out that a “day” of Creation time could actually translate to millions or billions of years, and that the Bible does not specify Creation as being a finite process. With these constraints removed, reconciliation of science and the Bible is possible if one considers that evolution is an ongoing process used to implement Creation. Unfortunately, most evangelicals are too brainwashed to accept that possibility even if they could understand it.
So what’s my point here? It’s that religion has become so dumbed down in this era of mass media and technology that we have lost our ability to develop our own understanding of, and relationship with, God. We rely on snake oil salesmen like Jerry Falwell to spoon-feed us their interpretation of the Holy Scripture and blindly accept whatever we are told. It is this type of blind acceptance that Islamic fundamentalists use to convince uneducated and naïve young people to carry out their evil bidding of suicide bombs and murder, and is why religious fundamentalism of any kind is so dangerous.
Once we give up our willingness to read and understand the Bible for ourselves we cede control of an important aspect of our life to another. If this isn’t a reason to fight hard for secularism then I don’t know what is.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - RayJ
no one has seen one "kind" of animal change to another. Science is seeing/witnessed. Many witnessed Jesus many witnessed genesis accounts
many archeologists has found cities and evidence that what was written in genesis did happen from flood to jericho...to sodom.....I can go on
but macroevolution...never has been witnessed more faith required there than in genesis.
the 6000 yrs and 7 days....is hard for some of you I know but don't let that problem keep you from opening your heart to the bible.
absolute
why is the earth placed perfectly where it is and if anything happened we would be destroyed. No scientist can tell you who the lawgiver is. They search space for millions of miles hope to find life.
Isaiah45:18 written long ago says
For this is what the LORD says--
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited--
he says:
"I am the LORD,
and there is no other.
NARCISSISM
the tendency to perceive the self as all-powerful and important and therefore entitled to criticize or belittle others, this individual often gives the impression of being vain and arrogant.
I have not belittled anyone here I have not been vain Weakness is knowing God is all powerful, and I am nothing Yes I'm weak God is good
Jesus is my Lord
SODAM AND GOMORRAH
Is this just a story? Archeologist thought so till they found remnants right where the bible said several cities exist. not only that they found deposits of sulfur on the rooftops just like God said in his word. and there is more They discovered a fualt line and determined that a catestrophic event took place. this was located near the dead sea. the pillar of salt is thought to have originated from the fact that the most likely escape was near the sea where waves must have been huge. The felt that Lots' wife easily could have been washed away by a salt wave thus a pillar of salt. GO AHEAD JUST GOOGLE SODOM AND GOMORRAH
2 - Elroy Balgaard
I am probably just throwing pearls to swine: They have also discovered Noa's Arc on Mount Ararat
Pharoe's Chariots at the bottom of the Red Sea
3 - Yabosi
Wow...looks like I ruffled a few panties here.
Please note that my article doesn't say that the Bible is a pack of lies, but does point out that those who submit to being spoon-fed fundamentalist/literal intrepretations by televangelists and others who claim to know the Bible's truth and context are fools in my humble opinion.
It's also important to note that views of creationists can vary broadly, and there are those who are able to remove the artificial/fundamentalist constraints put in place by staunch evangelicals as they attempt to reconcile science and Scripture.
If someone like Jerry Falwell tells you that based on his interpretation of the Holy Scripture that he quotes and interprets for you, and his conversations with God via prayer, the sun does revolve around the earth, and that all opposing scientific and visual evidence is just an illusion created by Satan in order to tempt us away from seeing the truth, would you believe him?
-- Yabosi
4 - SteveS
Well he did say that Hurricane Katrina was Gods wrath against liberalism and many Creationists seem to believe him.
5 - Kristi
"With these constraints removed, reconciliation of science and the Bible is possible if one considers that evolution is an ongoing process used to implement Creation."
Yes I agree. I'd like to think Science and Religion are getting closer to walking hand in hand.
I was raised Catholic and still attend Mass and worship within the Christian faith. It's what I am comfortable with. However, I've learned to look at the bigger picture, and to have an open mind. I have respect for other religions and respect for science.
This is my belief: Darwin's Evolution is a way of explaining God's creation process. Why not?
6 - Leslie Bohn
Because there's no evidence for the existence of gods.
7 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
#5 " May 31, 2007 @ 15:06PM " Kristi
"This is my belief: Darwin's Evolution is a way of explaining God's creation process. Why not?"
#6 " May 31, 2007 @ 15:15PM " Leslie Bohn
"Because there's no evidence for the existence of gods."
Les, you sound like you are right up (or down) there with the Bible thumping evangelicals.
The cell on the end of a finger cannot "prove" the existence of an arm or a shoulder. That is why you cannot "prove" G-d's existence. You can construct a paradigm that allows for such a possibility. That is as far as science can go. But logic on that level is way beyond you and the other militant atheists around here. Go join Dawkins (or whatever his name is) and all the others in his "amen corner".
8 - Was Interested
The title with "Morons" ended interest for me in this. Would your rather be a moron or someone who looks down upon other people and calls them moron.
It seems as though, this person sets themselves up high on a pedestal for being more "Intellectual" and then ruins themselves by belittling others.
So on one side we have "dumb little ignorant blind followers" on the other hand we have "judgemental, belittling, better than you because I believe differently". 1-1.
9 - Leslie Bohn
One can also construct a paradigm that allows for the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Ruvy.
10 - Guest
A cell has no brain and isn't capable of rational thought. I don't think that is an accurate analogy.
#8, the definition of moron is foolish or lacking in judgement. People who believe in the literal interpretation of Creationism certainly fit that category because they disregard generations of research that even the Pope acknowledges has validity.
And they are also tools at the hands of those who go around promoting Creationism (not all of who probably believe it). It is simply an agenda to instill religion into the public school system.
11 - Elroy Balgaard
That cell at the end of your pinky contains A DNA strand of genetic code that is more complicated than Windows Vista. If you have eyes to see and ears to hear and a brain to think, this is proof of a Super Intellegent Creator or God.
12 - Guest
Really? I thought that was a booger.
13 - Anonymous
Couldn't it be proof of a superior alien race that created life on this planet? Perhaps they created dinosaurs, but didn't like the way things were turning out, so just blasted the earth and started over.
Sorry, I still don't see proof of God.
14 - Elroy Balgaard
#5 -- May 31, 2007 @ 15:06PM -- Kristi
"This is my belief: Darwin's Evolution is a way of explaining God's creation process. Why not?"
Darwin thought that too, a statement like that was in his original "Origin of Species" on the last page. That statement plus other references to God were removed in the "Revised Origin of Species" which we read today.
By the way Darwin was a racist. The Original title of "Origin of Species" was "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." Also read "Voyage of the Beagle" or "The Descent of Man" he viewed other races as different species.
Hitler was greatly influenced by Darwin that is how he came up with the "Arian Race'. Stalin too was influenced by Darwin.
15 - Elroy Balgaard
Couldn't it be proof of a superior alien race that created life on this planet? Perhaps they created dinosaurs, but didn't like the way things were turning out, so just blasted the earth and started over.
Your right! God is the "Ultimate Superior Alien" and he didn't like the way things turned out so he destoyed it with the flood.
16 - Anonymous
Why can't your God get it right the first time?
17 - zingzing
"If you have eyes to see and ears to hear and a brain to think, this is proof of a Super Intellegent Creator or God."
how so? although, i'll grant you that those things are what was needed for us to create a religion and a god, and to be persuaded by it.
18 - Elroy Balgaard
Why can't your God get it right the first time?
Well actually he did, the Garden of Eden was perfect, then "Sin" came into the world.
19 - zingzing
"Why can't your God get it right the first time?"
BAM! oh my.
20 - zingzing
the garden of eden is a metaphor.
21 - Elroy Balgaard
how so? although, i'll grant you that those things are what was needed for us to create a religion and a god, and to be persuaded by it.
If you were walking through the wood and stumbled over a computer running Windows Vista, you would assume that this was created by an intelligent creator.
Our human bodies are infinitely more complicated then that Dell computer yet we think we are just a result of random chance.
22 - zingzing
windows vista was developed by trial and error over the course of a few years.
humans were developed by trial and error over the course of millions of years.
of course one would assume that any man-made object was created by an intelligent creator, as long as one considers man "intelligent." so i really don't get your point.
nature is quite capable of making "decisions" based on trial and error. that something complex should develop over a vast amount of time is not that hard to comprehend.
at least, it's no harder to comprehend than a single, unknowable entity that floats (or whatever it does) in an unknown place (heaven?) doing unknown (mysterious) things and one day deciding to create the universe... yeah...
23 - Elroy Balgaard
the garden of eden is a metaphor.
Yeah, and so is the Flood, and the Parting of the Red Sea and the Ark of the Covenant and the 10 commandments and Jesus's resurrection from the dead.
How could Jesus be the second Adam if there was no original Adam? Not to mention the Bible mentions Jesus's lineage all the way to Adam.
The "Human Genome Project" recently determined that all of mankind came from one set of parents less than 20,000 years ago.
24 - SteveS
If you were walking through the wood and stumbled over a computer running Windows Vista, you would assume that this was created by an intelligent creator.
HA. I assume no such thing.
Evolution doesn't teach that we are the result of random chance, it teaches that we are the result of trial and error.
Also, the dinosaurs died out millions of years before the flood, not during the flood as your insinuation (in comment 15). So why did God create dinosaurs, then wipe them out, then start over? That sounds like something more fallible, like an advanced species would do.
25 - Anonymous
The "Human Genome Project" recently determined that all of mankind came from one set of parents less than 20,000 years ago.
And have you seen those parents represented in pictures? They are evolved from apes. And of course since there are NO dinosaur fossils that recent, you have just proven the Creation Museum to be a big hoax.