I have been remiss - I completely missed this thread, and here’s everyone saying nice things (and LJ saying fuck knuckle and suchlike)  to our friends, the trolls, of whom Consi’s quote regarding “the comparatively vacant mind” seems most apt.

Consigliere: Surely the same philosphies employed by others with you, here, merit imitation.

Hear hear!

Weston Miller: Thats because i didn’t use any question marks.  I didn’t proof read it. Sorry(like it makes a difference, if you can’t tell when its a question with out a question mark, go back to school)

Weston, proofreading isn’t just for breakfast anymore.  And it certainly makes a difference to me that one displays at least a modicum of interest in clearly articulating one’s ideas.  Without that, one might come across, I don’t know, as naive maybe?  If you had a question, then prove it and ask away.

Sexy Sadie: Furthermore, creationism is hardly a scientific theory. At best it is a belief that has no supporting evidence; at worst it is a silly delusion. Either way it does not merit consideration or respect.

I wouldn’t say “hardly”.  I would say “not”.  Creationism is not a scientific theory, but rather a philosophical position that assumes the universe was created by some sort of supreme being.  There are account of creation in just about all the texts of the various major and minor religions, though most of our trolls clearly refer to the Christian creation fable when they speak of creationism.

While the belief may seem silly, you cannot deny that it’s something that’s held deeply as an article of faith for millions of Americans, and many millions more around the world.  Respect it or not, but when millions and millions of people get an idea into their little heads, they not going to change their minds just because someone waves a bunch of better ideas in front of them.  Nosiree.  They’ll hang on with all their might, and denounce the better ideas as dangerous and evil.  Sound familiar?

For me, I respect their tenacity.  I feel that creationists are like dogs chasing after cars:  Sure, they can sink their teeth in, but the car doesn’t care, and all the while the neighborhood kids are watching, waiting, because they know it’s all going to end badly for the dog. 

LJ: Fuck Knuckle.

I love that one - it’s going in my bag of cusses, right next to fuck tard.

Time for another reminder:

The Clergy Letter Project

That’s 10.000 clergy signatures in support of the theory of evolution:

Within the community of Christian believers there are areas of dispute and disagreement, including the proper way to interpret Holy Scripture. While virtually all Christians take the Bible seriously and hold it to be authoritative in matters of faith and practice, the overwhelming majority do not read the Bible literally, as they would a science textbook. Many of the beloved stories found in the Bible – the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark – convey timeless truths about God, human beings, and the proper relationship between Creator and creation expressed in the only form capable of transmitting these truths from generation to generation. Religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth. Its purpose is not to convey scientific information but to transform hearts.

We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to treat it as “one theory among others” is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children. We believe that among God’s good gifts are human minds capable of critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the will of our Creator. To argue that God’s loving plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris. We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge. We ask that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth.

Too bad that PZ Myers wants nothing to do with these 10.000 signatories - that would be appeasement. If I understand him correctly, of course.

Further, religious believers have not cornered the market on rejecting evolution.

the native americans also believed that “god"put them here, and science tried to tell them they were wrong, but i think if christians want to believe god put them here, then they can believe what they want to. i noticed that god believers that visit this site are very obnoxious, and annoying, and i don’t know why they bother to come here, i don’t visit christian sites. anyway, i was reading the part in the bible about creationism, and it is ridiculous to., but whatever., believe what makes you happy, i guess.
weston miller- we don’t try to get you to believe what we do, like christians do do people,
i also find it ammusing when a religious person comes here and tells us we are going to hell. saying that to an atheist is like telling us the boogeyman will get us.

Uh, jory, while I have my doubts about WM’s sincerity about his willingness to learn, his motivation for coming here, and his capability to internalize whatever he might learn, I do not recall conversion attempts or threats of hellfire. Of course, it might just go to show how much attention I pay to creationists.

did you even graduate high school red neck??

And another signal-free fanboy post…

I like the irony from the fact that he’s challenging me (presumably) to prove I graduated high school when he’s using the typing skills of a five year old.