Blaming Evolution for Tragedy

[cbayer]

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2012/07/blaming-evolution-for-tragedy.html

July 21, 2012
By James F. McGrath
Associate Professor of Religion at Butler University in Indianapolis. Interests
include New Testament/Early Christianity, the Mandaeans, Religion and Science and
Religion and Science Fiction.


I am very disappointed that Rick Warren would use the occasion of the horrible tragedy in Aurora, Colorado to make an inane, stupid swipe at evolution. This poster with his tweet in the middle makes the point well:




Humans are observably like other animals on this planet: we are based on the same genetic code, we eat, we procreate, we breathe, and so on and so on.

But humans are also observably unique among animals on this planet: we are capable of writing blog posts and tweets, studying our origins and the deep history of our universe, and unfortunately also of concocting ways of constructing weapons that do great harm, and making laws that fail to address their widespread use in our society, and all of that (and much else besides) illustrates the extent to which we stand apart, unique among the living things on this planet. That some people like Rick Warren think that evolution denies this show just how poorly science is understood by many in our society.

more at link

[struggle4progress]

1. linkie

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2012/07/blaming-evolution-for-tragedy.html

[cbayer]

2. thank you for that

[cbayer]

3. More from McGrath

Why Rick Warren Is Wrong Several Times Over to Blame the Aurora Shooting on Evolution
July 21, 2012 By James F. McGrath


http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2012/07/why-rick-warren-is-wrong-several-times-over.html

I already posted today on Rick Warren's inaccurate as well as unhelpful tweet, blaming the tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado on teaching students that they “are no different than animals,” which seems to be a lame jibe at evolution, even though it shows a failure to grasp what biology actually says.

Warren is wrong about what evolution and other elements of modern biology say. We are animals, but no biologist I know of says that we are no different from the others. Indeed, the very act of biologists writing about us as animals sets our species apart from all other animals.

But Warren is also wrong about other things.

He is wrong to suggest a correlation between the teaching of evolution and mass murder. As a friend of mine pointed out on Facebook, the United States is weaker on the teaching of evolution, both in terms of the number of people who deny it and the number of biology teachers who skip it to avoid controversy, than any other major industrialized nation. We are, on the other hand, the leaders when it comes to the number of shooting deaths and mass murders that take place each year. There may be no actual connection between science education and shooting sprees, but if there were, it would presumably have to be due to our relative failure to teach evolution, rather than with our teaching it.

more at link

[skepticscott]

8. This is the same guy

that "liberal" and "progressive" religionists were so eager to welcome to Obama's first inauguration in the name of "diversity" and "inclusiveness", while all the time being told what a useless piece of hate-filled crap he was. Until such people start condemning filth like Warren without equivocation, they have no grounds to complain about their religion being "hijacked" by the religious right. If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

[2ndAmForComputers]

5. Hi & Bye.

[Laochtine]

6. Snake oil salesman

Can't be out of the limelight long or the money stream dries up. Pat Robertson jr.

[cbayer]

7. Agree He says what he has to to keep it going. And he's getting worse.