Jeremy Bruno is a tech writer who blogs about ecology, evolution, conservation and culture at The Voltage Gate. Visit the 
In the mood for some bogus ecology? Good. Brace for the truth, aka Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution:
It's all so easy! This intricate ecological system has to be driven not for its own success through a geological age, but for ours in a divine instant. How else would we know the joy of vanilla without God's guiding hand?
A sound argument from the Six Flags mascot.
They're selling the entire series of this worthless nonsense at our local Walmart. At least it's in the Christian section and not the... Oh, wait a minute. They don't have a documentary section. Hmm...
Comments
It beats the banana argument.
Posted by: John McKay | March 28, 2007 2:47 PM
Uh, if the creator *really* did this for his chosen people (pick a group, any group) to have had the Vanilla bean to enjoy, why the heck didn't he actually create this process, this symbiotic relationship, to happen in Europe or the Middle East so his chosen people could enjoy it?
Why did he put it into some obscure place 10,000 miles away where his chosen people would need to wait 1500 years after his son came along, or 5500 years after his supposed creation, in order to enjoy it?
Like every other "purpose" argument, this one totally dies as soon as you compare the alleged purpose with the reasonable, more intelligent, alternatives.
*sigh*
Posted by: Joe Shelby | March 28, 2007 3:09 PM
Posted by: Mustafa Mond, FCD | March 28, 2007 3:40 PM
Oh, oh, I know, I know...!
See, there was this Flood(tm), see, and it caused the land to brakes apartheids, see, so the vanilla and chocolates were separated by the rafts of kangaroos, so it tooks the inquisition to enslaves the atheists and disprove global warming else there wouldn't be chocolate vinalles. Stujpid eviluatishs can't see the beans.
Posted by: blf | March 28, 2007 5:52 PM
Umm, do you think we might reference this book here?
Darwin, C. R. 1862. On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing. London: John Murray.
Posted by: John Wilkins | March 28, 2007 7:56 PM
What a preposterous idea, John. Fertilised by insects indeed...
Posted by: Jeremy Bruno | March 29, 2007 1:19 AM
Vanilla, bananas, and dinosaur-edible coconuts... they add up to a coconut-banana cream pie to be thrown in the face of a clown! Thus, God exists, and enjoys slapstick.
Posted by: Jonathan Vos Post | March 29, 2007 2:06 PM
I received one of the DVD's through Netflix one day and it was absolutely horrible; not only do you get an overdose of pseudoscience, but a smarmy, annoying host that shows up to explain how crazy we evolutionists are between segments. The sad part is that there are more of these videos than there are good documentaries or science-education shows; where are Bill Nye or Beekman when you need them?
Posted by: Laelaps | March 29, 2007 4:38 PM