Talking about creationism

We've had conversations before, here, about this topic, especially in the context of school. We've spoken about how to deal with students who are trying very hard to push creationism in the classroom, where you are the teacher. We've spoken about what a parent of a student in school might like to do. And now, here's an item on what can go right and wrong when this or related topics come up at your place of work.

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Need I say anymore?

NJ is so right. Everyone should listen to "Selling England by the Pound"

By Chuck Nelson (not verified) on 11 Apr 2012 #permalink

NJ - please tell me, based on the "ultimate history", were animals created before humans (Genesis 2:18-19) or after humans (Genesis 1:25-27)?

NJ: "Humans are set apart from the animals. We are higher. We have a soul, animals do not., We are and will be accountable to our Creator on judgement day, animals will not. We are made lower than the angels but higher than the animal kingdon, made in God's own image."

So your opposition to evolution is, I take it, faith based? As long as that's clear we can dispense with the charade of an 'alternative scientific explanation' like creationism, intelligent design, etc.

Love this phrase NJ: "confused atheist/secular depressive"

All four of those terms would describe me at various points, but blurring them together obscures some important casual associations between the four enumerated states-- I'm an atheist who is always confused by the stunning ignorance, to the point of delusion, of religious zealots. I'm utterly secular in my view of governance, and see the Constitution as the shining example of how to found a rational, just secular nation, so I get depressed when religious zealots try to impose their infantile mythology on the body politic.

perhaps we can clear up some of your confusion, NJ

You're a primate like the rest of us. You're an insecure, self-loathing primate, so you feel this compulsion to deny the reality of your nature, and have this insatiable need to consider yourself 'better'; accordingly, you want everyone to recognize and celebrate the specialness bequeathed to you by your omniscent, omnipresent, omnipotent progenitor(who wouldn't want that?).

Is that more or less it?

By phillydoug (not verified) on 12 Apr 2012 #permalink

"We are higher. We have a soul, animals do not."

I have looked at the feet of many a mammal, and every one of them has had a sole.

PS Giraffes are the highest animals, we're really quite low down when you think about it.

Chuck@3, Susan@4, phillydoug@5:

Sorry to tell you that you have been a bit hoaxed. The person who posted the disturbed screed @2 is Rob Hood, an undertreated mental patient who frequents a number of blogs here at SB. He originally posted under his real name until some of us visited his actual blog and found that, in addition to being a YEC, he is an antivaccine nut (terribly afraid of aluminum, you see), rants against "flouride" and HAARP and assorted other lunacies. He then began posting under a wide variety of 'nyms.

Once I started recognizing his tells (secular depressive/oppressive is a common one), I began offering responses outing him. He then began to post using my 'nym as either an attempt to upset me (more amusing than upsetting) or to try an leave a trail of craziness with my fingerprint.

A great many of the visitors to the blogs he frequents now recognize this and call him out as well. When the gracious host of this blog discovers Rob has tried the tactic again, he will delete or edit the post accordingly.

If you decide to return, you may be treated to Rob posting a response to me consisting of edited comments I have made about him. Clear proof that our healthcare system is failing people like him...

Humans are not more "advanced" biologically than other animals. We are not set apart. We don't have souls. We have consciousness and a form of communications to share our experiences and thoughts in ways that other animals have not. Genesis is a story, or rather a collection of stories about how the creator created a race of animals that he knew would fail to please him and he punished them for it. And continues to punish them, and the religion that is associated with Genesis sends the message that no matter what we do, we are never worthy of our creator. Except, of course, if we take up his weird form of "salvation." We are sinners not because of what we do or have done, but what two people supposedly did 6000 years ago.

They were curious, and the creator threw a humongous fit and doomed billions of souls to eternal torment.

If I am confused on this, please tell me where, JL.

Hmmm...

I (the real NJ, not the mentally ill Rob Hood who occasionally posts under my 'nym as above) posted a detailed comment yesterday afternoon that explained to Chuck, Susan and phillydoug what was going on, but it is apparently still in moderation.

Sorry, moderated comments (and why they are moderated is often a mystery to me) have been hanging longer than usual because I've been swamped with campaign related activities over the last few days. I think it should be free now.

What the heck is a 'soul'?

Sounds to me like a lame, primitive attempt to catagorize the experience of being alive as being some sort of 'thing', vigorously defended, of course, by a lot of high falutin', self aggrandizing, pious language and manipulative histrionics. Because once mythology becomes religion, we dun gotta slather it up with lots o' dogma and portentous hand waving to control the masses.

Gullibles of the world unite! Joy! Joy! Wallow in luxurious, self-indulgent glory!

By I. Snarlalot (not verified) on 13 Apr 2012 #permalink

"PS Giraffes are the highest animals, we're really quite low down when you think about it."

I'm half an inch shy of six foot. For a multicellular organism I'm well on the high side.

I also have two soles. However I suspect they're not immortal.

Chuck@3, Susan@4, phillydoug@5:

Sorry to tell you that you have NOT been hoaxed. The person who posted the disturbed screed @2 is Willie Flowers, an undertreated mental patient and overdosed Fluoride victim who frequents a number of blogs here at SB. He originally posted under his Candianess. in addition to being a nut, he is an vaccine slurper (terribly addicted to aluminum, you see), rants against "Rob Hood men in Tights" and assorted other lunacies. He then began posting under his bed.

Once I started recognizing his tells (addition to Robin Hood is a common one), I began offering responses outing him. He then began to puster using all his resources as either an attempt to upset me (more amusing than upsetting) or to try an leave a trail of craziness with my fingerprint.

A great many of the visitors to the blogs he frequents now recognize this and call him out as well. When the gracious host of this blog discovers NJ the sacred Canadian fluoride victim has tried the tactic again, he will delete or edit the post accordingly.

If you decide to return, you may be treated to Candian fluoride addict posting a response to me consisting of edited comments I have made about him. Clear proof that our government mandated Obama healthcare system is failing people crosscountry....

PS. the canadian fluoride addict is the hairiest hominid in North America. It could be from the all the miracle grow he puts in his fluoride water.

Me@7:

If you decide to return, you may be treated to Rob posting a response to me consisting of edited comments I have made about him. Clear proof that our healthcare system is failing people like him...

"NJ"@13, 14 aka Rob Hood the undertreated mentally ill denizen who haunts SB:

{edited version of my post}

It doesn't require much prescience to predict the outcome of flipping a two-headed coin. Even less to predict what Rob will do.

"NJ"@16 aka Rob Hood the undertreated mentally ill denizen who haunts SB:

{Yet another edited version of one of my posts}

You've been offline for a few days, Rob! It took you a while to repeat your grade-school level aping of what I enter. Perhaps someone in your family managed to get some meds into you for a while...

Harry Palmer @ 20:

I do not understand the fuss here. Which is the real NJ? Can someone explain? What does this childish argument have to do with the post?

Rob Hood is a mentally ill person, ostensibly from Mississippi, who originally posted at this and other blogs under his real name with links back to his own blog. When some of us followed the links, we found a YEC with issues about vaccination, water fluoridation, the HAARP project, FEMA concentration camps and US socialism.

In short, a kook.

When these issues were brought up in response to his posts, he began to sockpuppet under a variety of names. Sadly for him, his innate illness would show through (as you have seen) and a number of SB commenters would call him out.

Since I have been persistent in identifying his posts (and thereby making sure that random readers/searchers could check out his oeuvre), he has taken to using my 'nym, often copying and editing my comments into childish insults that he seems to think will somehow wound or discredit me.

Of course, after a while few readers mistake his 'style' for mine, and Rob fails to realize that the joke is on him. Eventually we expect him to suffer a complete break and be involuntarily committed.

The name you get in the "Posted By" is merely something you type in.

Indeed, there could be thousands of people using the same monicker "NJ" without actually being malicious about it.

Now, knowing this, why does it matter WHO the "real NJ" is? Just approach each post as it is written. And when an NJ is posting complete lunacy, then treat it with the contempt that its complete lunacy deserves and if it is cogent (whether you agree or not), approach it appropriate to its content.

And let the "posted by" moniker mean as much as it signifies.

NOTE: Greg is the only one who can do anything about it.

Some inadequate little idiot has been shown wrong by NJ and therefore is on a vendetta against them. After all, if this pindick can't have any respect, why should anyone have it?