As I've said elsewhere, I think that the idea that creationists are master communicators is a myth; they are successful because they are tapping into a religious majority that is feeling antagonized and marginalized by secular culture. Even though most of the population of this country would identify themselves as Christians, some members of the faithful feel like they are continuously under attack by scientists, liberals, homosexuals, etc., their desire to "reclaim the country for Christ" being hindered by a minority of secular elitists.
Indeed, the film Expelled is little more than an illustration of this general feeling (which has also given rise to creation museums, Christian theme parks, megachurches, "Testamints," and Christian mini-golf courses, among other things), and a new essay by Elizabeth Castelli called "Persecution Complexes" digs in to what many of the faithful feel is a secular "war of Christians." It's long, but it is a must-read piece that effectively identifies the larger context of the creationism-evolution argument (even though such a connection is not explicitly stated in the piece).
[Hat-tip to Dispatches From the Culture Wars]
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Well if some group were going to climb up on the cross, it might as well be Christians.
I've been wondering lately whether the Christians have evolved this persecution complex, or if God designed them that way. /snark
Do you buy TestaMints with TestaMoney?
The Christian Persecution Complex - is it a building, can I sponsor a brick, advertise in the parking lot?
They're doing what worked in the past, it's how they got from being a small sect in Judaea to taking over Rome 300 years later - make a virtue of suffering a martyrdom. Martyrdon was called 'gaining your crown' and early Christians would greet each other with 'may you grain your crown'. Some actually solicited it, deliberately defying Roman authority knowing they would face grizzly ends.
They're just doing what worked in the past. Note the copycat behaviour by Islamists.