your morning dose of would-be martyrdom
Argument from a persecution complex is not a persuasive way to defend creationism. Or anything, for that matter...
November was a slow month for this blog, partially because of work obligations, and partially because yours truly finally had to take a few sick days as real world stress and viruses caught up with the blogging. But now, there's another month and that means we have a chance to ramp back up to Weird Things' normal output. In that spirit, let's get started by looking back at a post from last year about a creationist organization's attempt to offer M.S. degrees in creationism, an attempt that subsequently didn't work out for it. After more than an entire year and over 200 comments, there's still an occasional reply being left, and the last one opens with a frequent complaint about science blogs that makes me want to faceplam and headdesk simultaneously…
I am a Christian (and I know I'm going to get bashed for it), and I do think that this degree is just unrealistic and shouldn't actually be offered. Had to say that just to clarify one argument [ … ] You will still have the ignorant creationists say "but it's still just a theory," but it isn't my view. I believe that we cannot take things so literally and the work of God is all interpretation for each individual.
Now I'm not sure if the feat of angst I described is possible, but if it is, I'm pretty sure it would result in at least a mild concussion. And here's why this opening line gets to me. I really don't care about your religious beliefs and what you choose to do with them. Your beliefs are your choices, you're free to make them, and I would not bash you for them, and neither would the vast majority of my readers. But when you immediately play martyr at the slightest sign that someone may not agree with you, or when you say ridiculous things, yeah, you're going to get some criticism. And you know what? You're going to have to live with that because the same right which allows you not to be prosecuted for your beliefs allows those who disagree with you to criticize your views. And if you see the very act of disagreement as persecution, you need to step outside your fuzzy echo chamber and grow some thicker skin because we're willing to take your criticisms and expect you to be able to take ours as something to reply to in detail, not to shrink away from while claiming you've been wrong because someone's comment didn't agree with your personal beliefs and utterances. Utterances like…
And to those who group all creationists as one, you are just proving your ignorance. That is like saying since Obama did not do well as president all liberals are awful presidents. And if you look at history that's not true. So you cannot just group masses of people together.
Not only is the analogy flawed since Obama is only halfway into his first term so the jury on how well he did is still not even extant, much less out, but it misses the whole point of the argument. Creationists make flawed arguments which try to find evidence to justify their beliefs rather than come to a conclusion based on where the evidence actually leads them. It doesn't matter how scientifically sophisticated a creationist is or claims to be, the whole idea is wrong from top to bottom unless the existence of a deity can be proven with observation and tangible evidence of that deity itself. Creationists are united in the core idea they try to argue and that idea defines who they are. Lumping them in one group is a perfectly fair game because when we get to the bottom of what makes them creationists, we'll see that they propose the same thing, just in different ways. And sure, you can likewise lump all those arguing the merits of evolution together because we propose the same basic idea; the idea that the scientific framework underlying all of modern biology is correct, and that messing with it because creationists are upset that their personal beliefs didn't get confirmed by it only corrupts science.
