PZ and Dawkins have really blown it this time with their little plan to show up at an Expelled screening. PZ has made such a ruckus that he has ultimately provided even more controversy for the film, and that is sure to lure more people into the theatres. Chris and Matthew are keen enough to have thought this through. PZ, on the other hand, is still clueless to how he has played right into the hands of the Expelled production.
PZ tells Matthew:
"Fuck you very much, Matt. You know where you can stick your advice."
Hmmmm....this is all very interesting, but last night I was thinking that at times I wish I had never gotten involved in this debate. I think perhaps that first time I posted at the Kansas Citizens for Science forum may have been a mistake. Before that time, I had *NO* clue how much sheer hatred there was for religious thought...much of which comes from the scientific elite. As I started venturing out and reading additional blogs, forums, science articles, etc., the shock at what I found steadily increased. Many of these people have a deep seeded hatred for religious thought. I hate knowing that.
It has really been an eye opener, and the more I get involved, the more I realize what an awful state that science, religion, and the culture war is in. I try to tell myself that these bloggers and forum members are only a small part of the scientific community as a whole, yet from the things they write, it would seem that they have a lot of pull in getting what they want due to the fact that the majority of scientists are atheist, agnostic and strong naturalists like themselves. Our universities seem to cater to this secular/naturalist/agnostic view as well, so religion is viewed as a detriment within the walls of academia.
I think PZ, Dawkins, Genie, and many others are ultimately going to do severe damage to science by rejecting ID. PZ & Dawkins especially have such a *large* atheist following that they believe they can do no wrong. They seem to feel that everyone supports whatever they do, so they feel this latest little episode will lead the general public to view IDists as liars and frauds.
I think they are missing a very, very important point here...one that is going to really hurt them in the long run. Most of the US is comprised of people who believe that there is an intelligent source ultimately responsible for the creation of the universe. Most people, even though many may not attend church every Sunday, adhere to a particular faith belief. In the bigger picture, PZ's minions are a very small part of the population, and the only reason he and his ilk have been able to reign supreme over how science is going to be taught is because most people in the US really have no clue about the issues in this debate either because they aren't really interested or they have been misinformed by the scientific community and the media in regard to what ID really entails.
When the public eventually becomes more informed in regard to what ID encompasses, I'm afraid that the PZ's of the world are going to be in for a world of hurt. ID is not religion, and people will come to realize that. They are also not going to be impressed with his sheer hatred for religion and his belief that eradicating it from the public square is a commendable goal. Listening to him and Dawkins in that short clip I linked to earlier almost made me physically ill, and believe me, it will have that same affect on most Americans.
Personally, I think PZ and Dawkins are so full of themselves due to their fawning followers, that they actually believe Americans in general won't be that affected by their words in this film. I think they are going to be very surprised. I know many atheists and agnostics personally, and they are *nothing* like PZ Myers and most of the atheists I run across on line who blog about ID/evo. I truly believe that even they would find PZ's words in that clip as repulsive as I do.
My atheist and agnostic friends don't mind religion at all, they just basically aren't interested in bothering with it. I know several who have even gone to church on rare occasion without any ill will, and a friend of mine sends his daughter to a Christian pre-school. They see the need for religion even if they find that they have a difficult time adhering to the faith themselves.
Even though, as I said, there are times when I wish I didn't know what some of these professors, teachers, and scientists think when it comes to their views about ID, religion, and their dogmatic views about science, I'm glad I've stuck it out and learned the things I have. My hope is that Expelled might bring more people to the Internet so that they understand the type of people we're up against.
Nisbet gives some very good advise. Someone really should take PZ's computer away and somehow convince him to shut up. That would be my advice, but knowing PZ, he's going to keep on blabbering until he says or does something *really*, *really* stupid.
I guess I shouldn't complain because it would certainly be of benefit to ID if he keeps talking. But, even though I know in my heart that it is highly improbable, I still wish there were a way that Darwinists and IDists could work together in order to inform our students about every aspect of evolution as well as the controversial issues of the theory. I also believe that ID has a place in the science classroom...it is far and away a more thought provoking theory than the concept of "primordial soup". I wish that Darwinists could come to understand this, and realize that this is not an attempt to teach "religion" in the science classroom.
Okay....I'll stop babbling, but I needed to get some of this off my chest, and I heartily agree with Mooney and Nisbet that PZ & Dawkins are not only giving Expelled a boost at the box office, but they are a huge detriment to science in general.
