Science Doesn’t Have All the Answers – Which is Why We Need Theology

From Jesus and Mo.

Creation Science 101 – A Song by Roy Zimmerman

Why BAR sells in America

Spotted on Gideon Addington’s Groundofbeing.net, an interesting blog exploring various religious ideas in a ‘liberal’ fashion (if you’re ok with employing such a label).

And on a related note, David Ker, who ceased blogging a week ago, comes back from the dead with a new post asking Why [White] American Christians look so stupid and what you can do about it.

Theologizing Original Sin after Evolution II

“Our descent, then, is in the origin of our evil passions!! The Devil under form of Baboon is our grandfather!”
– Charles Darwin, Notebook M, 1838

NEWS: Evolutionists Flock To Darwin-Shaped Wall Stain

Darwinic pilgrims claim the image fills them with an overwhelming feeling of logic.

DAYTON, TN—A steady stream of devoted evolutionists continued to gather in this small Tennessee town today to witness what many believe is an image of Charles Darwin—author of The Origin Of Species and founder of the modern evolutionary movement—made manifest on a concrete wall in downtown Dayton.

“I brought my baby to touch the wall, so that the power of Darwin can purify her genetic makeup of undesirable inherited traits,” said Darlene Freiberg, one among a growing crowd assembled here to see the mysterious stain, which appeared last Monday on one side of the Rhea County Courthouse. The building was also the location of the famed “Scopes Monkey Trial” and is widely considered one of Darwinism’s holiest sites. “Forgive me, O Charles, for ever doubting your Divine Evolution. After seeing this miracle of limestone pigmentation with my own eyes, my faith in empirical reasoning will never again be tested.”

Added Freiberg, “Behold the power and glory of the scientific method!”

Read the full article at this trusty News source.

James Barr advises Christians and Scholars to Take the Bible Literally

from an article in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, back in 1999 …

“A literal biblical chronology would mean a world created in seven days, about 4000 B.C., give or take one or two hundred years. But many creationists do not want to be biblical literalists. Of course the Bible in a general way is a big source of inspiration for their movement, but the exact figures of the Bible are not a matter of principle for them, as I understand them. In my opinion, it was a big mistake for many of the mainline religious organizations when they opposed the creationists by saying that the Bible should not be taken literally. This is not what the creationists do. It is, on the contrary, what the churches and other organisations should do: that is, to argue that, in this respect, the Bible’s figures should be taken literally, because it is when they are taken literally it becomes clear that they are not historically or scientifically true.”
– James Barr

Hoorah for Barr!! Damn it, but I so often relish his words, like those of few other biblical scholars.

James Barr set himself against those who would construct an artificial separation of theology and science/history, realising that both stand and fall together. The attempt to defend the bible as ‘theologically true’ but not a ‘textbook’ on history or science is, first, a false dichotomy, and, second, a division that its authors simply could not have conceived of. The bible is ‘theologically’ false because it is ‘historically’/’scientifically’ false – if these categories are understood emically (and so, non-exclusively). Disproof of the bible’s own conception of history or science (not our categories, mind you) is disproof of its own theology. Any denial of this stems from an imposition of modern categories which attempt a separation where none was thought possible.

So, heed James Barr’s call from beyond the grave: Take the Bible literally (don’t impose your own ill-fitting concepts on it).

Can’t Darwin and God get along? Giberson ‘Saving Darwin’ Interview

Karl Giberson, author of Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution (June 2008), is interviewed in Salon.

I tend to think that Christianity and Evoution are mutually exclusive. But Karl Giberson is one of those folk who think they can get along just fine.

And he does make some nice comments. Like this one:

Salon: What is it about our culture that has led to creationism’s popularity?

Karl Giberson: In short, intellectual laziness. We’re not prepared to do the hard work to make our culture more sophisticated. We don’t drill into our children in Sunday school or church the fact that ancient people thought differently about the world than we do. Even a modest amount of sophistication in biblical interpretation will show that the biblical authors, in both the Old Testament and New Testament, are not writing history.

And why is American evangelicalism much more popular than, say, European evangelicalism? Giberson says that American evangelicals have been quite successful in marketing Christianity to the lowest common denominator.

Karl Giberson: Biblical literalism is very simple. You read the Bible in English and you say to yourself that these are the things God wrote down through a secretary a long time ago, and all I need to do is read this in English and that’s all the work I have to do to understand it. Who wouldn’t want that to be the case? If you try to tell these people that they need some egghead scholar from Harvard, who can read Hebrew, to come in and help them with it, that seems offensive and alienating, and people aren’t attracted to that. So I think the ability of American religion to invent itself and to appeal to common denominators, sometimes the lowest denominator, has allowed these evangelical movements to flourish with their own agendas.

Good comments – I wonder what he thinks about Wiki-Bible?

Three out of Five Republicans are Creationists

… and Two out of Five Democrats:

“Between 43% and 47% of Americans have agreed [between 1982-2008] with the creationist view that God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so. Between 35% and 40% have agreed with the alternative explanation that humans evolved, but with God guiding the process, while 9% to 14% have chosen a pure secularist evolution perspective that humans evolved with no guidance by God.”
– Gallup

Tenth Anniversary of Buddy Davis’ ‘Creation Gospel’ Album

Yes, it’s ten years since Buddy Davis released an album that shot straight to number one throughout Kansas: ‘Creation Gospel’. Every one of these tracks is just so darn catchy, a little bit of me wished I could believe in something as daft as Creation Science. Here’s the track-listing for this monumental album:

1. Billions Of Dead Things	3:11
2. It’s Designed to Do What It Does Do	1:52
3. I Don’t Believe in Evolution	2:12
4. He makes Dreams Out of Nothing	3:33
5. Problem Solved	2:48
6. God’s The Author of Creation	2:33
7. Adam and Eve	3:01
8. Could Behemoth Be a Dinosaur?	2:02
9. Creation Week	2:14
10. The Answer’s In Genesis	2:04
11. Glory to God, Jesus is King	1:50
12. The Hands That Created the World	2:51
13. In Six Days	1:59
14. I Believe	3:45

Listening to it again makes me just weep tears of joy. Go on, treat yourself to a listen to ‘Billions Of Dead Things’. You’ll never forget the experience:

I imagine this is still number one in Kansas.

Are You Afflicted by the Winged Dragon Demon of Testament of Solomon 14.4?

Now – prophylactic relief is finally available. You don’t have to take it anymore!

A New Age site, King Solomon Legend, has been set up to sell prophylactic amulets to those afflicted by cruel and perverse demons. The amulets are “made in Israel” – which makes them doubly effective of course.

Jim Davila links to the website’s press release, in which amulet-wearers are promised “the focus and energy to pursue their dreams, face their fears and accomplish their goals”. Dude.