Matt #fundie

Matt #fundie blog.wired.com

Horrible article for all the holes and misleading statements already covered. I never heard any "creation-based" teaching in my corn-fed Iowa education. By 17, I had decided that knowledge and understanding were genetic (because I knew a lot when I shouldn't have and didn't know why) and that education simply "unlocked" info I already had inside. School was boring because I took personal responsibility in my own understanding of things. I had also nearly destroyed my own life believing I was the only thing that mattered.

Science failed me socially. I failed me socially. I still believe evolution is a possibility and a component of things we (the human race) are not smart enough to understand.

Don't expect others to be responsible for your personal understanding of things. Read for yourself.

Three things to consider:

Big Bang - First described in Genesis
The Earth is Round - First mentioned in Isaiah 40:22. Made Columbus check it out.
The Universe has more stars that we can count - Hebrews 11:12

Modern Science has not figured everything out. Even Darwin knew that.

"Science without Religion is lame. Religion without Science is blind." - Albert Einstein

39 comments

old comment by a mind far far away

This isn't really fundy. It has it's weaknesses, but it's alot better than what we normally see. For instance:

"By 17, I had decided that knowledge and understanding were genetic (because I knew a lot when I shouldn't have and didn't know why) and that education simply "unlocked" info I already had inside"

Plato taught the same thing, although I can't remembered what it's called off the top of my head.

"Science failed me socially"

Science isn't meant to give social intructions. Philosophy can do that. Religion can too, but normally in a bad way.

"Big Bang - First described in Genesis"

No, not really. There's nothing in Gensis that can be construed as the Big Bang. As a matter of fact, according to Genesis the earth was made before the rest of the universe. But at least he's trying.

"The Earth is Round - First mentioned in Isaiah 40:22. Made Columbus check it out"

Wrong on both counts. Isaiah says the earth is a "circle", but not spherical, and the Hebrew doesn't assume a sphere either. And I don't think it was Isaiah that made Columbus decide on his journey.

This is, overall, pretty decent as far as christians go. Makes me think there's hope for them yet.

old comment by szaleniec

"Science failed me socially."
What we're seeing is a subtle but very real manifestation of that prolific source of (not to put too fine a point on it) horse-shit, the naturalistic fallacy. Otherwise known as the "is/ought" fallacy, it's the suggestion that what's observed in nature should be the standard for human society. It's responsible for the creationist argument that their ideas should be taught not just for any supposed scientific merit they have, but because they're somehow morally and ideologically superior.

Still, this posting isn't massively fundie in itself. The guy does show some sign of an intelligent and enquiring mind. I've given it a 2 with the use of the naturalistic fallacy being all that keeps it from a 1.

old comment by Nightjaguar

Science failed me socially
Perhaps the the only true statement you made.

Big Bang - First described in Genesis

A lot of religions have stories of how the universe began. Plus, saying the bible describes a "Big Bang" is disingenuous.

The Earth is Round - First mentioned in Isaiah 40:22. Made Columbus check it out.

Isaiah 40:22,
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,.....

"Circle of the Earth" does not necessarily mean sphere. Even if they knew so did the Greeks. They, however, used reason and empirical evidence rather than having a holy book telling them.

The Universe has more stars that we can count -Hebrews 11:12
I can only gather two meanings from this:

(1) There are an infinite number of stars in the universe.
This is false and has been known for some time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olbers%27_paradox).

(2) There are a lot of stars.
Anyone who can see the sky at night can tell you this. It's about as deep as saying "water is wet".

Modern Science has not figured everything out. Even Darwin knew that.

No, but it has figured out that the bible is just as reliable as Mother Goose tales.

old comment by FMG

Big Bang - First described in Genesis

Actually first described as a cosmic shift in protoaryan cultures. Predating your bible by 2000 years.

The Earth is Round - First mentioned in Isaiah 40:22. Made Columbus check it out.

You do know the first two cultures to declare a round earth predated yours by close to a millenia. It was Greece and India. India had CRAZY AWESOME mathematics. You use it's 5000 year old numeral system NOW. It's that good.

The Universe has more stars that we can count - Hebrews 11:12

No we can count it. It's just a fucking large number. There is a finite amount of atoms in a drop of water. Therefore there are a finite amount in a bucket and therefore there are a finite number of atoms in the sea which we can work out if we had the time or the inkling. Likewise we can work out the stars and how many they are. You have merely shown how without scale you are.

old comment by Canadiest

"Big Bang - First described in Genesis"

Not even close. Forget your intuitive understanding of things right now, it's not working. You can't even make logical comparisions.

"The Earth is Round - First mentioned in Isaiah 40:22. Made Columbus check it out."

The Bibles claims had nothing to do with the Cloumbus expedition, It was to find a new route to the Indian spice trades, this is massively recorded and taught to the point of it being common knowledge to everyone,,,except people who's special "inner knowledge" comes from the Bible, apparently. The First Nations of the Americas are still called Indians because they thought they'd circled the world and had found a new route.

"The Universe has more stars that we can count - Hebrews 11:12"

Honestly, take a look up on a clear night away from the glare of city lights (damn near everywhere back in the day that verse was scribed) there's no way you can count them overnight especially as the field changes by the minute. All y'all Christians listen up: The obvious is not revelation! Stop using this bland observation as if it's somehow, in your deluded minds, a statement of unknowable insight.

As for Einstein: there are many quotes from him later in life in reference to the quote mining like the one you used above. Every reference to religion or a God was a metaphoric comment used in place of awe, wonderment, the universe in it's entire scope and our ignorance of such a scale. As religion searched for God and the answer, Einstein searched for the answer religiously. There's another metaphor you'll misunderstand.