American Family Association governmental affairs director Sandy Rios is upset that media commentators like George Will are mocking Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for refusing to say this week whether he believes in evolution. After all, Rios explained on her radio show today, “science has done nothing but disprove the theory of evolution.”
“There is no scientific evidence” to substantiate evolution, she said, at least according to “the real experts.” So why has this stunning revelation that the foundational theory behind modern biology has been refuted not percolated through the scientific community? Well, Rios explained, that’s because evolution has become a sacred, religious tenant.
“Evolution has become the religion of the elite,” Rios said. “It’s a religion to the [level of] fanaticism of what they would say was the people at the Scopes monkey trial, the Christians waving their Bibles who were not really thinking through the facts, they were just outraged because it was against God’s law. The truth of the matter is that the evolutionists like George Will, waving their evolutionary theory, have become as rabid and unreasoned as what they accuse the Scopes monkey religionists of doing to Darwin during that time. It has become a religion. Science has disproven so much of evolution—. These guys are wrong, Scott Walker is right.”
32 comments
Scott walker is right, in the sense that those aware in matters of biology shouldn't blow their mouths about things they don't understand. Unfortunately in America, People who don't understand science and politicians are the same thing.
"Science is false because science has been disproved by science, but not by mainstream scientists, only by real true Scotsman God-did-it[TM] scientists who plead in a special kinda way." Yeah, that'll be a great soundbite.
What I truly love about this though, and we know it is unintended but its lovely anyway, it that SR is calling science a religion in order to denigrate and disparage it. Didn't really think that through, did ya?
Science has done nothing of the sort. Indeed, science continues to make discoveries that support evolution. Look up Richard Lenski.
And George Will, a conservative boob to his shoes, has too much self-regard to defend a position he knows to be false.
Sandy, saying that "science" has proven or disproven something and refusing to qualify it does not have the same effect of immediate and unquestioned acceptence on rational people as saying the Bible has "proven" something does for people like you.
You're going to actually need something tangible. We've got fossils, we've got DNA studies mapping back ancestry, we've got viral and bacterial studies whose short generational cycles allow us to almost immediately observe evolutionary reactions to stimuli, all of it can be seen here and now for verification.
Ante up. While you're waiting on the testimony of a God with no physical presence I'll see if I can convince a museum to loan me a brontosaurus femur to bonk you on the head with and ask if I'm only taking its existence on faith.
It's funny when they try and smear science by claiming, with a negative tone, that it's another faith. If evolution is a religion, and that's a bad thing, then what does that say about Christianity?
........ Let me guess. Like so many other creationists, you don't understand taxonomy, so you think cats not giving birth to dolphins disproves evolution, right?
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Ibuki doesn't know about anyone else, but she sure hasn't seen any temples of Evolution around, nor any priests of Evolution handing out pamphlets in order to convert people. Why, it's like it's not a religion at all!
“Evolution has become the religion of the elite”
So what she's unwittingly saying is that creationists by definition don't belong to the upper echelons of society, the elite. Creationists belong to the proletariat, the rednecks, the peons.
I, for one, am not going to argue with her on that point.
It's like someone used the find-and-replace function to turn one of those dumbass attempts to defend anti-vaxxer stupidity into an even more pathetic attempt to ignore biology as a whole.
@Ibuki Mioda:
“science has done nothing but disprove the theory of evolution.”
Where do they even get the balls to assert such blatant lies like this? Unless they're referring to creation science, which isn't science.
As an aside, I think it's amusing that leading conservatives can't publicly admit that they believe in evolution. If they say no, they risk looking like an uneducated idiot. If they say yes, they retain intellectual integrity but risk alienating a lot of their supporters.
@ Doubting Thomas
Where do they even get the balls to assert such blatant lies like this? Unless they're referring to creation science, which isn't science.
Because they live in the conservative echo chamber where they never hear anything that might tell them that nearly all scientists with any integrity disagree with them. Or that virtually all science has nothing to do with things fundamentalists obsess about like evolution.
My, my, where to begin? We have observed so many examples of evolution in action. The multicellularisation of yeast, citrate metabolism in bacteria, the development of the nylonase enzyme by a frame shift mutation, and so many others.
Denying evolution is even more stupid than, and about as bad as, denying anthropogenic climate change.
Of course evolution isn't true. Everyone knows that we are just the dreams of a cosmic polka-dotted chimpanzee, and when the whole world prays loud enough, he'll wake, and the world will disappear.
Ah. The old, "I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I?" defense.
Also known as, "No! You're a religion!" It will work to keep your stupid thralls in line, but don't try that shit around here.
Sandy doesn't seem to realize that calling the theory of evolution a religion degrades the concept of "religion" to the point of meaninglessness.
But then, Sandy is pretty meaningless herself, so I'm not surprised.
Science has disproven so much of evolution
. These guys are wrong, Scott Walker is right.”
How the fuck can he be "right" about it? His answer was something like, "I'm going to punt on that one." He didn't answer it one way or the other. That's the equivalent of throwing up a white flag and saying, "I'm too chickenshit to answer because I know I'll lose votes either way." Other politicians are at least smart enough to toss out some BS like, "Well, I'm not a scientist, so I'll let the experts decide on the matter." I just don't think Scotty-boy has got what it takes to run for President. My guess is that if he tries he'll do a Rick Perry in the first debate.
Scott Walker has stated in the past that HE DOESN'T believe in evolution. She's going off that but of course shouldn't have even referred to this British interview.
The fact that Walker doesn't want to look stupid in a European interview speaks volumes. One of the reasons he wouldn't would be an admission of science ignorance or denial but the other would point out that Walkers reason is entirely religious, not like a religion somehow, directly religious.
It’s at the same time funny and sad that a politician’s opinion on a specific part of biology is now somehow a criterion on their eligibility.
@Insult To Rocks:
That’s nonsense. Everyone knows the chimpanzee is striped, not polka-dotted!
Science has disproven so much of evolution
No, it hasn't. This doesn't stop being a lie because you repeat it several times.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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