Rick Warren--Ignorant, Idiotic, Insane, or Immodest?

One of the most infuriating things about creationists is their willingness to discard the entire accumulation of knowledge of mankind. As Gary Trudeau famously pointed out about George W. Bush, a belief in young-earth creationism requires a rejection of “biochemistry, genetics, ecology, paleontology, anatomy, physics, astronomy, geology, cosmology, history and archaeology.” Of course, denial of evolution also requires a rejection of modern medicine, agriculture, embryology, and even psychology. The evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky stated “Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution,” and, because people are biological entities, this principle can be extended outward to the whole of human society. Evidence for evolutionary change is so pervasive, so diverse, and so absolute, that when a person claims he does not believe in evolution, he must be ignorant, idiotic, or insane.

We can add another “i-word” to describe those who reject evolutionary theory—immodest. Let us consider the case of Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church of Lake Forest, California. Warren had this to say about evolution:

I believed that evolution and the account of the Bible about creation could exist along side of each other very well. I just didn't see what the big argument was all about. I had some friends who had been studying the Bible much longer than I had who saw it differently...Eventually, I came to the conclusion, through my study of the Bible and science, that the two positions of evolution and creation just could not fit together. There are some real problems with the idea that God created through evolution... My prayer is that you will have this same experience!

The Bible's picture is that dinosaurs and man lived together on the earth, an earth that was filled with vegetation and beauty...man and dinosaurs lived at the same time...From the very beginning of creation, God gave man dominion over all that was made, even over the dinosaurs.

It’s bad enough—although not altogether unsurprising—that Warren, an evangelical Christian, would reject all things scientific in favor of a literal interpretation of Genesis. But this interpretation also rejects some of the most respected and age-old tenets of the Christian church. Saint Augustine, writing in 408 A.D. said:

It not infrequently happens that something about the earth, about the sky, about other elements of this world, about the motion and rotation or even the magnitude and distances of the stars, about definite eclipses of the sun and moon, about the passage of years and seasons, about the nature of animals, of fruits, of stones, and of other such things, may be known with the greatest certainty by reasoning or by experience, even by one who is not a Christian. It is too disgraceful and ruinous, though, and greatly to be avoided, that he [the non-Christian] should hear a Christian speaking so idiotically on these matters, and as if in accord with Christian writings, that he might say that he could scarcely keep from laughing when he saw how totally in error they are.

As P. J. Bowler makes clear in his excellent work Evolution: The History of an Idea, early Christian thinkers were not usually biblical literalists, and even many lay people understood that the scriptures were to be read as mystical, magical tales, and not as scientific textbooks. Indeed, it was not until the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation in the 17th Century that “modern” creationism was proposed (and immediately challenged by every branch of newly-emerging science), and not until the late 19th Century was Young-Earth Creationism accepted by more than just a few. Ironically, the rise of Natural Theology during the Enlightenment stripped away some of the mystical emblemism associated with plants and animals, and eventually helped lead to the formation of evolutionary ideas by those such as Lamarck and Darwin.

One might assume that a religious leader like Rick Warren would be aware of this history, since he holds a Doctor of Ministry. It seems impossible that a prestigious institution like the Fuller Theological Seminary of Pasadena, California, would bestow such a degree without a class or two on the history of Christian thought. Yet Warren rejects the collected wisdom of Western Civilization, from Augustine to Darwin, in favor of a worldview that insists that (as Lewis Black put it) The Flintstones is a documentary.

Only Another Month and a Half to Go

The Philadelphia Inquirer has an interesting profile of Stephen L. Johnson, the outgoing head of the Environmental Protection Agency. Although tasked with protecting the environment, Johnson felt that it was important to do so only if there was no conflict between the science and commerce. I'm sure this has nothing to do with Johnson's education in biology at a university that apparently teaches creationism. Is it fair to expect a person who apparently doesn't understand science to understand why the environment should take precedence over the economy?

Congratulations, President Obama

Time to Go Vote!!!!!

Frequent commenter and Friend of the Blog Steve has posted some awesome pictures of an Obama rally in northern (not the real) Virginia at this link: Obama Rally. Go give them a look, and get pumped up to go vote. Remember, in an attempt to hold down the long lines, Obama supporters vote Tuesday, and McCain supporters on Wednesday.

Brush With Literary Greatness

Frequent commenter and Friend of the Blog Kevin Clark has had his first detective novel published! Numbers Up is an engaging story that mixes intrigue, romance, murder, and just the right amount of nerdy science. You can order a copy at this link: Numbers Up. Congratulations, Kevin!

Arkansas Early Voting Report

Mrs. Archaeoperyx and I just returned from the county courthouse where we cast our ballots on one of those infernal touchscreen machines. We both voted against the gay-hate initiative (to make it illegal for unmarried (code for "gay") couples to act as foster parents). We cancelled each other out on a state lottery (she's for it, and I'm agin' it). We registered our Green-Party-protest votes against our Democratic Senator (a DINO and professed creationist who loves him some Joe Lieberman) and our Democratic Representative (he wants to drill ANWR). Not another single candidate on our ballots with an opponent, so screw 'em. As my mom used to say, they only need one vote, and they won't get it from me.

Oh, yeah, there was that other race. As we walked up to the courthouse a family of black people came out--a mom and three kids. The oldest daughter was wearing a cheerleader outfit, but she might have been old enough to cast her first ballot. If so, she had never voted in a presidential election where a black man wasn't favored to win. Inside, there were two voting machines. At one of the machines was a black man in his late fifties or early sixties. At the other was one of my colleagues. I knew how both men were voting--same way as me. I joked with the poll workers, "How much does it cost to vote again?"

As we finished, a white couple came in to cast their ballots. Maybe late thirties or early forties. Were they cancelling out our votes? As we walked out the door of the courthouse, we passed a black woman who might have been seventy. She smiled at me.

It's All Over But the Crying. And the Burial.

Obama is up in the national polls an average of 6 percent or so.  The number of people who represent themselves as undecided is about 5 percent.  I think even the stupidest of us can do the math.

"Oh," you might say, "McCain and Palin may be able to get people to change their minds."  Maybe.

Not likely.

McCain may be able to shift the polls back in his direction a bit.  As the standard-bearer for the Republican Party, it's his duty to try to do so--for him to completely give up now would be a disaster for the down-ticket Republicans.  Races that seemed uncompetitive just a month a go--Liddy Dole and Mitch McConnell for example--are suddenly toss-ups.  Even such Republican strongholds as Texas and Mississippi are tightening up.  Those GOP incumbents desperately need their base to turn out.  But McCain has shown himself to be contemptuous and detached from the rank-and-file of the Republican Party, and he is a lackluster campaigner at best.  As it continues to sink in that he has no chance to win, he may completely fold up his tent.  Suddenly, the idea of a filibuster-proof Senate seems less like a pipe dream. 

Several pundits (including some of Slate's writers) have predicted the death of the Republican Party.  When these articles first started appearing last spring, I dismissed them.  I thought what we were seeing was the normal ebb-and-flow of political fortunes.  But the performance of the McCain campaign has been abysmal.  Perhaps the Republican machine has been hampered to a large degree by the erratic behavior of their nominee, but surely McCain is more intelligent, more competent, more presidential than the former governor of Texas?  Is there nobody left in the campaign who would explain why it's important to vet your vice-presidential pick?  Nobody who might object to shutting down your convention?  Nobody who might suggest that antagonizing a press corps that is inherently partial toward you is a bad idea?  These are the heirs of Karl Rove and Lee Atwater?

McCain's defeat, especially if accompanied by a thrashing in the Senate and House races, will leave the Republican Party is a state of disarray unimaginable only a few years ago.  Who do they have left who will lead them?  Mike Huckabee?  Fred Thompson? Sarah Palin?