Happy Easter and Other Misinformation From the Radical Evangelical Right

The Restored Church of God

Great site! Learned a lot! Thought I would share.

Got there from here, Dances With Fruit Flies. Good article, but all wrong! Evolution; Facts, Fallacys and Implications explains why.

In the article, Dances With Fruit Flies, from USA News, it states that "some 55 percent of Americans balk at the idea that humans evolved at all." How accurate do you think this statement is? And why might this be? These are the first two questions that popped into my head. So, off I went in search of clues that might lead to what I am going to call the "dumbification" of America.

First stop, The Christian Broadcasting Network. CBN is the broadcaster responsible for the 700 Club that boasts a viewership of approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide.

Seen in 95 percent of the television markets across the United States, the program is carried on ABC Family Channel cable network, FamilyNet, Trinity Broadcasting Network, and numerous U.S. television stations, and is seen daily by approximately one million viewers. CBN WorldReach broadcasts, which include the international edition of The 700 Club, have been translated into more than 70 foreign languages, can be seen in more than 200 countries, and are accessible throughout the year by more than 1.5 billion people around the world.

Very impressive numbers to say the least. This is what CBN, Pat Robertson and Dr. Jonathan Wells had to say about evolution,

Wells evaluated ten major textbooks on seven examples of evolution. Out of the seventy total grades, the books earned 25 Ds, but mostly Fs — 40 of them to be exact. In other words, all the books flunked the truth test.

For example, the books discuss an old experiment supposedly showing how chemicals came together to begin life. They won't admit the presence of oxygen in the early atmosphere because oxygen would prevent evolution from even getting off the ground.

This wouldn't have anything to do with outdated textbooks in the classroom, would it? Or the strain that the No Child Left Behind Act puts on local budgets? Or is it that schools are delaying the ordering of new textbooks, materials and supplies because President Bush wanted to cut even more money from the education budget? Maybe. But lucky for us the G.O.P. moderates in Congress came through and voted to add back the $5.4 billion that President Bush would have liked to have seen slashed from the federal budget this year.

With outdated textbooks, budget cuts and an outright attack on education from the radical right, coupled with faith-based community leaders teaching our children to ignore evolution it's no wonder 55% of Americans today are dumbing down.

Next stop, Focus On the Family. All aboard!!! The train to stupidity is leaving exactly when the big hand hits twelve and the little hand hits eight (for those of you that have a Casio digital watch). 

Focus On the Family states that their newsletter reaches some 2.6 million readers, give or take a few thousand lost souls with a ton of baggage.

Worldwide, Focus on the Family is broadcasting in 25 languages on over 8,300 radio facilities heard in 164 countries.

Dr. Dobson's commentaries are heard by more than 200 million people by way of radio every day, including a program translation carried on state-owned radio stations in the Republic of China. He is seen on 80 television stations daily in the U.S.

This is what James C. Dobson and Mark Hartwig have to say about evolution,

Now we’re in a position to give a broader description of specified complexity: Specified complexity is displayed by any object or event that has an extremely low probability of occurring by chance, and matches a discernible pattern. According to contemporary design theory, the presence of highly specified complexity is an indicator of an intelligent cause.

I guess "random" isn't as random as it used to be. Strike it from the dictionary and tell Random House to change their name to Specified Complexity House. This is hardly what I call candidates for Faith-Based Initiatives here in America.

The Administration has eliminated regulatory and policy barriers that have kept faith-based organizations from partnering with the Federal government to help Americans in need. It has also worked to put into place regulations to ensure that faith-based organizations are able to compete on an equal footing for Federal funding within constitutional guidelines, without impairing the religious character of such organizations and without diminishing the religious freedom of beneficiaries.

James Dobson holds a doctorate from the University of Southern California (1967) in the field of child development and is a licensed psychologist in California. These are hardly qualifications for debunking the theory of evolution.

Mark Hartwig has a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Active in the origins debate since 1985, he was one of the early organizers of the intelligent-design movement. These are exactly the qualifications needed to manipulate and intimidate the minds of America's youth.

I have to admit Einstein and Darwin have nothing on these guys. Two psychologists from California influencing millions of people every day is just what we need to further the intelligence of our youth in this great nation of ours.

The Nazi propaganda machine of the 1930s and 1940s had about as much education as these two guys and they were able to mobilize millions to kill hundreds of thousands worldwide.

Goebbels was the father of modern propaganda in a totalitarian state (a term that he coined), in which he made use of every available means. The propaganda he spread was remarkably replete with defamations, libels, and lies; he was convinced that people would believe the lies if only they were repeated often enough, and the bigger the lie, the better chance it had of being believed. Goebbel's propaganda always incited hate against some enemy. He was a radical and fanatic anti-semite, but his hatred of Jews was also based on utilitarian considerations of exploiting anti-semitism for the furthering of his propaganda aims.

I have to ask, is this a danger? Is this a campaign for the hearts and minds of our youth in America? Is this a terrorist campaign within our own borders? Here's the definition of "terrorism" taken from Webster dictionary published by Specified Complexity House.

Noun

1.

terrorism - the calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear Synonyms: act of terrorism, terrorist act

Now at this point you are probably saying, "Come on Bastard, that's a stretch!" But is it really? They have all three symptoms of a terrorist group, they're just not blowing things up yet! They use the intimidation of funding to push our politicians around, they use coercion to convince their parishioners that evolution is a myth and they instill fear into their followers by telling them that gays, activist judges and Planned Parenthood, among other things, are the downfall of this great nation. And they repeat this hatred over and over and over again. These radical right preachers are employing Goebbel's strategy for propaganda. This is no different than the terrorist mastermind telling the next fanatical suicide bomber to save one of their 72 virgins for him.

They don't need to blow anything up, they are psychologists using the one WMD that fails to be listed as such, the manipulation of the human mind. The end run to win the hearts and minds of our youth. Governments use this tactic all over the world. These radical right organizations are using it within our own borders and calling it religion.

Not only are these organizations at the forefront of the "dumbification" of America they are also being funded by the government. Yes, your tax dollars are going to help these cults teach our children that evolution and other silly theories do not hold water next to the preachings of these upstanding citizens. Again, from the Specified Complexity House dictionary,

Noun	1.	cult - adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices
	2.	cult - an interest followed with exaggerated zeal; "he always follows the latest fads"; "it was all the rage that season" Synonyms: craze, fad, furor, furore, rage
	3.	cult - a system of religious beliefs and rituals; "devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin" Synonyms: cultus, religious cult

I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up tomorrow and learned that 55% of the U.S. population had died from drinking a mix of Kool-Aid and cyanide because these radical evangelical leaders had expressed an interest in catching the next comet to heaven.

Well anyway, Happy Easter! Have a great day and let's not worry about the  "dumbification" of America.

P.S. You thought this post was actually going to be about Easter, the bunny rabbit and all the chocolate and eggs? Well, sorry. But not to let anyone down, you can go read that stuff here, the festival of Eastre.

cross posted at (Bring It On)