Ok, so as I’m perusing the Flying Spaghetti Monster site, http://www.venganza.org/, it occurs to me that one of the key anti-evolution points espoused by the Discovery Institute is that there is missing information in evolution – we don’t have fossils for every single evolutionary phase of every single organism, so clearly, that indicates that the theory is flawed. Since scientists can only >postulate< that intermediate phases exist (based on provable data, btw, in the form of genetic mapping, carbon dating, etc) then we can only >assume< that evolution is true. It can’t be >proven< without concrete physical evidence, dontchaknow!!!
However, the main focus of the entire intelligent design argument is that if we can’t explain it, then it must clearly have been an act of god. Yet. . .none of the ID proponents are able to offer a single piece of concrete evidence explaining each missing piece, nor any data that can be verified using any established scientific method, proving that a divine force exists, much less that a divine source is responsible for anything.
So. . .belief in something despite proof of almost all of a theory is wrong, but belief in something despite a complete lack of any proof is OK, as long as it’s the right belief. That is so totally screwed up. And yet, people are defending this. Faced with scientific evidence, vocal ID proponents counter with insults and vague defenses, mostly consisting of things like “They’re trying to hide the truth” and “they aren’t willing to understand”. They don’t see the hypocrisy. Even if you were to quote them from their own book (Do not condemn the splinter in your brother’s eye until you have removed the mote from your own, and such) they’d find a way to twist it around to justify their opinions.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I know a lot of people who are committed to their religions, and a lot of religions that do good even outside their own communities, and more religious people who accept that their particular belief shouldn’t be forced on anyone – and I can imagine that there’s an uproar about how they are being defamed by these extremists. It’s sort of like hating all Germans because some were Nazis. Christians, for the most part good and decent people, are now being painted with the same broad brush because of the words and actions of a few extreme fundamentalist nutjobs. I may not agree with their philosophies, but for the most part they are personal ways of life, not threats to the mores and morals of anyone outside their sanctum sanctorum. My dad used to say “Your right to swing your fist ends at the tip of my nose,” and that’s where I see this. Don’t use your religious views to make laws or change legislation, or indoctrinate children.