Giving a site the "Bevans Bump"
From: Entertainment, Links, Movies, Politics, Ranting, Science By Bevans on Wednesday, April 16, 2008
I'm using my considerable draw and influence to call attention to a good cause today.By now you've probably seen commercials for Ben Stein's new movie "Expelled", which is apparently being marketed as a wacky teen comedy or something. But really, it's a "documentary" full of anti-science, anti-evolution propaganda.
That's not what I'm trying to call attention to. I'm calling attention to Expelled Exposed, a web site designed to show just how full of shit Ben Stein and his stupid movie (as well as creationists in general) are.
But, some may argue that this is just calling more attention to the movie. Well, it's already being advertised for on TV. The best we can do is help to draw attention to the truth. The Expelled Exposed site is currently #8 when you search for "expelled" on Google, and the more you link to a site, the higher it goes on Google. So the goal is to get this site to appear BEFORE the movie's web site on Google.
2008: Blah blah blah. All rights reserved.
Have you read the content on that site? Those people are just as whacky as the creationists, but with a different stance...with "science" backing them up which somehow bolsters their credibility. If there's anything to be learned from the historical treatment of science or religion it's that we are constantly being proven wrong every day. Science is by nature a wishy-washy art where success is determined by those who can disprove their predecessors by discovering something new, or at least by having a different opinion that can be supported by experimentation somehow. New religious claims are made with almost the same frequency, the failing there is that the support structure is faith alone.
Personally...I think that if anyone beleives solely in evolution or in creationism they are stubborn, one-dimensional, shallow thinking troglodites. Anyone with a working brain should be able to figure out that we did not spring from nothingness into fully-formed being. Yes...evolution is a natural process on our planet and in our universe. We have evidence of it and we can document it and observation alone can tell you that evolution happens, but even the evolutionists can't explain the beginning of their causal chain. How does the chain begin? That which is caused by something else must ultimately trace back its origin to something that is un-caused, that's reason for being exists within itself, and that thing must also have the ability to create matter from nothingness and begin the chain that allows evolution to happen in the first place. To think that we are the highest form of being in the universe is absurd, arrogant rubbish. Evolutionists would lose nothing by admitting that there is a higher power, maybe even an "Intelligent Designer" or "Uncaused Architect" of the Universe but a little pride in addmitting that humans are not the end-all-be-all. Creationists wouldn't lose anything either to beleive that thier God brought the Universe into being and set it in motion, letting free will dictate the direction of life's flow. Problem solved...Neither side really knows anything because they can't admit that they truely know nothing, or at least nothing of importance that would put this stupid debate to rest.
I'm having a really hard time writing a response to this.
Science definitely isn't a wishy-washy art. It's the practice of observing the world around you, coming up with a theory, and then testing that theory to arrive at truth, which can then be used to discover further truths. I really think you need to re-familiarize yourself with the world of science.
Regarding evolution, yes, scientists would lose nothing by admitting that there is a higher power, but why should they? "God did it" has never been an acceptable answer in science, unless it can be proven. We used to think that gods moved the sun across the sky, and god created earthquakes and diseases to punish people. We now know how those things really work, because scientists have observed the world around them and diligently tested their theories to figure out what forces are really at work.
So, what's the point of saying that God started the process off? This is called the "God of the Gaps": whatever we can't yet explain must be caused by God. We're still working on finding answers, and so far there's never been a concrete reason to say that God definitely causes anything.
And then, there's this problem: if there's a creator, what created him? Asking questions like this, we sort of peer back into infinity. What caused the big bang? Then, what caused that? And what caused that? Perhaps there is no beginning, but an infinite cycle of cause and effect. We don't know. But so far, supernatural explanations have not been necessary. Scientists have never been satisfied by saying "God did it".
Quantum Physics may hold a lot of answers, but those answers are long way off. As many scientists are fond of saying, "if you think you understand quantum physics, you don't understand quantum physics". And who knows, maybe there's something even stranger that a deep understanding of quantum physics may one day help us begin to understand, just as things like string theory, gravitation, multi-dimensional theory, and so on help us begin to understand quantum physics.
Another reason why many scientists are unwilling to admit to a creator is the plain and simple fact that there's no proof that one exists. No proof, and no way to disprove it (since it's pretty much impossible to disprove the existence of something). And of course, if we can't disprove that God created the universe, doesn't that make the idea that a giant space muffin created the universe equally valid? (All hail the giant space muffin! I bask in his muffiny goodness.)
Well, I could go on, but it's getting late, and these discussions typically don't resolve themselves easily anyway.
I guess I also just came out as an atheist. I haven't felt comfortable making that information public until now, due to certain negative stereotypes. But, it's been gnawing at me for a long time now, so I guess it's nice to finally get this off my chest.