Sunday, November 13, 2005
When You Come to Pat Robertson, Press Mute
Chicago Tribune | Keeping ID out of science classes: "Call me paranoid, but sometimes I think the mainstream media give maximum coverage to Pat Robertson in order to discredit him.
Or, at least, to discredit politically active TV evangelists who have enough connections to get their phone calls returned from the White House.
Either way, it hasn't worked. Robertson is still in business. His latest fatwa, delivered on 'The 700 Club,' his daily Virginia-based television show, is directed at 'the good citizens of Dover,' a Pennsylvania town that Robertson says has 'rejected' God.
Their sinful deed, Robertson says, was to vote out of office all of Dover's school board members who were up for re-election and supported intelligent design. That's the politically charged theory that challenges Charles Darwin's 1859 theory of evolution, 80 years after John Scopes was found guilty of teaching it in public schools in Tennessee.
'If there is a disaster in your area,' Robertson told Dover, 'don't turn to God, you just rejected him from your city. ... And if that's the case, don't ask for his help because he might not be there.'
God could not be reached for comment. But Robertson said in a later statement, 'If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them.'"
Argh. This guy has had a platform on TV for too long (five minutes would be too long), but to think he has the ear of the leader of the free world...I shiver. It also makes me shiver to know that people follow his lead, think the way he does. Clarence Page and I don't often agree, but on this, he is absolutely right. 'God forbid' we respect the separation of Church and State as it relates to the teachings of Creationism. I don't mind the idea of Creationism being taught as it would be sad for kids to graduate from High School without knowing what the word means. That is different, however, from teaching it as a scientific equal. Touch on it in history or in literature, but not in science, or at least not as a scientific theory.
Or, at least, to discredit politically active TV evangelists who have enough connections to get their phone calls returned from the White House.
Either way, it hasn't worked. Robertson is still in business. His latest fatwa, delivered on 'The 700 Club,' his daily Virginia-based television show, is directed at 'the good citizens of Dover,' a Pennsylvania town that Robertson says has 'rejected' God.
Their sinful deed, Robertson says, was to vote out of office all of Dover's school board members who were up for re-election and supported intelligent design. That's the politically charged theory that challenges Charles Darwin's 1859 theory of evolution, 80 years after John Scopes was found guilty of teaching it in public schools in Tennessee.
'If there is a disaster in your area,' Robertson told Dover, 'don't turn to God, you just rejected him from your city. ... And if that's the case, don't ask for his help because he might not be there.'
God could not be reached for comment. But Robertson said in a later statement, 'If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them.'"
Argh. This guy has had a platform on TV for too long (five minutes would be too long), but to think he has the ear of the leader of the free world...I shiver. It also makes me shiver to know that people follow his lead, think the way he does. Clarence Page and I don't often agree, but on this, he is absolutely right. 'God forbid' we respect the separation of Church and State as it relates to the teachings of Creationism. I don't mind the idea of Creationism being taught as it would be sad for kids to graduate from High School without knowing what the word means. That is different, however, from teaching it as a scientific equal. Touch on it in history or in literature, but not in science, or at least not as a scientific theory.
