Let there be flamage
So PZM over at Pharyngula is on a delightful tear on the general subjects of the ugliness of religion and (more specifically) of those slimy frauds doing the 'creation science' schtick.
Gotta say: it warms the heart. Every superstition needs a good smacking around now and then. Honest, it's good both for the ranter and the rantee, periodically to pick up the faithful by the scruffs of their necks and remind them, just as a point of reference, that they are, after all, proclaiming belief in a magical sky gremlin with super powers.
Yep, let's get this straight, people: a loopy superstition's still a loopy superstition, even when it does happen to pick up enough adherents that it gets its own box on the census forms. Yes, those of you with the relatively good sense to go with various 'it's all just metaphor' approaches to said faith do come off as distinctly less ridiculous than those insisting the millenia-old creation myth of a coupla desert tribes is to be read as the script of a newsreel taken at the formation of the universe. But do let's keep in mind (taking examples from the brand of lunacy currently most popular on this continent) that the book you're arguing is a sensible place to look for said allegedly useful metaphors does contain a talking burning shrubbery, some really bad advice about handling snakes, and an alleged god who, apparently, has a bit of a hate on for fig trees.
Man, this stuff just writes itself.
Gotta say: it warms the heart. Every superstition needs a good smacking around now and then. Honest, it's good both for the ranter and the rantee, periodically to pick up the faithful by the scruffs of their necks and remind them, just as a point of reference, that they are, after all, proclaiming belief in a magical sky gremlin with super powers.
Yep, let's get this straight, people: a loopy superstition's still a loopy superstition, even when it does happen to pick up enough adherents that it gets its own box on the census forms. Yes, those of you with the relatively good sense to go with various 'it's all just metaphor' approaches to said faith do come off as distinctly less ridiculous than those insisting the millenia-old creation myth of a coupla desert tribes is to be read as the script of a newsreel taken at the formation of the universe. But do let's keep in mind (taking examples from the brand of lunacy currently most popular on this continent) that the book you're arguing is a sensible place to look for said allegedly useful metaphors does contain a talking burning shrubbery, some really bad advice about handling snakes, and an alleged god who, apparently, has a bit of a hate on for fig trees.
Man, this stuff just writes itself.
posted by AJM at 1:10 a.m. (Permanent Link)
