Archive for category Culture Wars
And Yet It Moves . . .
Posted by Lance Haley in Conservatives, Culture Wars, Religion & Spirituality on March 7th, 2010
MEDIEVAL CHRISTIAN MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE
No more famous words were ever spoken in the clash between Science and Religion.
Galileo’s name is synonymous with the former, having been called “The Father of Modern Science“. But his deepest convictions regarding the scientific certainty that the Earth circled around the Sun (heliocentric theory) almost cost him his soul, placing him at odds with his own religion.
It was the year 1616, when the Catholic Church and all of mankind was still convinced that Earth was the center of the universe, and everything revolved around our world (geocentric theory). After a very long and openly contentious battle with the Catholic Church over this issue, Galileo was forced to publicly recant his belief that the Earth circles around the Sun in order to save his soul - thereby avoiding torture and excommunication from the Church. Legend has it that after he had “confessed” that the Sun revolves around the Earth, he reputedly whispered under his breath those famous words, ”And yet it moves” - referencing the fact that the Earth does move.
As ludicrous as it may seem that the Catholic Church held such antiquated beliefs back then, and even forced a man of science to be brought before a religious inquisition, we should not ignore the power of religion to keep our minds stuck in the “Dark Ages” even today. Case in point: a biology text that is currently being recommended for home-schooled children which attempts to refute Darwin’s classic Theory of Evolution by replacing it with Creationist theory – which a Federal Court has already declared unconstitutional for inclusion in public education curriculum, and further debunked as unscientific. Even worse is the fact that this “biology” textbook also contains a not-so-veiled threat in very stern terms warning young science students what they should believe if they want their souls to be saved.
Here is some of the text from that book:
[A] “Christian worldview … is the only correct view of reality; anyone who rejects it will not only fail to reach heaven but also fail to see the world as it truly is.”
So now ask yourself, does the Earth revolve around the Sun?
Be careful how you answer that question. The salvation of your soul may hang in the balance . . . as well as your child’s education.
Jon Stewart Eviscerates Fox News’ Viewers For Drinking the Bong Water
Posted by Lance Haley in Bill O'Reilly, Business and Money, Conservatives, Cultural Issues, Culture Wars, Fox News, Glenn Beck, Media & Communication, Sarah Palin, The Daily Show, Uncategorized on February 4th, 2010
Just kidding . . .
That was a shameless attempt to get Jon Stewart to reference this blog. On last night’s The Daily Show (TDS), in a segment called The Blogs Must Be Crazy , Stewart lampooned the blogosphere’s use of certain words – particularly “eviscerates” – to describe how strongly some media talk show hosts respond to one another when critiquing their respective competitors.
Jon Stewart’s appearance on The O’Reilly Factor has created quite a buzz this week, and whatever you think of either Stewart or Bill O’Reilly, their willingness to appear on one another’s shows is quite refreshing, with a spirited but civil discourse taking place between the two of them. I suppose the one irony in the show was O’Reilly’s cheap shot at Daily Show viewers by referring to them as “stoned slackers” – when surveys have routinely shown that they are some of the best informed news audiences.
It comes as no surprise that ”stoned slackers” would actually be every bit as informed as Fox News viewers, and are probably significantly smarter than Fox News’ talk show hosts – even when they are “lit up”. If Daily Show viewers ever watched Fox News - which they are way too smart to do – wonder what they would think?
“Man I wish I could get ahold of whatever theses dudes are smoking, because that must be some really high-grade SH!T” . . . or . . . . “Dudes, you are not supposed to drink the bong water.”
