The failure of evolution...the unmasking of atheism...a glimpse of Haiti

In past weeks the subject of the effects of Darwinism on society have been discussed. Social Darwinism, Fascism, Eugenics, Socialism, Communism...all come from the same source: Atheism. And Atheism cannot stand without being propped up by Darwinism, or the belief in macroevolution. The very idea that the Universe made itself and everything and every facet of existence is rather silly, is it not?

The failure of evolutionary orthodoxy

Published: 20 January 2011 (GMT+10)

Photo stock.xchng

A correspondent sent in a newspaper perspective by a Dr. H. Bruce Rinker entitled “An Unfortunate, Untimely Failure of Orthodoxy.”¹

The basic argument of this article is that religion has fueled the anthropocentric view of nature which has led people to consume unsustainably, leading to the extinction of other species, and that it has failed to promote a good view of the environment. He argues that such “orthodoxy” must be abandoned in favor of belief systems that foster a healthier relationship with the environment.

Rinker criticizes humanity for using 32% of earth’s land-based productivity though we only represent 0.05% of the biomass. But isn’t his statement inconsistent with his evolutionary worldview? Such a worldview would make us the great winners in the “survival of the fittest” orthodoxy that underpins the evolutionary mechanism. In other words, the reason that humans claim such a disproportionate share of earth’s resources is because we are perfectly adapted and are at the top of the evolutionary tree or foodchain. He says that “we can never excuse the deliberate extinction of any species or ecosystem on Earth, no matter how diminutive or seemingly useless to human values”.

In an evolutionary view, we’re all in competition, not only inter-species, but intra-species, in an endless struggle for genetic dominance.

But this is precisely the opposite of what evolution should preach. In an evolutionary view, we’re all in competition, not only inter-species, but intra-species, in an endless struggle for genetic dominance. If our over-consumption causes the ice caps to melt and all the polar bears to die, then it should be good for us and so much the worse for them!

Really, Rinker’s article and my caricature of the other evolutionary viewpoint coincides well with G.K. Chesterton’s point about the Darwinist view of nature:

“Darwinism can be used to back up two mad moralities, but it cannot be used to back up a single sane one. The kinship and competition of all living creatures can be used as a reason for being insanely cruel or insanely sentimental; but not for a healthy love of animals … That you and a tiger are one may be a reason for being tender to a tiger. Or it may be a reason for being cruel as the tiger. It is one way to train the tiger to imitate you, it is a shorter way to imitate the tiger. But in neither case does evolution tell you how to treat a tiger reasonably, that is, to admire his stripes while avoiding his claws.”²

But the Christian view of the environment is that humans, in an important sense, are not simply another species of animal, because we are created in the image of God. That, and the dominion mandate proclaimed by God (Genesis 1:28), gives us a place of primacy over the rest of the created order, and the right to use the creation for our benefit and enjoyment, but also responsibility to care for it as God’s stewards. See our article Fouling the nest.

Rinker’s article also endorses a view of stewardship, but unlike the creationist view, his has no basis in his own worldview. If we are simply a part of nature, only another species of animal, isn’t it actually arrogant to presume that we can have such a role in the world? Who are we to claim to be better potential stewards than marmosets or dachshunds? In short, an evolutionary worldview cannot logically provide an answer as to why one should care for other creatures or even each other. Such “morality” is derived from a Christian worldview, which comes from the Scriptures and in particular the teachings of Christ (the Creator—Colossians 1:15–17)

Rinker asks:

“Where are our priests, rabbis, pastors, and imams when old-growth forests disappear from the Pacific Northwest or Amazonia? Where are they when whales and dolphins are haplessly slaughtered in Asia or when environmental toxins bioaccumulate in loons and songbirds in New England and in Central America? Where are they when giant icebergs break off from Antarctic glaciers because of the planet’s rising temperature? Where are they when inconsiderate citizens throw their trash and cigarette butts out of car windows along our highways?”

While I can’t answer for the clergy of other faiths, I would hope that most Christians would see human tragedies such as starvation and exploitation in third-world countries, the modern-day slave trade, and the crisis of women’s rights in Muslim countries as far more important than Antarctic glaciers or old trees. We are not saying that evolutionists or atheists can’t be moral and do “good” things, but their motivational call for other to assist those disadvantaged by the terrible Haitian earthquake was shown to be very shallow (see the quote by Michael Shermer at the bottom of our article Haiti’s horrendous earthquake disaster).

Although some Christians may act inconsistently with their own worldview, a stewardship principle is consistent with a biblically derived worldview. Christians should regard the environment as important—a correct theology of stewardship recognizes that we will be held accountable for how we’ve utilized God’s resources—and the Bible makes it clear that all resources ultimately belong to God. So, in one sense, when Rinker accuses Christians of not being good stewards he is actually creating a straw man argument.
G.K. Chesterton continued his comment above, illustrating the proper view of nature:

“If you want to treat a tiger reasonably, you must go back to the garden of Eden. For the obstinate reminder continues to recur: only the supernaturalist has taken a sane view of Nature. The essence of all pantheism, evolutionism and modern cosmic religion is really in this proposition: that Nature is our mother. Unfortunately, if you regard Nature as a mother, you discover that she is a stepmother. The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister. We can be proud of her beauty, since we have the same father; but she has no authority over us; we have to admire, but not to imitate.”

Christians can and should be at the forefront of responsible environmental stewardship, but the difference between the Christian’s motivation and the evolutionist’s should be that the Christian cares for the environment because he worships God who created the world and put mankind in charge of it. The evolutionist ultimately cares for the environment because he engages in what we could call “geolatry” (earth-worship, from gē, earth, and latreuo, to worship). As such, he is just as religious as those he bemoans. Scripture is clear about his condition too, because he “worships the creation rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25).

References

H. Bruce Rinker, “An Unfortunate, Untimely Failure of Orthodoxy,” The Roanoke Star-Sentinel 8 October 2010, p. 4. Available online at . Return to text.
G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, John Lane, London, pp. 204–205, 1927. Return to text.

~~~~~~~

Actually, the Rinkers of this world have done their best to keep the third world countries from developing and also done their best to wall off dictatorships from criticism and blame. The United Nations proudly supports the very worst governments imaginable and lives large on stealing dollars meant for the poor and victimized. I would cast the UN off of US soil and immediately form a United Nations of Liberty, a union of nations that believe in giving the common man the vote and a means of self-governance. From the New Scientist:

Collapsing buildings caused catastrophic loss of life in Haiti (Image: Ariana Cubillos/AP/PA)

Did corruption raise Haiti's death toll?

18:00 12 January 2011 by Peter Aldhous

"Corruption kills. That's the message from a controversial analysis of fatalities from building collapse in earthquakes, published on the first anniversary of Haiti's devastating quake.

It is well known that quake death tolls are not primarily determined by the violence of the Earth's movement, but by urban population density and the quality of building construction. This explains why Haiti suffered so badly in January 2010, while the much more powerful earthquake that hit Chile the following month caused just 562 deaths.

Now Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado at Boulder and Nicholas Ambraseys of Imperial College London have concluded that the problem is not just poverty, but corruption. This, they argue, allows developers to disregard building codes.

Smoking gun

Using the Corruption Perceptions Index maintained by Transparency International, based in Berlin, Germany, the researchers recorded the extent to which each of 148 countries was more or less corrupt than anticipated, given its wealth.

They found that 83 per cent of the deaths from building collapse in earthquakes over the past three decades occurred in countries with anomalously high scores for corruption. "It's a smoking gun," says Bilham.

However, John Mutter, a geophysicist at Columbia University in New York, points out that it is difficult to produce meaningful estimates of wealth or corruption in poor countries, where a high proportion of business activity occurs outside of the formal economy.

He remains unconvinced that corruption is as important as Bilham and Ambraseys suggest. "The stronger predictor, most analyses will show, is poverty," Mutter says.

Donor deterrent

Brian Tucker, president of Geohazards International in Palo Alto, California, which works to promote safe yet affordable building practices in developing countries, fears that the study's focus on corruption may deter donors from investing in such efforts.

Tucker applauds the researchers' attempt to bring statistical rigour to the study of earthquake fatalities, but he suggests that the analysis misses a crucial factor – the value of education to counter the fatalism about earthquakes that is often pervasive in poor countries.

"Inform people and they'll be motivated," Tucker argues.

Journal reference: Nature (vol 469, p 153)

~~~~~~~

Actually the muttering of Mutter is an attempt at political correctness and cover-up of the truth. Bad governments keep the money and let the people suffer. They care nothing of building codes and public safety. The team from our church that went down to Haiti to help after the earthquake had to hide the arrival of supplies from local authorities and thieves in order to get food, water and clothing to the people in the streets. It was somewhat touch-and-go. Haiti is a disastrous government! But then Atheism and Secular Humanism really doesn't give a rip.

Example, we give Vox Day a chance to allow readers to see the real face of atheism. It ain't pretty!

Friday, January 21, 2011

A fascinating defense

PZ Myers makes a remarkable "argument from inhuman sociopathy" in defense of abortion:

[T]he standard bullying tactics of waving bloody fetuses might cow the squeamish, but I'm a biologist. I've guillotined rats. I've held eyeballs in my hand and peeled them apart with a pair of scissors. I've used a wet-vac to clean up a lake of half-clotted blood from an exsanguinated dog. I've opened bodies and watched the intestines do their slow writhing dance, I've been elbow deep in blood, I've split open cats and stabbed them in the heart with a perfusion needle. I've extracted the brains of mice…with a pair of pliers. I've scooped brains out of buckets, I've counted dendrites in slices cut from the brains of dead babies.

You want to make me back down by trying to inspire revulsion with dead baby pictures? I look at them unflinchingly and see meat. And meat does not frighten me.

It's probably a good thing he is an atheist without any moral standards, otherwise he might demonstrate at least a modicum of conscience for the bloody acts in which he appears to take such pride. And if he happened to take any sexual gratification from them as well, who can say it is wrong from his perspective, given his total lack of any moral or ethical code. If he feels no revulsion at looking at the pictures of butchered babies, then he likely feels no revulsion and sees only meat when looking at pictures of dead Jews and murdered Ukrainians as well. The awful thing is not that the pictures do not frighten him; they do not frighten me either. The awful thing is that he does not find them revolting like any normal human being with even a minimal amount of empathy would.

This is the naked face of atheism, ladies and gentlemen. Look on it well and remember it, because it usually doesn't dare to show its disgusting and anti-human nature so openly.

Labels: atheism

~~~~~~~

I will not leave you with that...that awful Picture of Dorian Gray that is the atheist. Here are some pictures from our youth group when they went down to help Haitians after the earthquake. A tent is a house to be valued right now and even having an empty roof to sleep on is luxury. People sleep in wreckage, cars, alleys, and often spend all day foraging for food and seeking for water. The government tends to steal much of what is sent in, so our team had a delivery come at night and quite fortunately during a cloudburst so the bad guys didn't see it arrive:

a fortunate family with a tent

see the pregnant young woman, who lives there?

This family (and all their possessions) getting some sleep

Kids lit up when our teens came to bring stuff and hang out with them

Kids hungry for knowledge and not just for food

This is the local pastor's 'house'!

Who doesn't want to clown for the camera?

Who doesn't need a hug sometimes?

It looks like this all over...

Yes, people are living in the wreckage.

Haiti's people are still worth helping but the government is evil. The joyous faces of children and adults meeting with our team as they brought help and hope inspired the team. One of our group found herself wanting to adopt one of the orphans and has plans to try to reunite later on, but for now a Cholera epidemic has chased volunteer helpers away. Haiti needs your prayers, as do all people repressed by their governments. Atheists need your prayers as well. Only an atheist can help an atheist by recognizing and acknowledging the Creator God.

PS: More concerning Haiti, repressive governments and disasters:

Earthquakes Don’t Kill: Corrupt Leaders Do 01/17/2011

Jan 17, 2011 — “A new assessment of global earthquake fatalities over the past three decades indicates that 83 percent of all deaths caused by the collapse of buildings during earthquakes occurred in countries considered to be unusually corrupt.” That’s the opening statement of an entry in Science Daily.

Of course, no one can predict where a stone will fall when an earthquake hits, but the casualty numbers could be drastically reduced if it were not for corruption, a study published in Nature found.¹ “The six-digit death toll from last year’s Haiti earthquake compared with the absence of any fatalities in New Zealand’s identical magnitude (7) earthquake was a stark reminder that poor building practices are largely to blame for turning moderate earthquakes into major disasters,” Ambraseys and Bilham said.

“Earthquake-resistant construction depends on responsible governance, but its implementation can be undermined by corruption,” or by poverty, use of substandard materials or poor siting – often consequences of bad government. The researchers knew that poverty often tracks with corruption, but they teased apart the major factors and called corrupt leaders “geology’s accomplices” in mass death from natural disasters. “Of all earthquake fatalities attributable to building collapse in the past three decades, 82.6% occur in societies that are anomalously corrupt,” their graph showed. Chile and New Zealand, for example, are “less corrupt than might be expected from their per capita income, and have low earthquake fatalities.” Japan was an outlier; its devastating Kobe earthquake could be attributed to “collapse of older structures in Kobe that predate the adoption of a code of earthquake-resistant building.” Their ending paragraph was depressing:

But our analyses suggest that international and national funds set aside for earthquake resistance in countries where corruption is endemic are especially prone to being siphoned off. The structural integrity of a building is no stronger than the social integrity of the builder, and each nation has a responsibility to its citizens to ensure adequate inspection. In particular, nations with a history of significant earthquakes and known corruption issues should stand reminded that an unregulated construction industry is a potential killer.

On a related political note, New Scientist reported that independence for South Sudan could have a healthy spin-off: the eradication of the guinea worm parasite. Decades of civil war inhibited opportunities to clean up water supplies where the worm eggs infest humans. Though in ruins, the cessation of conflict might allow the new independent country a chance to bring the world a “peace dividend” – “the second human disease – after smallpox – to be eradicated.”

1. Ambraseys and Bilham, “Corruption kills,” Nature 469, pp 153–155, 13 January 2011, doi:10.1038/469153a.

It would be an interesting study to examine how many deaths due to “natural disasters” are severely aggravated by human sin. Imagine yourself outside in nature in a severe earthquake. Sure, you might get hit by a tsunami or landslide, but chances are, you would be fine after the shaking stops – even in Haiti outside the city. But experience the same quake in a shanty town of low-quality buildings thrown up by poverty-stricken people who cannot rise out of their poverty due to corrupt leaders, and the results can be, and were (a year ago), appallingly tragic. Los Angeles is due for a big one. The last two major quakes killed 57 in 1994 and 65 in 1971. Compare that with 230,000 deaths in Haiti for a similar magnitude.

If Haiti had liberty and justice for all, and a Protestant work ethic that encouraged entrepreneurship regulated by righteous leaders and judges, the cities would have been built on the proper sites, with safe materials and reinforcements. The citizens would be trained in disaster preparation and response. Undoubtedly many would still have died in last year’s quake: perhaps a few hundred, but not 230,000. To add major insult to major injury, the cholera epidemic that broke out and killed thousands more in Haiti was likely also caused by corruption and carelessness of the UN aid workers who came to “help” the victims. When the people protested, the UN workers fired on them! Read the JSF-Post blog about this and weep. A reader submitted the following anecdote:
Regarding your entry “Earthquakes Don’t Kill: Corrupt Leaders Do”, I thought you might like another comparison for the Haiti earthquake: the 2010 Christchurch earthquake. It measured 7.1 on the Richter scale (as big as the Haiti quake), but there were zero fatalities directly linked to the earthquake. There were two serious injuries, and one person died of a heart attack during the quake, but nobody was directly killed by the quake or debris. The quake’s epicentre was on 40km (24mi) west of Christchurch, and Christchurch is New Zealand’s second largest city, with about 375,000 people, so the potential for a catastrophe was huge. But mainly due to New Zealand’s strict building codes, and that people evidently adhered to them, Christchurch escaped with was it in comparison to Haiti a few minor grazes.
Solomon said, “An unplowed field produces food for the poor, but injustice sweeps it away” (Proverbs 13:23). A prosperous society built on liberty and justice for all generates prosperity, funds science, punishes evil, produces civic stability that promotes commerce, and many other social benefits. Constitutionally-protected liberty, as America’s founders established, is built on the Biblical values they espoused. Knowing man’s tendency to evil, they constructed branches of government that provided checks and balances on power, to forestall corruption and to allow free people to pursue prosperity with their Creator-endowed rights of life and liberty. That freedom had an unprecedented peace dividend for the world.

How scientific institutions can continue to support leftist policies (12/05/2010, 10/14/2010) that have produced the worst corrupt dictatorships of the 20th century is senseless. Big government breeds ambition and corruption. Don’t they realize that the leftist trend in America has led to financial ruin that threatens their own funding? If they understood fallen human nature as taught by the Bible, they would realize that the founding American system is the best one to promote scientific research and education, because it works human nature against its evil tendencies: ambition is turned toward service, greed toward healthy competition, and selfishness toward excellence. The Bible promotes hard work to serve others; it rewards responsibility and charity. It doesn’t work for a society that has no regard for these values, because bribery that is unpunished undermines the safety inspections instituted to protect the poor.

The study authors said, “The structural integrity of a building is no stronger than the social integrity of the builder.” Where does social integrity come from? Evolution? Ha! Get real. Integrity is a Biblical value right out of the Ten Commandments. Corrupt governments, that violate the Biblical commands against stealing and bearing false witness, that do not love God with all their hearts and minds nor their neighbors as themselves, where power gets concentrated in a few individuals, have the worst track records on human rights and scientific achievement. Nature News recently had to admit that Venezuela’s dictator, Hugo Chavez, a liberal darling and bosom buddy of fellow despots Ahmadinejad and Castro, is putting the squeeze on the country’s scientists. Surprised?

Let these articles be a lesson to scientific institutions. Supporting a return to America’s founding ideals and values would be the best investment they could ever make. For the poor, it’s a matter of life and death.
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Daniel 12:10 - "Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand."

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