Dwindling In Unbelief

29 July 2006

Ann Coulter on ID

There's an interesting Ann Coulter interview at Beliefnet. Most of the others that I've seen have focused on her nasty name-calling habits, rather than her ideas, which are even worse. Here, for example, is what she says about creation, evolution, and intelligent design.

Beliefnet: You devote four of your eleven chapters to evolution, and say that Darwin's theory of evolution is "about one notch above Scientology in scientific rigor." So what do you think really happened? Did God create the world in six days? Did he create each species separately? Did he set a chain of causation in motion? Did he "cause" evolution in the sense that all the species are related to each other but God guided their descent?
Coulter: These are unanswerable questions--except the latter. God did not "cause" evolution because evolution doesn't exist. Thus, for example, He also didn't "cause" unicorns. My faith and reason tell me that God created the world and I'm not particularly interested in the details. I'll find out when I meet my Maker.

Did God create the world in six days? Did he create each species separately? Did he set a chain of causation in motion?

She doesn't know or care. She's not interested in the details.

Are any creationists or IDers interested in the details? It reminds me of the dialog in the movie "Inherit the Wind."

Drummond: Now listen to this. This is Genesis 4:16: "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife." Now where the hell did she come from?
Brady: Who?
Drummond: Mrs. Cain. Cain's wife. If, in the beginning, there were just Cain and Abel, and Adam and Eve, where did this extra woman come from? Did you ever stop to think about that?
Brady: No, sir. I leave the agnostics to hunt for her.
Drummond: Never bothered you?
Brady: Never bothered me.
Drummond: Never tried to find out?
Brady: No.
Drummond: You figure somebody else pulled another creation over in the next county somewhere?
Brady: The Bible satisfies me. It is enough.
Drummond: It frightens me to think of the state of learning in the world if everybody had your driving curiosity.

Ann Coulter: Jesus was a godless liberal

On MSNBC's Hardball, Ann Coulter said:

...generally the liberal idea is to be nice to your enemies, punish your friends. No, I think you should punish your enemies and be nice to your friends.

Well, I'm not sure if this is a liberal idea or not, but, if you believe the gospels anyway, it was definitely one of Jesus'.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you. -- Matthew 5:44
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you. -- Luke 6:27
But love ye your enemies, and do good. -- Luke 6:35

Maybe Jesus founded not only the Catholic Church, but the godless Church of Liberalism as well.

28 July 2006

Ann Coulter's favorite Bible verses

In a recent post, I suggested that hard core Christians hate the good stuff in the Bible. Well Ann Coulter is a hard core Christian. Here are her favorite verses. (Beliefnet interview)

Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. -- Matthew 10:26-28
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. -- Matthew 10:32-33
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. -- Matthew 10:22
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. -- John 15:18
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. -- Revelation 14:9-11
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. -- Matthew 10:34
It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. -- Revelation 21:6

Here's how I've classified Ann's favorite verses at the SAB.

verse	category
Matthew 10:26	cruelty, injustice
Matthew 10:32-33	injustice, intolerance, absurdity
Matthew 10:22	contradiction
John 15:18	contradiction
Revelation 14:9-11	cruelty, intolerance, injustice
Matthew 10:34	family values, injustice, cruelty, intolerance
Revelation 21:6	none

Not a good verse among them.

The Irish Psalter: Open to Psalm 84 (Not 83)

A few days ago, an early medieval psalter was found in an Irish bog. It was reported to have been open to Psalm 83, which apparently it was. The hard core Christians went wild.

But it was Psalm 83 of the Latin Vulgate Bible, not of the Protestant versions (such as the KJV or NIV), which number the Psalms differently. Psalm 83 of the Vulgate is Psalm 84 of the King James.

What a difference a chapter can make!

Psalm 83 (of the KJV) contains these verses.

For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

What a fine coincidence it was, too -- a clear message from God about the end times to come. Here's how the excited and credulous "Live From" CNN host, Kyra Phillips, introduces the topic.

So dig this. A man was bulldozing a bog in central Ireland the other day when he noticed something unusual in the freshly turned soil. Turns out he'd unearthed an early medieval treasure: an ancient book of Psalms that experts date to the years 800 to 1000. Experts say it will take years of painstaking work to document and preserve this book, but eventually it will go on public display.
Now here's the kicker. The book, about 20 pages of Latin script, was allegedly found opened to Psalm 83. Now, if you're a scholar, as you know, Psalm 83: "God hears complaints that other nations are plotting to wipe out the name of Israel."

But shucks! It wasn't Psalm 83 after all, but the very boring Psalm 84. Here is the verse (7) that the Psalter was open to.

Transeuntes in valle fletus fontem ponent eam (In the vale of tears, in the place which he hath set.)

But don't despair, hard core Christians. There is still a way to interpret this verse as a warning from God about the coming destruction. It's all laid out clearly in Hot Air.

27 July 2006

Bad Books of the Bible

You'd think that "The Good Book" wouldn't have much bad stuff in it. But nearly half (27/66) of the Bible's books have nothing good in them, at least as far as I can see. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible includes some of the worst stuff in all literature, with 27 books that have not a single piece of useful moral (or any other kind of) advice.

Here's my list of the Bible's bad books:

(Let me know if you can find something good in them. If you can convince me, I'll add the verses to the good stuff and remove the book from the bad book list.)