I would like to preface this post by disclosing that I think BuzzFeed is the lowest common denominator when it comes to online content. Their No. 1 export is generic click-bait “listicles” with undeniably cutesy headlines specifically targeted for 20-something females to share on Facebook. And, boy, they really know what they’re doing. I can’t go on Facebook without seeing “22 Signs You Might Be A Girl” with a comment like, “OMG. This is totes my life.” The BuzzFeed business model particularly grind my gears because it’s mostly recycled content from the front page of Reddit last week or a collection of shitty Tumblr gifs.



Having said that, I understand that they are capable of producing thought-provoking, high-quality stories when they do original reporting. Like this collection of photos of self-avowed creationists holding up hand-written notes directed at their science-thumping counterparts. (Wow, there are a lot of compound modifiers in this paragraph.)

I’ve always been fascinated by the Christian Right and how they developed such an outrageous and outdated worldview. That’s why I was tickled to learn that I could take my political science senior seminar course on the Christian Right and the Republican Party. My thesis paper examined Christian Right education policy and how Biblical inerrancy leads the Christian Fundamentalist to reject anything that acknowledges relativism, or the idea that absolute truth is impossible to obtain.

They believe thus: The Bible is completely free of any error and is therefore always right. If the Bible is always right, than anything the refutes the Bible is always wrong. If it’s not black, then it’s white.

Somewhere along the line, however, I think they held meeting to decide which passages they should ignore. Take, for example, Leviticus 19:19, “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.” Or Exodus 21:20, “Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.” But they definitely couldn’t overlook this one, Leviticus 18:22, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” Because having an intense hatred for a group of people is so Christian.

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I digress. Christian Fundamentalist believe everything is either always right or always wrong, so they absolutely reject any school curriculum that encourages children to think critically. We don’t want little Johnny to start questioning the Bible, do we? And what about evolution and creation? The Bible opens with a thrilling account of how God made Earth and Man, so why are those communist teachers telling Johnny that humans evolved over millions of years? This just doesn’t add up.

Lets take a look at some of the notes from Creationists and see if we can make some sense of them:

(Source: Matt Stopera and BuzzFeed)

“Where do you derive objective meaning in life?” “What purpose do you think you are here for if you do not believe in salvation?”

Why is it so hard for people to accept that we are intelligent monkeys driven solely by the innate desire to reproduce and carry on our genes?

I often think things happen for a reason after a fortuitous turn of events, maybe it’s just because I’m a privileged white guy and my life has been all right. For example, I got arrested in a youthful indiscretion, then my grades got better and I started writing for the newspaper. I broke my wrist, and that made me want to start working out. I didn’t get a job I really wanted, but that just means there is a better job out there for me. Just because I have these thoughts doesn’t mean it’s because of God. It’s because shit happens in a chaotic manner and it’s up to the individual to derive meaning from events and to put forth effort to try be a better person every day.

“How do you explain a sunset if their [sic] is no God?” “How can you look at the world and not believe someone created/thought of it? It’s amazing !!!”

Aside from the improper use of there/their, these two are similar in that they assume that because the Earth is so beautiful and unique that it is surely the product of one singular being. I think this is a perfect explanation for why there is no God. The world IS amazing and sunsets ARE beautiful. I just think that it is so complex and intricate that it doesn’t make sense for one singular being up in the clouds to put it all together. The Earth is chaos and it is order. It’s unpredictable and exciting. “Someone” didn’t create or think of it. Everything that has ever happened in the history of the universe has led up to this moment.

“Are you scared of a Divine Creator?”

I think creationists are extremely selfish people. Of all the various animals, humans, religions and cultures to ever have existed, they think they are the most important. They think God made them and that the Earth is 6,000 years old and was made for the benefit of humans alone. Humans aren’t that great. I don’t think a divine creator made us because we’re kind of evil. We are destroying our home, we kill each other, and, worst of all, we have caused species go extinct (just play the Mass Effect trilogy and then talk to me about the heavy handed business of deciding if a species should live or die).

“Can you believe in the ‘the big bang’ without ‘faith’?”

Weird question, but yea, I guess. I’m no scientist but I think a bunch of elements floating around in some abstract pre-universe emptiness for eternity would eventually react.

But this brings us to a good point. The Big Bang is a convoluted and nebulous (no pun intended) topic. One of the points that Bill Nye repeatedly stressed in his debate with Ken Ham is that we don’t know everything. It’s impossible to know everything. And that’s why the Christian Right chooses Creationism. It’s so much easier to just defend every argument with, “BECAUSE THE BIBLE!” than to take a moment to understand that the universe is bigger than this little book that has blinded you.

Scientists don’t know everything, but they constantly try to learn more. Creationists think they know everything, and don’t try to learn anything new.