I recently stumbled across a sermon about evolution that was so factually inaccurate that I thought it had to be a joke.
Sadly, it was not. Listen at your own risk:
Apparently, this pastor was preaching to a group of students at a church down the road from where I have taught high school Biology for the last decade. I cannot help but wonder whether any of my former students were there that evening, quietly listening while their pastor told them “the truth” about what they were learning in my classroom.
My fellow Biology teachers: pay attention! This is what we’re up against.
Here’s a man who began his sermon by openly admitting his own ignorance concerning the topic of Biology. Unfortunately, the rest of his sermon merely served as a demonstration of this fact. Those young people were woefully misinformed that evening, and it saddens me to think that their minds may have been permanently closed to the very idea of evolution by the horrendously misleading historical and scientific misinformation they were being fed.
My fellow Christians: pay attention! This is what we’re up against.
Here’s a brother in Christ who started out his sermon by freely admitting that he knew very little about a well-established scientific theory. He then proceeded to spread several blatant falsehoods about the theory, all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Those young people were woefully misinformed that evening, and it should sadden all of us that such streams of misinformation originate from uninformed Christian pastors across the country.
In the past, I have encountered people from other countries who ask me why the United States has such a low percentage of people who accept evolution. In response, I point them to sermons like this one. There are some in this country who will do whatever it takes to close young minds to evolution before they even have a chance to learn about the unifying theory of Biology. I have, on occasion, seen the effect of such mistreatment in the questions asked by my students. I must tell you that it is truly sad to see young people struggle as they come to realize that their pastors have not been telling them the truth.
It does not have to be this way.
Tags: Creationism, Educational Malpractice
Posted by Jeremy Mohn
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on Sunday, April 3rd, 2011 at 12:22 am.
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Wow!
Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle was six months long … the Supreme Court ruled that evolution has be taught in every school in America in 1925 … the Supreme Court of Kansas said that if you teach evolution you had to teach creationism and that’s the reason they took evolution out of the curriculum …Darwin returned to the Galapagos every year for six years …
There is the usual, garden variety misinformation but this guy is just making stuff up.
Yeah, the historical fabrications were what really bothered me. It was like he was making up the story as he went along.
Sorry I subjected you to that, John.
Yes, Jeremy, it’s truly sad that someone admittedly ignorant of science willfully works to indoctrinate these kids in anti-science.
This sermon goes beyond closing young minds; it poisons their hearts. Maybe against science now, but surely against God later as they realize how they’ve been lied to by a pastor they trusted.
Glad you caught this. I’m betting the students witness your honesty and integrity every day in the classroom, and you won’t be the one found wanting in their eyes.
Thank you for this audio recording.
There are so many points of falsehood, that to refute it point by point would take hours.
I am appalled. Beyond the dishonesty, stupidity, ignorance, and gross intellectual laziness is an overarching egotism and maliciousness. He knows that what he wants others to “believe” is groundless, so lying becomes necessity; a necessity if he wants to claim the authority he so hungers for.
It is an impoverishment of mind, but so much moreso an impoverishment of character.
Education is the most vital of the legacies we can leave our children. If that is compromised, all is diminished. He is desperate to undermine the education of our children. Most of all, he hungers to violate the futures of children…for his ego.
Christopher-
It is hard to say whether he is lying or whether he is just ignorant, but his carelessness with the truth is appallingly egregious. As far as I am concerned, anyone who willingly passes on such misinformation is deserving of criticism.
[...] BLOG « How to Close a Young Mind [...]
Thanks for sharing Jeremy. I had to stop halfway through, because it was so obnoxious. Still, it is good to keep in mind what our students are really wrestling with when they are in our class.