Comment by Melvinotis on February 3, 2013 at 7:51pm

Watched the whole thing, thanks Reg!

Comment by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on February 4, 2013 at 4:21am

You are very welcome Melvinotis. The debate is rather biased towards the theists. They always assume that they have a valid point in that they “do not believe in Evolution”. I would have liked to have been in the audience.

Evolution of course is never a matter of belief but only that of understanding. If they studied it properly they too would see the Theory as being factual and being the Truth. Yes 99.8% of modern Scientists are wrong and the YEC’s are correct!

There are a few other good debates from that show I will look over and see if they are worth uploading.

Evolution explained

Comment by Melvinotis on February 4, 2013 at 5:27am

We turned off our cable TV a couple of years ago, but I don't think this kind of programming would make it onto mainstream TV here in the U.S.

Comment by RobertPiano on February 4, 2013 at 7:25am

The clergyman says we are different from animals because "we have the capacity to conceive god". He got that right!

Comment by SteveInCO on February 4, 2013 at 8:02am

Well even if every religious organization were to accept evolution tomorrow, it doesn't mean the people in their congregations would; in fact in many cases the preacher would oftentimes find himself preaching to a nearly empty church while some "reformed" church met in someone's house while they raised money to build a new church.  Or more than likely the pastor would join them in leaving their church organization, when his bishop (or whoever is his boss) told him the church now accepted "evillution."

Or people would continue to go to that church and ignore the teaching on evolution. 

The catholic church has accepted it already and you can see how much good that does.

People would deeply resent being told--even by their church officials--what to think on matters of faith when it doesn't conform to their prior prejudices, and to them that's what this is: a matter of faith.  (Which is ironic because being told what to think is how they got there in the first place!  The difference being is they were told what to think as children when their minds are still trusting of authority.) 

As another example, many of the mainline protestant churches are allowing gays, women, etc. (i.e., people other than straight males) into their leaderships, and all that is happening is a few people who have overcome their bigotry stay in the church and the rest break off.  (An old established Presbyterian congregation in my town--as well as eight others--recently voted to break with the main Presbyterian church over this issue, even though there was no requirement that individual churches accept gay pastors.  Said vote required 80 percent of the congregation and they got it.  So even the rather more "liberal" churches can't force these sorts of reforms down their members' throats.)

Accepting is a battle that must be won in each individual's mind; the top down solution (which let's face it won't happen because the church leaders are just as messed up as their followers) *may* prevent some kids from getting brainwashed but will only help marginally with today's voters and politicians.

Comment by Ray R. on February 4, 2013 at 11:22am

It is time for religion to just go away , to be thrown into the garbage heap of terrible ideas , and to finally allow an unshackled human civilization to flourish unimpeded .

Comment by Dale Headley on February 4, 2013 at 4:05pm

Good for the BBC for conducting this debate.  Now let's see one held on "Fox News" in Mississippi.  I only watched a little of the video - same old same old.  Theists, essentially, choose not to believe in evolution because they fear its existential implications.  And their arguments boil down to one thing: they don't believe in evolution because they don't understand it.

Comment by Rick Povero on February 4, 2013 at 4:08pm

** "Let the little children come to me, for thus is heaven."

Adult fundies can mess over their own minds with lies like 'intelligent design', a universe created but 6 thousand years ago, and ideological garbage like a critque of modern evolutionary theory -- however,  just like xian mores -- those may not be forced on any one by secular law in a secular state which grants no secular power to any religious institution.

Too bad that children in fundie homes and in schools dominated by fundie school boards suffer intellectual backwardness -- the anti-intellectual thrust of all xian sects -- cultural nihilism -- that hatred for Rome's educated overlords almost 2 thousand years ago -- lives on today.

Comment by Reg The Fronkey Farmer on February 4, 2013 at 6:53pm

Agreed Rick. I don’t care if they don’t accept Evolution as being the Truth (which it is). Even in the TV debate posted I was wondering why they were allowed screen time. I mean the only dispute about Evolution is on the side of the YEC’s. No modern Evolutionary Scientist really cares about their opinions when they are at work. No more than a gynaecologist would lie awake at night wondering if the stork might actually deliver babies or an astronaut might wonder if the Earth might actually be flat. It reminds me of Dawkins line about not debating them because it would give some appearance of validity to their “science”. It looks good on their C.V.’s but not on his.

One part of me thinks it is a good idea to give them air time because it shows they up to be so out of touch that they lose all credibility while on the other hand their asinine preaching and teaching do harm developing minds. It is because of people like this guy here that I am militant in my approach towards the indoctrination of children by YEC fundies. However I am optimistic enough to think that their middle aged beliefs are dying out just as the remaining gods are too. I will do my part to help out.

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