so, if there's "Intelligent Design," isn't it blasphemy to destroy earth?

[villager]

Other versions of this question have been kicking around, including the more general "it's wrong to destroy God's creation," etc., but I think we have to hit Fundies full force with this: Every time they bring up "Intelligent Design," we have to respond with, "does that mean you support our efforts to save that 'intelligent design' from destruction?"

They'll say the fault is in humanity's "sin," but wouldn't the greater sin be destroying what God set in motion? Are they blameless in this regard? Wouldn't this be the greatest/biggest sin of all, and aren't their souls damned for going along with the destruction of God's design?

Just, you know, wonderin'...

[YOY]

1. Yes, it's completely against the 'culture of life' but that idea has

been completely highjacked and warped from the Catholics to best fit Bush's fundie cronies.

That culture of life included the abortion issue and also the complete opposition to Capital Punishment. Amazing how the Texas toughguys pick which ones to best fit their desires...

[wtmusic]

2. If God is all merciful, then why is there war?

If God is all powerful, why doesn't he destroy Satan once and for all?

:silly:

[flashdebadge]

15. We have been given free will. Some people use theirs for evil. God will

deal with them on His time table, not yours. :)

[villager]

19. so those destroying the earth are using their free will for evil then

since they are, after all, contradicting God in the most "fundamental" of ways...

[wtmusic]

24. I have no problem with his timetable

I have a problem with the idea that a supposedly loving God allows evil at all in the world.

A fundamental hypocrisy for which religion offers no answers.

[flashdebadge]

25. If He didn't allow evil it you wouldn't have free will, now would you?

Then you would be saying if He were a loving God He would let us have free will.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Emit]

4. Depends on what type of fundies they are

My fundy nephew, for example, believes that God created the earth and all it's resources for man to consume, that it will sustain anything man needs, and that, in the long run it doesn't really matter, similar to this belief excerpted here:

Many Christian fundamentalists feel that concern for the future of our planet is irrelevant, because it has no future. They believe we are living in the End Time, when the son of God will return, the righteous will enter heaven, and sinners will be condemned to eternal hellfire. They may also believe, along with millions of other Christian fundamentalists, that environmental destruction is not only to be disregarded but actually welcomed -- even hastened -- as a sign of the coming Apocalypse.

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:dblTPUUxVOAJ:www.grist.org/news/maindish/2004/10/27/scherer-christian/%3Fsource%3Ddaily+reconstructionists+dominionists+environment&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2

Selfish, selfish people.

[bryant69]

8. Yep this is it

Or else they deny that man has the power to hurt the earth at all. This is Rush's technique - The earth is so wonderful that Man lacks the power to harm it.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Emit]

12. I was told once

by same nephew, that after the return of Christ, the earth will be regenerated, so any harm and destruction now -- which, in his opinion is bound to happen with the chaos and wars that will accompany Armageddon -- won't matter. Christ will fix everything upon His return.

It is as if they have created a self-fulfilling prophesy, and they even hasten the destruction in order to bring it on faster.

Really twisted logic. Frustrating to deal with during family gatherings.

[jrw14125]

18. was wondering where my fundie step-dad got that... figures!

[sojourner]

5. nah...god has 'for-ordained' the destruction of earth...

thus the 'rapture' to save the 'saved' to the heavens so that the earth can become a sort of 'smelting pot' in order that the unrighteous may be 'judged' and eventually consigned to hell (along with the devil and his hordes) - which xtians either see as a 'lake of fire' or as 'eternal separation' from the face of god (apparently a fate worse than death.)

forgive me if i get some of the details wrong. haven't been in a church for a long while, but when i was, i studied many of the dominant 'end of times' scenarios.

[unblock]

6. my understanding of the end-times concept is that

god wants us to use up all the worlds' resources that he gave us, and THEN comes the rapture.

[Crazy Dave]

7. Because we got right-wing christian dill-wads like my co-worker....

...who justifies all the republican's bad behavior with the bad behavior of others. If you ask him why they don't do more to protect the environment, you get a reply like "how come you don't ask China to do more about their pollution if you're going to complain about ours". Same goes for republican corruption, you get the same type response. "Everybody else is doing it"

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

9. Tell him I said he's a moron.

The US pollutes orders of degree more than China (who is gaining, but still a LOOOOOOOOONG way to go)

[Crazy Dave]

10. LOL! I do that all the time

And I justify it with, "is that the only argument you can bring to the table?", the "Bill Clinton did it too" or "The bible says" argument and nothing else.
The boy will out-right deny plain facts too if it goes against his beliefs.

[rniel]

11. Your using reason and logic

Don't think critically, just have faith in whatever they tell you.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Squeech]

14. No

First of all, Jeebus gave Adam and Eve "dominion" over all life on earth (except for that one pesky tree), which gets interpreted to mean that we can ravage it however we like.

And I have a problem with the tactic of conceding any faux science, even for the sake of argument.

[BlooInBloo]

16. Sigh. Why do people bother trying to make an idiotic non-theory consistent

?

What a colossal waste of time.

Should we also spend time trying to make the flat earth theory consistent? How about "intelligent falling"?

As long as we treat idiocy as though it's respectable, they'll keep spouting idiocy, folks.

[villager]

20. I'm talking more about ju-jitsu

that's all

[KittyWampus]

17. Blasphemy is a manmade, dualistic concept. The Universe & Nature

operate according to Principle not moralistic concepts.

One might say that environmental destruction runs counter to an efficient use of Nature and thus, in the long term, doesn not reflect the fullness of Nature's capacity to express Intelligence.

But then, my answer is an intellectually honest attempt to explore Nature, Evolution and the valid propositions held forth in Intelligent Design.... and your opening post was, at heart, a rhetorical question designed to get nothing more then "that's right" and smug slaps on the back showing approval of your disdain for any approach to Science that veers from Materialism and Reductionism.

If you want to expose the hypocracy of the Far Right Religious fundamentalists, then don't espouse a Scientific Philosophy that rewards those who think of Nature and Universe as machines and soley as physical objects.

[Viking12]

22. "An honest attempt to explore..the valid propositions of ID"

Wow! Thanks for the laugh. Exactly what are these "valid propositions held forth in Intelligent Design"?

[LanternWaste]

21. One of the major reasons I'm a Democrat is because of my faith

One of the major reasons I'm a Democrat is because of my faith, nit in spite of it. When my "christian taliban" friends come over and our chats devolve into the political (which they always do after a few beers) my response is usually thus:

"C'mon, guys. You know as well as I do that we as humans have been appointmed by God to be stewards of this planet and that it's incumbent upon each one of us that we are to make this world a better place than when we came in. How can you possibly justify exploiting it for your own sake?"

Usually shuts them up and we can go back to our usual beer-infested arguments: Them-- Matrix is damn good movie. Me: It's on the same plane as Starship Troopers in the "How Bad Can It Be?" conversations...

[leesa]

23. Says right in the bible that we're the caretakers of the earth and the

animals...look what we do to them.

[DanCa]

26. No intelligent design isn't based on True Christianity.

It's just an attempt to get conservative dogma pushed into the public school system. Think of it as how they managed to get reganomics taught in economics classes.

[villager]

28. well, sure, it's not "original intent" from Jesus' standpoint

was just wondering how someone could believe one thing, but not the other.

Yes, I know, asking for consistency from rigid fundies is ridiculous, but...

[porphyrian]

27. Not to those the Designer made stupid. - n/t