Steve Shaw says (03 Apr 14 - 07:35 AM):

I think your admiration for creationists is severely misplaced. These people are honest neither with themselves nor with others, and I find their attacks on science to be extremely offensive.

Hi, Steve. I do not support or admire "creationism" or creationists. What I said is this (03 Apr 14 - 04:19 AM):

I have a great deal of admiration and respect for Pete and for many other born-again Christians. I respect their strict interpretation of the Bible, although I do not hold to it myself. They put their hearts into what they believe, and it makes a difference in their lives. Their dedication and their integrity is certainly admirable and inspiring. I have known conservative Jews and Muslims with this same dedication and integrity.

The conservative people I admire may not have a scientifically correct understanding of the origins of our universe. They may profess and express "creationist" ideas, but they make no attempt to impose their views on the rest of us, or on our taxpayer-owned schools. "Creationism" itself is a different ballgame. It is a desperate and aggressive power grab by fundamentalist leaders seeking impose their entire world view (Weltanschauung, if you will) by forcing their neo-traditionalist definition of creation upon the rest of us - particularly upon our schoolchildren. These people don't even take the biblical story of creation straight - they impose all sorts of phony "science" upon the creation story, in an attempt to make it look scientific. And they spend all sorts of money and use political muscle to force their phony science upon the rest of us. They're quite successful in places like Texas and the American southern and central states. They've even had some luck here in California, but not on a large scale.

I live in a very conservative county near Sacramento, California. Our local school boards have often had to fight off attempts to impose "creationism" on our schools - along with the extreme right-wing agenda that goes with it. The excellent president of my stepson's junior college lost his job during a short period when the conservatives had a majority on the board of directors of the college.

But I think those aggressive "creationists" are quite different from most religious conservatives, who don't try to force their religion on the rest of us. They're good people like Pete - generous, thoughtful, tolerant people. They believe what they believe - and in everyday life, it doesn't make much difference what they believe about the origins of the universe. They may buy into what the creationists are teaching, but forcing creationism on the world is not a concern for them. And yes, I admit that they vote and that their votes very often don't agree with mine - but that's democracy for ya.

So, what I oppose is aggression, not any particular philosophy. Unfortunately, aggression and the drive to destroy and deride others, is alive and well on the Internet, including our bully-dominated discussions here at Mudcat.

-Joe-