Evolution and Climate Change Equivocated. Matthews vs. Pence Interview

[mark kennedy]

I'm a little at a loss, this one was a shocker. Somehow the creation vs. evolution debate has made it into the political debate raging in Washington.

Let me say I'm a Democrat, I was fine watching the news shows on the circus in the Trump administration. Then I heard this:

Did you take Biology, did you take science which is all based on evolutionary belief and science and evolutionary belief and assumption…(Chris Matthews, Mike Pence, Do You Believe In Evolution? MSNBC)​

This is a discussion on Global Warming and Climate Change. Pence was bending over backwards to try to get the subject back on track and trust me I’m no fan of Pence, since I'm an Indiana Democrat, but this one was clearly out of line.

Just listen to the interview if you can stand it, and let me know, was Matthews out of line and way off topic.

Your thoughts...

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[Speedwell]

I'm a little at a loss, this one was a shocker. Somehow the creation vs. evolution debate has made it into the political debate raging in Washington.

Let me say I'm a Democrat, I was fine watching the news shows on the circus in the Trump administration. Then I heard this:

Did you take Biology, did you take science which is all based on evolutionary belief and science and evolutionary belief and assumption…(Chris Matthews, Mike Pence, Do You Believe In Evolution? MSNBC)​

This is a discussion on Global Warming and Climate Change. Pence was bending over backwards to try to get the subject back on track and trust me I’m no fan of Pence, since I'm an Indiana Democrat, but this one was clearly out of line.

Just listen to the interview if you can stand it, and let me know, was Matthews out of line and way off topic.

Your thoughts...

Grace and peace,
Mark

Chris Matthews was out of line. He's a jerk, and although I watch MSNBC fairly regularly (and have the political bias to go with it), I always switch off his show.

Still, given the political nature of creationism I think it was a fair question, if it had been brought up in a civil fashion.

 

[mark kennedy]

Chris Matthews was out of line. He's a jerk, and although I watch MSNBC fairly regularly (and have the political bias to go with it), I always switch off his show.

Still, I think it was a fair question, if it had been brought up in a civil fashion.

It wasn't so bad that he brought it up but he wouldn't let Pence finish a question. Pence actually did answer it, at least as far as he had actually thought about it. God created the heavens, earth and everything in them, how he said, he had no idea. The subject was climate change, Matthews keeps insisting you must make the assumptions of science, which of course is always naturalistic because science is an exploration of natural phenomenon.

My enthusiasm for the creation/evolution controversy has cooled considerably since the Dover case. I still browse the the forums and enjoy an occasional exchange, but it's passe'. Why is this guy going off into a rank, equivocating creationism with denying climate change? All Pence said is we are moving toward clean coal, if he is so concerned about science he might of tried taking him to task with whether or not there is such a thing. Or whether or not man is causing climate change, or maybe if it's a real problem in the first place. I would have been fine with that, but no, he goes after Pence based on a religious question.

 

[Speedwell]

It wasn't so bad that he brought it up but he wouldn't let Pence finish a question. Pence actually did answer it, at least as far as he had actually thought about it. God created the heavens, earth and everything in them, how he said, he had no idea. The subject was climate change, Matthews keeps insisting you must make the assumptions of science, which of course is always naturalistic because science is an exploration of natural phenomenon.

My enthusiasm for the creation/evolution controversy has cooled considerably since the Dover case. I still browse the the forums and enjoy an occasional exchange, but it's passe'. Why is this guy going off into a rank, equivocating creationism with denying climate change? All Pence said is we are moving toward clean coal, if he is so concerned about science he might of tried taking him to task with whether or not there is such a thing. Or whether or not man is causing climate change, or maybe if it's a real problem in the first place. I would have been fine with that, but no, he goes after Pence based on a religious question.

He was trying to fit Pence up for the stereotype (which I don't know enough about Pence to know if he would fit it or not.) Matthews is an extremist on the "left" side of the Culture War in the same way as, say, Limbaugh on the "right."

 

[mark kennedy]

He was trying to fit Pence up for the stereotype (which I don't know enough about Pence to know if he would fit it or not.) Matthews is an extremist on the "left" side of the Culture War in the same way as, say, Limbaugh on the "right."

I just realize something, this interview is from 2009. Well that kind of makes sense, the Culture War was simmering down but still running it's course. Anyway, I get what your saying about Matthews and Limbaugh, they polarize over every detail. What I know of Pence is that is that he is a room temperature politician, he was my Governor, Indiana Republicans are a trip.

I just thought the exchange is obnoxious and you know me, I'm always up for a good debate on creationism. But that's not news, that's partisan rhetoric, energizing a base that simply wants to see religion ridiculed as ignorant.

 

[Speedwell]

I just realize something, this interview is from 2009. Well that kind of makes sense, the Culture War was simmering down but still running it's course. Anyway, I get what your saying about Matthews and Limbaugh, they polarize over every detail. What I know of Pence is that is that he is a room temperature politician, he was my Governor, Indiana Republicans are a trip.

I think it's time we all started to pay more attention to who Mike Pence is--he may well be President before long.

I just thought the exchange is obnoxious and you know me, I'm always up for a good debate on creationism. But that's not news, that's partisan rhetoric, energizing a base that simply wants to see religion ridiculed as ignorant.

Too broad. It's not "religion" but right-wing Bible-believing religion that the left is afraid of. As someone who has lived in the Bible Belt as a "Bible-hating, Christ-denying (epithet for communist) (epithet for homosexual) lover" I see some justification for that fear.

 

[mark kennedy]

I think it's time we all started to pay more attention to who Mike Pence is--he may well be President before long.

Stop your scaring me, unlike his boss he actually knows what he is doing.

Too broad. It's not "religion" but right-wing Bible-believing religion that the left is afraid of. As someone who has lived in the Bible Belt as a "Bible-hating, Christ-denying (epithet for communist) (epithet for homosexual) lover" I see some justification for that fear.

I don't believe that, liberals and conservatives, fundamentalists and modernists can get ignorant. That's not a religious thing, it's the human factor. Like I've always warned theistic evolutionists, when they are done with us they will come for you. I remember reading a blog where Francis Collins was being demonized for being a creationist. I was astonished, the man is not only an accomplished scientist but an avowed theistic evolutionist. He is even friendly with Richard Dawkins which I found a little creepy, they chatted casually of the God of the multiverse, whatever that means.

I've interacted with very few creationists beyond this board, but there is a definite chill in the air when I bring up fossils or comparative genomics. One preacher had preached some mocking satire of evolution, I honestly thought was witty. I mentioned to him after church that there are no chimpanzee fossils in the fossil record. I honestly think he was startled, he couldn't have looked more shocked if he had just realized I had a gun. I just said don't worry about it brother and left it at that.

I was changing duty stations and decided to stop at the Creationist museum. They had just opened the Darwinian Natural Selection exhibit and guess who was outside making a podcast, Ken Ham himself. I patiently waited for him to finish his thing he was doing but when I tried to approach him he was stand offish. I just wanted to shake his hand and tell him I loved his work, maybe share some thoughts on the new exhibit. Him and his sound guy just walked away, I was disappointed and puzzled by it all.

Grace and peace,
Mark

 

[Speedwell]

I don't believe that, liberals and conservatives, fundamentalists and modernists can get ignorant. That's not a religious thing, it's the human factor. Like I've always warned theistic evolutionists, when they are done with us they will come for you.

I'm not much concerned about it. Theistic evolutionists don't have a political agenda.

 

[mark kennedy]

I'm not much concerned about it. Theistic evolutionists don't have a political agenda.

Darwinians do.

 

[Speedwell]

Darwinians do.

What is it?

 

[mark kennedy]

What is it?

Legal, social and political. They want to eliminate religion from human society. They won't stop with evangelicals and fundamentalists.

 

[Speedwell]

Legal, social and political. They want to eliminate religion from human society. They won't stop with evangelicals and fundamentalists.

That's pretty sweeping, and not very specific. Names, organizations, policies?