U.S. Rep. Paul Broun's view that the theories of evolution and the big bang are "lies straight from the pit of Hell" is getting more exposure than he might have expected, thanks to a video that was made at a church-sponsored banquet in Georgia and distributed by a progressive political watchdog group.
The Georgia Republican is already well-known as an outspoken conservative Christian, due in part to his unsuccessful campaign to have 2010 declared "the Year of the Bible." But the latest comments have taken on an extra dab of controversy because Broun, a medical doctor, calls himself a scientist in the video and chairs the House Science Committee's panel on investigations and oversight.
The video clip, distributed by the Bridge Project, was taken from a longer version recorded on Sept. 27 during the 2012 Sportsman's Banquet at Liberty Baptist Church in Hartwell, Ga. Here's a transcript of the Bridge Project's snippet:
"God's word is true. I've come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the big bang theory [sic], all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell. And it's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who were taught that from understanding that they need a savior. You see, there are a lot of scientific data that I've found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I don't believe that the earth's but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them. That's what the Bible says.
"And what I've come to learn is that it's the manufacturer's handbook, is what I call it. It teaches us how to run our lives individually, how to run our families, how to run our churches. But it teaches us how to run all of public policy and everything in society. And that's the reason as your congressman I hold the Holy Bible as being the major directions to me of how I vote in Washington, D.C., and I'll continue to do that."
Broun's comments were greeted with applause, and they probably reflect how a lot of his constituents feel about the same issues. He's assured of re-election in any case, due to the fact that he has no Democratic Party challenger in next month's election. But how will Broun's latest pronouncements play out on a national stage? Will they have any effect on the presidential campaign?
Source
The Georgia Republican is already well-known as an outspoken conservative Christian, due in part to his unsuccessful campaign to have 2010 declared "the Year of the Bible." But the latest comments have taken on an extra dab of controversy because Broun, a medical doctor, calls himself a scientist in the video and chairs the House Science Committee's panel on investigations and oversight.
The video clip, distributed by the Bridge Project, was taken from a longer version recorded on Sept. 27 during the 2012 Sportsman's Banquet at Liberty Baptist Church in Hartwell, Ga. Here's a transcript of the Bridge Project's snippet:
"God's word is true. I've come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the big bang theory [sic], all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell. And it's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who were taught that from understanding that they need a savior. You see, there are a lot of scientific data that I've found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I don't believe that the earth's but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them. That's what the Bible says.
"And what I've come to learn is that it's the manufacturer's handbook, is what I call it. It teaches us how to run our lives individually, how to run our families, how to run our churches. But it teaches us how to run all of public policy and everything in society. And that's the reason as your congressman I hold the Holy Bible as being the major directions to me of how I vote in Washington, D.C., and I'll continue to do that."
Broun's comments were greeted with applause, and they probably reflect how a lot of his constituents feel about the same issues. He's assured of re-election in any case, due to the fact that he has no Democratic Party challenger in next month's election. But how will Broun's latest pronouncements play out on a national stage? Will they have any effect on the presidential campaign?
Source
OP: Ajdklfakjldjafkldkjl I cannot even with this immense load of bullshit. It is truly horrific that assholes like this are ELECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE. And on a regular basis, no less.
P.S. I had a hell of a time getting the formatting in this entry not to be totally effed up, so if it doesn't come out right let me know...
*speechless*
So embarrassed that this man is a) my congressman and b) a physician.
And yet this jackass gets away with it 'because religion'.
Fucking ridiculous.
Well, OBVIOUSLY. Pfff.
You heathens with your false gods! You have as yet to be touched by the noodly appendages of the great flying spaghette monster.
Edited at 2012-10-08 12:51 am (UTC)
I noticed they took down the full 47 minute video of him on youtube. But as I mentioned before, anyone else find it utterly bizarre that he's in a Church, but surrounded by severed deer heads? I mean, I've lived in the deep South all my life and have been in a number of churches, but I have yet to be in one where a room is completely covered in deer heads, that's a special kind of redneck.
And, in conservative logic, I can grasp the idea that they they think Evolution isn't real, or the Big Bang Theory isn't true, as these are concepts that can't be witnessed in real time.
but... EMBRYOLOGY??? How is that a lie? WHAT IS THE LOGIC BEHIND THIS BELIEF, I HAVE TO KNOW.
what
huh????
You see, there are a lot of scientific data that I've found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth.
so in other words through your selective perspective you disgarded everything else and magically found this 'evidence'
That's pretty much how so-called "creation science" works, in a nutshell! :D
Believe whatever the hell you want, but keep your beliefs from public policy please. We don't need creationism taught in our schools, or that the earth is 6000 or 9000 years old. Science is science, and religion is religion. Not only that, I'm for the separation of church and state. Just because you believe in your religion doesn't mean you get to shove your beliefs down everyone's throats.
And oh, it doesn't look like you're much of a scientist either, so I'll take whatever you say about science with a mountain of salt.
Seriously. I know that the reason there are no tests for public office is so that they can't be used against marginalized groups, but there's got to be a way to protect minorities while still imposing some sort of basic standards on the people who make the decisions about how this country is governed, to ensure that the people making our laws have at least a nodding acquaintance with reality.
dead damn sick and tired of the religious right. Akin, this guy, Bachmann santorum, the whole damn lot can fuck right off to the dark ages on their own and leave the rest of us be.
Huh, you'd think the Mesopotamians who were keeping records on clay tablets for A THOUSAND YEARS by then would have made a note of something as huge as the world being created.
once you toss in that Satan has constructed this elaborate hoax, anything can be dismissed--quite clever really
doing my part to vote him out...but my district is kinda cray
And it's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who were taught that from understanding that they need a savior.
Yeah, I'm not seeing the connection here between believing in evolution and not needing a savior. Believing that the Old Testament was 100 percent factually true is not in any way relevant to the message of the Gospels. Some of the most devout people I know are doctors and scientists. It's really not hard to reconcile the two, to look at the story as allegorical. At least among the religious I know, evolution is seen as part of God's more complex vision. The biblical story was divinely inspired, but at that time, was beyond the writer's comprehension, so it became translated to the whole seven days crap.
The Catholic church sucks in so many ways, but I'll give it credit here. At my Catholic school, we were told that Creationism is flat out wrong. (Of course, the church is still recovering from its embarrassment about Galileo, so that might be it.)
Edited at 2012-10-08 05:11 am (UTC)
And that's the reason as your congressman I hold the Book of Mormon/ Talmud/ Qur'an/ etc as being the major directions to me of how I vote in Washington, D.C., and I'll continue to do that."