The Facts of Life: Shattering the Myths of Darwinism. A Review.

New Statesman ^ | 28 August 1992 | Richard Dawkins

[Elsie]

It's a Wednesday night and you are at a grocery store when somebody runs in from the parking lot and says, "Turn on a radio, turn on a radio."  The shoppers listen to a little transistor radio playing over the store's PA system, the announcement is made: "Twelve men & women are lying in a Long Island hospital dying from the mystery flu."

Within hours it seems, this thing just sweeps across the country. People are working around the clock trying to find an antidote. Nothing is working.  California, Oregon, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts.  It's as though it's just sweeping in from the borders.

And then, suddenly the news comes out. The code has been broken. A cure can be found. A vaccine can be made. It's going to take the blood of somebody who hasn't been infected, and so, sure enough, all through the Midwest, through all those channels of emergency broadcasting, everyone is asked to do one simple thing. Go to your downtown hospital and have your blood type taken. That's all we ask of you. When you hear the sirens go off in your neighborhood, please make your way quickly, quietly, and safely to the hospitals."

Sure enough, when you and your family get down there late on that Friday night, there is a long line, and they've got nurses and doctors coming out and pricking fingers and taking blood and putting labels on it.  Your wife and your kids are out there, and they take your blood type and they say, "Wait here in the parking lot. If we call your name, you can be dismissed and go home." 

 

You stand around, scared, with your neighbors, wondering what in the world is going on and if this is the end of the world.

Suddenly a young man comes running out of the hospital screaming. He's yelling a name and waving a clipboard. What? He yells it again! And your son tugs on your jacket and says, "Daddy, that's me." 

 

Before you know it, they have grabbed your boy.

"Wait a minute. Hold on!", you yell.

 

And they say, "It's okay, his blood is clean. His blood is pure.  We want to make sure he doesn't have the disease. We think he has got the right type."

Five tense minutes later, out come the doctors and nurses, crying and hugging one another -- some are even laughing. It's the first time you have seen anybody laugh in a week, and an old doctor walks up to you and says, "Thank you, sir. Your son's blood type is perfect. It's clean, it is pure, and we can make the vaccine."

As the word begins to spread! All across that parking lot full of folks, people are screaming and praying and laughing and crying. But then the gray-haired doctor pulls you and your wife aside and says, "May we see you for a moment? We didn't realize that the donor would be a minor and we need ... we need you to sign a consent form."  You begin to sign and  then you see that the number of pints of blood to be taken is empty. "How many pints?"

And that is when the old doctor's smile fades and he says, "We had no idea it would be little child. We weren't prepared. We need it all!  But-but...You don't understand. We are talking about the world here. Please sign. We-we need it all!"

"But can't you give him a transfusion?"

"If we had clean blood we would. Can you sign?  Would you sign?"

In numb silence, you do. Then they say, "Would you like to have a moment with him before we begin?"

Can you walk back? Can you walk back to that room where he sits on a table saying, "Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?"

 

Can you take his hands and say, "Son, your mommy and I love you, and we would never ever let anything happen to you that didn't just have to be. Do you understand that?"

And when that old doctor comes back in and says,  "I'm sorry we've got to get started. People all over the world are dying."

 

Can you leave? Can you walk out while he is saying, "Dad? Mom? Dad? Why, why have you forsaken  me?"

And then next week, when they have the ceremony to honor your son, and some folks sleep through it, and some folks don't even come because they went to the lake, and some folks come with a pretentious smile and just pretend to care, would you want to jump up and say, "MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DON'T YOU CARE?"

[Physicist]

Oh, one other thing........ could someone get me the reply number where Khepera actually said he'd(she'd?) enjoy the lost being tormented?

Post 166.

[clamper1797]

Re: post 301 ... that strawman has more holes in it than a
head of swiss cheese.

[chemainus]

Not so. The mythical doctrine of original sin is nowhere to be found in Christ's teachings. This notion is from the middle Ages and is a simplistic doctrine that evangelists ( like the Muslim? Binny Hinn )use to control people they consider incapable of understanding and embracing trhe richness of Christian doctrine and history. If you depend on a house nof cards, any breeze is a threat to you. Try using some granite for a change.

[chemainus]

This whole post is regretfully uninformed claptrap. The unanswerable questions you mention are easily answered, have been answered, are far along the road to being answered. this is an example of the failure of the U.S. education system; ignorance in both science and philosophy. Two little books will put you on the road 1) Immense Journey by loren Eisley and 2) Realms of Knowledge ny Phillip Phenix. Both are easy, delightful to read and factually and philosophically sound.

[chemainus]

Please read Philip Phenix , Realms of Learning ( Knowledge) before you lock yourself in a small dark 6X6 room in a very large, open , bright and delightful house.

[chemainus]

"Junior" what an appropriate name.

[Physicist]

would you want to jump up and say, "MY SON DIED FOR YOU! DON'T YOU CARE?"

I might. But I wouldn't say, "YOUR LIVES BELONG TO ME NOW. DEDICATE YOURSELVES TO WORSHIPING ME AND DOING MY BIDDING OR I WILL TORTURE YOU FOR ETERNITY." Especially not if I could make good on that threat.

[clamper1797]

It seems so obvious that a lot of what is written in the Bible is nothing but attempts to control people through fearmongering with threats of an eternal hell. To me those threats are the words of men and NOT of God. People say that the Bible is God's words but forget all the revisions and translations of the Bible and that several chapters were left out of the King James that were in previous revisions. These chapters were left out due to the politics of the time. Does THAT sound like Gods work ??? The perfect answer to some religious idiots fanatics ok ... zealots query ... "do you believe the Bible" is to ask ... which version and which translation. To me ... it is obvious that it is so filled with middle ages threads of "eternal hell" if you don't do exactly what I say and believe in me without question claptrap that most of it loses any credibility. If someone asks ... do you believe in God ... I don't want to have to say ... "Yes I do ... because I HAVE to". To me ... A God that has to use force and threats to secure followers (like Allah) is not the true God but the great deceiver in disquise.

[clamper1797]

I like to refer to people like Khepra and "{C)INOS" Christian in name only. He believes he's Christian cause he thinks he has "accepted" Christ ... but ignores and/or distorts his teachings

[Junior]

Oooh, nice reply. Can't come up with any arguments, so you go straight for the name calling. BTW, "Junior" is a knickname I picked up in the Navy; I just passed my 37th birthday.

[clamper1797]

I like to refer to people like Khepra and "{C)INOS" =
I like to refer to people like Khepra as "{C)INOS"

[chemainus]

Well said. Actually, many of the things " because it's written in the Bible" are not in the Bible at all but come from Dante's Inferno, as you know an epic poem about the whole Heaven/Hell God/Devil thing. I am not anti-Christian, quite the contrary, but Christianity loses by teaching superficial dogma rather than exploring the immense richness and beauty that is UNIQUE to Christianity. In exploring this richness that leads to a satisfying and unshakeable faith, one must be conversant in philosophy, 'evolution' , ancient history, the fact that Christianity would not even exist ( nor would Judaism be anything but a rare and obscure Arab cult) without that Rome that is cited by both as the arch enemy, and of course the Irish connection and the Middle Ages. Actually the Imperial Roman Christians morphed into the Roman Catholic Church, the Irish Christians actually morphed into Protestants and the Byzantine Christians morphed into the Greek and Yugoslavian Orthodox Church, which is probably the most pious and gentle of the three groups ( and we bombed them). Mohammedism came half a millenniun later as marching orders for the slaughtering Arab armies and copied what was convenient from these two and took it's own particular brutality and tribalism as the core message. Christianity is so very very deep and rich and fulfilling if one pushes aside the dogma from the Benny Hin soapbox and looks at the religion for the unique and fulfilling religion that it is. By the way, why isn't Benny Hin in jail by now for fraud ? I think he is a Muslim who saw a way to make hundreds of millions of dollars. That's what I have been told. All replies appreciated.

[RaceBannon]

Sin entered the world through Adam, and it wasn't Benny Hinn that said that.

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
...14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

That is clear. What is your point?

[chemainus]

Plenty of very facile 'arguments't don't want to waste them. 'Cast not your pearls....'

[chemainus]

So your theology is based on a letter from a Greek,Paul, who admitted to a certain (unmentionable) impediment, to emerging ( physically and philosophically) church organizations in Rome long after Christ, citing Old Testament writings that were not part of the precursor religion, Judaism, as anything more than historical emergence of Jewish philosophy? This is exactly what I am talking about. Control through misunderstanding , out of context communications, and both comingling and obfuscation of issues , plastered over by lengthy King James dictated, politically revised, language and translation.

[Junior]

The post to which you resorted to name calling simply was an overview of radiometric dating. You can't reply cogently because you cannot formulate an argument to refute anything said. Therefore you are reduced to name-calling. What next? Are you going to equate Darwinism with Naziism and Communism? That's usually the last resort of any creationist when his or her arguments come up dry.

[edsheppa]

Beckett: If being enlightened means I have to cast my lot with a nasty, snotty, cynical, know-it-all, ad hominem attack artist par excellence like Dawkins,...

Beckett: In fact Dawkins is on the far leftwing in Britain. He recently (April 6) signed a declaration, along with several dozen other leftwing academics and "luminaries" (including rabid leftwing fanatic Harold Pinter), calling for a moratorium by the British and other European governments of awarding "grants and contracts" to Israel unless serious peace negotiations were opened along the lines of the "Saudi peace plan."

You do know your ad hominem.

[Physicist]

That is clear.

Not very. The standard Moravian interpretation, IIRC, is that Adam introduced sin into the world, and that is why we sin, NOT that we are held responsible for Adam's transgression (or anyone else's but our own).

I do realize that many Christian churches do teach the doctrine of original sin, and also the interpretation that Adam's sin was what made man mortal, even though that contradicts the notion that eating of the Tree of Life would confer immortality.

[beckett]

Anyone who has read Dawkins for a few decades, as I have, knows that he is the nastiest ad hominem attack artist writing today. The stuff I said about him (and my remarks about the document he signed don't qualify as ad hominem at all), are chocolate kisses compared to the stuff he says about his enemies every time he sits down in front of a keyboard.