Friday, December 14, 2007

Does Creationism Lead to Violence?

From Australia comes this very sad story of an argument between a creationist and two scientists that led to the death of one of the scientists after being stabbed by the creationist.

Creationists are constantly telling us how acceptance of the theory of evolution has undesirable consequences: for example, the National Association for Objectivity in Science claims that believe in evolution "can have a devastating impact on the student, leading him or her to devalue human life and possibly engage in drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, or violence, or even commit suicide."

Perhaps the opposite is true. Creationism, a form of religious dogma, can lead to violence because the creationist, having no evidence in support of his view, will become frustrated when challenged with evidence. The creationist typically believes that a supernatural being created him and that disbelief is evil. He is convinced of his moral superiority to the non-believer. Indeed, non-believers are threats, because they could spread their non-belief to others, contrary to his god's wishes.

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