Pat Robertson vs. the Pope?

After the Holy See’s dismissal of the Intelligent Design theory Robertson’s comments sound like pre-fight boxer banter

Pat Robertson

Voters in Dover, Pennsylvania on Tuesday rejected the idea of teaching Intelligent Design to their children in science classrooms by replacing 8 republican school board members who originally pushed for it with Democrats who don’t. In response today, Pat Robertson issued a harsh evangelical warning (threat?) to the citizens of Dover:

“I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God. You just rejected him from your city.”

Later in the day, Robertson issued a statement saying he was pointing out that “our spiritual actions have consequences” and “If they have future problems in Dover, I recommend they call on Charles Darwin. Maybe he can help them.”

I wonder if this is a true example of the ‘compassion’ in Robertson’s faith shining through? Come to think of it, why didn’t Pat bother steering Hurricane Katrina away before it claimed so many lives? Could it be he was too busy promoting his “assassinate Chavez” policy or is it just because you don’t see many poor black people in Robertson’s audiences?

I’m not writing this to attack religion. I believe faith is a beautiful thing and for many (myself included) vital to daily living. Still, history shows that organized religion can be dangerous and evangelicals tend to be armed and dangerous.

Earlier this week, Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture officially rejected the theory of Intelligent Design. The Vatican has issued a stout defense of Charles Darwin, voicing strong criticism of Christian fundamentalists who reject his theory of evolution and interpret the biblical account of creation literally.

In short, the Vatican (as expressed by Cardinal Poupard) believes that the Genesis account of how God created the universe and Darwin’s Theory of Evolution are “perfectly compatible” if the Bible is read correctly.

Maybe that’s the real problem? We just need more money for education! Evangelicals and other fundamentalists are missing the mark because they grow up believing the “Three R’s” all actually begin with the letter R.

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