How to not make a Trojan Horse
Published by Greg September 2nd, 2007 in Creationism in the Classroom, video, Creationism, Commentary
The Actual Trojan Horse from the movie Troy You know, when you examine them closely, the Ten Commandments do not specifically prohibit telling lies or misrepresenting oneself, as long as one does not “bear false witness against thy neighbor.” This could explain why Christians often have very little trouble lying. Christians who try to be honest people do so because of ethics and morals that they learn form society, not from their religion, apparently.
One of the well known techniques that creationists use in their tireless efforts to force their religion down the throats of every K-12 student in the country is to dress themselves up as “Trojan Horses,” get elected to a school board, and then advocate for unconstitutional classroom regulations regarding Evolution, which ultimately cause law suits and other troubles so that the school boards, the school districts, the teachers, the students, and the parents all pay a cost in time and funds because they were teaching evolution.
These days, the Trojan Horses can’t really change the regulations or create a situation in which creationism is taught in the schools. The case law on this issue is rock hard, and there is no way a school district can really be hijacked for this purpose these days. So I assume that the tactic creationists are using now is simply to divert attention and resources away from evolution on one hand, and generate fear on the other. Tactics they seem to have learned from the neo-Terrorists such as those working today in Iraq and elsewhere. How nice.
The Discovery Institute is a right wing think tank with a wing dedicated to promoting creationism (and other allegedly Christian agendas), called the Center for Science and Culture. The Center for Science and Culture was formerly directed by John Angus Campbell, who remains at this time as a Fellow of the Center.
We have just learned that Campbell is now running, under a slightly altered name (John Campbell) for the school board of North Mason County, Washington.
Campbell is campaigning hard on various issues having to do with the financial matters of the school district. But according to a report by Nina Shapiro, ‘One thing he has failed to disclose, however, is his link to the “intelligent design” movement and the Discovery Institute, the Seattle-based think tank that is a leading proponent of the neo-creationist theory that life and other aspects of the universe came into being not by evolution but by the work of an intelligent “cause.”‘
Shipiro also reports:
In a two-page biography posted on his campaign Web site, campbell4kids.com, Campbell notes that he has co-authored a book, but doesn’t give its title. Furthermore, the site includes no mention of his Discovery Institute fellowship, instead highlighting his experience in “minor surveying and major brush whacking” in 1960 and his association with the Boy Scouts, as well as faculty jobs at the University of Washington and the University of Memphis.
As this news has traveled across the Internet, we see a number of insightful comments on Campbell and his latest dishonest gambit.
The original story is reported here,
Further Thoughts dissects this important part of the Trojan disguise:
By describing himself as a “Darwinist”, Campbell has tipped his hand. Darwinism is a 150-year old precursor to the modern synthesis. It is primarily used as a pejorative term for evolutionary biologists by creationists. Either Campbell is so wrapped up in the in-house language of the creationists that he uses that term, or he uses it as coded language, signally to those “in the know” that he is actually one of them, while appearing to communicate something very different to his fellow creationists.
Regarding Campbell’s claim that he is not “going to touch cirriculum,” The Austringer reports:
… while Campbell says that he isn’t going to touch curricula, and that IDC isn’t part of his motivation to run, nonetheless those IDC “ideas” are still something he thinks would be useful to “study Darwinism” with. The thing is that IDC “ideas” are “creation science” ideas are “scientific creationism” ideas; they just keep recycling the same religious content while applying progressively shiftier and more innocuous labels to it. This is despite the clear warning from the Supreme Court in the Edwards v. Aguillard case that such shams should not be mistaken for anything but religious establishment.
PZ Myers notes:
If you ever get to listen to him, you’ll discover that he’s friendly and charming, and he really tries to cozen up to you by flattering your side of the issues: you’ll get to experience what it’s like to be on the receiving side of a framing effort. And let me tell you, I don’t like it one bit. I find Campbell utterly repellent — it’s not quite at the Sal Cordova level of repugnance, but it’s close. My impression is of profound dishonesty and untrustworthiness, that he’s a kind of Wormtongue of the creationist movement.
Finally, I give you this. I happen to see this on a British Airway flight recently, and it turns out it is on You Tube. A brilliant expose of the apparent fact, as Mark Twain once said, that
“History doesn’t repeat itself - at best it sometimes rhymes”
14 Responses to “How to not make a Trojan Horse”
- 1 Pingback on Sep 2nd, 2007 at 3:09 pm
- 2 Pingback on Sep 3rd, 2007 at 12:52 am
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- 4 Pingback on Sep 14th, 2007 at 6:27 am
Please HELP US!
I live in the North Mason School district. His chances of winning are 2 to 1 in his favor. He has the full support of the Democratic party. (I don’t know if they know) He has full support from the local teachers union.(I don’t know if they know)The PDC shows who is giving him money. He has not been here very long. He claims two years but I know he was in another state teaching 6 months ago. Letters to the Editor in our local paper would help. ‘the Bremerton Sun” “The Shelton Journal” Please don’t attack him on the ID issue because that may backfire. His integrity and his taking advantage of a board that represents the public and not the teachers union. I have come to recognize him as a phony and a carpetbagger but others have not.
PLEASE HELP US!
ourbelfair@yahoo.com
Thank you
Steve
Steve: I’ve sent you an email.
OT. as far as the video is concerned I thought this one of theirs was even funnier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....mp;search=
Many people, when they can’t provide evidence for their theory, adopt the strategy of falsehood. Such is the case with many of those who have fallen victim to the propaganda of renowned evolutionists.
If evolutionists want to end the arguments all they have to do is, get their brilliant heads together and assemble a ’simple’ living cell. This should be possible, since they certainly have a very great amount of knowledge about what is inside the ’simple’ cell.
After all, shouldn’t all the combined Intelligence of all the worlds scientist be able the do what chance encounters with random chemicals, without a set of instructions, accomplished about 4 billion years ago,according to the evolutionists, having no intelligence at all available to help them along in their quest to become a living entity. Surely then the evolutionists scientists today should be able to make us a ’simple’ cell.
If it weren’t so pitiful it would be humorous, that intelligent people have swallowed the evolution mythology.
Beyond doubt, the main reason people believe in evolution is that sources they admire, say it is so. It would pay for these people to do a thorough examination of all the evidence CONTRARY to evolution that is readily available: Try answersingenesis.org. The evolutionists should honestly examine the SUPPOSED evidence ‘FOR’ evolution for THEMSELVES.
Build us a cell, from scratch, with the required raw material, that is with NO cell material, just the ‘raw’ stuff, and the argument is over. But if the scientists are unsuccessful, perhaps they should try Mother Earth’s recipe, you know, the one they claim worked the first time about 4 billion years ago, so they say. All they need to do is to gather all the chemicals that we know are essential for life, pour them into a large clay pot and stir vigorously for a few billion years, and Walla, LIFE!
Oh, you don’t believe the ‘original’ Mother Earth recipe will work? You are NOT alone, Neither do I, and MILLIONS of others!
PS: Please don’t lie about the ‘first life’ problem, scientists are falling all over themselves to make a living cell. Many have admitted publicly that it is a monumental problem. And is many years away from happening, if ever. Logical people understand this problem and have rightly concluded that an Intelligent Designer was absolutely necessary. Think of it this way, if all the brilliant scientists on earth can’t do it how on earth can anyone believe that it happened by accident?????
James Collins! Is this the Head of Biological Sciences of NSF James Collins? Or is it the Creationist Troll James Collins. I can never keep you guys straight.
Jimmy boy, there is no such thing as a simple cell. If you don’t know that, you are ignorant of the subject of which you speak. If you do know that, you are an unmitigated scumball liar.
Which is it, Jimbo?
(Is this going to affect my chances of getting grant money from the NSF?)
“Think of it this way, if all the brilliant scientists on earth can’t do it how on earth can anyone believe that it happened by accident?????”
Great point! I mean, all the brilliant scientists in the world have never made a hurricane either, so obviously those couldn’t happen by acciedent and must have been intelligently designed too. Right?
Dave … hey, I think you might be right about that….
It’s much easier for variations of chance to cause destruction than construction. A hurricane isn’t a living thing, it is the result of a drop in air pressure over the ocean mixed with the evaporation of water. This change can cause massive destruction just like the rest of nature as we know it ecxept what was designed to reproduce and live.
Just a thought: What makes you think Christians lie more than anyone else? Everyone lies. (For information: I am not a Christian.)
One more quick one. I believe religion is about controlling people. Just like nationalism.