“The KING James was intended to be the simplest of all the bibles, because it was designed to be written with no more than 8,000 different words in total. (Obviously, it has more than a million words, but only 8,000 words are used repetitively to make up the one million- no more). Thereby, it became the simplest medium available to serve the largest population possible.”
John went on to add:
“But being popular doesn't make it correct, or endow it with absolute truth. As a matter of fact, with such low verbal density or use it would be comical to even suggest the King James bible (or any other) comes remotely close to truth. What it does, for the masses, is present a cartoon version of reality.”
Of course, it is this elemental simplicity which fuels its sales! Most Americans are not readers at heart, certainly of anything that taxes their gray matter or vocabulary. If they were to read anything and especially make purchases of it: it would be a book with a reduced vocabulary and one also advertised as conferring some “spiritual benefit”. Enter the Bible!
Coupled with this is that book publishers have known for over one hundred years it has been a consistent top seller, so have always churned out more copies than any other work of fiction – including the illustrious Harry Potter series.
So, the fact the Bible is a #1 “best seller” isn’t anything to crow about, it is rather an indictment of American insularity and parochialism of thought. It is the embodiment of all that Europeans, for example, criticize in terms of Americans’ lack of genuine intellectual insight and curiosity.
I bring this up because adherence to bible bunkum is what keeps the Republican party's hard core zealots and knuckle draggers (e.g. Todd Akin) bound to a world view long since expired. Having said all that, there appears to be at least a ray of light on the Dumbo Party (i.e. Repukes) as one of their most hard core Tea Party mavens now admits to having some intelligence after all. I am referring (to Florida Tea Bagger Extraordinaire, Marco Rubio.
“I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says. I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians. Whether the Earth was created in 7 days, or 7 actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.”
Hmmmm……so he never studied basic general science, even in college, where one is introduced to the concept of radiocarbon isotope dating? Maybe he has, because this week, in an interview with Politico, he attempted to mop up his Teapot response in GQ.
He said, “There is no scientific debate on the age of the Earth. I mean, it’s established pretty definitively. It’s at least 4.5 billion years old.”
BRAVO! Now, please inform Young Sun-Young Earth pseudo-astrophysicist Jason Lisle! It would work wonders!
Alas, maybe he could see Lisle leering at him in his mind’s eye as he hedged:
“I just think in America we should have the freedom to teach our children whatever it is we believe. And that means teaching them science. They have to know the science, but also parents have the right to teach them the theology and to reconcile those two things.”
Errrrr…..no, maestro! Parents have NO such ”right”! Science isn’t up for election, "reconciliaton" with ancient dreck or popularity contests! Nor up for “rights” contention by bible-banging parents. Even if 5 million imbecilic parents don’t believe in Newton’s three laws of motion, that doesn’t invalidate them! Even if ten million Reichist zombies believe the Earth was created in 6 days and is 6 thousand years old, that is irreconcilable with the scientific FACT of Earth’s 4-5 billion years age – as you noted to Politico. You’re entitled to your own beliefs and opinions but not your own scientific facts!
But this leaves open the question: Why did Marco hedge? Well, because he's tethered his fortunes to a party of creationists, global warming deniers and generally ill-informed, poorly educated yokels. According to a June Gallup report, most Republicans (58 percent) believed that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years. Most Democrats and independents do not agree, mainly because most Democrats and independents are college educated and possess IQs over room temperature.
Make no mistake that his Republican anti-intellectualism is antediluvian. No wonder a 2009 Pew Research Center report found that only 6 percent of scientists identified as Republican and 9 percent identified as conservative. (Fewer still as fundamentalist Christians). It’s because the generic mindset in all those domains is antithetical to science!
Furthermore, a 2005 study found that only 11 percent of college professors identified as Republican and 15 percent identified as conservative. Some argue that this simply represents a liberal bias in academia. However, an equally strong a case could be made that people who absorb facts easily don’t suffer fools gladly. Since the Repugs are replete with fools, the thinking quarters of society will not suffer them gladly or their humbug – no matter how many bibles they quote, or how much they stomp their feet.
That, of course, leaves it to the rest of us – the critically thinking and educated citizens- to be the adults here. It is up to us to tell these brats where to get off and what they can and can’t do. In that sense, we can’t permit them to turn our educational system into the laughing stock of the planet. Think of Adam and Eve riding dinosaurs with lassos, such as depicted in my blog on Charles Pierce's book Idiot America!
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