Tuesday, December 02, 2014

POE's Law



Okay, if this was a legit' quote, as in, if this woman actually said this, then I'm sorry, but she's a complete idiot. Yes, an idiot. This is not to say that all conservative creationists who disbelieve in the theory (and fact) of evolution are idiots. They aren't. Many are just uninformed or misinformed. 

In any case, I researched this meme and it turns out that it's false---she did not say it. Phew! 

But that sigh of relief is not the point of this post. The point of this post is that I had to research it to find out if it was true or not, because I couldn't tell if it was a parody, or factual, and I couldn't tell, simply because equally idiotic words come from the mouths of creationists every day. This is where POE's law comes into play. POE's Law is where, in lack of a clear indication from the author of a written piece, one cannot tell if the author is being sincere, or being sarcastic, as in, writing a parody. Again, I want to reiterate that I absolutely, positively, do not think that all creationists are stupid. Notwithstanding, I do opine that most (all?) willfully ignorant people are superstitious. IOW, there's a connection there. Thoughts?    

3 comments:

Robert said...

I think I agree that most YEC (young earth creationists) are superstitious ... they live in abject fear of their beliefs while twisting reality to conform to their superstition to appease their "loving god" in an attempt to gain favor and avoid penalties and torture after death. As I think on it, it seems more and more that Christopher Hitches was dead on in referring to "god" as a dictator ala North Korean leader Kim Jung Il ... whose followers similarly will do anything ... ANYTHING to gain and maintain favor to avoid the "alternative".

Mindboggling - I don't think they even dare to go through the thought exercise of "What if god is not real?" for fear that their "god" will misinterpret it as a crisis and weakness of faith. SO they just shut all reality and evidence to the contrary out and merrily go on professing their faith and devotion ... truly brain washed that I'm not sure it can even be considered "willful" ignorance. They avoid anything contrary and what they can't avoid they spin into some convoluted mess that somehow "might" fit their doctrine ... and as long as it technically "could" be "possible" (as in a .00000000001% chance) ... then to them it's "settled and true.

I don't think anyone can fight that kind of devoted "buy in"

boomSLANG said...

"[...] it seems more and more that Christopher Hitches was dead on in referring to 'god' as a dictator ala North Korean leader Kim Jung Il ... whose followers similarly will do anything ... ANYTHING to gain and maintain favor to avoid the 'alternative'."

Exactly, and there's some irony here, that is, when theists - whether they are YECs, or otherwise - argue that Communism is the result of atheism, when in fact, it is dictatorships like that of N.K. that are much more like theism, than not like it. Think about it----a supreme leader? My way or the highway? Penalties for adherents speaking out against it? I'm gonna wipe you and your country off the face of the earth? 'Sound familiar?

Robert said...

Think about it----a supreme leader?

Precisely - these are people - mortal humans - that figured out how to play on and exploit the fears of the people they rule over. History shows that "atheist" leaders like Kim Il Sung and Stalin had a LOT of exposure to religions and learned how to use it to their benefit to secure their power - effectively making themselves gods to be worshiped.

I remember when I had the epiphany/awakening/unveiling when the question:

"If God is so beyond our comprehension, how is it that popes and pastors etc. have this clear understanding of the mind, desires and directives of God when they constantly tell us that we puny humans can't hope to know the fantastic mind of God?"

(I'm sure there is a more economical way to word that but it escapes me at the time - I think you get the gist)

It seems a fantastic double standard that some can "know" the inner workings and nuances of their version of "god" and what he wants us humans to do, but billions of earthlings have no hope of comprehending the wishes of god. Never mind that the lore suggests that god has a habit of "speaking" to the least of us yet he seems to have stopped that practice in the common era (CE/AD) and now only "speaks" to those who seem to have secured power, status and influence ... it's a curious coincidence to say the least - just like god's interactions/miracles seem to have ceased with the discovery/invention of cameras and recording devices. Additionally, why have none of the recently discovered texts/scriptures/scrolls been reviewed for inclusion into the bible and why has ALL inspired writing stopped altogether (excluding the book of Mormon)?

I firmly believe that you and I could go on a camping trip in the everglades and write a new "communication with "god" and ... if done smartly, we could create a whole new religion and say that "god's" new message was delivered to us by an albino Skunk Ape ... if anything else, we'd have a new revenue stream ... I mean, we couldn't be "proven" wrong and who can possibly question the motives of "god" ... right?

In case I forget, best wishes for the holidays to you and yours :)