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 Commenters were fired up about Bill Nye, creationism and evolution.
August 28th, 2012
10:37 AM ET
Your Take: 5 reactions to Bill Nye's creationism critiqueBy Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN) - Bill Nye does not think that children should be taught to deny evolution, and a YouTube video of him explaining why has gone viral. The CNN Belief Blog's report on the video has generated around 10,000 comments and thousands of Facebook shares since Monday. There were some broad themes in the comments, reflecting a debate that is largely unique to the United States. While Christianity is booming in Africa, Asia and Latin America, creationism is not, Penn State University religious studies professor Philip Jenkins writes in his book "The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South." Here are five schools of reaction that have emerged in comments: 1. Those using this controversy to bash religion Atheists love the Internet, as we've chronicled on the Belief Blog. While they may be a small portion of the population, they seem to make up about half our commenters. It was their chance to join with Nye and cheer him on:
2. Those who say wait a minute, being a creationist isn’t necessarily being anti-evolution Lots of folks from the theistic evolution camp came out to say that believing God was involved doesn't automatically make you anti-evolution.
3. Those who say that science is stupid and that young Earth creationism rules Young Earth creationists, who believe the Earth is about 6,000 years old, appeared to be out in force in the comments.
4. Those who say Nye should stick to his area of expertise This tweet was the most polite remark we could find on this subject. Other comments and tweets, not so much.
[tweet https://twitter.com/watsup1101/status/240168918109523968%5D 5. Those who say CNN is cooking up controversy where none exists Lots of people suggested we were generating a story instead of covering one.
For the record, plenty of other news outlets covered this story, pointing out that Nye's video was posted on YouTube just before the Republican National Convention opened. Turns out that Nye taped the segment awhile back and had no say in when it would be released. Thanks for chiming in. The comments are open here, and you can always hit us up on Twitter @CNNBelief. soundoff (2,811 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Think of the possibilities of a world without religion. First and foremost humans could focus on thinking rationally instead of relying on some man in the sky to fix all of our problems and decide who is going to win the Super Bowl. Rational thought leads to working together as a human race to address our complex problems, most of which were created by humans and their man made religions. For those of you out there who think we need religion to have morals and compassion...You call what your religions have given us moral and compassionte? Wars, Slavery, sluaghter of Native Americans, Racism, the Jim Bakers of the world, Politicians with a bible in one hand and a stack of money in the other, and all the lying, cheating hypocrites sitting in the pews on Sunday morning. We can do better this people! Religion is nothing but a tool to be used by those with the gold to keep those without in submission. It divides people and thrawts growth and advancement. Think Dark Ages, a period of time when the western world was ruled by religious leaders. Look how that served the common man. It's time we unplugged ourselves from the Matrix.
Imagine....John Lennon
The sooner the better.
Oh, wait, we can't do anything rational like that!
"Rational Libertarian"(an oxymoron) will not let us because his boo boo kitty likes some of the phrases on how to murder people.
To be fair, i don't think religion *causes* racism, but it sure is a handy justification tool.
America the supposed great melting pot of the world with freedom of religion as a basic right. The christians, however, want their view of the world to pervail claiming the USA is a christin nation. Creationism should be taught in public schools, they say. but what version. There are dozens of different creation stories/myths, what makes the christian story any more believable than the rest (it is probably one of the least believable)? For examlpe here is the first and last lines of the hindu creation myth that I like...
"The universe exsisted in the shape of darkness, unperceived, dest*itute of distinctive marks, unattainable by reason, wholly emersed, as it were, in deep sleep.
*
*
*
"But, joining minute particles even of those six, which possess measureless power, with particles of himself, he created all beings"
This brings to mind what is happening at the LHC at Cern. Higgs Bozon could be particles of himsef, perhaps?
Show me some evidence, and I'm instantly a believer. Just let me know. I'm not asking for rock solid proof, just some tangible evidence. Not claims, not abstract cause and effect rationalizations, just some tangible, emperical evidence. I'll be waiting...
There is over 150 years of evidence out there. If you haven't understood it yet, nothing anyone will show you now will convince you, because you do not wish to be convinced-pure and simple.
One doesn't become a "believer in" evolution anyway. One accepts reality or one doesn't. And whether you accept evolution or not is completely irrelevant: it has occurred, it is occurring, and it will occur, even if every single human being on the planet refuses to accept it.
Welcome to the real world, or not.
Proof? Evolutionists don't do proof. Here's the hilarious thing about evolutionists, for them science takes the place of God, all life and all reason can be explained by science. What is science? Generally, it's the proving of theories, making them facts by means of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. That's how you prove a fact, the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Now the irony, EVOLUTION CAN NOT BE PROVEN BY THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD yet somehow, someway, we should accept it as a fact. So in the end, evolutionists really have no faith in science at all or else they'd stick to findings that could be proven by their be all and end all methods.
Proof? Evolutionists don't do proof. Here's the hilarious thing about evolutionists, for them science takes the place of God, all life and all reason can be explained by science. What is science? Generally, it's the proving of theories, making them facts by means of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. That's how you prove a fact, the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Now the irony, EVOLUTION CAN NOT BE PROVEN BY THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD yet somehow, someway, we should accept it as a fact. So in the end, evolutionists really have no faith in science at all or else they'd stick to findings that could be proven by their be all and end all methods.
DNA sequencing. The evolutionary tree of life was based on the principles of evolution and observations on the morphology of different organisms. It says that this organism is more closely related to that one because they share a more recent common ancestor. When we achieved the ability to decode the genetic sequences for individual organisms, we found they pattern exactly as they should if that were true. Talk about low probabilities! It' simply absurd to suppose that this is a coincidence. It served as a truly independent test for evolutionary theory, and evolution passed with flying colors. It is now considered to be stronger evidence for evolution than the fossil record ever was.
Pool wrecker is so scientifically ignorant that he/she doesn't even understand that science doesn't prove things, it explains things.
Yet for some bizarre reason, he/she feels strangely compelled to come onto internet message boards and demonstrate that ignorance for all to see.
@Mattski
We, humans, share over 98% of our DNA with chimps, one of the species we most recently shared a common ancestor with. As you move down the tree of life, the one from biology not Genesis, each animal you encounter shares less DNA with us.
poolwrecker
Not many people think that science is all we need to "understand" things. Art, poetry, philosophy, dance, literature, and a host of other things are also very important in our lives, and help us to make sense of things. Personally, I can't imagine life without music to give me insight.
Our only real problem with religion is that people take it as a literal explanation of how the universe works when there isn't any rational reason to do so. Remember that much of the Bible is written as poetry, and since when are we supposed to take poetry literally?
@poolwetter.
That dark, incoherent passion within you, which you take as the voice of god is nothing more than the corpse of your mind.
Use the Bible to wipe your ass because that's all it's good for...
I have to disagree. The King James Bible has some beautiful prose and has enriched the English language.
Just because Hitchens said that doesn't mean he wasn't engaging in a bit of over-the-top hyperbole.
He was mistaken about that, you see. His sentimentality is entirely misplaced here. Go wipe your nose.
What? I've never heard Hitchens praise the Bible's use of language, although I know Dawkins is a fan. I don't care what people say about the Bible, you can't deny that it has enriched the English language. We use phrases all the time which originate from the King James Bible.
You idiot. Where did they get the English for the book?
DUH
And using phrases does not require the original source to survive.
Derp!!!
Toilet paper wins! Let the flushing commence!!
You are a cretin.
So much for the "rational libertarian"!
HAH!
How am I irrational?
"Where did they get the English for the book"?
I'm surprised you're not a Christian with that kind of logic. Do you give English the credit for Ulysses, Beowolf and Macbeth?
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http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
Is it rational to call me a cretin when I am nothing of the sort?
As to your obtuse response regarding the English language: Were those things originally written in English? Do you think those phrases originated with the book? With the story? Do you think that insanity has worth?
Don't you know that languages are born of earlier languages and will pass away just as the previous ones did?
What then of your sobbing defense of some phrases that you do not enumerate?
They are not eternal, not even in the melodramatic fantasies of some maladjusted idjit like you.
These texts are evil and have always been used for evil.
Let them pass into oblivion through the artistic medium of interpretive toilet flushing.
The human race needs no more psychotic manifestos to murder innocent people with or destroy their minds and lives!
Using it as toilet paper may give it too much honor. Perhaps burning is better. Yes. That sounds much better.
Thank you for helping me refine my disposal methods. I could not have done it without you.
First off, why keep changing the moniker?
Second, yes, those phrases did originate in that book, in the written word at least.
Third, I called you a cretin because you called me an idiot.
Fourth, why not build a time machine and go live in Soviet Russia. Better yet, go live in Iran or tribal Afghanistan. People there love burning books which don't adhere to their narrow points of view.
I change my name because I want to.
Since you haven't quite figured it out yet, I'll clue you in on the English thing: Those words are essentially meaningless.
Also: you were not there when they were written, were you? You don't really know what the fuuuck you're talking about, do you?
What are these wonderful sobbing phrases that have your tiny sphincter in such an uproar?
You can't let go of a book of lies? What does that say for your so-called "rationality"?
You think I want a dictatorship? Yet your book is the basis for those dictatorships in the first place.
There is nothing in that book that will save you from death, from the snuffing of your whole existence.
All that will remain of you will be some essentially random bits of energy flung in all directions, much of "you" will become heat and provide a warm habitat for other bits of life.
Give up the damn book you moron. You keep acting like an idiot and I'll keep calling you one.
Only a fool would hold on to a book of lies as it begins to burn.
And only a fool fights in a burning house.
Rational Libertarian
No need to look past our own backyards for examples of book burnings, or have you forgotten about how some churches chose to protest the Harry Potter books, as well as other incidents? Examine these carefully and tell me who did the burning, OK?
What do you mean my backyard? You assume I'm a Christian because I oppose Bible burning?
And Shart, you're an idiot and I'm not responding to you anymore as you're either a troll or you have zero reading comprehension ability.
Rational Libertarian
I meant America as your backyard.
Evolutionary adaptations are a necessity for all forms of life on earth....no matter how they were started,or created. If there were no changes in the last few millenia, we would all still be the "dust of the ground", or single cell organisms intent on eating each other.....I think most creationists cringe at the premise that we may have developed from the same gene pool as the apes and monkeys and not as a distinct species as noted in the Genesis account. We also share some DNA with worms and slugs,so go figure.
Not just some. Humans are 70% genetically identical to slugs.
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http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
@RL. Self-identification huh.
Ho ho, how witty. Watch out Noel Coward.
This is not, in any way, "interesting". This argument is tired and nothing but an example a of ignorance of science.
"It seems to me that evolution requires just as much faith as creationism. You're just putting your faith in our human powers of observation and believe that what we have thought up based on those observations is correct. We've got a few hundred years at best, of scientific observation, that has now told us that one giant, explosive, random event started a chain reaction that, over billions of years resulted in humans, and flowers, and viruses, and dinosaurs. The belief that the unfathomable intricacies of every living thing on our Earth formed themselves completely at random seems just as fantastical to me as believing in a creator."
you put in a quote but do not state who you are quoting. Likely some "creation scientist" that couldn't understand science because he is blinded by religion.
So who is this quote?
A fart changes things. Prayer does nothing.
Wrong, a fart changes nothing it just stinks to high heaven just like the jabber of atheists!
Hey Atheist Hunter – – do you believe in Santa Claus? And the Easter Bunny?
Atheist Hunter: Magic silver pagasus resides in my back yard...it says you're an ass...prove it wrong!!
Heads up to all goats.
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
Wrong, a fart changes nothing it just stinks to high heaven just like the jabber of atheists!
But...(no pun intended), it is a change. The air was odorless before the fart and now it stinks. There is a release of pressure in the large intestines. That is a change. Prayer on the other hand changes nothing.
eat some beans and change your name to HeavenScent.
These idiots who think their magical fantasy is true are surely the pathetic remnants of Neanderthal drizzle and should be actively bred out of the human species forever.
Time to get this show on the road!
Yeah, the road to hell. Great plan Einstein!
Ah! Our first customer! I must say this fool clearly deserves to have his tiny shriveled balls removed.
In the name of humanity! Let this religious idiot be sterilized forthwith! To the snipping chamber!
More goats than needs to be.
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
Prayer changes things .
I'm sorry, "Atheism is not healthy for children and other living things", but the evidence against your statements about prayer and atheism is overwhelming.
I see you have been corrected on these points numerous times, yet you continue to state these falsehoods. Perhaps I can recommend a book for you that might help: I Still Do: Loving and Living With Alzheimer's by Judith Fox.
Many more goats.
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
There can be no corrections because there can be no credible evidence against the simple Truth that prayer changes things. God bless
Please, don't feed it. If you do it will cr@p all over the board.
@troll alert
Hal9000 isn't that bad, dumb as a box of rocks maybe but still it is enti tled to its opinion.
Please show any statistics that show prayer has changed anything.
Like do practicing Christians that pray have a higher rate of cancer recovery?
In the beginning God created...................
Retards, and they've worshipped him since.
what kind of meaning does your empty life have?
@Rational Libertarian
I lol'd! 😀
Last night I ate a nice meal and watched Bergman's Wild Strawberries. That's far more meaningful to me than any religious BS could ever be. I don't begrudge you your religion, but I tell my kids that whenever someone mentions god they should cover every orifice possible, because that person will either want to screw their mind or literally screw them.
Man created god to replace his ignorance with fiction.
Well done, Rational! I, too, literally LOL'ed – and God created . . . retards. Just perfect!
Atheist Hunter
In the beginning God created (a bunch of periods)
Ohh, how impressive! 🙂
Atheist Hunter is one of those hunters who always gets mauled by atheists. It always makes me laugh! LOL
"In the beginning god created the heavens and the earth"
When you get the very first verse of the very first chapter of the very first book wrong, it does not bode well for the remainder.
The earth most definitely was not created in the beginning. In fact, the earth didn't form until the universe was 9,000,000,000 years old.
So either your god was wrong, or your god lied. Either way – doesn't make him much of a god, does it?
In the beginning God created...................NOTHING.
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http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
in the beginning there was no god, and that remains true today!
Welcome to real life, folks! Your Jesus is dead and was just a pile of shart anyway.
Burn your bibles and other stupid books and learn to live in the real world.
When you die there is nothing after, so don't waste your time with lies.
There is no god.
Burn your books of lies today and remove their stain from your life!
@Sharting:
I think you're a christian who is trying to give atheists a bad name on this board. I don't know of any atheist who advocates burning any books, let alone the bible. If nothing else, the bible is a quasi-historical mythological record that spans thousands of years. That alone makes it worthy of keeping around. It's not a scientific text, and those who wish it to be so are plainly wrong. Doesn't mean we should burn it.
I'm on the science guys side. What's terrifying is that these other people vote. I'll keep out of your church doctrine. Please keep out of my science books.
Only for the new members of this blog:
Are you part Neanderthal? Read below. (this is no joke)
Besides the dinosaurs and other fossils in our evolutionary process:
You might be part Neaderthal and for $99 actually find out:
As per National Geographic's Genographic project:
https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/
" DNA studies suggest that all humans today descend from a group of African ancestors who about 60,000 years ago began a remarkable journey. Follow the journey from them to you as written in your genes”.
"Adam" is the common male ancestor of every living man. He lived in Africa some 60,000 years ago, which means that all humans lived in Africa at least at that time.
Unlike his Biblical namesake, this Adam was not the only man alive in his era. Rather, he is unique because his descendents are the only ones to survive.
It is important to note that Adam does not literally represent the first human. He is the coalescence point of all the genetic diversity."
For your $99 and a DNA swab:
"Included in the markers we will test for is a subset that scientists have recently determined to be from our hominin cousins, Neanderthals and the newly discovered Denisovans, who split from our lineage around 500,000 years ago. As modern humans were first migrating out of Africa more than 60,000 years ago, Neanderthals and Denisovans were still alive and well in Eurasia. It seems that our ancestors met, leaving a small genetic trace of these ancient relatives in our DNA. With Geno 2.0, you will learn if you have any Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA in your genome."
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Wow. That actually qualifies as spam, Reality, but I can't press the abuse button so you lucked out today.
You're not looking,
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
i like how CNN posts 5 views about Nye's comments - AND NOT ONE IS POSITIVE!
to all those christians who cry that CNN bashes religion - you are so full of sh.it it's unbelievable.
CNN, like all news stations, kiss religion's @ss constantly.
here's the missing 6th reaction:
Bill Nye was exactly right. nothing he said was not on the nose.
christians - grow up. stop believing in invisible friends in the sky. take responsibility for your own life.
You actually read the article?
Nye is a fool.
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
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Gnosticism deals with theological falsehoods, not scientific ones. Your article is a better incrimination of Rapture beliefs and Prosperity Gospel, being that both are non-biblical inventions that stem from special "knowledge" of what God intended.
If you're going to teach a science class, then teach science. Evolution is a widely accepted theory in the science community. Creationism is a religious topic, therefore should be taught in religion class, unless it becomes accepted in the science community why would you teach it in a science class? And until Evolution is no longer accepted why would you stop it? You're not going to stop teaching calculus because your religion says that God is the mathematical proof for everything.
Creationism can never be taught in science class since it postulates no nullible hypothesis. By any definition it is not, nor can it be, science. Attempting to teach it in science class is like trying to teach geography in a language arts class by claiming that geography is a form of grammar.
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http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
To argue against religion is to paint ones self asinine for you are doomed to be proven wrong in time.
to argue in favor of religious delusions is an equally futile attempt, because a small thing called reality keeps getting in the way.
How are we doomed to be proven wrong? There are thousands of religions, how could I be proven wrong each time I argue against them?
Scott is retarded. Do not mind his bumbling efforts as they can be easily refuted for the worthless dreck they truly are.
He will never learn how wrong and stupid he is, nor will he ever have life after death. He will never learn.
You're the one that's wrong.
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRxr9jxF6mg&feature=related
This speaks clearly in regards to the dangers posed by faith based religion of all forms and how it works to hold back science, reason and logic, in all areas of society.
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http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
Someone earlier said you can't help people in need if you don't have god in your life. Of course, that's just silly. But I couldn't help but think of the people that have that Isaac upon them. If I lived in the lower part of the bible belt, I would be hoping that the engineers in that army corps of engineers were all educated with the best and latest that science can give them. None of this stunted creationist science. Otherwise I might be afraid that those levees won't hold again this time. And you know, same thing goes for any science – I don't want my doctor factoring in junk to write me a prescription just so he can make it fit the spiritual world. my goodness.
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http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
Bravo MJ Anthony. You used it, and you used it well! Also, Hal 9000 needs more info, and the Alckie and I both need a drink...
say good night a sshole... good night a sshole...
I would like a creationist to explain selective breeding and how that's not a direct, controlled, short term example of evolution. We do it with many domestic animals, the most obvious being DOGS! How is it that the same exact species (chromosomally speaking) can appear on two distant islands but look and act completely different, live off of different food types, and still thrive, and be able to procreate with one another?
Anyone who denies evolution is uneducated or cannot understanding the science that makes it so clear. Basic entry level biology classes, the kind you take in high school, should be adequate to understand this concept. If not, entry level college biology/microbiology/genetics will clear up any misunderstandings. Its embarrassing to me that I feel the need to even respond to this for the fact that it wont change ignorance. The fact that this idea is so hotly debated in the United States in 2012 is entirely disheartening.
Capt obvious, comments from cnn posters notwithstanding, no professional advocate of Intelligent Design denies the fact of variety within species.
Where they draw the line is the idea that modern species evolved from prehistoric species that lie within a totally separate group, eg, the idea that birds evolved from lizards or that life began from a primeval ooze via progressive stages.
b4bigbang, let's be clear. No "professional advocate of Intelligent Design" is taken seriously by mainstream biology. Why? Because attempting to appear objective by accepting evolution over short time scales but denying evolution over long time scales is simply dishonest. As any evolutionary biologist will explain, major adaptations are the result of many small adaptations. Reptiles don't become birds via a single generation of half-reptile/half-bird hybrids, and to claim that there ought to be such in the fossil records "as predicted by evolution" is to misunderstand or obfuscate the process that's actually observed.
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
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I get chortles when watching this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anl2GKVcPTk
Even though I am an atheist I cannot agree with the burning of books even books filled with ancient lies. They are still valuable as records of mythologies and sociological study of delusional beliefs in the modern age. I just cannot in good conscious no matter how much I dislike the ignorance religion spreads condone the burning of books.
This video will show where Anon is coming from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUFUujSNpEU
b4bigbang – cute video but inaccurate.
Just as it is insane to believe in the 6ft tall green monster in my closet without evidence of its existence, so is it insane to believe in god without evidence.
"...it [is] insane to believe in god without evidence."
I assume you're referring to repeatable scientific evidence?
Would you please explain your rational and a little of the philosophy behind it?
Corr: rationale, not rational.
@b4bigbang
LOL ! 😀 Even the fundies can make a terrible video, that's actually so bad, it's funny !
Peace...
b4bigbang you do need to study grammar a little more, there was no error in saying "so is it"
I suggest reading Steven Pinker's books on linguistics, you would learn why language mavens just make themselves look stupid by trying to make corrections
@scott: i agree i don't think any book should be burned. i do however think books, such as the bible belong in their proper place in a library, in the fiction section or under world history for mythology.
http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/ARTB/k/1186/Gnosticism-False-Knowledge.htm
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