Re: paleonet Living Pterosaurs: Beat up event

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Agreed; he doesn't seem to be the ideal ambassador for our
field or his own.

---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 13:24:44 -0700
>From: Judith Harris <harrisj@valornet.com>  
>Subject: Re: paleonet Living Pterosaurs: Beat up event  
>To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk
>
>Didn't realize that Mirecki had said those things. Yikes...
>
>Judith
>
>On Dec 12, 2005, at 11:30 AM, Dr. David Campbell wrote:
>
>>> Well, wasn't that a loving Christian gesture to beat him
up. I hope
>>> it is not true but if it is.....?
>>
>> It certainly raises questions about the Christian
understanding of the
>> perpetrators.  On a similar theme, Peculiar People (an
evangelical
>> drama group that comes out with an annual spoof Christmas
gift guide
>> with stuff like Billy Graham crackers, Prayboy and Repenthouse
>> magazines, and kid's videos of Barnabus, the purple apostle) is
>> currently advertising a Pat Robertson assasin school,
modeled on Al-
>> Qaida.  Obviously not all evangelicals are favoably
impressed with
>> Pat's spouting off.
>>
>> On the other hand, it was also a magnificent display of
academic
>> objectivity for Mirecki to refer to religious conservatives
>> as "fundies," and describe his planned course as a "nice
slap in their
>> big fat face."  Not that such remarks excuse beating
someone up but
>> rather that such remarks are a verbal equivalent of beating
someone
>> up.  Such remarks are just what fuels ID and young earth
beliefs-
>> "proof" that opposition to their claims can be equated with
arrogantly
>> hostile unbelief.  Philip Johnson was largely inspired to
attack
>> evolution because of reading Dawkins.
>>
>> -- 
>> Dr. David Campbell
>> 425 Scientific Collections Building
>> Department of Biological Sciences
>> Biodiversity and Systematics
>> University of Alabama, Box 870345
>> Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0345  USA
>>
>>
>>
>
>judith harris
>emerita professor
>university of colorado museum
>boulder, co
>harrisj@valornet.com
>505-756-1813
>
>
>
>
Seth Finnegan
Dept. of Earth Sciences -036
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
Phone:(951)452-2759
Fax:  (951)787-4324