Today’s letter appears in the Arizona City Independent, a bi-weekly published by Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. of Casa Grande, Arizona. The title is Causes of the crisis.
We don’t like to embarrass people (unless they’re politicians, preachers, or other public figures), but in this case the letter-writer is a preacher. It’s Pastor Jim Mumme of the Evangelical Methodist Church located in Arizona City, Arizona. Here are a few excerpts from the rev’s letter, enhanced with our Curmudgeonly commentary and some bold font for emphasis. Okay, here we go:
We have planted the seeds of godlessness, and we are reaping the harvest in this world. The events of the past couple of weeks, and actually of the past several years, show this to be true. Why would so many people be invading schools, shopping malls, and churches with guns, and turning them upon innocent people, as has dominated much of the news lately?
Verily, ’tis the harvest of godlessness. Then the rev says:
Why wouldn’t they? They see adults killing babies in abortion clinics, and some doctors killing the sick and elderly patients who come to them. Gangsta and Gothic Rock music is pandemic among our young people. The movies, television, and the Internet produce sex and violence in dumpster amounts, to be consumed by youths whose parents are nonexistent for all practical purposes. The kids have learned how to kill by watching it on TV and researching it on the Internet. They want to get in on the action.
The evil is everywhere! Let’s read on:
Behind the action is a complete disregard and disgust for human life. Kids are taught in our schools that they are just animals, the products of evolution. They are taught that there is no God, and they believe there is no real accountability, whether in this life, or at the end of this life. With no future worth living for, they become hedonistic, living for all the gusto they can get packed into their youth. And for many, this gusto involves violence. Suicides continue to proliferate among our youths also.
Aha — it’s Darwin’s fault! The rev continues:
The teaching of evolution lies behind many of our society’s ills. Many college students have been brainwashed into believing a false view of science and into thinking the Bible has been disproved.
That explains why there are so many biology professors running around raping babies, bombing shopping centers, and shooting up the campus. Here’s more:
Dr. Ian Taylor writes, “When humans try to eliminate God, they have no reason to behave rationally. The tyranny of self interest dominates daily decisions. The “survival of the fittest” rules streets, alleyways, homes and nations. This is the legacy of humanistic evolution.”
We never heard of Ian Taylor, but he’s probably the author of In the Minds of Men: Darwin and the New World Order (Amazon listing). We checked the website of Answers in Genesis. He shows up several times in their index — for example: ‘Nebraska Man’ Revisited. Moving along:
The 20th century, will be remembered as one of the bloodiest in history, as one hundred and twenty million people were killed in 130 wars since 1900, more than in all the previous wars in history. The history books of the future likely will portray this 21st century also as studded with warlords and oppressors like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Mao Tse Tung, Saddam Hussein, and others like them. They also will trace many of the problems in our country to false prophets in religion and false professors in universities.
We rarely see Darwin blamed for the behavior of Idi Amin, but it makes just as much sense as blaming him for all the others. One last excerpt:
Sadly, it is a large segment of the intellectual community that believes and propagates the false science of evolution and the false philosophy of secular humanism. Our culture has been led astray from its foundation of truth and basic, universal laws. “Truth is on the scaffold, and lies upon the throne.” It will take some very brave people to stand up against what the German theologians call “The Zeitgeist,” the spirit of the times.
So there you are. Now you understand the times in which we live. Another great letter is added to our collection.
Copyright © 2014. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.
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The Sensuous Curmudgeon 
Man, have we got trouble in River City!
The history books of the future likely will portray this 21st century also as studded with warlords and oppressors like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Mao Tse Tung, Saddam Hussein, and others like them.
21st century?
Hmm. The Rev holds “movies, television, and the Internet produc[ing] sex and violence in dumpster amounts” responsible for teen behavior, and then he also blames all the problems on their being exposed to evolution in the schools. If we were to draw up a pie chart comparing the number of hours teens are exposed to sex and violence in the media to the number of seconds they hear about evolution in school, the evolution portion would be a barely visible thin line — something like 99.99% to 0.01%.
And he’s blaming society’s ills on the teaching of evolution?? Must be powerful stuff indeed.
(Note that his church is an independent church calling itself “Methodist”, and not a part of the United Methodist Church, which does not share this letter writer’s views.)
The Rev says, “The 20th century will be remembered as one of the bloodiest in history…”
Verily, right up there with Noah’s Flood.
Warlords and oppressors: Roman Catholic, atheist (ex Greek Orthodox), atheist, Muslim, atheist, Muslim. Not exactly the same belief systems they share…
Apparently the esteemed preacher is unaware that per capita violence of all kinds has been declining for centuries. And I attribute that to godlessness. :o) Think about the unstable areas in the world today. What is the basis for the instability … hmm, could it be religion? (Shia and Sunni, Muslims and Christians, etc.)
@retiredsciguy:
Yeah, but your argument is quantitative, and I doubt the rev is able to follow arguments based on simple maths. By the way, I’m also a retired science guy: biology.
Here’s today’s bonus quiz:
Can anyone identify any substantive difference between Pastor Mumme’s reactionary ranting and the basic message of the Discoveroids?
Sure, their respective styles differ, but could anyone slip a single sheet of the thinnest paper between their ideological differences?
The rev says, “The history books of the future likely will portray this 21st century also as studded with warlords and oppressors like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Mao Tse Tung, Saddam Hussein, and others like them.”
If pressed, I’m sure he’ll include the current President of the United States in his list of warlords and oppressors.
Just to throw my political views into this, the Rev is ascribing evolutionary/athiestic (and I’ll say liberal) viewpoint with a laissez-faire hedonism that few people of any bent truly show. But is most certainly is the conservatives (who tend toward creationist/godly) that otherwise think that laissez-faire lifestyle is the only fair way to go. Frustratingly two faced, in my opinion.
People like Revver Jim Mumme are the essentially self-appointed guardians of their community’s moral values. They see change, especially in the youth, and they call it “evil” or “decay” or “erosion” because they don’t understand or trust it. They fabricate reasons for why it happens and line up their scapegoats, marshalled by spurious, er, “corralations”. Then they pull a magical solution from their fundamental orifice, which solution invariably involves abandoning a few centuries of insight, progress, and change for the better.
Meanwhile, the world manages to carry on just fine with or without the peanut-gallery lamentations of people like Revver Jim Mumme. Vide, e.g., Europe which has never been more secular than it presently is — or more safe and peaceful.
My understanding is that by all objective measures the level of violence in the world has been dropping over the last 20 years. This would include both wars and domestic crime. If this trend holds I wonder if the rev would change his stripes.
Of course we all know that in reality, like all creationists opinions, this one will also be impervious to evidence.
Perhaps if we stopped telling our children that they must believe in stories that are patently preposterous in order to avoid Hell, and instead just taught them what good behavior is and to do it because it’s the right thing to do, we would have a better world. John Lennon’s song “Imagine” says it all.
When we tell our children to believe in things that we cannot ourselves determine to be fact, we are in essence lying to our children. They are sure to pick up on that, and will not believe us on things that do matter.
And to amplify Steve Ruis’ comment, millions of people have been killed because of religious differences over the centuries. The Crusades, The Inquisition, Turks/Armenians, Hitler/Jews, Muslim/Jews, Shia/Sunni … it just goes on and on. Again, John Lennon’s song “Imagine” says it all.
@Con-tester finds the true foundation of the fears of our spiratual and moral guide: changes.
As a legendary British poet and philosopher once said, “I hope I die before I get old.”
(You thought I was going to go with Bowie, didn’t you?)
The hope of this legendary British poet and philosopher hasn’t come true. He has just turned 70.
Yeah, but the kid’s still alright.
@Mark Germano : Ch-ch-chanting, eh? And Who might you be talking about? 😉
@MG: How can the kid be alright if he was anyway, anyhow, anywhere born with a plastic spoon in his mouth? I can’t explain.
Read Ol Pete’s later songs. He consistently apologizes for the die before 30 line.