This one is a real no-brainer from the RenewAmerica website. The title is Evolution is a political, cultural & ideological sledgehammer. Wowie — a sledgehammer!
It was written by A.J. Castellitto. He’s described as having B.S. in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Scranton, and he’s a freelance writer. Almost all of his essay is a series of ten — yes, ten! — declarations in this form:
It’s easy to ______, if evolution is true and Jesus is a lie.
In other words, if you accept Castellitto’s false dichotomy, certain things are easy. What things? We won’t go through all of them, but here are a few examples of what it’s easy to do if evolution is true and Jesus is a lie:
• undermine and eliminate the JuedoChristian moral foundation of law and order
• justify lying, stealing and destroying the innocent (resistor) for personal and political gain
• act recklessly, selfishly, promiscuously, and dangerously
• live without guilt and accountability (and justify waving justice and consequence)
That’s a sufficient sample. But we must pause to express our admiration for the intellect that could assemble such a list. After ten of those, which must have taken great effort to compose, he tells us what isn’t easy:
What is not easy is to ignore the historical, archeological, natural and empirical evidences for Biblical Truth, but that is exactly what the atheistic promoters of evolution do!
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! And then we’re given a warning:
In America, short of another great awakening, the truly worst is still to come. In fact, more than likely, it’s already here!
The worst is still to come — or maybe it’s already here. Whatever.
Ah, we know what you’re wondering: What about the sledgehammer of evolution? He saves that for the end. Here it is:
But we can never truly hide from our evil deeds and a sledgehammer ultimately becomes stubble and scrap metal (and eventually fodder for the fire).
So there you are. You and your sledgehammer are doomed. The fire awaits!
Copyright © 2014. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.
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The Sensuous Curmudgeon 
” You and your sledgehammer are doomed. The fire awaits!”
I cant wait. I’m saving him a seat right beside mine. 🙂
He’s described as having B.S.
That figures.
RenewAmerica sounds hilarious. But isn’t that website openly racist? Or am I thinking of something else.
Given how little imagination most creationists have, it probably took him and his friends and family – perhaps a few Bible study groups and Sunday School classes thrown in – the better part of year to get that far and just look how lame they are.
I find it fascinating that the US South with the most Jesus and least evolution have the highest teen pregnancy rates and the highest violent crime rates.
I wonder if Home Depot has any Evolution Sledgehammers? They sound pretty effective.
Clearly Castillito’s behavior is based on the threat of punishment in the hereafter, rather than any internal moral code. Like so many creationists, he describes what he would do and think if he did not believe in God. It makes one think twice about debating such a person – what if you won, and created a monster?
Hey, we can play this nice little game too!
It’s easy to ______, if evolution is true and Jesus is a lie.
drink a glass of milk
calculate 1 + 1
pick your nose
@mnb0
“understand natural history”?
My favorite part is how he uses an unnecessary comma every freaking time.
A.J. Castellitto polemicizes, “It’s easy to live without guilt and accountability (and justify waving [sic] justice and consequence), if evolution is true and Jesus is a lie.”
It’s hard to understand how a person who makes his living as a freelance writer wouldn’t know the difference between “wave” and “waive”. Of coarse, he has the rite to right any way he wants to. But if he wants people to accept his point of view, rather than except it, it helps greatly to use the write words.
But back to the substance of what he’s trying to say, Eric Lipps wrote to this perfectly in a previous post: “The truth or falsehood of a scientific theory is utterly unrelated to the presumed moral consequences of belief in it. It’s true, or it isn’t, period, and this depends not on morality but on facts and logic.”
In other words, Mr. Castellitto, just how does all this overwrought verbiage of yours disprove evolution?
Stubble and scrap metal? Hoo boy, and this guy makes a living as a freelance writer? Surely the fact that this is possible is one of the signs of the Apocalypse!
@retiredsciguy
t’s hard to understand how a person who makes his living as a freelance writer wouldn’t know the difference between “wave” and “waive”. Of coarse, he has the rite to right any way he wants to. But if he wants people to accept his point of view, rather than except it, it helps greatly to use the write words.
Hm. That’s a bit ad homonym, don’t you think?
That’s good, realthog.
The University of Scranton is a well respected school run by the Jesuits. They must be crying their eyes out over this guy.
I thought he was being patriotic and justice and consequence was a synonym for the stars and stripes?
retiredsciguy asks: “In other words, Mr. Castellitto, just how does all this overwrought verbiage of yours disprove evolution?”
It doesn’t demonstrate anything more than what a semi-literate moron this Castellitto fellow is.
I think a “resistor” is a component of an electric circuit, not someone who resists.
Sledgehammerphobe A.J. Casperlittle exclaims—
And what do the theistic promoters of evolution do? Either “atheistic promoters of evolution” is tautological and equivalent to “promoters of evolution” on planet A.J. Casperlittle where tendentious phraseology is routine, or there are also “theistic promoters of evolution” who presumably do something different to their atheistic counterparts. Whichever it is, it could do with a bit of expanding upon.
evidences for Biblical truth
Shameful!
Letting mere human reasoning or naturalistic observations stand in judgment of the Bible!
It seems to me that it’s also easy to _____ if you believe in a deity who will always forgive you for it; anything goes if all can be forgiven. I ran this thought by a (Christian) friend of mine the other day, and his response was “but belief in God who forgives isn’t a license to do wrong!” Fine; but that’s sort of the point- what’s the difference? On the one hand you have a Christian who chooses to avoid wrong in spite of a belief in a god who will forgive him for it; OTOH, you have an atheist making the same choice– to avoid wrong- in spite of his lack of belief in either the god or his forgiveness. Both are obeying an interior moral compass (something even Christians admit is present, with their question-begging “free-will”); there’s no need to invoke a deity as a source of ,morality when morality lies in the decision between right and wrong, not the mere delineation between the two.
As for making that delineation, a deity seems unnecessary here too- all you need is the basic rule of empathy, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” You only need to be human to either see this or practice it.
@aturingtest
I am not aware of anything in the Bible which says that it is commendable, let alone necessary or sufficient to believe in the literal or inerrant historicity of the Bible. To be sure, there is one which says that it is is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: the rather mild “profitable”, but not a word about “natural history” or “history”, and mostly about what one should do.
I don’t believe that there is Jesus answering anyone with a question about what one should do with “be sure to believe that the patriarchs really did live so many years, that the flood was universal”, or, come to think of it, when did Jesus ever make a big deal about “The Fundamentals”?
Eric, the reference to “stubble” is likely a parenthetical reference to “wood, hay, and stubble,” the parts of a person’s life that, at its end, will burned and destroyed, leaving behind only the good parts.
It’s a dogwhistle for the evangelicals who’re reading.
“You only need to be human to either see this or practice it.”
I think this says it all.
LOL
I still think “stubble” was a misspelling of “rubble.” If he means “agricultural stubble” then by combining it with “scrap metal” he has one serious mixed metaphor problem. How “scrap metal” becomes “fodder for the fire” I haven’t a clue. Some people should stay away from keyboards.
Diogenes Lamp says:
I wondered about that too, but he’s not technically wrong. For most metals it just depends on the heat. I doubt that the author knows that, or much else, so I suspect his linguistic ineptitude somehow wandered into the truth. Anyway, the all-consuming Lake of Fire will probably ignite the sledgehammer.
It’s easy to ______, if evolution is true and Jesus is a lie.”
Please, please, please make this a “Curmudgeon’s Creative Challenge”! I’m dying to hear how Klinghoffer fills in the blank.
Hopefully Cmdr. Klink will ignite along with it.
If evolution is true and Jesus a lie, then the morals/ethics we use now must be the result of natural processes. In other words, morals/ethics evolved.
@Tundra Boy:
You’re missing the whole purpose of the question. The answer must include the is/ought fallacy. For example:
It’s easy to avoid killing, stealing, bearing false witness, committing adultery, etc. if evolution is true and Jesus is a lie, because now we have a real reason, not just a “because I said so.”
To aturingtest. Above you stated that “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”. Jesus missed the boat on this one. It should have read: Do unto others as they would have done to themselves. For example lets say I am a cigarette smoker. I smoke in my home. I go to someone’s home who is not a smoker. I would let this host smoke in my home, so smoking in their home is OK. Not quite. Do as they would have you do to them. Do not smoke in their home as it bothers them. So Christian theology fails logic in this one. Atheistic morality gets one point. Christians, you are up next.
There is more evidence for the Miracle of JESUS than the miracle of evolution
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/castellitto/141116
Good of you to visit us, AJ Castellitto.
@AJ Castellitto
Prove it.
@AJ Castellitto Are you admitting to the possibility of evolution?
That must mean there is one hell of a lot of evidence for the Miracle of JESUS.
I looked at AJ’s post. This guy is nutty than a bag of squirrels, and writes almost as well. He should do well at RA.
@AJ Castellitto
There is no reason to compare Jesus to any phenomenon of the natural world. The Bible says more about the fixity of the Earth than the fixity of species, yet few find it threatening to their faith to accept the heliocentric model of the Solar System.
Again, I apologize for posting as “Anonymous” above.
Evolution is the political, ideological & cultural sledgehammer of the atheist….. There should be no such thing as believing or not believing in evolution… It either is or it isn’t ….. So first you have to properly define it, than you need to consistently & accurately measure based on a sound definition….. Evolution Cannot be all things to all people & still remain at its core affirmed…. There must not be any faith or partiality to evolution ….. It’s not a religion after all……. ???
How can an atheist ignore evidence based on desire whether it be anitJesus or proevolution ….. They should know better……
I fear many of you have an axe to grind….. Many exChristians or scorned/conditioned against…. That tomato dude may have been molested by a priest for all I know….you guys may also believe that the gov never lies, money doesn’t drive everything & the media has no agenda….. If the answer is ‘yes’……. Why bother?
“Some time ago I had a debate with a professor at the University of California, Irvine, on the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. He had written his doctoral dissertation on the subject and was thoroughly familiar with the evidence. He could not deny the facts of Jesus’s honorable burial, his empty tomb, his post-mortem appearances, and the origin of the disciples’ belief in his resurrection. Therefore, his only recourse was to come up with some alternative explanation of these facts. And so he argued And so he argued that Jesus had an unknown identical twin brother who was separated from him at birth, came back to Jerusalem just at the time of the crucifixion, stole Jesus’s body out of the grave, and presented himself to the disciples, who mistakenly inferred that Jesus was risen from the dead!” – William Lane Craig
AJ – evolution – it is true. It has nothing to do with whether Jesus was an actual person.
@AJ Castellitto
Okay, so you’re a poe. Either that or, for the first time and very unexpectedly, I sympathize with the copyeditors at RenewAmerica.
But I hold no ill will, atrocity in the name of Christianity is tragic….. Too much abuse & hypocrisy committed by ‘men of god’…… But it’s really about the human condition……. Belief in a Savior is not shameful, it’s a second chance….. Can’t imagine what a new heaven & a new earth could be….. But I’m compelled by the glimpse of it we can see…… Jesus is that glimpse, read about it
Napoleon, Mussolini , Stalin and the like are evidence that human depravity & the evil of mankind comes in all forms…. Not just religious ones…..
Survival of the fittest can never be the foundation for equality…. We are equal
in form & creation, we are equal in Gods purpose…. We are not equal in desire, it’s our desire that ruins us & why we often ruin our neighbor
There are millions and millions of Americans that are Christians and accept evolution. Why not take your issues up with them?
What’s a Poe?
I do Mark……
Something has to drive it all ….. When it comes to origins and the natural order of things, I think we can argue evidence and theory back and forth indefinitely. I’m not going to argue with a dogmatic evolutionist who claims the evidence for natural causation is abundant; but I believe the whole idea of evolution as an explanation for molecules to man progression goes against reason – or at least my ability to reason. What drives or propels a positive mutation? What drives it all if there is no intelligent or purposeful trigger? Is entropy and disease proof of imperfect design via godless (or atheistic) evolution? Well, Jesus was a man. He hungered and thirsted. He wept and feared. He even despaired, as if forsaken. If Jesus was not perfect, in a physical sense, and yet was truly God, who are we to say that God was a sloppy (or less than perfect) Creator. I believe He knows what He’s doing. Restoring a fallen creation…..
Poe’s law: Without a blatant display of humor, it is impossible to create a parody of extremism or fundamentalism that someone won’t mistake for the real thing.
I’m gonna go….. Group hug everyone!
God Bless, Say your prayers tonight…. I’m not your enemy!
Poes law, read it a few times, not sure I get it…. Probably an insult, that’s ok…. I’m used to it! Peace
AJ, all people like you need to do is accept the overwhelming evidence for evolution and it can no longer be used as a sledgehammer against Jesus. Think about it – it is that simple.
“Something has to drive it all ….. When it comes to origins and the natural order of things, I think we can argue evidence and theory back and forth indefinitely. I’m not going to argue with a dogmatic evolutionist who claims the evidence for natural causation is abundant; but I believe the whole idea of evolution as an explanation for molecules to man progression goes against reason – or at least my ability to reason. What drives or propels a positive mutation? What drives it all if there is no intelligent or purposeful trigger? Is entropy and disease proof of imperfect design via godless (or atheistic) evolution? Well, Jesus was a man. He hungered and thirsted. He wept and feared. He even despaired, as if forsaken. If Jesus was not perfect, in a physical sense, and yet was truly God, who are we to say that God was a sloppy (or less than perfect) Creator. I believe He knows what He’s doing. Restoring a fallen creation…..”
I have no idea what any of that means.
@AJ
but I believe the whole idea of evolution as an explanation for molecules to man progression goes against reason – or at least my ability to reason.
I think that herein you’ve identified the problem. I imagine (and obviously I can’t speak for all) that most of us here find the quantum theory beyond our “ability to reason”, yet have the humility to realize that this is no criticism of the theory, just a recognition of our own shortcomings. It seems you lack that humility.
@Mark
I have no idea what any of that means.
My guess is that it’s AJ’s attempt to explain the quantum theory.
I mean: We can’t understand what AJ’s talking about. We can’t understand the quantum theory. Obviously they’re the same thing.
AJ seems to believe that atheists came up with evolution just to attack Christianity – no AJ, scientists came up with evolution to explain the diversity of life on earth. It does so much better than the Bible. It is just like any other scientific theory – the incentive to develop it was to understand not to promote a political or religious ideology.
@michaelfugate
I sense that AJ by now has his fingers firmly stuck in his ears.
The Bible has no interest in explaining the diversity of life on Earth. That is no shortfalling of the Bible. The Bible also has no interest in explaining other topics of interest to sciences: chemistry, algebra, grammar. So there would be no incentive for an atheist in explaining the diversity of life, no more than in studying chemical reactions.
What is mildly interesting is that the attempts to add on to the Bible for something to say about the diversity of life without mentioning evolution have not resulted any such alternative explanation. No, there is no account, which does not feature common descent, of what happens; No account so that things turn out as they are. To claim that what they are doing is Biblical thus is doing the atheists’ work.
AJ writes: “That tomato dude may have been molested by a priest for all I know”
The really frightening part, this is one of the more comprehensible things AJ wrote. Fortunately for me, the intersection of what AJ knows and reality is astonishingly small.
Now if you will pardon me, I have to go console my bag of squirrels. They are feeling a bit down after being so totally outclassed.