GOP Congressman calls evolution lie from "Pit of Hell"

[Just_Believe18]

At first I was like, "Meh, it wouldn't be the worst I've heard from the GOP." And then I read the second to the last paragraph...

http://news.yahoo.com/congressman-ca...175514039.html

Broun spokeswoman Meredith Griffanti told the Athens Banner-Herald that Broun was recorded speaking off-the-record to a church group about his religious beliefs. He sits on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

[White Eagle]

I'm wondering if he is running for reelection that he is just trying to convince the Church group that he believes that. Seems that would be a sure fire way to get the idiots to vote for him.

[loveguys72]

Trying to be shocked.


Failing.

[Just_Believe18]

I'm wondering if he is running for reelection that he is just trying to convince the Church group that he believes that. Seems that would be a sure fire way to get the idiots to vote for him.

Unfortunately, he is running virtually unopposed by the Democrat party.

[ReadyWithReadyWit]

At first I was like, "Meh, it wouldn't be the worst I've heard from the GOP." And then I read the second to the last paragraph...

I second your exact reaction... first I was like *shrug* (I've become pretty desensitized to this sort of nonsense by a certain type of GOP representative coming out of the wood work), but his committee appointment is a doosie...

I don't so much mind if you want to believe utter nonsense, but at least leave the committee appointments to someone pretending to have some knowledge in the area...

[Jack Springer]

How are you guys commenting on a thread that has no link?

Another lib circle jackoff session?

[ReadyWithReadyWit]

How are you guys commenting on a thread that has no link?

Another lib circle jackoff session?

This is also a LEAD story on Yahoo! right now, but I appreciate your concern...
Libs tend to like learning and knowledge and such...

[TheFireGod]

Meh, basically verbalizing what he and a large number of a very influential segment of the GOP think.

[opinterph]

Dr. Broun represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which currently includes Athens (home of the University of Georgia), Augusta (home of the Augusta National Golf Club), and several smaller cities. After the 2010 Census, the state gained a 14th congressional seat and the boundaries were redrawn. Dr. Broun is running unopposed in the 2012 General Election. The Cook Partisan Voting Index for his district (based upon the 2010 Mid-term Election and prior boundaries) is R+15.

[rareboy]

And some wonder why the US could end up lagging behind other nations in science and technology.

Jack's response is a perfect example of why this is happening. Rather than Google and hit enter....the immediate response is that this is all just a liberal plot. And this is how young earthers and anti-scientists are allowed to occupy positions that they should not be permitted to.

The fundie christian talibangelicals are as medieval as their far right wahabist brethren in the tribal tents on the other side of the world. But in the US, there is absolutely no excuse for this. There is free access to more than enough information to knock their absurdist Biblical interpretations flat on the ground. The medievals could be excused for challenging new knowledge with their backward thinking. There is no excuse for challenging scientific proof with theocratic doctrine.

[Just_Believe18]

How are you guys commenting on a thread that has no link?

Another lib circle jackoff session?

Do you even bother to read posts and threads before posting? The original post has a link to a Yahoo news article. I even quoted from it.

[Corny]

What I still don't get it is how there is still all this religious bullshit about evolution, when pope johannes paul II himself already said that evolution is more than "just a theory" and does not contradict christian beliefs. In "Humani generis" even Pius XII already said that you can believe in evolution and be a christian (but keep certain things in mind).

So .. again, what's the fucking problem?

[Jack Springer]

Do you even bother to read posts and threads before posting? The original post has a link to a Yahoo news article. I even quoted from it.

The link does not work.

[rareboy]

Nonsense. The link works fine.

You are just trying to cover over a knee jerk reaction to justified criticism of yet another GOP ignoramus trying to force his own ridiculous cult beliefs on an entire nation...enabled by people just like you.

[gewhite3]

The link does indeed work.

[TheFireGod]

What I still don't get it is how there is still all this religious bullshit about evolution, when pope johannes paul II himself already said that evolution is more than "just a theory" and does not contradict christian beliefs. In "Humani generis" even Pius XII already said that you can believe in evolution and be a christian (but keep certain things in mind).

So .. again, what's the fucking problem?

He was speaking at a Baptist convention, so he's either one himself or of another denomination, but he's very likely NOT a Catholic.

Not all Christians think the word of the Pope is truth, some Catholics don't even like the changes that came from Vatican II.

[rareboy]

Are Baptists just plain stupid?

[opinterph]

The original post has a link to a Yahoo news article. I even quoted from it.

In all fairness, the original posting of the link included an extraneous character that rendered it broken.

Last edited by opinterph; October 6th, 2012 at 10:50 PM. Reason: fixed broken link

He was speaking at a Baptist convention, so he's either one himself or of another denomination, but he's very likely NOT a Catholic.

The congressman is indeed Baptist.

Baptists do not worship the Pope or think he is God, nor do they worship the saints or Mary. Baptists only pray to God.

Link to event summary on the church’s website:

http://libertybc.ws/ministries/sportsmanBanquet.cfm

Link to Congressman Broun’s website (About page):

http://paulbroun.com/about/

Link to Project Vote Smart – Representative Paul C. Broun's Special Interest Group Ratings:

http://votesmart.org/candidate/evalu...n#.UHG5f47pYqZ

[Telstra]

.
Shit,
how can this sort of guy "sits on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology." ?

[Rolyo85]

I think "believes in science" should be a mandatory requirement if you're doing politics -_- Faith and religion are all well and nice, but when you're against FACTS, we have a problem.

[hotatlboi]

What I still don't get it is how there is still all this religious bullshit about evolution, when pope johannes paul II himself already said that evolution is more than "just a theory" and does not contradict christian beliefs. In "Humani generis" even Pius XII already said that you can believe in evolution and be a christian (but keep certain things in mind).

So .. again, what's the fucking problem?

The problem is that he would probably say the Pope comes from the pit of hell too.

[bike10]

Bet also believes the world to be flat and that blood determines race.

[Sausy]

Link certainly worked for me. I'm not often on board with the more liberal posters here but this guy and the religious right in the GOP are beyond appalling. A big part of the reason why while I'm no Obama fan at all I'm not hopping aboard the GOP wagon either.... mixing religious dogma and politics is a recipe for disaster. That he's on the science and technology committee is scary, since his world has no place for inquiry and discovery and progress.

[cityboy-stl]

Our moron senate candidate Todd Akin is also on the same committee. No wonder this country is falling so far behind and congress can't get anything done.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...ittee-science/

[andysayshi]

There's an interesting footnote in that Wired mag article linked above:

Note: In looking for examples of scientifically unsupportable statements by members of the House science committee, every single anecdote involved statements by Republicans. Wired would be happy to update the article with examples of statements by Democratic members. If you have any, please add in the comments section.

[Kulindahr]

At first I was like, "Meh, it wouldn't be the worst I've heard from the GOP." And then I read the second to the last paragraph...

http://news.yahoo.com/congressman-ca...175514039.html
[/FONT][/COLOR]

JB, that's WHY he's on that committee -- he's exactly what the religious blight want there.

[ReadyWithReadyWit]

^This is exactly the problem. I am more than willing to admit that both sides have folks that are "not so bright". But, as Bill Maher likes to point out dumb conservatives are a lot worse (and more dangerous) than dumb liberals. A dumb liberal is a lazy, pothead that that doesn't know anything and doesn't give a fuck. A dumb conservative, on the other hand, doesn't know anything, but chooses to believe utter baseless nonsense (and defend it) instead.

[Kulindahr]

What I still don't get it is how there is still all this religious bullshit about evolution, when pope johannes paul II himself already said that evolution is more than "just a theory" and does not contradict christian beliefs. In "Humani generis" even Pius XII already said that you can believe in evolution and be a christian (but keep certain things in mind).

So .. again, what's the fucking problem?

To the religious blight, the Pope is the Antichrist.

[Constantine]

Our moron senate candidate Todd Akin is also on the same committee. No wonder this country is falling so far behind and congress can't get anything done.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...ittee-science/

Wasn't it this same congressman (a medical doctor, by the way) who told Akin that women's bodies shut down during rape and they can't get pregnant. Granted, I'm amazed that an MD thinks embryology (as taught in medical school) is also a "lie from the pit of hell". Maybe he should be a witch doctor instead of a medical doctor. Can these wackos get raptured, already, so the rest of us can get on with progress?

[Joshua_me]

It IS terrifying. (Almost as terrifying how close this election is going to be...)

I can understand, (sort of) people of his ilk claiming that global warming is a "hoax".

But, to make a statement such as, "I don't believe that the Earth's but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them. That's what the Bible says."

When simple, indisputable scientific evidence showing that the earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Archaeological and dating techniques show it, as Giancarlo said reveals a simple-mindedness (or clever voter pandering) that is mind-blowing.

If we're going to rely on The Big Book of Jewish Fairy Tales as a basis for governing our nation, our problems are even larger than we thought.

[Kulindahr]

But, to make a statement such as, "I don't believe that the Earth's but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them. That's what the Bible says."

I wish one of these idiots would come say that where I can be in the audience. I want to stand up and scream, "Oh, give me a break -- it doesn't say that at all!"

These guys don't even know how to read. They stick with a bunch of sloppy arithmetic by a bored medieval bishop who didn't have a clue about what he was doing.

[rareboy]

^ It is the intellectual sloppiness or laziness that is most offensive.

I have a great deal of respect for those who appreciate that their idea of God and religion is bound up in poetics and abstraction.

I have no time for those stupid children who have a dull belief in the notion that the old testament is the literal word of their God.

Jesus Christ.

Are they just developmentally slow?

I remember challenging this literal interpretation when I was in Sunday School and winning the day by demonstrating that that it was not meant to be a literal reading. I was 12 at the time.

Idiots like this man make evil happen with their small and limited minds.

The worst part is...they are trying to get control of the public policy and discourse.

For the love of all that is right; please do not let this happen.

[Kulindahr]

^ It is the intellectual sloppiness or laziness that is most offensive.

I have a great deal of respect for those who appreciate that their idea of God and religion is bound up in poetics and abstraction.

I have no time for those stupid children who have a dull belief in the notion that the old testament is the literal word of their God.

Jesus Christ.

Are they just developmentally slow?

I remember challenging this literal interpretation when I was in Sunday School and winning the day by demonstrating that that it was not meant to be a literal reading. I was 12 at the time.

Idiots like this man make evil happen with their small and limited minds.

The worst part is...they are trying to get control of the public policy and discourse.

For the love of all that is right; please do not let this happen.

How did you demonstrate it wasn't meant to be literal? There are a couple of simple ways that don't require knwoing that the literary types in Genesis 1 & 2 aren't meant to be taken literally.

OTOH there are only small elements of what we would think of as poetic in them. But the Xtianists refuse to see anything poetic there... which suggests to me they lack poetry in their souls.