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The Interior Department is facing a lawsuit from a Christian geologist who claims he was not allowed to collect rocks from Grand Canyon National Park because of his creationist beliefs.
In the suit filed earlier this month, the Australian geologist, Andrew Snelling, says that religious discrimination was behind the National Park Service's (NRS's) decision to deny him a permit to gather samples from four locations in the park.
Snelling had hoped to gather the rocks to support the creationist belief that a global flood about 4,300 years ago was responsible for rock layers and fossil deposits around the world.
NPS's actions "demonstrate animus towards the religious viewpoints of Dr. Snelling," the complaint alleges, "and violate Dr. Snelling's free exercise rights by imposing inappropriate and unnecessary religious tests to his access to the park."
The lawsuit was filed May 9 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. NPS has yet to respond to the allegations.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bradley13 on Sunday May 28 2017, @08:46PM (3 children)
Anyway: Why do "scientists" like this feel any need to campaign against actual scientific knowledge?
I mean, the easy answer is "God created the earth to look old". Fine, it all looks like it's billions of years old, but God created it yesterday. There's no disproving such a thing, they can believe it all they want, and the rest of us can quietly ignore them.
Seriously, why do they feel the need to go searching for ways to "prove" their belief? I'm not religious, so maybe I'm missing the big clue here - can someone explain?
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by AthanasiusKircher on Sunday May 28 2017, @09:55PM (1 child)
Except that's not what most "Young Earth Creationists" want to claim. Yes, philosophically, I can literally claim God created the entire universe yesterday. Yes, he implanted memories in you that make you think you lived a life before, but you're wrong -- you were created yesterday. Prove otherwise, I'll wait.
Of course, that sounds absurd even to the most dedicated Bible thumper. They're willing to doubt, but they're generally not willing to accept something that sounds quite that silly. Very few religious folks take seriously the jokes about "God created the dinosaurs to confuse the Satanic scientists..." kind of logic.
It's because they don't view it as a "belief" as you do. They believe it literally happened. It's not a "belief" -- it's HISTORY. Mainstream scientists either don't "get it" because they're all just really bad at interpreting or overlooking evidence, or maybe there's an anti-religious conspiracy of sorts. Just like any conspiracy theorists, they're always in search of one more "fact" that shows them they know the TRUTH.
Also, it's a PR thing, which is why I assume the National Park Service went a little out of its way to deny this in the first place. ALL science is "technical mumbo jumbo" to most people, and Young Earth Creationists are tired of being told "But science says you're wrong!" So, they get somebody else with some credentials to make up some of their own "technical mumbo jumbo" and then say, "We have to teach the controversy! See, there are 'scientists' on both sides!"
(Score: 4, Interesting) by hemocyanin on Monday May 29 2017, @12:18AM
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Monday May 29 2017, @01:50PM
Because if they can prove that in a fit of pique God summoned a flood to wipe out everyone and everything on the planet except one breeding family and one pair of every single creature in existence, then they can back up their claim that it was all willed into being by the same tantrum throwing deity.