The scary thing is, there are Christians today who would defend this kind of behaviour, not just slavery (...because, well - God says it okay), but the beating as well. In my Christian days, I was exposed to various teachings about submission, and one common interpretation is that submission to any and all authority is non-negotiable. That goes for Peter, above...

You see, a face-value interpretation of the Christian bible should actually make atheists out of any reader. But why doesn't it?

Some of you who know me have heard about my brush with evangelical christianity.  Well... more than a brush actually - more like a life-changing, immersive experience. While in that environment, I was an eager non-stop learner, always asking about this and that. Sometimes the answers made sense, other times not. That always niggled my brain: basic questions of scientific evidence were brushed aside as evidence of a lack of faith.

Wow, I'm glad I moved on. I now see the wisdom in non-stop searching; non-stop questioning; non-stop challenging my OWN beliefs about what reality is. I've concluded, quite firmly, that old-school religion is a crock. A crock based on new evidence revealed by the last 200 years of scientific evidence. Face it, the church elite could get away with telling those old bible stories to the ignorant masses who knew no better. Now we do.  Or do we...?

(click image to enlarge if you find it hard to read)

Even the most cursory understanding of genetics is enough to blow the whole creation story out of the water.   The above is one simple example; there are others.

I actually had my DNA examined by the National Geographic "Genographic" project, in which over 500,000 people from across the globe participated. They are able to trace back our lineage to tribes that migrated over 60,000 years ago from central Africa by determining the specific haplogroup one belongs to. This is possible due to random, though infrequent, mutational errors in DNA.

So, did you get that?  60,000 years ago. Not 6,000, not 10,000, which creationists place creation at. 60,000.

So, no, Eve did not come from Adam's rib.  I mean, c'mon... If you believe that, then I have a bridge for sale in Florida I think you should invest in... If you still want to argue that God created everything with age, then I suppose I too have the right to believe in the flying spaghetti monster. Which of course YOU can't see, but I happen to believe exists. So there...

The most ill-informed criticism about evolution is the label it's given: theory. Richard Dawkins (above) makes a good point, albeit facetiously, that we live our lives believing and trusting in so-called "theories".  Like gravity. Scientists are still theorizing about what gravity is, yet it doesn't mean gravity is hogwash. Religious people use the word "theory" in a derogatory way to criticize evolution and natural selection, casting doubt on its legitimacy as an explanation for our beginnings. Fact is, evolution is far more than mere theory.

Isn't it odd that it's only people who believe in the literal God of the bible that make this accusation. These people insist that facts and evidence are trumped by a god who can create a universe that is only 6,000 years old, and in that feat, spontaneously create the rings in trees, the light that has taken millions of light years to reach earth from the cosmos, a woman from a rib... And the scary part is that the majority of North America's population believes in such fairy tales! We really, truly must take a head-on approach to instilling common sense and critical thought in our children. Otherwise, progress will be stunted.

Sounds logical, right? Only to 43% of Canadians. The rest, well, would rather believe in fairy tales and imaginary friends. YES! It's true!  Take a sampling of - say - 20 people. Statistically, about 11 of them will be religious, claiming they believe the bible over science. Ask them if they would leave behind their religious beliefs if it could be proven that the earth is far older than 6,000 years (try millions...), and that we came from primates, and you'll see them stick their fingers in their ears and go "La - la - la - la..."

I see it all the time. Religious people will simply not accept hard core evidence that disproves the biblical account of creation.  People are offended by my stance, saying "But that's what you believe, you shouldn't push your beliefs onto them."  Sorry dudes and dudesses, the truth is the truth is the truth. Evidence is not a philosophy or a religion or a parlour game. It's what's in your face. It's the clothes on your back, it's the food you eat. Do you say "I believe in food"? No, you eat because it's there. You know it's there. It's evidence that you or your loved one went to the grocery store.  It's proof that farmers exist. It's proof that tractors exist that do the harvesting, and 18-wheelers deliver it to Costco, and store clerks, and... and... well, you get it.

It's no different than the evidence that exists for the age of the earth. Or that we evolved. Either believe that, or stick your finger in your ears and go "La - la - la - la - la - la ...................."