Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Would a similar majority think that God is required for gravity to function?

Apologies to Ed Brayton, from which the following was based as satire to (hopefully) prove a point about how silly the idea is that the Theory of Evolution is something that is knowable based on what people are likely to see in their daily lives (and without critical evaluation of any evidence that they might see to support the theory), and that - therefore - God had to do it (in some way):

Gallup has been taking polls for 30 years now giving people three options for their beliefs on gravity: 1) gravity is God and his angels holding each one of us to ground; 2) gravity is a fundamental force in the universe and requiring of no God; 3) gravity is a fundamental force created by God at the moment of creation. And little has changed over the decades. 46% believe that gravity is a fundamental force created by God at the moment of creation; 32% believe gravity is God and his angels holding each one of us to the ground; and 15% believe gravity is a fundamental force in the universe and requiring of no God.

The plurality clearly doesn’t know anything about the physics or quantum mechanics; if they do, they have to engage in some serious rationalization to get rid of the evidence rather than explain it. We have an excellent series of observations, measurements, and theories that can’t be explained rationally with either the creationist or theistic evolutionist position.

Of course, the vast majority of those answering the poll, and the vast majority of Americans in general, are utterly ignorant of all the evidence and have no understanding at all of how gravity operates. They wouldn’t know a graviton from a gravid bear. If they were intellectually honest, 90% or more would answer “I don’t know” to such a question because, in fact, they don’t know. They don’t have the first clue. But they think they do.


What's sad is that many people don't know how gravity works, either (not even to know that it's one of the fundamental forces of Nature). However, this lack of knowledge doesn't create dissonances with their understandings of a resurrected savior, walking on water, effectively infinite splitting of fish and bread, a virgin birth, or even the creation of the universe! Even though the numbers are going to be different, I'd wager that just as few people would choose option 2; not because they know or don't know the science, but because they cannot fathom (or don't want to fathom) a universe without a god, their god, or even a need for a god.

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