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May 4, 2007

Bad headlines of the day

Note to ABC: Change is not always evolution.

Ted Olsen

There's the "that's not news" category: "Episcopal Church faces divisions over gay issues" (Reuters)

Then there's the misplaced metaphor/cliche/exaggeration: "Christian Press Take Colorado Springs By Storm" (Christian Post)

And then there's someone feeling superior: "Evangelicals See an Evolution of Their Own | Movement Seen as Distancing From GOP, Homosexuality, Taking up Global Warming" (ABC News)

Whatever your stance on global warming and what the government should do about it, or really whatever your politics is, I think we can agree that "evolving" is incredibly loaded in this context. Yes, I get the intended humor and irony: Those crazy evangelicals that don't believe in evolution are evolving politically. Ha ha. But precisely because evolution suggests a change from a lower form to a higher form, the word in this context means "evangelicals are finally recognizing that they've been wrong in disagreeing with me."

CT readers will know that it's questionable to assert that evangelicals are changing their political beliefs, attitudes, and voting behavior. But even if that's your argument, say "change." That won't suggest that Republican evangelicals who oppose homosexual sex and don't make global warming a priority are a bunch of monkeys.

posted by Ted Olsen | Comments (5)

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Comments

Maybe I'm just naive, but I really don't read any kind of superiority or condescension by use of the word "evolve".

Its mostly just strange to me the assertation that evangelicals were previously against adoption.

Posted By: Matt K | May 4, 2007 1:08 PM

Excellent post, Ted. Linked to it here:

http://newsbusters.org/node/12532

Posted By: Ken Shepherd | May 4, 2007 3:30 PM

"evolution suggests a change from a lower form to a higher form"

Not so, except perhaps among people who have a very limited understanding of evolution. A recent report, for instance, revealed that our biological cousins, chimpanzees, have evolved more than humans. That doesn't mean they are superior to us, but merely that they have changed more.

Posted By: ex-preacher | May 5, 2007 5:01 PM

In all this talk of global warming we don't hear that the ocean produces more Carbon Dioxide than any other source. Why? It's the stuff whales eat - plankton. During a warming period, plankton dies and releases Carbon Dioxide. Perhaps some lunatic might suggest draining the oceans or killing all the plankton (and thus the whales). There's legitimate science and then there's global warming hysteria - which is a moral and ethical issue to this believing Christian. Spreading panic about global flooding, for example, is plainly irresponsible.

Posted By: Peter Ramsey | May 7, 2007 12:30 AM

I'd like to see some 'evolution' in the debate on global warming. The fact that the world's oceans produce more Carbon Dioxide than human industry renders the whole debate somewhat absurd. The cause? The food whales eat - plankton. When the water warms up, the plankton die and release Carbon Dioxide (like all plant matter). Global warming hysteria about world-wide flooding and the like is irresponsible, to say the least. To call it the 'big lie' of our generation is not that far-fetched.

Posted By: Peter Ramsey | May 7, 2007 12:35 AM