Andrew Schlafly and Charity... what charity?

I guess it goes without saying that the Powers that Be at the ultra right-wing blog Conservapedia (I think we can finally dispense with the illusion that it is, in any shape or form, an encyclopaedia) have some very strange ideas about everyday events. One of these would be "chivalry" - which in Andrew Schlafly's world involves setting different tests for girls and boys, because it's not fair for the fairer sex to have to compete equally with boys.

Another is charity.

Now, CP's entry for "Charity" defines it, amongst other things, as "a Christian virtue" before going on to say that "the United States is “a land of charity." It also has some strange "see also" links - Altruism, Greed and Capitalism.

Bible Translation Schlafly Style

So, I know Andy reads this blog (or has done in the past) so I'm not sure if this is a response to what I said below. Anyway, Andy has gone on to "defend" his statement. I use inverted commas, because Andy's version of defend runs along the lines of "I'm right - you're wrong; you're a liberal and need to open your mind; Oh look, Terry Koeckritz has blocked you."

To whit, the insane one rambles:

Thank you for your comment, but it illustrates how the medical misunderstanding of digestion persists even 2000 years after Jesus stated the real truth. It is not in Matthew 15:11 where Jesus explained why it is not necessary always to wash one's hands before eating, but somewhere in Mark (I think).

Good hygiene is helpful and has extended lifespan, but usually not by protecting the digestive system. The digestive system is powerful enough to destroy nearly everything that is harmful. The reason people are told today to wash their hands is typically not to protect what they eat, but to avoid spreading to their eyes and nose and others, particularly to those with weak immune systems.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 10:27, 11 July 2010 (EDT)

Erm, ok Andy, so you're making a claim on Conservapedia, and you don't even know the source for your claim. (Again, why am I not surprised).

Washing The Hand That Feeds You

I'm actually not too sure just how to respond to Andrew Schlafly's latest bout of insanity. Most of me just wants to yell, "He can't be serious!" and leave it at that. However, as sad as it may be, he is being serious. And that makes his comment all the more bizarre. Remember, we are dealing with a man who has received (and squandered) a fairly substantial education.

Anyway, to the case in point. Conservapedia boasts an article entitled "Biblical scientific foreknowledge" which "is the remarkable content of the Bible showing a comprehension of scientific knowledge beyond anything that existed among atheistic sources at the time when the Bible was composed." Sadly, most of the sources are CreationWiki and Answers in Genesis, so one would have to assume the teeniest bit of bias, and whole lot of what-the-fuckery.

Lenski redux... or Andy Writes Another Letter

Still bathed in the glow of his Conservative Bible Project, Andrew Schlafly is now taking on the more esteemed translators of the Bible. Nevermind the fact that Andy's "translation" is a lukewarm abortion of a project, which involved several parodists changing words such as "thee" to "you" and "wine" to "grape juice". Oh yes, and the removal of the whole 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' liberal garbage - because Andy's Jesus is all about hellfire, baby.

At no point did they revert back to the original Greek (or should that be Aramaic?) documents, even though Terry Hurlbut tried gamely for a bit, armed with an English / Greek pocket dictionary and Google Translate, but even he fell away. Despite all this, and the legion flaws contained in Andy's "translation" he went forth to proclaim the Good News. Well, he appeared on the Colbert Report, and didn't quite get the fact that he was the butt of their joke. Hint: Andy, people are laughing AT you, not with you. Still, now he's going after his detractors... hopefully not one at a time, because I think the universe will end before he gets done. First on his list is Prof. Douglas Moo, who is currently involved in a new translation of the NIV and TNIV, who dared call Andy's project "silly."

Relatively Speaking

Andrew Schlafly dislikes many things. Chief amongst these would appear to be Pres. Obama, Professors, Hollywood and for some strange reason the Theory of Relativity. Just reading the talk page (plus archives) gives you a pretty good insight into just how Andy thinks - even when confronted with facts by his own brother.

I've spoken about his run-in with Kate Sorenson before, where Andy came up with the wonderful statement: "Why the big push for black holes by liberals, and big protests against any objection to them? If it turned out empirically that promoting black holes tends to cause people to read the Bible less, would you still push this so much?" That went on to become a recurring theme in Andy's defence of Why-Relativity-Is-Wrong - because people won't read the Bible if they believe in relativity. And this man teaches children??