Creationist crusade reaches Singapore
In the Online Forum of the Straits Times, 15 Nov 2005, can be found a letter from an Andrew Loke who took ChannelNewsAsia to task for screening a documentary about the evolution of humans. He claimed that it was a "highly debatable theory" being "presented as fact."
He wanted the TV station to screen his preferred account "to let the public know the truth about our origin."
What is his "truth"? While he didn't say the word, we can surmise it is Biblical Creationism, for his main reference is a site called Answers in Genesis. Genesis is a section of the Old Testament of the Bible. See also links provided by a Yawning Bread reader, in footnote [2]
In creationist lore, the world was created by a Christian God called Yahweh (all other Gods being false, in case you didn't know) and so on.
Andrew Loke is spreading religiously-biased disinformation, and it is inexcusable that the Straits Times felt his letter deserved to be published.
This is just after the Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said in a speech 31 October 2005,
Editors and journalists must have high personal integrity and sound judgment - people who understand Singapore ’s uniqueness as a country, our multi-racial and multi-religious make-up, vulnerabilities and national goals.
This too is while other letter writers in the Straits Times Forum, writing in support of a (government-)controlled press, were saying things like,
We should never forget that a fair and responsible press in a multiracial country is key to maintaining harmony and ensuring economic development and prosperity.
An irresponsible free press can spark chaos, violence and conflicts, leading to untold miseries for the people.
(See The debate about press freedom in the Straits Times. The above quote is from Paul Chan's letter, 9 Nov 2005.)
And Goh also said, in the same speech, that
editors should take a balanced approach so as not to allow the commentary and opinion pages of their newspapers to reflect only biased or partisan views. More importantly, news should not be slanted to serve a hidden agenda.
Andrew Loke's letter sure seems like hidden agenda to me, when he avoids mentioning "God" or "Bible" despite these being the bases of his views.
Bill Hicks' Take on Creationism
Now I know that there are many believers out there and I am not one of them. If you are easily offended by the 'F' word or unbecoming references to religion, do not watch this video of Bill Hicks... click on the image below to be taken to another site containing the video.
I thought the complete article needs to be posted so as not to misled the reader on this blog on what seems like an article on creationism which it is not.
ReplyDeleteEveryone slips sometimes. The letter could have been selected if the press felt that the evolution theory was too strongly presented and wanted to include a letter from someone with a different viewpoint. Thus, I am wondering if counter-arguments have become so opportunistic as to use this episode to point out inconsistencies which are quite common, but trivial.
Try convincing another person with "religiously-biased disinformation" and you will realize how difficult it can be. If someone is bent on believing in something, no amount of information, or misinformation, can dissuade that person from following his beliefs. It would simply be dismissed as the incompatibility of faith and fact.
It is nothing short of a parody if people based their religious viewpoints by reading the newspaper. A savvy newspaper sells what is hot news, even if it is hot air, and as such, IT vs Creationism is the bullfight of the day so anything that is controversial about it gets published.
"If someone is bent on believing in something, no amount of information, or misinformation, can dissuade that person from following his beliefs."
ReplyDeleteIt takes one to know one.
infini regressez
ReplyDeletetye please follow the links to the entire article on Yawning breads site.
ReplyDelete