And... THEY'RE OFF!

There have been a rash of videos popping up in the social media world posted by various evangelical creationists that claim to be able to destroy evolution. Now, I'm not going to critique any of these videos. Quite honestly I've lost more minutes of my life than I care to think about watching this drivel, and I would hate to take any of your time up with it too. But there is a completely ridiculous bit of nonsense this whole movement is based around and that is worth discussing.

Now unlike the overweight Fred Durst look alike who has been blowing up my Facebook news feed recently, I'm gonna need more than three minutes of your time. This isn't because it's going to take more than three minutes to point out this idiocy, but rather because I prefer to present an actual argument with some substance rather than an ill informed tirade. So let's get to it, shall we.

You've Got a Strawman... I've Got Matches

There is the idea amongst creationists that evolutionary theory is the linchpin that holds atheism together. Their notion is that if they can disprove evolution then they'll also destroy atheism in the process. I have seen and heard these young earthers claim over and over that this dreaded theory of evolution is just a tool of Satan to spread atheism. All these horrible scientists are secret agents of Satan involved in a conspiracy to undermine god and Jesus, and all of us poor stupid atheists have fallen for this demonically driven deceit.

But wait a minute... What if, and I'm just throwing this out as a hypothetical, there are atheists that don't accept the theory of evolution? Oh wait, there are. What if there are people who didn't believe in god long before they even heard of evolution? Again, there are. And what if, nearly the entire Christian world outside of the creationists little bubble has no problem accepting both evolution and Christianity? Once again we've stumbled on an idea that is actually true.

So maybe I've missed something here. If the theory of evolution is turning everyone into atheists, then why don't all atheists agree with the theory and why aren't all people that accept evolution atheists? I think what I'm seeing here is a straw man. It's a scarecrow out in left field that creationists have put out there to do battle with rather than coming up with clear and concise evidence based arguments to validate their own assertions. The thing about a straw man is that no matter how badly you beat the crap out of him it does nothing to actually win an argument.

Time to Pull His Stuffing

No matter what straw man is presented or how creationists want to spin it, atheism is only about one thing. Just one. It is a disbelief in the existence of god or gods. There are surely some people who came to that position due to the massive and overwhelming evidence in favor of evolution, but many of us simply think the idea of god is pure poppycock. Many of us would be atheists even if there were no theory of evolution. For those like myself, of whom there are a great many, evolution is simply the best scientific answer to how human beings arose on this planet. It doesn't disprove the existence of god, but it does certainly add another layer of complexity to the silliness that is the idea of god.

So here's the deal. If you want to argue against atheism, then argue against atheism. Not evolution, or abiogenesis, or any of the other straw men you like to do imaginary battle with. Put your supposed evidence of god up against my evidence to the contrary and we'll let the arguments speak for themselves. But just remember that all atheism entails is a disbelief in the existence of god which means there is no doctrine or dogma attached to it, that atheism and an acceptance of evolution are not the same thing or even related, and that the only thing any two atheists share in common for certain is an agreement that the various gods and religions of the world are not believable.

And just for the record, even if evolution isn't the answer... that doesn't change the fact that your religious doctrines are utter nonsense.