Pharyngula

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Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Please, sweet lord, nooooooo!

I mentioned that strange creationist comic book with angels leading dinosaurs against Noah's Ark…well, I ordered a copy. I will say this, that Pinkoski is a reliable dealer, and he got my books to me very promptly.

But I also have to warn you all before it is too late that the movie treatment of devil-ridden dinosaurs is one of the more sane parts of the book. My cortical neurons were arcing and snapping and dying with agonized wails from the first page; it's like the dark book of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred to rational people, where words writhe in insane alien geometries and infiltrate the mind of the reader, leading to madness and death and worse-than-death. This book is a compendium of the worst of creationist logic.

I'll try to put up samples of this logic here from time to time. In particular, a few pieces of his fable directly contradict developmental biology, so I have to put them up as examples. No rush, though—I have to parse this book carefully, one page at a time, using a secure facility and waldos and video remotes, just to preserve my mental faculties.

(If my hyperbole serves to drive up sales of the book, that's OK. He seems to be fair in his business, and seriously—if you want to see one book that represents the abyss of ignorance we have to drag people up out of, this is an excellent example. Here's a guy with some artistic talent and a definite passion for his subject, and his arguments are appallingly wrong.)


Trackback url: http://pharyngula.org/index/trackback/2389/JTwMR3fz/

Comments:
#27579: — 06/07  at  11:50 AM
I will buy one, too. I am thinking of the Genesis book as well. There was an interesting Jesus one that caught my eye as another possible pit of ignorance ....



#27580: Moses — 06/07  at  11:52 AM
Oooh! Creationist comic books! Those are right up there with those "you are all going to h-e-l-l!!! (unless you follow our religion)" comics that roving bands of proselytizers used to hand out in Chicago's Union Station.

Time for a little therapeutic self-reflection, PZ, to help you regain your focus on the positive...

Tag! You're it.

Yowling from the Fencepost -- Book tag.



#27584: Joseph ODonnell — 06/07  at  12:52 PM
Might do so as well, anything that can induce madness along the lines of what you describe has to be worth it :D



#27586: — 06/07  at  01:02 PM
He does draw a nice carnosaur, doesn't he? Don't be too hard on him; I think he's more talented than Jack Chick.



's avatar #27588: PZ Myers — 06/07  at  01:22 PM
I will show no mercy.

But yeah, I'm looking at this as an exercise in taking apart the most stupid arguments the creationists have to offer. I won't pee on him.

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris



's avatar #27589: PZ Myers — 06/07  at  01:23 PM
And how mean can I be? Look at all the business I'm sending him!

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris



#27592: — 06/07  at  01:32 PM
Well, Jack Chick may not be a great artist, but he has an explanation for how protons can stick together in a nucleus, even though they should repel one another. Physicists might talk about the residual nuclear force and wave a bunch of numbers around, but Jack knows which numbers count: Colossians 1:17- "...and by Him are all things held together". Even I can understand that...



#27600: — 06/07  at  02:34 PM
As a kid I always got a kick out of picking up those fake folded dollar bills, remember those? On the back was some sort of Apocalypse message or an invitation to church.

Once I picked one up that had a complete foldout comic of the coming Rapture and how things would be for those of us left behind. Beautiful 70's pop culture. Wish I had kept some of those.



#27604: The Bad Astronomer — 06/07  at  02:41 PM
Beware of copyright infringement when you post images! But I'm curious to see what you have, and I've little desire to line this guy with cash.



#27606: Orac — 06/07  at  02:48 PM
As a cartoonist, Jack Chick isn't that horrible, but reading his tracts makes me feel as though my brain will start leaking out of my ears soon.

--
Orac “A statement of fact cannot be insolent.”
http://oracknows.blogspot.com



#27617: — 06/07  at  04:41 PM
My favourite Chick cartoon has to be the one where he accuses the Catholic Church of creating Islam. The utter ridiculousness of that concept had me in tears.



#27619: Orac — 06/07  at  05:23 PM
Oooh. I haven't seen that one that I can recall. Is it the same one where he talks how the Catholic Church is supposedly a false Christianity?

--
Orac “A statement of fact cannot be insolent.”
http://oracknows.blogspot.com



#27620: — 06/07  at  05:25 PM
I must admit the illustrations are pretty good, from what I've seen. Especially of the dinosaurs rampaging at the ark in the thunderstorm. That aside, the comic is almost insulting in its utter lack of logic (dinosaurs necks are bent backwards because they were gasping for air -- that's gotta be a joke). And I like his web site: it turns out he is a huge star wars fan. Can you be a christian fundy and a follower of the Force? Didn't Robertson or Falwell once denounce the movies because of that?



#27623: Brad R. — 06/07  at  05:46 PM
PZ- Is there anyway you can e-mail a PDF of the comic? It really looks like terrific material for Sadly, No!



#27654: John M. Price — 06/07  at  09:07 PM
I spent too much I'm sure.

Should've asked for a library purchase discount - but alas, I didn't buy all of them.

What the heck. They're cheaper than a movie, and I can show them off to folk.

(Now, should they be itemized in my will? Will they increase in value?)

I blame it on the hardening of the cider....



#27658: — 06/07  at  09:33 PM
'Is it the same one where he talks how the Catholic Church is supposedly a false Christianity? '

well of course it is, all these folks thinking you can work your way into heaven.....what kind of gift is that?grin



#27660: — 06/07  at  09:56 PM
Here's a guy with some artistic talent and a definite passion for his subject, and his arguments are appallingly wrong.


Knock yourself out PZ, just remember that at the end of the day you are lapooning a Comic Book

Now, I understand you believe you are criticizing Christianity by proxy when you criticize this comic book, but do keep in mind that a 2000 year-old worldwide religion and a comic book are two seperate, distinct entities...



's avatar #27664: Ken Cope — 06/07  at  10:17 PM
Jester, you understand no such thing about what PZ believes he is doing, you're only lamely trying to spin it that way. Why bother criticizing Christianity by proxy?

While the odds are good that a given I.D. creationist is a Christian, somebody telling me they're Christian tells me jack about what they think of creationism or evolution.

I'm sure nobody here gives a rat's ass what religion you are or aren't, until you start taking any of the comic book that is creationism seriously. Anybody who starts prattling creationist nonsense here will be slapped hard, and the Christian Pharynguloids will happily take turns slapping you with the atheist Pharynguloids.



#27665: — 06/07  at  10:24 PM
Anybody here old enough to remember that other Jesus comic book, Foolbert Sturgeon's 'Further Adventures of Jesus'?



's avatar #27666: PZ Myers — 06/07  at  10:26 PM
Interesting. I thought I was criticizing creationism, and didn't say a word about religion. Does Jester think creationism and christianity are one and the same?

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris



's avatar #27667: Ken Cope — 06/07  at  10:41 PM
Foolbert Sturgeon? Sure. I'm more of an S. Clay Wilson fan myself.



#27668: pough — 06/07  at  10:54 PM
Hey! What's up with disparaging comic books? When's the last time the Bible won a Pulitzer?



#27706: — 06/08  at  11:55 AM
Why don't you scan it and put a pdf online for downloads? Surely the christians won't mind, as they are not serving the mammon!



Trackback: An Occasional Series... Tracked on: Three Bulls! (72.9.234.70) at 2005 06 29 15:24:14
So I’m walking down the street and The Nutter Butter is coming the other way. At first I think he’s walking his dog in an odd fashion...



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