Rick Warren: The Teaching of Evolution is to Blame for the Colorado Shooting

I always love the logic behind these kinds of statements: “Whatever makes me feel good is true; whatever doesn’t make me feel good is false.”

Humans are animals. I suppose Mr. Warren would prefer that we be plants? fungi? bacteria? We are animals but by far the most advanced, most intelligent species on the planet. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to say much.

“pastor extraordinaire”
That’s like “curb painter extraordinaire”.

Thank you Rick Warren for helping the NRA keep the high capacity clip he used (100 round) legal! The church has to understand when they are in league with the NRA they are handing mentally disturbed people the tools to harm many. Thank you Rick!

Yeah, that’s why this happened, Warren…  Ridiculous!  Ironically, its when I finally admitted to myself I am no different than animals (aside from the obvious differences) that I became much more compassionate towards humans and other animals alike.

Warren is fearful that science will expose his false profession.

High capacity magazine,not clip. Also some of us atheist do carry concealed firearms. I’m one of them and I used to be a member of the NRA. If I go out and purchase a high capacity magazine that is my right to do so.

I enjoy my right to own and carry a firearm.

Tom Flynn’s bad pr statement: -1
Rick Warren’s bad pr statement: – 100

Another example of creationists jumping to conclusions! They blame evolution on the bad things happening in this world without ever bothering to find out the real motive behind the incident that has nothing to do with evolution and plenty to do with something else such as jealousy or being motivated by religious beliefs.

So does that mean you are a bad shot or just think you’ll run into 100 muggers?

This is fast become a very popular can of worms for Christians to open up. Of course, it represents a flawless, textbook case of myopic argument. The history of religion, especially the western world’s Big Three, is fraught with people who act like ‘animals’ fully and intentionally in the name of god, and in the name of believing that they are connecting to cosmic forces and cosmic beings.

Christians who argue using this tactic of course, have an easy out: they just say “the people who committed atrocities in the name of god were merely confused.”

Yes. Merely… confused.

And Obama. They’ll blame Obama, too.

I would say this brings a lot of people to the forefront of the evidence, and I am ready to show them. Everyone go to my facebook. com/creationistssuck if you want to get my info list for creationists. The war of information is on!

Really??? My calling it a clip instead of a magazine substantially changed my argument how?  I must just not understand the nuances. 🙂

First off, most 100 round 5.56 AR magazines are pieces of shit. They are a novelty item more than anything else. Second, if I want to purchase a single 100 round magazine or 4 30 round mags, what’s it to you? For someone who grew up in the Midwest with a gun in your hand you seem to have very little knowledge of firearms.
As 100 round capacity mags are more likely to misfeed, it would take me less time to blow through four 30 round mags than for you to have to clear your stoppages, reseat the mag, pull back the charging handle and get back to work.
Even f these mags were reliable, mere possession of one is not what drove this punk to murder.
As to the purpose of a 100 round mag…what’s the purpose of a 5, 10, 20, 30 or 40 round magazine? Are you implying that the 2nd
Amendment was all about hunting or target practice?

It is obvious you have never once owned a firearm.

And now you are just being a dick, to be a dick.

Then I expect that since he believe otherwise, that being that we are made in his God’s image, has more to do with it. Sad that these clowns feel the need to try to use these terrible events to further their own adjendas.

i set up a petition on change.org asking president obama and governor romney not to take part in warren’s planned “presidential forum”
do not take part in this forum.

Pretty sure we’re not the ones claiming there’s no reason not to murder people except for a magical being that nobody can prove exists.

Zombie attack.

 Oh yeah…right.
I forgot about the zombies…
🙂

Can make for a fun day at the range.

Sorry I’m not the one who said that ”
Get your facts straight, please. ” and then proceeded to list the only fact I got wrong was calling a magazine a clip.

If thats your best argument. Don’t you think it’s time to reevaluate?

What does Rick Warren consider himself? Flora?

Well witnesses said he just kept shooting and shooting. Now I don’t have a film of the shooting but I am just guessing that his weapon didn’t jam. Plus he killed 14 and wounded over 50 so he got off quite a few round don’t ya think?
 By the way, no need to get huffy. I just wanted to know WHY you think you need a 100 round mag. Do you want to make sure you hit the deer you are hunting? Or perhaps you skeet shoot and a 100 round mag will guarantee that you hit the target. Then of course there is the dreaded zombie apocalypse.  🙂

Atheist, “liberal”, gun owner (competitive shooting and personal protection), trained, licensed to carry.

I am not defending ass clown Warren, but other than coincidence, where is the proof that he was referring to Colorado?

he will be getting a stern talking to from his fellow pastors.  he knows damn well gay marriage is the cause of this.  it was in the memo.

I’m going to stop banging my head against the brick wall. Enjoy the rest of your night.

High capacity clips were banned until 2004 when the federal assault weapons ban was allowed to expire due to the support and lobbying of the NRA. 

For the most part the NRA congress members are supported by Fundamentalist Christians. Although there are a couple of democratic members also.What fact do I have wrong?

He doesn’t need a reason to own them, it’s his right.    And just because you can’t think of a good reason, doesn’t mean there isn’t.  That’s called the arguement from ignorance.   It’s his right to own the guns for whatever reason, whether you accept those reasons or not.

I was wondering the same thing myself. Even looking at his twitter page, none of his tweets that I read on either side of this one made any reference to this event. Context really is key, and the problem with twitter is, you really don’t have one.

Is the “range” also possibly an interior of a movie theater ?

You are a fucking idiot. Enjoy being such an dumbass.

Right, because believing in God has always stopped people from acting like animals.

That Rick is an idiot is immaterial.  That SO many people take his word as meaningful is a tragedy.

Well, he hears directly from God so it must be true.  [eye roll]

I have been in “no news” mode for a few months now and I came back to your blog (and not much else) about a week ago.  That’s enough… I have to go no news again.  There’s so much out there, especially crap like this and that other doofus who blames godless schools, that I just can’t deal with.  I want to fix things, honestly I do… but it’s not going to happen.  There are too many of them, not enough of us, and they’re procreating faster.  AND they’re indoctrinating their children whereas we let our kids figure it out.  We are doomed… I don’t see any way we can win this war… and yes, it is a war.

I also spent a month with my mother, who is disabled and has Fox News on 24/7.  She sleeps in front of it and believes every morsel they spew.  And she is a brilliant woman who graduated summa cum laud. 

I’m just tired…. so very tired.

Except… no other animal, except us humans, created guns. Logic fail.

Not to worry. Since Jesus saves us all from our sins, simply by believing in him, all the shooter/murderer at the Aurora CO movie theater needs to do is believe, and he is forgiven and can go to heaven! Makes perfect sense. Not.

Dave,Christianity as a whole as well as The entire GOP/TEA don’t have  Good Context references either,but by golly that’s never stopped them before!LOL

Teaching evolution is supposed to educate ppl and that should give them an understanding of why we already act like animals, because we are. And ppl that don’t believe in evolution are the biggest animals with their religious killings and beheading of ppl who do not share their faith. Religion is a cult you can’t blame evolution for someone acting like an animal when we are. Because without any knowledge of evolution ppl still do animal things.

Animals don’t use guns.

….guns taken away.

There is only one person I know of that could successfully navigate a Rick Warren mediated discussion/debate. And unfortunately, Hitchens is dead.

Animals frequently gun down large members of their own species? Yes, deer hunters here in Iowa have been shot by small groups of deer armed with automatic weapons. Our local NRA is asking for the ban on Assault Weapons to be lifted so the hunters can match the firepower of these ruthless packs of heavily armed deer. We are lucky that rabbits aren’t strong enough to properly aim their rifles yet, but  I hear they are enlisting teams of raccoons to assist them.

*slow clap*

Pascals Wager. Look it up.

We’re both wrong. Only the Hindus have it right.

When students are taught that the earth is not the center of the universe, they act like it.

 I’ll let you set limits on the things that I purchase if I can set limits on yours.

You don’t need that big of a house, or a car with that many cylinders. Your cell phone doesn’t need that many features or your computer doesn’t need to be that fast with all that memory you’ll never use.

Blame blame blame. Blame evolution, blame  ‘taking god out of schools”, blame movies, blame music, blame blame blame.

How did this comment section turn into a battle over the 2nd amendment?  lol

So now we are in league with theists making laws with no evidence to back them up.  “Its my right” why? why does someone need the right to carry an assault weapon.  Yes the constitution writes the right to own a weapon (written in a time of rebellion where people had to worry about soldiers coming into their home so its still useless now).  But I see no evidence being brought forwards to why someone should still need that right, and ZERO evidence for why someone needs the “right” to own an assault weapon.

That’s Pascals Wager, and on the surface it sounds pretty sound.  But in reality that argument is so full of holes and have been rebutted so many times, most atheists just roll their eyes when they hear/read it.  As Bball says Google it and read.

My friend said the same thing when i posted on FB about this.  And my reply is the same…

Either

He was referring to it and taking a shot at evolution and blaming it for what happened

or

He exercised bad judgment by sending out a cryptic tweet at a very bad time when it could easily have been misconstrued for the above (and was).

Either way, he deserves to be called out on it.

Simply amazing. A bunch of gun lovers (all men, I would guess) commenting here trying to outdo each other in showing how much they know about guns. You guys sound like silly jackasses braying at each other in a barn yard. “I know more about guns than you do, so na-na-na!” “No you don’t, I know more, so na-na-na.”

And since when does knowing the pros and cons of a 100-round 5.56mm AR-15 magazine given anyone the authority to proclaim the truth about the insane gun violence which claims more innocent lives than in other developed nation? It doesn’t: it was a rhetorical question. It makes you part of the problem, not the solution.

Even the Supreme Court doesn’t claim there are no limits on gun ownership.  Most of their decisions are also 5-4 these days.

Someone rolled a “1” on their Detect Sarcasm check.

RE: the gun debate in this thread

I’d just like to mention that a few days ago, in a thread on G+, we were talking about guns and the prevalence of them. I mentioned that I now live in Israel (this was a thread about the Israeli bikini girl on the beach with the M16). Somebody was shocked when I told them that this is an absolutely common sight here. You can go to the mall, or on the train (I often take the train from Haifa to Tel Aviv – very comfortable and nice), or the bus, or walk down the street, and you will have many soldiers carrying modern assault rifles (well, the M16 isn’t modern, but the Tavor is, which has replaced the M16 in most combat units).
In fact, you’ll see so many combat rifles that you won’t even notice them anymore. Soldiers here are instructed to carry their guns when on leave (or leave them behind two locks at home…lots of rules). But the fact is that the people I mentioned this to were shocked because they, like myself, are really liberal and on the left of such issues. I’m pretty anti-gun, when you get down to it.

But I have to concede that there are almost no massacres in the history of Israel with a soldier going ballistic with his or her assault rifle.  Of course we all know it has happened once or twice, but you’d think with a population so steeped in machine guns everywhere (because they are fully automatic, remember…not semi-automatic. They’re military grade stuff), that there would be far, far, more massacres here than in most places.

But I’ve learned it’s not the number of guns around me, but the mentality of the people around me. Most people here really don’t want to go to the military. They go, they’re proud to serve in most cases, but they really don’t enjoy it much. And for the young Rambo-types who go to the military at eighteen years old, they usually get broken down so hard in basic training (which lasts six months in many cases) that they just aren’t very much the Rambo-types when they start carrying a gun around with them.

So, I have to say that while I am perfectly aware of the problems which Israel has in a geopolitical sense on her borders and the state of war this country has been in since before 1947, I do have to say that it isn’t particularly the number of assault rifles around that cause crimes such as this.

Remember too that people here watch the same exact movies and the same exact TV shows as we do in the states. CSI, The Wire, Batman – whatever. It’s all here, you know. There’s literally no censorship and being here in terms of entertainment is literally no different than being in the states. 

So I’m not entirely sure what it is that makes America more susceptible to this kind of violence, and gun violence in general. I’m not saying that there isn’t crime here – of course there is. I’m just saying that there are a hell of a lot more guns around you in the street and in public places, but still less shootings and almost no massacre rampages from disaffected youth.

Why? I haven’t figured it out yet. Of course, bite my tongue, now I’m sure some sort of copycat will pop off several clips and kill a ton of people just to prove me wrong. I hope to goodness that isn’t the case.

Nothing shows the reprehensibility of a person as when he uses a tragedy to further his agenda.

I think you’re giving the Rickster far too much credit 🙂  I think almost any of the ‘regular’ posters around here could decimate him in a discussion/debate.

 The wooosh was so strong over your head it made me sick with diarrhea. Thanks.

It’s odd that the country with the weakest grasp of evolutionary biology in the west has the highest rate of these sorts of mass murder.

Unless you’re committing mass murder with a Nokia indestructible model, comparing machine guns to morally inert objects like houses and computers makes you look like a moron.

Don’t be that guy.

In S.A. were we have an alarmingly high crime rate, many of the S.A.Police are  killed for their guns, theft of guns a major factor in armed robberies……..one moment ready to protect family. then they are killed by their own firearm.

Not getting into the whole Second Amendment fight, but the arguments you bring up about ice cream and male on male sex are pretty ridiculous. You cannot use male on male sex or ice cream to more efficiently KILL anyone. 

1. We don’t need your “gun resume.” No one gives a shit and it doesn’t qualify your opinion in any way. 2. No one is disputing that a 100 round magazine isn’t used for hunting. 3. Know what else isn’t intended for hunting? The second amendment. 4. Whether I own a 100 round magazine or a 5 round magazine is none of your business. I don’t “need” beer, opera tickets, a V8 engine or a 100 round magazine. But whether I choose to have those things is no one’s business. 5. No, just because you feel unsafe or you think that my owning a 100 round magazine “might” put your life in danger isn’t sufficient reason for preventing me from owning one. My car and kitchen knives pose an even greater risk, but you don’t seemed too concerned with those.

If there is a reason, the 100-round magazine fans should be able to provide this reason.  “It’s legal” is not a reason.  
For example, we could ask someone what reason they have for going to church.  “It’s legal” doesn’t answer the question.

 Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. The shooter was not a veteran. Don’t blame vets for this massacre.

Warren’s statement is as well thought out as anything else the man has
regurgitated. The shear stupidity of his comment is, however, less maddening than
Warren’s smug assumption that, because he sports the title “reverend,” he should
be deferred to.

Did anyone really expect them to leave their God OUT of this? I suspect that secretly some of the firebrand/fundie pastors see this sort of tragedy as a gift from their imaginary friend in the sky. The bottom line is that a large part of America will look for answers/comfort from their old book & some nasty religious “types” will take advantage & use it for ratings, donations &/or Tithes from the “faithful”. Sad, in EVERY way  ☹

 MY CAPSLOCK KEY IS BROKEN TOO!!!

 Spell check much?

I disagree with Rick.  It’s actually believing you come from an omniscient creator that makes people justify these actions, you know, it’s in God’s plan and all…..

But try to talk about gun regulations and the Church of NRA goes ape shit bananas

Matt Dillahunty
Sam Harris
Peter Boghossian
to name a few

I’d like to propose the topic: “There is zero, ZERO support for slavery in the bible”

Dear gun-toting Americans, if you want a reason why you shouldn’t be allowed to own assault weapons, just look at your murder rate compared to countries with tighter gun laws.

It’s my understanding that all the guns this guy used were purchased legally. It’s my understanding that the same is true for pretty much all of these massacres that occur time to time. 

I think the term “moderate” has now become a word to just describe evangelicals really and not liberal/mainline Protestants at all. If you’d like some names of popular mainline authors I’d include Marcus Borg, Diana Butler Bass, John Domminic Crossan, Phillip Gulley, Phyllis Tickle, John Shelby Spong, Anne Lamont, John Cobb, Walter Wink to name a few

Wow, that comment of mine was a little disjointed.  I meant to put “sigh” after the sarcasm in the first paragraph and “however” before the statement about correlation. Sorry, I haven’t had my coffee yet.

That’s true: there were no act of violence committed by humans before Darwin polluted their minds with his crazy theories …

I thought I’d fight fire with fire…

https://twitter.com/TominousTone/status/226527005066289152

Yikes! This will teach me not to leave my [sarcasm] tags at home next time. I failed to realize that what to me was a ridiculously unbelievable statement might be taken as an actual creationist’s stance.

Now, put down the ferret and STEP AWAY FROM THE CAPSLOCK!

While I am in no way advocating a free-for-all as it concerns weapons and gun control, weapon ownership has very valid reasons (as well as invalid ones).  Let us not forget that it was the Nazis who owned the guns, and not the jews.  Yes, Americans do have rights and freedoms that are protected by the constitution – but that constitution is also backed by firepower, as well as willpower.  Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: “You cannot invade mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass.”

Alex,
Check out a short story by Bruce Sterling called “Neural Chernobyl”. It’s right along these lines and just about as funny!

A 100 round magazine serves no purpose at all for the average civilian. Unless someone is lacking a pair of gonads and needs to have something to make themselves feel more like a man. 

also we saw lion gathering enormous amount of ressources and preventing other lions to eat because it is his property. But he is kind enough to make other lions and animals work for him at a very low wage because he need all the riches so hes able to invest more and sent his loot to caiman island and be free from taxes

I used to belong to the NRA, because I believe in the right to keep and bear arms.  In about two years of membership, I learned that this so-called “single interest” group was nothing more than a front group for right wing extremism and bitterly attacked all moderates and progressives, regardless of their position on gun issues.  I was a member during the Carter years, and their unrelenting attacks and smear  job on Carter, who was not anti-gun, and their drooling support of the venal actor forced me to end my association with them.  

Have you ever noticed that no one ever thinks of themselves as “fundamentalist.”  They like to use the word “evangelical” to describe themselves because “fundamentalist” has become pejorative term.  The problem is the words have different meanings. If as a Christian you believe the bible is the divinely inspired, and inerrant word of god, you are a fundamentalist…

I was going to rage some more, but what’s the point because I’m preaching to the choir.

I agree, but I am neither an evangelical or a fundamentalist, nor do I believe the Bible is inerrant…my confusion lays in what is being defined as “moderate” and how Rick Warren got that label?

“Evolution is any **CHANGE** across successive generations in the inherited characteristics of biological populations.” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution) See that word there Rickster,”Change” ? That means to be come DIFFERENT,so evolution doesn’t even mean what you think it does! Let alone provide the cause & motivation for the Aurora Shootings. 

Seriously, Warren is an offensive, fat-ass jerk. Not that he’s never shown that before. 

Rick is right, even though you mischaracterize what he said.

He means well, and what he said, we know is true.  Evolution is a general principle that doesn’t even need proof because it’s true on the face. 

 The problem is when people start using evolution-of-man as a justification for animal rights, at which point, “students are taught that they are no different from animals.”

“(all men, I would guess)”

Wow, sexist much? I agree that having a “my gun is bigger” fight is stupid, but so are generalizations like yours.

“Tell me again why he deserves our respect?”

Because he wrote a bestselling book that told us that we need an excuse to exist, an excuse called “purpose.” He showed us the meaning and purpose of our lives: a significant part of said purpose being subservient to and financially supporting him.

Anyhoo:
http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3q6g12/

Oh yeah, sorry.

http://www.nrlc.org/news/1999/NRL999/pres.html

This isn’t a direct source, and it’s also not my original source, but it seems to pull the relevant paragraphs, so I’m pretty confident that at least the really long quotes have basis in context.  Even so, it might be a good idea to check out the 1983 article cited as (Pediatrics, vol. 72, No. 1, July 1983, p. 129) if you get the chance.  I’m hunting it down now.

I think he’s what passes for moderate in the evangelical world. Evangelicals are a breed apart because their “moderates” would be classified as right-wing conservatives by those not involved in the subculture.

 Unless I’m misreading it, he’s comparing a “severely defective human infant” to a dog or a pig and finding the animal more capable.  Which kind of stacks the deck against humans. Hell, before i’ve had my caffeine most dogs are way more capable than me at a variety of things.

I also wouldn’t be so quick to trust a quote that has NINE ellipses in one passage.

But let’s say this one cherry-picked college professor said exactly what Warren is implying all education espouses. Singer still seems to have no connection whatsoever to this nut in CO.

While we don’t know a whole lot about the demented character who committed this horrible act, Rick Warren’s statement helps explain the decline of our morality, ethics, behavior and conduct.

I accidentally hit post before I was done. Anyway because of the second amendment people would feel like their rights were being violated. The second amendment was wrote in a time when it took at least a minute to load a rifle though so people can argue rather it covers semi automatic rifles or not. I’m really on fence with this issue to be honest I don’t feel like there is a good solution.

Pam, yes I’ve heard that the guns were also legally bought from a bass pro shop and somewhere else. I believe you are correct most mass shootings I’ve heard of the shooter legally bought the weapon. I was just making a point that people could still get there hands on weapons via the black market and citizens who want to protect them self would be out of luck. That’s all I was saying really.

Thank you both for being civil and respectful. 🙂

Good for you. Sincerely.

I checked Pastor Rick Warren’s
verified Twitter page, and it would appear that he DID indeed tweet that
“When students are taught [that] they are no different from animals, they
act like it.” However, he DID NOT say that “The teaching of evolution
is to blame for the Colorado
shooting”, as the headline of this Facebook posting implies. Nor do I
believe that the headline is a fair or reasonable interpretation and
characterization of his view. First of all, Pastor Rick Warren mentions neither
evolution, nor the Colorado
shooting, nor blame in his tweet. But even if we assume that his tweet is in
reference to the Colorado shooting, it is clear that he is talking, not about
teaching students evolution, but simply about teaching students that “they
are no different from animals”, i.e. that FACTUALLY and BIOLOGICALLY
students ARE animals. I infer his REAL point to be that, to be taught these
biological facts in a value-free moral vacuum is INSUFFICIENT to cause students
to act like more than animals with respect to adopting moral values.
Furthermore, Rick Warren does not affix any specific blame for the Colorado shooting to
persons other than the shooter. Even were he to blame value-neutral
just-the-facts education for amoral people in general, because he believes that
morals should be taught in the classroom, this would be a thinly spread blame
if he believes that the teaching or morals and values is a responsibility
shared by family, school, and church. 
Let me close by saying that there is plenty about religious folk to
criticize without hastily and disingenuously characterizing their
positions.  A more measured approach
which encourages dialogue and understanding is to be preferred to shooting from
the hip.
 

You can’t use male-on-male sex OR ice cream to more efficiently kill anyone?  Jeez, don’t be so closed minded, use your imagination!

I’m guessing he’d prefer we were all fungi so he could keep us in the dark and feed us shit.

The ONLY reason to own a gun is to KILL.

 That’s what you get for min-maxing, you munchkin.

It’s curious that the Religious Right’s perception of God appears to be one of an ego-centric, malevolent, micro-managing sadist — somewhat akin to how many of them treat their wives.

I see a little shillouetto of an dick
What a Douche What a Douche
Do you enjoy being an asshole?

No seriously you make people that oppose violence look like massive shitheads. I hope you enjoy breathing out of your mouth.

“Sheeple”? Seriously?

I mean. I’m an “enlightened atheist” just like you, but jesus-on-a-stick that sounds stuck up and stupid.

I’m not sure if you saw them, but over on Exploring Our Matrix I too took Warren to task in a couple of posts:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2012/07/why-rick-warren-is-wrong-several-times-over.html

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2012/07/blaming-evolution-for-tragedy.html

I’m not sure of Warren’s intent here, but how does his statement necessarily argue against evolution? In this short snippet/tweet it’s very unclear what he means. I could fully agree with all of the scientific evidence supporting evolution, and still agree with his implication that students should not be taught that humans are no different from animals. I would not have to look very hard to find as far back as the  13th century in Catholic teaching (Thomas Aquinas) that human beings would be classified as animals, but noting the tremendous theological, social and moral differences between human and animal. I’m sure with just a brief search I could find earlier statements.

Perhaps Warren was not speaking against evolution, but rather against a purely materialistic view of the human species. No soul, no objective morality, no transcendent nature – this would be the tragic thing to teach our students. Teach evolution (I’m all for that, as a science teacher), but teach them that humanity is indeed different from the animals (I’m all for that, as RC clergy).

I don’t know if I agree with what Warren is saying here, because there’s not enough information. Let’s not let the only mental exercise we do be jumping to conclusions (to parapharase one of my favorite comedians, Danny Kaye).

The constant Mormon header and side ads are much more annoying… but yes, all I see are Christian ads on this blog.  NEVER have seen a nonreligious ad on Patheos at all.

Yeah, I just scrolled past that discussion… it’s not worth stepping into.  Gun people, pro and con, scare me ALMOST more than religious people.

Oh, how I wish it didn’t induce migraines!

Every time I hear that quote I think of this guy from the Japanese Tsunami. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uct9Kzjw9XY

There are lots of examples of this on the web.  In fact, I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure that humans are more at risk of dying from another human than they are from any other animal.  Is there a species of animal like this?  Is there an animal that is more at risk from being murdered by its own species than from any other animal?

I had no trouble reading it.  Is English not your first language?

Where in this tweet does he say anything about the Colorado shooting ? He doesn’t of course but you will imply that to fit your agenda to attack him because of his stance on same sex marriage and homosexuality. Have you ever really studied what his church does to help people ? Are you aware of the food banks they have, the first responders they organize to assist in times of tragedy, the work they are doing to end the orphan crisis across the globe, the counseling they give to addicts, homeless, etc…

I know, I know, you will say ye he does all of this but he believes homosexuality is a sin so he is an immoral bigotted monster. And you call yourselves open minded.

 Oh, well, PETA. He’s clearly a loon… and not in the good sense of “some type of waterfowl”.

My question was where in this tweet is he mentioning the Colorado shooting. That is a figment of ya’lls imagination.

I know.   I’ll grant it’s a bit of speculation.  I actually thought it was equally likely that he was referring to the notion that morals must come from God.  Having read his ‘debate’ with Harris, he does claim that even non-believers are infused with morals from God.  I seem to recall that’s also your position, but I could be wrong there.

ok, but that’s not really our debate.  Our debate is over whether or not it was about the shooting.  After a new event that large, a tweet like that is going to be assumed to be related.  If he didn’t intend it, then he has really poor timing.  And I’m he’d correct it like he did the ‘joke’ one.  “No, that is not what I meant at all, at all”.

And others with more than 140 chars to play with have gone half cocked with their crazy ’causes’.  So I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think Warren would.

So do we we have proof?  No.  But I do think we have waggling eyebrows suggestively and gesturing furtively while mouthing ‘look over there’.

http://xkcd.com/552/

He seems to have gotten the impression that all atheists are members of PETA? I wasn’t aware that animal rights had anything to do with atheism. Someone forgot to tell all the Christians who volunteer at shelters and rescue organizations that they’re doing something wrong. If they were real Christians, they’d go ahead and exploit the animals as their god intended.

Rick Warren responded on James McGrath’s blog. Turns out he was responding to a question about sexual promiscuity, not commenting on the shooting. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2012/07/rick-warren-responds.html

You really should do your homework before you comment. Study saddleback church and all they do across the globe and then see if you can discount their work so glibly.

 Guess you missed the part where I agreed with you, but felt that I should just point out that the generalization wasn’t necessary.  Sorry you’re so butthurt, they make creams for that you know.

Though given the circumstances it is understandable, we really do need to be careful about making assumptions. After all, Warren didn’t actually refer to the CO shooting. Until I read a comment pointing it out, I completely missed this point. . . .

Of course we are different than animals. They don’t need to create belief systems for themselves apart from reality.

 “When it comes to war and genocide, we have no equal in the animal kingdom. ”
You clearly have never studied ants before. 🙂

 I think it has to do with the fact that the ads are generated based on key words that show up all the time, and the fact that Patheos as a whole is for religion blogging, Christianity being the majority–Christian ads show up. If nobody clicks on them, then the ads will eventually be tailored to what does get clicked.

Seeing as how evolution is only accepter by about 50% of the US population, and in the UK that number is over 90%, wouldn’t you expect there to be way more violent crime in the UK than in the US? And yet, we don’t see more violent crime in the UK. In fact, since Darwin published on his theory of evolution, the violent crime rate in most Western countries has been decreasing (with fluctuations over time of course). Care to explain these discrepancies?

Two more steps:

4 ????
5 Profit!

Gods help us if they ever develop nukes…

I dont thing Americans can throw stones at Nazi Germany’s gun laws in that regard. Blacks in the US were denied the right to own weapons for a very long time.

 I watched Resident Evil. I know that no good comes from that sort of thing.

 Is your objection on the efficiency of it, then?

Of course, the shooter is a Christian. What has Rick Warren to say about that?

I think Alex was too, yo.

 From news reports:
“It is reported that a semi-automatic rifle jammed during the attack and
the gunman switched to a weapon with less firepower, possibly saving
some lives.”

And there you go.

All objects are “morally inert”, unless you’d like to admit to your personification fallacy…

I’m not a Rick Warren devotee.  But I think he meant that:  like the murderer Jeffrey Dahmer first killed animals and took their warm sometimes beating hearts into his hands, then graduated to killing people and cutting them up to hold their organs–claiming he learned in H.S. Biology class that humans are just a slice (no pun intended) of the animal kingdom, therefore it must be okay to kill them and dice them, like we do ham and eggs, steak, fish, veal, poultry.  …Regarding animals shooting other animals, as some commentors below opined, No, they don’t do that (but some might if they could invent guns/knives/poisons/bombs).  Animals CAN be grizzly (heard of the grizzly bear?) and kill not only other animals, but human beings.  Many voters still feel humans ARE very important and not to be slaughtered.  So in the pioneer days, it was, and is, okay to kill a charging wolf or a rabid skunk.  And today it should be okay, when driving 70 mph, to NOT dodge a squirrel just to save it, thus rolling your car, and ejecting your child in the back seat out the window to their merely possible death.  My theorem is that humans have souls and are more important than animals.  (By the way, animals don’t have souls so don’t “murder”; humans do sin and murder.  Accordingly, vets/authorities DO put killer dogs “down.”)   It should also remain okay to kill germs in your armpits with soap or deoderant, or to kill germs in your mouth with Listerine, even if those germs might one day, very theoretically, evolve into an Albert Einstein.  It should remain okay to swat mosquitos which can spread malaria or simply bite your infant, kill animals which can spread disease, etc.  It is NOT okay under the law, to take a HUMAN life.  …You don’t have to live by my philosophies, in many instances; just don’t make me live by your philosophies, either, especially your “evolution is good science” philosophy.  Physics, chemistry, medicine are predominately GOOD, solid sciences.  Evolutionary biology is quack.  Where did the first cell membrane come from?    Evolutionists like to say some warm amino acids prove a cell could form.  I doubt it.  But I ask a tougher question:  where did the first cell membrance come from??  A cell cannot survive without a soft, semi-permeable, perfectly complete cell membrane.  Not to mention: it cannot live without certain organelles, nucleus, nucleolus, and recently discovered FACTORIES of mechanisms inside the nucleus.

Mr. Warren is of the multitude of willfully ignorant religionists in America who hold back the progression of science and hence, of knowledge and thought in this country.  He is an anachronism who should be left alone in his dark dungeon of mythology, mysticism and cruelty.

Is it legal to own a 155mm howitzer, according to the Constitution?
Asking for a friend.

 oops…BATFE