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Monday, August 27, 2007

Bill Nye Booed

posted by on August 27 at 17:41 PM

Seattle’s own Science Guy was booed for contradicting the bible—in Waco, Texas.

Bill Nye, the harmless children’s edu-tainer known as “The Science Guy,” managed to offend a select group of adults in Waco, Texas at a presentation, when he suggested that the moon does not emit light, but instead reflects the light of the sun.

As even most elementary-school graduates know, the moon reflects the light of the sun but produces no light of its own. But don’t tell that to the good people of Waco, who were “visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence,” according to the Waco Tribune.

Nye was in town to participate in McLennan Community College’s Distinguished Lecture Series. He gave two lectures on such unfunny and adult topics as global warming, Mars exploration, and energy consumption.

But nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.”

The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector.

At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled “We believe in God!” and left with three children, thus ensuring that people across America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they’d always suspected.

Via Newspeakblog.

RSS icon Comments

1

I think this event actually took place more than a year ago... though that doesn't make it any less funny/sad. http://attebury.wordpress.com/2006/04/07/bill-nye-angers-some-creationists-during-lecture/

Posted by Amy | August 27, 2007 5:55 PM
2

God forbid.

Posted by Mr. Poe | August 27, 2007 5:56 PM
3

I have to say this. People who believe in God are stupid. There I said it!! And I mean it.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger | August 27, 2007 6:06 PM
4

Jews can be athiests and still believe that g-d gave us Israel. Judaism is a much more sophisticated religion. If Bill Nye had said G-d didn't give Israel to the Jews, that would be something to worry about.


The idiot Christians must be forced to give up their g-d, but the Jews will always have Israel because g-d gave it to us. This cognitive dissonance is beyond the intellectual capabilities of most goi, and especially shiksa.

Posted by Issur | August 27, 2007 6:12 PM
5

Looks like there's still a cult in Waco after all!

Posted by T | August 27, 2007 6:22 PM
6

Wait a sec. The moon doesn't emit light? That there's crazy talk!

Posted by Michigan Matt | August 27, 2007 6:44 PM
7

#4

Huh?

Posted by Brandon H | August 27, 2007 6:46 PM
8

This happened in April 2006. Why blog it now, Dan?

Posted by Emma Leigh | August 27, 2007 6:52 PM
9

@8 Because we hadn't heard about it and it's fucked up and weird. And it makes Waco still seem completely insane.

Posted by Gitai | August 27, 2007 7:01 PM
10

@4,if you don't have to believe in g-d to believe that g-d (should that be a capital G?) gave Israel to the Jews, does that mean that there is no g-d, and therefore, g-d might as well be made of green cheese, and hence, that is the reason the moon doesn't generate its own light but in fact, just reflects that of other orbs in the universe, which were not created by g-d(because you don't have to believe in g-d)? Just trying to follow the logic train here, although it appears to have left the station without me.

Posted by QuimbyMcF | August 27, 2007 7:24 PM
11

Actually, good timing on this post, Dan. Tomorrow night is a total lunar eclipse. How do the jeezuz freaks explain that? Perhaps Satan is driving in front of the moon on his black chariot.

Posted by Mahtli69 | August 27, 2007 7:50 PM
12

I think it's irrelevant as to whether it happened yesterday or last year or 5 years ago. Do you really think they've changed their minds since then?

Better be careful, though. If you make fun of them, they may throw you off the edge of the earth.

Posted by sleestak | August 27, 2007 8:02 PM
13

sleestak @12:
Best Slog commenter name ever.

Posted by Sean | August 27, 2007 8:07 PM
14

Idiot Christians teach their children that the very stones of the moon glow with love for their creator. This rubbish frames the Universe for the goi children as a place pulsing with the very energy of the same God that created the goi child.


Bill Nye is bringing tzedek and Tikkun Olam by stripping the Christian's universe of it's meaning and placing goi children beneath a dead moon made of chemicals reflecting sunlight.


In Judaism however Israel glows, the very rocks on the hills shine with God and call all Jews to the land God gave them. The stones of the moon may be dead for the goi child, but the stones of the wailing wall in sacred Israel live with God's eternal presence.


If Bill Nye had said the stones of the wailing wall are as dead as the stones on the moon many Jews would have walked out of the lecture too. We must strip the goi universe of all it's meaning, while retaining Israel as a plot of land touched by God.


Judaism is a religion of truth and justice, Christianity is a religion for idiots.

Posted by Issur | August 27, 2007 8:07 PM
15

Issur is my new g_d.

Posted by Whirled Peas | August 27, 2007 8:20 PM
16

I know this will probably get me yelled at, but not everyone who believes in God are like the people in this story.

Posted by mike | August 27, 2007 8:22 PM
17

And as someone who believes in God, who has spent countless hours arguing with people like the ones in this story, on many things including attachments to pre-medieval idiocy, I hope that everyone can get that faith does not mean you must ignore scientific fact. It obviously embarrassing that many fundamentalists have made it seem that way though.

Posted by Mike | August 27, 2007 8:28 PM
18

This issue here is ignorant goi teaching their children that everything in the universe, including the stones of our moon, glow with God's love. This is the same type of sacred creation we found the heathen American Indian's who spoke of the stones and rivers as if they were beings.


The goi world is a dead chemical reaction and dull laws of physics void of meaning. The goi have no God.


In Judaism the breaking of the vessels plunged the fallen world into primordial catastrophy. Every stone in Israel is alive calling out for Jews to return home so Tiqqun 'olam can redeem the fallen world of chaos. Israel is a mystic land superior to the laws of chemistry and physics, the stones there are more than stones, the water sacred waters. That's why Judaism is the world's best religion.


Christians must be forced to learn their rocks are nothing more than blobs of dead chemicals. Goi are incapable of grasping the deep meaning of Kabbalah and must be fed a mush of NPR middlebrow astrology. That's all their tiny goi minds can manage. We must find these Texas goi children make them understand that according to NPR their moon is dead.

Posted by Issur | August 27, 2007 8:41 PM
19

Who says Jew's can't be as ass-backwards self-righteous, and bible thumping as any christian?

Posted by Brandon H | August 27, 2007 9:31 PM
20

To some of the above comments: uhmm...okay...

About the story: how can anyone hate Bill Nye the science guy?!? Now they have just gone too far!!!

Posted by Kristin Bell | August 27, 2007 9:35 PM
21

Thank you Brandon H! I thank you as a jew and as a thinking human.

Posted by bad decision | August 27, 2007 9:40 PM
22

Issur, what does judaism say about tanks and bulldozers?

Posted by Alex-jon | August 27, 2007 9:40 PM
23

Issur, God gave the PLANET to HUMANS. You Jews are so money lusting and gold digging all the time you don't stop to smell the Bacon frying...And Yes the MOON does emit light just like the Bible (The Heb one don't cha know) says. It's the light produced by the bacteria eating at that cheese. Oi Vay Maria!

Posted by Jew Lover | August 27, 2007 9:41 PM
24

I love how you've conveniently distanced yourself from the non-believers with 'goi', maybe sometime you'll realise that they're people too just like all the rest of us.
Also surprising any random feminists didn't pick up on your 'shiksa' thing in post 4.
Just what is so wrong with a 'dead' chemical reaction? I'm sure you don't want that gatorade to spontaneously combust while you're holding it.
You really ought to know better than to suggest anyone be forced to give up their beliefs, if freedom is not given equally to everyone, it's not given at all. What if some other religions' guy suggest your 'univere be stripped of meaning' ?
And I leave you with, "When you get why you don't believe all the other religions, you'll understand why I don't believe yours' which is very apt for your 'the moon is dead reactions but rocks here in a particular country glow!'

Posted by Issur-redux | August 27, 2007 11:23 PM
25

It's like that movie Jesus Camp. That part where one of the moms said "Science never proved anything" to her kids. These people are morons! Of course its fucking contradictory to the bible! Anything that makes sense usually falls under that realm. It is a fact, not some tiny verse from an old fictional book. God. I hate everyone.

Posted by Carrie | August 28, 2007 1:14 AM
26

@ #19 wouldn't they be torah thumping??

anyway i feel bad for christians who aren't totally off their rockers, if i was to get compared to these people.... well that is just like ew.
Though it should be noted that not only is Waco Texas populated by these bible thumpers.. I'd bet you have one in your own back yard..take a look.

Posted by Sincitygirl | August 28, 2007 1:42 AM
27

So, back to the whole booing Bill Nye thing guys?

Tonight's total eclipse of the moon begins at 1:51am PDT, reaches mid eclipse at 3:37 and...well what I'm getting at here is this: If Christians are such authorities on the moon's behavior, why is it I have to depend on astronomers to predict an eclipse to the minute?


...and I'd also like it if someone could tell me why it says,"The Moon Rules" on the side of my car.

Cup?
Just wondering.

Posted by Carl The Neighbor | August 28, 2007 1:58 AM
28

When these fucking bible-thumpers start taking the bible literally (no pork products, read Leviticus, assholes) then I would pay some attention to them. As it stands, they are the biggest Sheep-hypocrites that one could imagine.

Posted by Karlheinz Schwanzstuecke | August 28, 2007 3:33 AM
29

Issur - what are you smoking? I was raised orthodox - you're psychotic. Seriously, stop mis-representing the whole religion when you speak such nonsense. You're only representing your own twised views, here. I don't think there are others you could possibly represent.
Stom et ha'peh v'haphsik.

To those replying to Issur - that's not any brand of Judaism I'm familiar with...

Posted by gay jew says huh? | August 28, 2007 4:29 AM
30

Issur is the new Mudede; the Jew Mudede.

Posted by Donovan | August 28, 2007 4:37 AM
31

Frankly, I don't trust the story. We don't get any context, and the original story I ran across has the fundamentalists "storming out in fury," and ends with a joke about the idiocy of Waco, which suggests that the original writer might have had an axe to grind.

I'm not saying there aren't idiots out there. (I saw Jesus Camp.) But I grew up surrounded by fundy Christians, and not a one of them ever questioned that the moon reflects the light of the sun. And the quote, weird as it is ("we believe in God!") doesn't directly address the point Nye was supposed to be offending people with. If a Christian had been cited yelling, "The Bible says the moon is a light, I say it's a light!"I could maybe accept the cause and effect that the headline suggests. But instead the Christians seem to have been reacting to a general tone of perceived insult. That's not quite the same thing as being idiotic.

This begs to be researched further. I don't suppose any of the speech went up on YouTube?

Posted by Wordboy Dave | August 28, 2007 5:46 AM
32

Issur is clearly a troll, and a bad one at that, considering how long it took him to get any sort of reaction. I'm surprised he took so long to research subjects such as Tikkun Olam simply to stir up anti-Israel sentiment.

Please, people, don't feed.

Posted by lymerae | August 28, 2007 6:26 AM
33

ISSUR FOR PRESIDENT '08!

It's the next logical step.

Posted by Jude Fawley | August 28, 2007 6:30 AM
34

Thus, the willfully ignorant remain as such as the world passes them by.

The only problem is they keep making so many more ignorant babies.

Posted by steve | August 28, 2007 6:52 AM
35

Bill should have burned a bible right after they started to boo him. Nothing satisfies like burning the holy bible!!

Posted by Just Me | August 28, 2007 6:53 AM
36

The arbitrary nature of many fundamentalist "beliefs" really confuses me sometimes. For example, why is it that certain people make such a big stink about how evolutionary theory contradicts the Bible, but not about how modern medical science or chemistry contradict the Bible? The fact that epilepsy isn't caused by demons directly contradicts several accounts of miracles from the New Testament. Where's the ire over "Godless" modern medicine?

Posted by Greg | August 28, 2007 7:09 AM
37

@36:

Here's where they're hiding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_scientist#Theology_and_healing

To sum up: Christian Scientists don't believe in doctors. A kid in my highschool had parents who belonged to that religion. Wacky stuff.

Posted by Toby | August 28, 2007 7:26 AM
38

I get it. Ecce Homo wasn't getting the reactions he was looking for anymore and made up Issur to fuck with people. Goddamn trolls...

Posted by JessB | August 28, 2007 7:27 AM
39

BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL!

Posted by MBI | August 28, 2007 7:37 AM
40

Fundamentalism makes life so easy.
Buy into it, and you are freed from ever having to think again.

No matter what the ideology,
the non thinking part is a constant.

Posted by old timer | August 28, 2007 8:26 AM
41

@38 - That's my guess, too. The pedantic voice is so obvious.

Posted by kid icarus | August 28, 2007 8:36 AM
42

Issur, go back to your Christ killing and money counting and leave us alone.

Posted by Giffy | August 28, 2007 8:47 AM
43

Bill Nye the science goi

Posted by Kent | August 28, 2007 9:06 AM
44

It took the Catholic church 350 years to admit that Galileo was right. Anyone want to take bets on how much time elapses before Bill is vindicated in Waco?

Posted by Daryl | August 28, 2007 9:40 AM
45

@ 4 - WTF? The book of Genesis is shared by both Christians and Jews. How could one religion be superior to the other in this context?

Posted by Mariana | August 28, 2007 9:41 AM
46

@31 agreed. you might find a few people in all of america that don't believe the moon reflects light.

but even from this story, they seem to be upset that Bill took the time to point out a "contradiction" between science and the bible. (from a former xtian: note that gen 1:16 is a passage of poetry and most do not take it literally... just like when the bible says "the moon turned to blood", etc...)

without context it is difficult to speculate what Bill actually meant, but i can see that someone might be offended at what they thought was an attack on the bible. was Bill trying to provoke them? what exactly were the people offended by?

the reaction says much about the people posting here (as most comments do). people would rather believe some sensationalized version of what other people are like because it fits their view. dialog is not encouraged; neither is understanding. instead, a picture of the dim-witted enemy is created, and all of that kind are judged by it. we should be better than that.

many christians are idiots (literally and, er... poetically). but this doesn't necessary seem like a case proving that.

Posted by infrequent | August 28, 2007 9:55 AM
47

I know Seattle to Waco is a long drive, but perhaps the booing was in part due to Nye's driving a convertable Miata.

Posted by Lloyd Clydesdale | August 28, 2007 10:25 AM
48

Oh, you don't trust the story @31?
@46 you think there are only a few?

Thie following is from the August 7th edition of the LA Times...there are more than a few idiots who don't believe in science!

Kentucky's Creation Museum attracting plenty of visitors

The Associated Press,
August 7, 2007

The controversy surrounding the opening of a northern Kentucky museum that teaches the biblical story of creation hasn't hurt it at the box office.

The Creation Museum hosted its 100,000th visitor by late July, less than two months after it opened, putting the museum on pace to easily exceed the 250,000 visitors organizers were hoping to get in the first year, The Enquirer reported.

Evolution is derided at the museum, which is packed with high-tech exhibits designed by an acclaimed theme-park artist, animatronic dinosaurs and a huge wooden ark. In this Old Testament version of history, dinosaurs appeared on the same day God created other land animals.

The museum also contains fossils, hung in large glass cases in a room visitors spill into after taking a tour of Old Testament history. Museum officials said most fossils were created by the massive flood detailed in the book of Genesis.


Posted by clarity | August 28, 2007 12:55 PM
49

Hmm, @31 brings up a good point about context - While I believe Bill Nye wood say the moon reflects the sun's light (duh), I have a hard time believing he would explicitly call out the book of Genesis, specifically not while in Texas

Posted by Mariana | August 28, 2007 1:33 PM
50

i like how the museum described in #48 uses "high tech exhibits" to try to discredit science. there's logic for ya.

Posted by frequency ass bandit | August 28, 2007 3:01 PM
51

@31 - Yeah, because YouTube is the epitome of news distribution. I suppose you campaign for the validation of Wikipedia as a reference worthy source too?

People, I wouldn't be surprised if "Issur" was trying to make a point of spouting the non-sensical rants he did - and the reactions you all posted. But if he wasn't, many of you are perpetuating the problems that revolve around the mindset that "everyone who reacts X-way about Y-subject is a complete idiot/retard/inappropriate term." That response is worse than these people in Waco being offended by something that seems silly from our perspective. Stop encouraging stupid behavior by trying to educate and not berate (I really didn't want to rhyme there).

Posted by AP | August 28, 2007 3:11 PM
52

@49 - it's "would" not "wood" ya retard!


*shame*

Posted by Mariana | August 28, 2007 8:58 PM
53

@48. yes, not believing in evolution, as silly as that might seem, is not the same as believing the moon is a light (and does not reflect light).

for all intents and purposes, no one in the US believes the moon is a kind of star. not the people in churches, not the people at the creation museam, and not the people in this article.

the article is written to imply that is the case, but even the quote suggests the people were offended because they thought bill nye was talking trash about the bible, regardless of the subject.

this is almost a perfect example of propaganda:

As even most elementary-school graduates know, the moon reflects the light of the sun but produces no light of its own. But don’t tell that to the good people of Waco...

Posted by infrequent | August 29, 2007 11:49 AM

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