Ray Comfort on the Swine Flu

The following is a post from P.Z. Myers blog. It's so good that I had to re-post it here for all of you.

Enjoy,
D

Re-posted from: http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/05/a_little_study_in_contrasts.php


Ray Comfort has made a post on the swine flu. You know already what kind of idiotic tripe he's going to trot out.

"The spread of the so-called 'swine flu' demonstrates yet again how useless and sometimes deadly a mutation can be. Furthermore, as the infection spreads around the world, the search for an antidote is desperately sought, but the very fact that the virus is seen as something to be opposed actually supports the Biblical view of this world. It is always good and right to oppose sickness, but in evolutionary terms, why don't humans simply resign themselves to it and allow the strong to survive? The evolutionary point of view would say the virus has a 'right' to live, so 'good luck' to it!"

How wrong can he be? It's hard to imagine screwing it up more. In the evolutionary point of view, we are the children of ancestors who fought off disease and lived to procreate; those who surrender to a viruses imaginary right to live, if such imaginary beings ever existed, didn't make much of a contribution to the current gene pool.

Well, you might wonder, what will the Ray Comforts of the world do to fight the virus?

"The great hope for this fallen, diseased, weatherworn world, is the return of Christ, who has promised to bring restoration, everlasting health and peace to all people."

If waiting for Jesus is his only answer, he can join his fantasy evilutionists in the graveyard. But he's lying here, because we know what will happen if Comfort feels the stirrings of the flu — he'll scurry to his nearest doctor to take advantage of the work of scientists who don't think the only hope is to cry out to Jebus.

Here's the contrast: Nick Anthis describes the molecular mechanism of the flu's resistance to some of the drugs in our arsenal. Unsurprisingly, he doesn't cite the Bible even once, nor does he beg for mercy from a merciful deity. He does cite the scientific literature, though, and explains the natural, material processes — those mutations — that have contributed to the potency of this strain.

Who contributes more to the health and happiness of the people of this world, scientists or bible-thumpin' idjits?