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Bomb-Proof Certainty and the Dangerous Simplicity of the Right
by Jim Moss In a recent conversation with a rather conservative evangelical friend of mine, I was dumbfounded by one of the arguments he used to support his views on creationism. He trotted out the old argument that a literal exammination of the Old Testament reveals that creation is approximately 6000 years old. Because evolutionary theory describes a process of millions of years, creationists have argued that evolution is contrary to the Bible. I countered with an argument from modern science. Astronomers have been able to calculate the distance to thousands of stars, while physicists have nailed down the speed of light. Put these two disciplines together, and we can confidently conclude that the vast majority of stars known to humankind have been around for a whole lot longer than 6000 years - meaning that if creationists are right, the light from these starts would not have had time to reach planet earth yet. Shockingly, my friend agreed with these facts. He didn't try to contend that we had miscalculated the distance to the stars or that the speed of light was way off. Instead, he made an argument that makes it clear just how far into the twilight zone Biblical literalists are willing to go to maintain their position. His argument in a nutshell: "God must have created the universe in such a way that the light from those stars was already on the way to earth at the time of creation. Therefore, the light that we see today, even though it appears to have come from a star much farther away, has only travelled 6000 light years. Why would God create such a deception? To test our true faith, of course." The utter ridiculousness of this argument stems from the fact that my friend has such bomb-proof certainty in his reading of the Book of Genesis. He looks at his modern English translation and sees that the act of creation took six “days.” Nevermind the fact that the Hebrew word ”yom” that is translated as “day” can also mean “age” or “extended period of time.” The ironclad certainty of literalists has no time for such ambiguity and nuance. If my Bible says “day,” then it means “day.” This sort of conservative bomb-proof certainty is not limited to faith. Since the rise of the neo-cons, pigheaded stubbornness, even in the face of overwhelming facts, has somehow become a virtue. George W. Bush is the poster child, and candidate McCain has eagerly assumed the reins. Most observers of last weekend’s Saddleback forum give the victory to McCain because his answers were short, direct, and forceful - as opposed to Obama’s more thoughtful and nuanced approach. For some reason - and the Democrats better figure this out soon - but for some reason, the voting public responds to bomb-proof certainty and stubbornness. As Dick Polman of the Philadelphia Inquirer explains:
With respect to the communicative arts in this media-saturated culture, nuanced thoughtfulness is arguably less effective than declarative directness; indeed, the former is particularly perilous for any Democrat, since, fairly or not, millions of low-information swing voters still view the Democrats as insufficiently resolute. These voters are likely to favor the declarative approach anyway, if only because it is easier to ascertain where the candidate stands. And this is potentially a warning bell for Obama, as the autumn debate season draws near. McCain will be far tougher in those three sessions than many Obama fans assume. Obama might be well advised to lose the nuance and punch up his responses; after all, as a general rule, visceral trumps cerebral. Jim Moss is a Presbyterian minister from York, South Carolina. He publishes a blog and a quarterly newsletter called " Discipline for Justice," which focuses on ways North Americans can live lives that promote peace and economic justice.
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