{"id":2035,"date":"2009-10-06T22:29:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-06T22:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/10\/prayers-of-science-educators-in-the-bible-belt-answered\/"},"modified":"2009-10-06T22:29:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-06T22:29:00","slug":"prayers-of-science-educators-in-the-bible-belt-answered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/10\/prayers-of-science-educators-in-the-bible-belt-answered.html","title":{"rendered":"Prayers of Science Educators in the Bible Belt Answered"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><div>Science educators in the conservative Christian regions of the United States known collectively as the \u201cBible belt\u201d have long been praying for a sign from the Lord, one that would both confirm their rightness in continuing to teach (when allowed to by school boards) the scientific theory of biological evolution, and also help them persuade local residents in their areas of the overwhelming evidence for evolution.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/WN\/ap_pigweed_091006_mn.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/a.abcnews.com\/images\/WN\/ap_pigweed_091006_mn.jpg\"><\/a>God answered their prayers in a manner that made the <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/WN\/pig-weed-threatens-agriculture-industry-overtaking-fields-crops\/story?id=8766404\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">TV news<\/a> tonight, as well as appearing in many newspapers. God provided them with <em><a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Video\/playerIndex?id=8767877\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pig weed<\/a>. <\/em>This is a weed that used to be controllable using pesticides, but which now has evolved a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.weedscience.org\/usa\/State.asp?StateID=26\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">resistance<\/a> to the pesticides in question.<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>Asked whether answering these prayers in this manner did not in fact provide support for intelligent design, the Almighty responded in the negative. \u201cIn fact, the <em>real <\/em>miracle was what I was doing before, preventing the weeds from developing such a resistance. I was happy to do so, until I saw that it was having the unintended effect of making <em>humans<\/em> in these areas resistent to science education. I hate it when people who say they believe in me deny the plain evidence I\u2019ve left of my handiwork, including one of my greatest artistic flourishes, biological evolution,\u201d God was quoted as saying.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>Now it is the turn of the farmers to pray. The Lord is rumored to have said that if evolution-denial ceases in any given region, he is happy to send scientists with intelligently-designed pesticides to help the farmers to outwit and overcome the effects of evolution \u2013 in their fields, that is, but <em>not<\/em> in <em>science classrooms<\/em>.<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"blogger-post-footer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/7622297540113836091-6854413848596955492?l=exploringourmatrix.blogspot.com\" alt=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Science educators in the conservative Christian regions of the United States known collectively as the \u201cBible belt\u201d have long been praying for a sign from the Lord, one that would both confirm their rightness in continuing to teach (when allowed to by school boards) the scientific theory of biological evolution, and also help them persuade [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Prayers of Science Educators in the Bible Belt Answered<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Science educators in the conservative Christian regions of the United States known collectively as the &quot;Bible belt&quot; have long been praying for a sign from\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/10\/prayers-of-science-educators-in-the-bible-belt-answered.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Prayers of Science Educators in the Bible Belt Answered\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Science educators in the conservative Christian regions of the United States known collectively as the &quot;Bible belt&quot; have long been praying for a sign from\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2009\/10\/prayers-of-science-educators-in-the-bible-belt-answered.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. 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