A contradiction in terms?

Intelligent Design is not a directly religious concept, but it has been appropriated by religious fundamentalists desperate to discredit evolutionary theory and drag their own beliefs into the realm of scientific acceptance through the back door. ID could be called a scientific theory, but only in as much as some even more hypothetical scenarios are posited in genuine scientific enquiry. It's science with an exceptionally small "s", so much so that without the aid of a telescope it looks like "cience". At heart, it is a philosophy and as such does not bear comparison to any form of evolutionary theory. Intelligent Design cannot be used to discredit evolution, or vice versa. I am not confusing ID with creationism, although the two have become inextricably and perhaps unfortunately entwined. Exponents of ID or creationism will continually point out that there are many holes in Darwinian theory. This is true. Darwin did not have the last, or first, word on evolution, but he and his contemporaries uncovered a proven and demonstrable scientific truth. We don't know everything about evolution, but we know that it happens. It is fact.

Of course there is no reason why anyone, Christian or otherwise, would need to discredit Darwin. There is no problem believing that God created the universe whilst acknowledging that we evolved over time due to a process of natural selection. The two beliefs come from entirely different schools and indeed planes of thought, and nobody with a certain and unshakable belief in God should find it threatened by human advances in self-knowledge. Conversely, it is just as disingenuous to say that there can be no God because the earth is billions of years old as it is to say that evolution cannot happen because God made the world in seven days.

I wonder if Slayer's latest album "Christ Illusion" would make a good soundtrack to Richard Dawkins' new book "The God Delusion"? Dawkins annoys me at times, he comes across as a bit too much of a crusader and tends to overlook the bigger picture in his quest to discredit any form of religious belief (to wit: his debunking of the Lourdes miracles. Why? Does he go around telling children that Santa isn't real as well?). In that sense his arguments tend toward the same basic errors as the creationists he so deplores. However, he is one of the few public figures mounting a reasoned and informed challenge to the depressing climate of theocracy pervading global current affairs, and for that is to be wholeheartedly applauded.

Why am I going on about science and religion? I don't know. It must be said that both fascinate and frustrate me. Nobody is more blinkered than a supposed scientist whose research is conducted for the sole purpose of giving credence to his already determined opinions. This is happening everywhere, and is becoming ever more prevalent with the expansion of corporate-funded research. It is the opposite of knowledge, the antithesis of discovery. It can only serve to make us less informed. But maybe that's what "they" want, depending of course on who you imagine "them" to be.

Sometimes it's better not to.

Hot Club de Paris are from Liverpool, and therefore are "cheeky" and sound like the La's and the Coral. They also sound exactly like the Futureheads, because they shout a bit. They have funny song titles and do barbershop harmonies, this makes then quirky. I quite like the album but I can't be bothered to listen to it more than twice.

Above is my application to work for every music magazine in Britain. Apart from Mojo which is the last stronghold of quality music journalism in this country. No sniggering at the back.

Woe

I'm a bit upset. I failed to get the job that I so desperately wanted. The one that's been the basis of all my "future fantasies" for the last two or three months. On the upside, I've got a Christmas job at Argos. I know that's an upside, but it sure doesn't feel like one. Working at Argos is definitely better than being on the dole, but it doesn't feel better, and it doesn't even sound better. After all my efforts to find a job I actually want to do (for the first time in my life, ever) "retail assistant" is a much more depressing title to be lumbered with than "job seeker", which at least has a note of hope to it. I should take solace in the other word that comprises my job title- "temporary".

God is like scissors

Things happen. It strikes me that one of the most peculiar conceits of the human race is a refusal to believe in random chance. This is the downfall of many, as they end up feeling wronged all the time. Waiting for Kharma to sort everything out and wondering why it never does. Everything does not happen for a reason. I'm not sure whether I believe in God or not (and if I was I wouldn't tell you), but I am certain that I believe in random chance. Is it not possible to believe in both? I suppose one could worship random chance itself, although what would be point? Random chance doesn't need your approval and I find it quite bizarre that so many people feel the need to posit a God that does. The universe does not have it in for you, no matter how shitty your luck's been. The universe does not give a fuck. I know that many of you find that concept more scary.

I'm not anti-religious by any means... I believe that everyone has the right to live and worship as they choose and all that gay stuff. I just wish people would be- how should I put this- quieter about it. What with Islamic fundamentalists and the USA (a nation that's heading toward a theocracy more totalitarian than any Muslim country) wouldn't it be nice if more political attention, time and money were devoted to people who's beliefs are, well, rational? It's been nearly 150 years since Darwin's "Origin of Species" was published, paving the way for a school of thought that is supposed to have blown the cobwebs of theocracy from man's collective eyes, leading to an age of enlightenment, questioning, re-evaluating our beliefs. Yet in so many ways the world is still run according to superstition and folklore. It's not religion itself that should have been swept aside, but this stifling, violent and wasteful fundamentalism. If you can't be trusted with God, it really is best to leave him alone.

The only sane response to these times is to bellow along to Slayer. But then that's always been the case.