Spiritual egos as big as a planets (For PZ Myers' reaction see here)
Like some hilarious straight man-funny man act, the abrasive atheist PZ Myers is the perfect foil for some of his seriously religious fellow US citizens. To PZ Meyers even so much as a mild congeniality toward religion comes up for rough treatment; I certainly have no illusions that this man. although ironically in some respects I find myself on his side, would treat my own Christian faith with the utmost contempt. But this is just the sort of wise cracking ultra cynic that is needed to heighten the humor of his encounters with what must be some of the most bizarre manifestations of the Christian faith ever seen. If he can be so scathing toward moderates what words is he going to find for the extremists? Is Myers going to run out of anti-superlatives and dysphemisms and become speechless? Just the anticipation of wondering how PZ Myers is going to react to the next Poe's Law fundamentalist who merrily trots up on to the stage has me in fits of laughter.
But much of it is a kind of black trench humor about nasty people and their very unpleasant doings; its a bit like laughing at Islamic State. Take for instance the Christian fundamentalist in the video below who PZ Myers features in a blog post here. One feels that this client could in fact be rather dangerous. As the video progresses he seems to lose his cool and at one point he insists that Obama's "crimes" merit him being publicly beheaded on prime time TV and that he himself is prepared to personally carry out this brutal act. It's a little worrying that this man lives in a country awash with high powered rifles.
If the information on Myers blog is to be believed he is a supporter of Christian fundamentalist Kent Hovind and the Sovereign Citizen Movement. Hovind, whose anti-government stance has put him in jail for tax evasion, looks to be very close to the Sovereign Citizen Movement. (Anti-government, anti-tax is, of course, ever the theme of the American ultra-right). In another blog post Myers publishes some deranged assertions by this convicted tax criminal who clearly has such a large spiritual ego that he sees himself above the law of the country, a personal trait that fits in very well with Sovereign Citizenism.
Buddies: Mackay and Ham
The trouble is, all this has uncomfortably close links with the more mainstream and moderate fundamentalist, Ken Ham. It is clear from blog posts by Ham (See here and here) that he is singing from the same hymn sheet as Hovind's fundamentalist son, Eric Hovind. Also interesting is the YouTube video I've linked to below of Hovind going through an Answer in Genesis article that does its best to disassociate AiG from the kind of material Hovind's ministry generates. Hovind, as incorrigible as ever, disagrees with the article but nevertheless proclaims AiG to be a fine ministry and plowing the same field as himself. To complete my rogue's gallery it's also worth remembering that Ham is a friend of ex-business partner John Mackay, a man who clearly has ego problems of his own. With friends like these Ken,,,,,,
Christian Fundamentalism is sick, sometimes criminally sick to the point of being dangerous.
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