Categorized | Education, Religion, The Loony Rightwing
Trolling for an A
by kellygrrrl
Posted on 11 August 2009 | 7:39 am 
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Sure, we’ve all had our suspicions that some trolls were paid for their “work,” but this news is rather shocking. Over at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, trolling is actually 20% of the grade for theology students.
Spring 2009
Intelligent Design (SOUTHERN EVANGELICAL SEMINARY #AP 410, 510, and 810; May 11 – 16, 2009)
NEW! THE DUE DATE FOR ALL WORK IN THIS COURSE IS AUGUST 14, 2009. Here’s what you will need to do to wrap things up:
AP410 — This is the undegrad [sic] course. You have three things to do: (1) take the final exam (worth 40% of your grade); (2) write a 3,000-word essay on the theological significance of intelligent design (worth 40% of your grade); (3) provide at least 10 posts defending ID that you’ve made on “hostile” websites, the posts totalling 2,000 words, along with the URLs (i.e., web links) to each post (worth 20% of your grade).
AP510 — This is the masters course. You have four things to do: (1) take the final exam (worth 30% of your grade); (2) write a 1,500- to 2,000-word critical review of Francis Collins’s The Language of God — for instructions, see below (20% of your grade); (3) write a 3,000-word essay on the theological significance of intelligent design (worth 30% of your grade); (4) provide at least 10 posts defending ID that you’ve made on “hostile” websites, the posts totalling 3,000 words, along with the URLs (i.e., web links) to each post (worth 20% of your grade).
The gracious instructor, William Dembski, offers up a nifty extra credit project in the form of an essay on how to use communist activist methods to “promote” creationism.
EXTRA CREDIT: For those who think they need mercy on missed or poorly answered quizzes, please get Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals and write a 750 to 1000 word reflection on lessons to be drawn from that book for Christian apologetics. You need to have spent at least 6 hours carefully reading the book and sign your name to that effect (i.e., your paper must include something like “I have spent at least six uninterrupted hours reading Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. –Jane Doe”).
The final exam for the Christian Faith and Science class asks students to come up with a 20-year plan to promote theocracy in America:
Trace the connections between Darwinian evolution, eugenics, abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. Why are materialists so ready to embrace these as a package deal? What view of humanity and reality is required to resist them?
[...]
You are the Templeton Foundation’s new program director and are charged with overseeing its programs and directing its funds. Sketch out a 20-year plan for defeating scientific materialism and the evolutionary worldview it has fostered if you had $50,000,000 per year in current value to do so. What sorts of programs would you institute? How would you spend the money?
On a related note, courtesy of Babs, we have more news from Texas.
All Texas districts for the first time this fall must offer instruction in the literature and history of the Bible under a 2007 law. Many districts say their current high school curriculum already satisfies the requirement because it addresses world religions in history and geography courses. Many others say they plan to launch a new elective on the Bible if there is enough student demand. But some schools are complaining that teachers have not received training promised by the state. (Austin American Statesman, 08/08/09)
Some fed-up parents in Texas need to sue the school board already!
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38 Responses to “Trolling for an A”
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One of the many reasons why we moved from Texas. I did not want my children educated there.
Also, I despise cockroaches and mosquitos the size of hummingbirds.
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August 11th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
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Oh, I’ve heard they grow ‘em big out in TX…..
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HA! For college courses, I would recommend that the professor get two new friends – spell check and grammar check.
Scary, pathetic and stupid. Sorry to hear about Texas requirements. Stupid, also, too.
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My standard response to theocrats on ID is…If God created the world, why do you care HOW He did it?
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Notable graduates of this institution: Mike Huckabee and Rick Warren.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Baptist_Theological_Seminary
Affiliated with the Shiite Baptist Convention and controlled by fundies.
The Harvard Seminary for the far right.
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August 11th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
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great … just what we need, more schmukabees and rev.ricks
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“Trace the connections between Darwinian evolution, eugenics, abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. Why are materialists so ready to embrace these as a package deal? What view of humanity and reality is required to resist them?”
WTF!?!?
A PACKAGE deal? I don’t know what ivory tower of babel THESE morons live in but I don’t know ANYONE who condones eugenics, euthanasia OR infanticide. Abortion is legal and I say it’s NOT a baby but tissue with the potential to become a baby. The theory of evolution is supported by more evidence than the theory of gravity.
Assisted suicide is NOT euthanasia.
Pull this places acreditation AND their tax exemption.
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:08 am
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It’s clearly indoctrination and not education. The fundamental assumptions are deeply flawed, but as long as you can parrot back the talking-points, you can get an A. And a nifty piece of paper that says youse edumacated.
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:15 am
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Their opponent is not us, but modernism itself. They cannot face what is inevitable and seek to conflate progress with doom.
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:17 am
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That and colored folks is bad, bad, bad.
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:23 am
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That’s conflating racial equality with social disintegration. This goes back to my original statement RE: modernism.
These people regard us as the shock troops of a future which was inevitable and has already arrived without our assistance.
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:26 am
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If they feel it’s inevitable then why do you think they rail against it?
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:35 am
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They don’t, they feel it is open to discussion. However, most of the discussion was settled over a century ago in most places which represent the Enlightenment, i.e. Europe and Northeastern America.
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:21 am
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They actually have a lot of hatred toward post-modernist Christian movement. They think that its the Devil’s work
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:31 am
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Absolutely! They don’t realize that their “literal” bible interpretation conflicts with the Jewish literary tradition in which it was written. The Bible was NEVER meant as absolute fact or scientific exegesis.
THEY are the heretics of their tradition, but don’t realize it because of their lack of education in the history of their own religion.
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August 11th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
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Thank you for saying what I’ve been thinking for a long time. I would add that anti-Semitism plays a part in their heresy.
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The post- modern word for prosyletizing is trolling.
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August 11th, 2009 at 10:00 am
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Sure. It’s snappier and easier to spell
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And this is a masters-level course? And that’s the workload? The foolishness of encouraging trolling for grades aside, the level of “education” these people are receiving is appalling. And I’m sure that some of them go on to do doctoral work at this joke school and go around calling themselves “Dr.”
Honestly, extra credit? A book report? And this is supposed to be higher education?
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August 11th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
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That was one of my first reactions, Groucho!!! This is for graduate credit???? Christ. A typical graduate course (in my case, anyway) required two-three books/week – plus critical summaries — exams – leading discussions, etc…. this is just a joke – and confirms that what these fanatics want to do is NOT learn/think/contemplate religious teachings/meanings – but to turn the world into their own little ignorant playground. BAH.
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I have already posted this before, but it needs repeating. How can you believe in the Old Testament, yet disregard Hesiod’s Theogeny or Gilgamesh. These are similar stories. FFS there is even a flood story in both myth system. Lets take the story of Samsom, its not that different from Herakles. Both were strongmen with bad taste in women and acted like dicks. Seriously, if I believe in the Old Testament, I must also aknowledge that Hesiod was right, so was Homer and the poet who wrote the Sumerian myths
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August 11th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
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Yeah, but the Bible is the Word of God. Never mind that it was written in stages by different people with often conflicting agendas over a vast period of time. The fundies were out in my neighborhood last weekend so I hurried and got dressed & had a little fun. It was couples and the man was (of course) the spokesperson. It did not take me long to have him sputtering. I think she was a little amused. I finally got bored & said “nice talking at you” and walked away.
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I heard a teabagger was spotted with a gun near the town hall the president was having today in NH. They reported it on MSNBC. This shit is getting out of hand.
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August 11th, 2009 at 9:36 am
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You bet it is. I hope the SS had words with him/her.
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August 11th, 2009 at 11:11 am
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whaaaat? really?
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Ahhhhh. The sweet smell of desperation coming from the smallest, yet loudest, most pathetic, ignorant segment of our society. Coming from a place of their higher education is yet another indication as to why they will never have real power again.
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I’m literally at a loss for words.
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And that is ALL I have to say about that.
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August 11th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
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Kind of sums it up, huh.
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This is getting ridiculous. I think if these places have state approval, the boards need to check into this.
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August 11th, 2009 at 8:36 am
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& before somebody bites me, if they give degrees in education, they have to be regulated.
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This is ridiculous. Trolling missionaries.
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maybe FRT should put up an ad on the Seminary’s website inviting students to our “hostile” website
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August 11th, 2009 at 8:24 am
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I know a better site for them to invade. Kanye’s.
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August 11th, 2009 at 8:27 am
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excellent idea! when is debate night?
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August 11th, 2009 at 8:31 am
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Haven’t a clue.
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“Sketch out a 20-year plan for defeating scientific materialism…”
well dumb-ya succeeded in killing/hindering advancements in science for the past eight years…. and in the world of technology that’s probably equivalent to 20 years….
mission accomplished….
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