While reading Wednesday's opinion section, one word humbly flashed through my head, only to be annihilated upon reading Miss Alissa Griffith's misguided work of evangelism. This word was integrity.
I am a very proud atheist. I also always make an effort to respect others' religious beliefs when they respect my decision to eradicate mine. However, I am a student of biological anthropology, which is a study molded very much by evolutionary thought. With that said, you can probably imagine how much my beliefs are put under scrutiny. This article is a prime example of this.
The idea put forth by Miss Griffith that evolution is an unrealistic notion is itself unrealistic and blatantly uninformed. To say that such a unifying, central theme of much of my personal thought and my field of study is incredibly unrealistic ' this is stunningly insulting. And what's more? This weighty, revolutionary biological thesis of evolution's invalidity surfaces via a journalism major in a misplaced religious sermon that somehow found its way into a newspaper. The scientific community does not blindly assume that evolution is true. It is vindicated time and time again, proving its worth. It seems that some people need to be taught something that I, naively, once thought to be common sense: Wishing that something were false is not the same as its actually being false.
Despite this, I think that both Miss Griffith and I are alike in the way that we both regret that this past weekend's incident took center stage. However, I can't believe that she would belittle this man's decision and rob him of any credit for making his own life-saving decision. The very fact that she harnesses this incident to make her own self-serving point is utterly shameless and dehumanizing. Some students' heartfelt altruism couldn't have been a reason for this man choosing life over death. It must have been God! Why? Well, it would sure be nice, wouldn't it?
Altogether, Miss Griffith's insidious tone, completely and disrespectfully denouncing of all who differ from her in believing in a contradictory, biblical godhead reminded me of nothing else than that of a fascist dictator ' or a typically modern evangelical pastor. She says many times that God has proven his existence without offering a semblance of any evidence for this. She relies solely on the crutch of personal experience with her questionable quote. Well, I read my own little quote one day, and it's from a great man named Friedrich Nietzsche: A casual stroll through an insane asylum shows that faith proves nothing. You, Miss Griffith, would do well to remember this.
Morgan Chaney is a sophomore anthropology major.
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Letter to the Editor
