Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

Why much science reporting is on the way out, along with the traditional media that support it

Share
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Print
Email

From David Klinghoffer at Evolution News & Views:

The science story itself is fascinating and to all appearances solid. Human remains dating to some 3,700 year ago from ancient Canaanites yielded DNA revealing a startling overlap with modern-day Lebanese. The latter thus appear to harbor descendants of the long-ago population (“Continuity and Admixture in the Last Five Millennia of Levantine History from Ancient Canaanite and Present-Day Lebanese Genome Sequences,” American Journal of Human Genetics).

He quotes a dozen instances of deadweights claiming that the find “disproves the Bible’s suggestion” that the Canaanites were wiped out.

Only one problem:

The Bible is detailed and unambiguous in relating that the Canaanites survived Joshua’s invasion. So it’s no wonder they have living descendants. I’m not here to pass judgment on ancient Canaanites or ancient Israelites, on the Bible, Joshua, or anyone else. But come on, reporters, where’s your elementary cultural literacy, of which knowing a thing or two about the Bible is a key element? More.

The part that’s hard to accept is this: At one time, if you were not a clergyman or scholar, you would need to go to a library that shelved a Concordance (a book that lists all instances of a term’s appearance in the Bible). But today, for example, we have sites like Strong’s Exhaustive Bible Concordance (where see Joshua 17:12, 13). And Bible Hub where, loafing in your basket chair with a long cool one and a laptop, you could read Joshua 16:10 “They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer …,” “They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor. … ,” “Judges 1:29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in …” “Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them ..”. “Judges 1:30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in …”

This is not a politically correct Bible story but it is a pretty easy one to access.

Yet Science ran a “correction” that continued to misstate the issue. Which is this: They were plain flat-out wrong because they were too Cool to look up the relevant passages in the Bible online.

Klinghoffer asks, “Who will tell the reporters?”

Nobody. No one could tell them. They are proud of their Cool, which is why, in the age of the Internet, they are doomed. The best many can now muster is articles about why so many people doubt “Science.”

See also: Tales of the Tone Deaf, featuring dim profs writing in dozy journals about why people doubt Science and how to fix them.

and

‘Dangerous’: Milo Yiannopoulos delights to provoke: The book by the gay conservative provocateur is not nearly as Dangerous as the social media world he exposes.

Comments
I for one am greatful these scientists, and these NYTimes reporters are dying. It leaves more room for the in depth stuff of NEWS, and Klinghoffer. Who's doing the 'Russian Connection' again? You know, the tedious non-story of how one government interfeared with the sovereignty of another government. Townhall, says it's unimportant, FOX, downplays the shenannigans of our good 'ole Russian buddies.rvb8
August 2, 2017
August
08
Aug
2
02
2017
12:12 AM
12
12
12
AM
PDT

Leave a Reply