24 November, 2009 will mark the 150Th anniversary of Charles Darwin' Origin of the Species. Origin introduced the theory that populations over time evolve by a process called natural selection. Today I learned that Christian Minister Ray Comfort has in fact wrote a 50 page introduction that is included in the 150Th Anniversary Edition of Origin of the Species.

He plans to hand out free copies of the book at Universities across the United States. He contends that " evolution has no support, brainwashes people, and has a direct connection to Adolph Hitler." It is my opinion that Christian fanatics will be on the rise again as they try to keep their dieing religion alive by any means that will draw attention.

Click Here to read the entire story.

Thoughts?

The only thing I can do now is:

/facepalm.

Sounds like a good way to get my hands on a book I've been meaning to read.

Yes. Accept the free copy, rip out the fifty page introduction.

But that's not all.

Eat ten bean and cheese burritos. Don't mind the pain, it's worth it. Take the ten burrtio dump, and wipe your ass with Banana Man's "introduction".

I actually did this before reading your post.

I would recommend visiting the library instead. I read that it is possible that parts of this edition of Origin may have been edited by those with the agenda.

Kirk Cameron is in on it too. Mike Seaver is the worst!

I love collecting moronic and offensive christian and anti-Satanic propaganda. All the better when it's free.

Yes, it is an "abridged" edition that may have some edits in it that are not in line with Darwin's ideas.

It's amusing to see how Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron are fine with doing this kind of thing, when if someone decided to add a 50 page "introduction" to the Christian bible and make a few choice edits of their own, they would be outraged and call "religious discrimination".

I'm surprised that this can even be legal. I cannot think of any more gross violation of someone's work than to legally re-publish it with an introduction by someone who's own ideas run contradictory to the work itself, and to further insult the author and work by removing sections of it.

It can also provide ammo for the intended opponent. The only edition of "Mein Kampf" available in mainstream stores (in Colorado as of 2006) has an intro by a Jew who mocks Hitler non-stop with half-assed jokes and feeble emotional statements. What a great way to show NeoNazis that they're right about Jews, that they lie about Hitler, that they censor his writings, that they are in control of publishing in America and out to fool the world. Given a smart, neutral intro, Mein Kampf would be a good study tool for everyone interested in what happened, but thanks to this petty assault on a dead man's work, Mein Kampf now has a new reason to hate Jews: The idiot Jew who translated it wrong and mocked Hitler's word choice.

I can't help but think the outrage caused by this new Darwin hack-job will backfire against the Christians too afraid to present it intact. Also worth checking out is a book called "The Lie: Evolution," which, though trying to be very serious, rivals Douglas Adams for laughs.

I couldn't have said it better myself. It's still worth the entertainment value if they distorted it in any way.

I'm not really surprised at the hypocrisy. I just heard of a Jewish tradition going on right now just before Yom Kippur. Orthodox Jews will go to a street corner where they can buy a chicken. They then take the chicken, swing it around their head 3 times while chanting their sins into the poor bird. Then the bird is slaughtered! Why is it that Satanists get a bad (and false) rap about sacrificing animals and whatnot, but the Jews can do it each year in public, on the streets of New York and wherever else, as part of their festival. It disgusts me!

Was that the edition translated by Ralph Manheim? I got a copy of that in 2003. That's right. I was reading Hitler when I was thirteen.

Nick: Yes, the Manheim translation with Foxman's intro. When I was 13 I just watched Star Trek. Not even the related nazi planet episode, just Next Generation.

Diwanna: Admittedly I don't know everything about the religion of my youth, but I have never heard of Jews, even the orthodox nutcases in my extended family, swinging chickens over their heads. The typical tradition for getting rid of sins involves throwing bread crumbs into a river. Where did you hear the chicken thing? I'd love to add it to my list of things to debate with my father.