# More Conservapedia fun: 'Scientific Theory' is a just the secularized version of the word "heresy" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 4, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322 "2011-06-04T18:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/21 "2011-06-05T00:01:19Z")
Never heard of “Conservapedia” before, so I clicked the link in the OP. I immediately went to the “dinosaur” page to see how far the lunacy went. Under a photograph of an event at a creation museum, there was the following caption: > [@](#): > > There is excellent evidence that dinosaurs and man coexisted. During a visit to the Creation Museum, the evolutionist and atheist PZ Myers had noticeably greater difficulty than others climbing on and off a dinosaur model due to the fact that he was overweight and out of shape [http://www.conservapedia.com/Dinosaur#Evolutionary.2FOld\_Earth\_Perspective](http://www.conservapedia.com/Dinosaur#Evolutionary.2FOld_Earth_Perspective) What is it with these guys and “fat atheists”?! ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/22 "2011-06-05T00:04:07Z")
So much unintentional comedy. I think Conservapedia is probably the biggest comedy-themed website out there 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/23 "2011-06-05T00:21:08Z")
Some of them really make no sense: **"Independence Day" is now “The Fourth of July.”** What exactly is being secularized here? Both terms have been in use for centuries. None of them are particularly religious in nature. **"Drunkard" is now “Alcoholic.”** Same thing. I guess they’re saying that alcoholism is considered a disease, thus removing moral responsibility, maybe. Who knows? **"Golden Rule" is now “Altruism.”** This one isn’t even true. There is a strong distinction between the golden rule and altruism. One is being nice to others in the hope that they’ll be nice to you, and the other is being nice to others whether you get anything from it or not. Also, both ideas predate Christianity by a long, long way. **"Harlot" is now “Empowerment.”** These aren’t even synonyms: “That girl is pretty slutty. I think she’s an empowerment.” **"Mankind" is now “Humankind.”** Not sure how this is secular, either, but apparently the Christian viewpoint is that half the species doesn’t belong. I do agree that “humankind” is an ugly word, which is why I use that old standby “humanity.” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/24 "2011-06-05T00:31:26Z")
I want to visit the Creation Museum. THAT sounds like it would be a blast. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/25 "2011-06-05T00:40:38Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I want to visit the Creation Museum. THAT sounds like it would be a blast. SciFi writer John Scalzi visited once as [reported on his blog](http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/11/12/your-creation-museum-report/). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/26 "2011-06-05T01:21:26Z")
Bill Hicks died for their sins. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/27 "2011-06-05T01:31:06Z")
Conservapedia is, well, crazy. No blunt way of saying that. [Rationalwiki’s article](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Conservapedia). My favorite ‘incident’ was when Andy was trying to [take on an actual scientist,](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Lenski_affair/Correspondence) with regard to the mutation of e.coli. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/28 "2011-06-05T01:34:02Z")
Has it been determined that Conservapedia is on the level and not one big massive Poe’s Law troll? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/29 "2011-06-05T01:34:53Z")
Doesn’t surprise me. I’ve long suspected adverbs of having leftist sympathies. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/30 "2011-06-05T02:17:42Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Like Rush Limbaugh and Roger Ailes? And Jerry Falwell and Mike Huckabee and Chris Christie. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/31 "2011-06-05T02:44:22Z")
Someone once made a comment that Free Republic is probably 90% people trolling each other and 10% actual conservatives. I think Conservapedia is probably 99% trolls. Poe’s law in action baby! ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/32 "2011-06-05T04:08:19Z")
From the “Essay:Best New Conservative Words”: First, I did not know that the King James bible used all the words available in the early 1600s - “The King James Version of the Bible contains only about 8,000 different words;[1] many good words have since developed” - this is especially interesting as I searched for the word ‘catapult’, ‘lung’, ‘artery’, ‘prism’ using an on-line KJV bible web-site, and none of those words were in the Bible, even though they were in use by 1600… And This one: coolant - 1926 a fluid, typically water, that facilitates efficient energy production, especially nuclear energy to cool a reactor and slow down the fission of neutrons Hmm, especially nuclear energy? What about the billions of internal combustion engines out there in the world - what do they use? Wouldn’t that usage be more common? As for the whole essay premise, well, I guess if any word that has a positive or even neutral connotation is considered ‘convservative’, regardless of whether it’s political or not, then yes, obviously the number of conservative words is doubling per century… You’d think some conservaties would be smart enough to realise that the convervapedia articles sound silly, whiney, and are often incorrect - why don’t they correct them? Why would you want embarrassing trite on such a convservative style wiki? Can anyone explain, and make the Moe Howard voice in my head saying “Are they THAT dumb?” go away? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/33 "2011-06-05T04:34:42Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Has it been determined that Conservapedia is on the level and not one big massive Poe’s Law troll? His mother’s Phyllis Schafly. I’d love to think it’s just a joke, but considering how he was raised, I doubt it. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/34 "2011-06-05T05:19:16Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > You’d think some conservaties would be smart enough to realise that the convervapedia articles sound silly, whiney, and are often incorrect - why don’t they correct them? Why would you want embarrassing trite on such a convservative style wiki? Can anyone explain, and make the Moe Howard voice in my head saying “Are they THAT dumb?” go away? The only conservative who consults Conservapedia is Schafly. That’s it. Every other contributor is a troll (well, so is Schafly, just not coming from the same angle I suppose) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/35 "2011-06-05T08:21:12Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > The only conservative who consults Conservapedia is Schafly. That’s it. Every other contributor is a troll (well, so is Schafly, just not coming from the same angle I suppose) It’s also Andy Schafly’s personal sandbox. If anyone, or any group, tried to go in and take the project in a direction contrary to Andy’s wishes, they would not succeed. Andy and his followers (and he apparently has some) would ban, delete, and otherwise prevent the invaders from having a noticeable impact. The only thing a group of anti-Schafly conservatives could do is to start their own conservative wiki project. I haven’t heard of any such project so far. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/36 "2011-06-05T15:05:54Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > The only thing a group of anti-Schafly conservatives could do is to start their own conservative wiki project. I haven’t heard of any such project so far. I think only Schlafly-level whackjobs really think Wikipedia has liberal bias, so the more sane conservatives don’t see the need. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/37 "2011-06-05T16:16:55Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > It’s also Andy Schafly’s personal sandbox. If anyone, or any group, tried to go in and take the project in a direction contrary to Andy’s wishes, they would not succeed. Andy and his followers (and he apparently has some) would ban, delete, and otherwise prevent the invaders from having a noticeable impact. You mean Schafly personally approved this? : > [@marshmallow](#): > > That list is great. > Apparently [atheists are fatties.](http://www.conservapedia.com/Atheism_and_obesity) Has it ever occured to anyone that this Schafly guy might be trolling from day one? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/38 "2011-06-05T16:21:30Z")
Liberal word: “a” Implies one of something is as good as any other. A better conservative alternative is “the” which pictures a specific individual, standing proud and tall in a field of mediocrity. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/39 "2011-06-05T16:24:11Z")
Somebody who coincidentally has the same username as me (weird!) started a Wiki for the people who feel Conservapedia also has too much liberal bias: [http://therealconservapedia.wikia.com/wiki/The\_REAL\_Conservapedia\_Wiki](http://therealconservapedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_REAL_Conservapedia_Wiki) > [@](#): > > Like me, were you excited to hear that some fine conservative folks like yourself saw the LIBERAL ANTI-AMERICAN bias of Wikipedia, and decided to rectify it with their own wiki-type encyclopedia? > > But then were you tragically disappointed when you saw that Conservapedia was still rife with LIBERAL BIAS? They actually think dinosaurs really existed and weren’t fake bones created by Satan! And that so-called “pathogens” like bacteria and viruses cause disease, and that people don’t get sick from god cursing them for seeing themselves naked in a mirror or another shiny surface? [http://therealconservapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Examples\_Of\_Conservapedia's\_Liberal\_Bias](http://therealconservapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Examples_Of_Conservapedia%27s_Liberal_Bias) > [@](#): > > Examples Of Conservapedia’s Liberal Bias > > [http://conservapedia.com/Dinosaurs](http://conservapedia.com/Dinosaurs) > > They think dinosaurs actually existed, and that fossils aren’t tricks planted by Satan to test our faith. > If they reject this proof of Satan existing, does that mean they don’t even believe in Satan? > Do they reject the entire Bible? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322/40 "2011-06-05T16:26:09Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > Has it ever occured to anyone that this Schafly guy might be trolling from day one? Likely not, he’s the son of [Phyllis Schlafly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Schlafly) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-conservapedia-fun-scientific-theory-is-a-just-the-secularized-version-of-the-word-heresy/584322.md?page=3)