'The Science Guy' not religious enough for Waco, TX

Bill Nye, 'The Science Guy' upset some people when he spoke at a community college in Waco

The Emmy-winning scientist angered a few audience members when he criticized literal interpretation of the biblical verse Genesis 1:16, which reads: “God made two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.â€

He pointed out that the sun, the “greater light,†is but one of countless stars and that the “lesser light†is the moon, which really is not a light at all, rather a reflector of light.

A number of audience members left the room at that point, visibly angered by what some perceived as irreverence.

“We believe in a God!†exclaimed one woman as she left the room with three young children.

Nye also was critical of what he said was governmental agencies’ lack of action, even lack of understanding, in protecting the Earth from global warming and wasted resources.

They were "angered by his irreverence?" What were they expecting from a combination scientist/comedian?

Of course, I wasn't there, so I can't say for certain what was said, or the tone used to say it. But from what little I know of the guy, I think he was just pointing out what he sees as bad science, regardless of the source. I doubt this was a concerted attack on the moral fabric of Waco.

Some who read this might be tempted to say that I'm being hypocritical, and that if he had found fault with the Qur'an I would have been livid. To some extent, you'd probably be right about my reaction, though I don't see it as hypocritical.

Science is all about critical thinking. In order to be effective, Mr. Nye needs to choose topics which are well known to his audience. I'm certain that he could have found scientific flaws in the Qur'an, and talked about them. But given that most of the audience has probably never read anything from the Qur'an, it wouldn't be a case of countering well-known things, and could only be taken as an attempt to discredit Islam.

Aside from that, there's the question of majority vs minority status. Nobody would argue with the statement that there are a lot more Christians and Jews in Waco than there are Muslims. Like it or not, the majority has a responsibility to ensure extra protection to the minority. Otherwise, we're reduced the the old joke definition of democracy:

Two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for supper.