US' House Science Committee Rep. Believes Evolution, Big Bang Theory and Embryology Are 'Lies From the Pit of Hell'
The House of Representatives' Science Committee has gotten itself into a bit of hot water again as another member of the committee has said something that contradicts with the scientific consensus.
Republican Congressman Paul Broun is running for re-election in his state of Georgia this month. He is not running against a Democratic challenger. In a video recorded during a speech made at a Baptist church last month, Broun said, "God's word is true. I've come to understand that all that stuff I was taught about evolution, embryology [the science of development of an embryo from the fertilization of an ovum into a fetus], the Big Bang theory, all that is lies from the pit of Hell." He also said during the same speech, "I don't believe that the earth is but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them."
The event took place on September 27 at the Liberty Baptist Church in Halwell, Georgia. The complete video surfaced on Friday, but it has since been removed from the Internet.
The campaign's spokeswoman said, "Dr. Broun was speaking off the record to a large church group about his personal beliefs regarding religious issues."
The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology had previously come under fire when another member, Missouri Representative Todd Akin, also Republican, made comments in an interview about legitimate rape and that it was really rare for a pregnancy to occur as a consequence of legitimate rape. "If it is legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try and shut that whole thing down," he said. That statement has been thoroughly debunked in many outlets, including here at Medical Daily. His comment had Republican bigwigs, including Republican presidential candidate, calling for him to step down, though Akin has refused. A video from 2008 has surfaced in which Todd Akin says that doctors have given abortions to women who were not actually pregnant.
Broun has been a Congressman since 2007. He received his Medical Doctor degree in 1971. Most scientists believe that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.
An excerpt of the video can be found here.