Alabama Gov. Candidate Attacked for Belief in Evolution

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Campaign 2010

In an ad released earlier this month, which you can watch at left, Alabama gubernatorial candidate Bradley Byrne is attacked for suggesting that evolution, as opposed to creationism, "best explains the origin of life."

The spot, from a shadowy group called the "True Republican PAC," also criticizes Byrne for suggesting the Bible is "only partially true."

Byrne, a former Democrat, is one of a number of candidates for the Republican nomination, and his opponents include "ten commandments judge" Roy Moore and Tim James, who last month released an ad in which he said, "We speak English. If you want to live here, learn it."

In a response, Byrne said the ad was filled with "despicable lies" - and insisted he is no opponent of creationism.

"As a Christian and as a public servant, I have never wavered in my belief that this world and everything in it is a masterpiece created by the hands of God," he said. "As a member of the Alabama Board of Education, the record clearly shows that I fought to ensure the teaching of creationism in our school text books. Those who attack me have distorted, twisted and misrepresented my comments and are spewing utter lies to the people of this state."

He also said that, contrary to the ad's claims, he believes "every single word" of the Bible is true.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by owlafaye June 14, 2010 1:49 PM EDT: Creationists are truly wackos. The Republican party is famous for uneducated and hatred based religious supporters. After all, most Republican support is based in the South.; Reply to this comment

by thatavkguy May 12, 2010 2:35 PM EDT

hakori: I agree entirely about the church repressing the truth. I just wanted to say that not ALL Republicans are that way (huge generalization). I'm pro evolution, pro gay marriage, pro legalize drugs, true church and state separation, absolutely pro science, and a REPUBLICAN! It's the religious wacko's that have hijacked my political party. Religion should have ZERO to do in politics. Believe what you will. Some Republicans are true. All we want is LESS government, and individual responsibility. Religion hijacked the rest.

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by hakori May 12, 2010 2:46 PM EDT: thatavkguy, I'm sorry for my generalization. I hate that when others do it, so I should be more aware when I engage in it. I respect republicans like you; I wish there were more of you. I totally argree that your party has been hijacked by religious radicals, as I like to call them.


by teeeray May 14, 2010 5:30 PM EDT: Wait a minute! You define yourself in terms of your values system, and then say values systems (what you call religion) should have ZERO to do in politics. Sorry, politics do not operate in a vacuum; your beliefs will always guide your actions, and society's beliefs will always guide it's law. Separation of worldview (religion) and state is impossible; someone's beliefs will dominate.


by buddesatva May 12, 2010 2:03 PM EDT: So the entire thrust of this article is that a group of lunatics offers criticism of the govenor of Alabama for his implicit agreement that science trumps mythology. Honestly, who cares what fringe groups have to say. Their only tool is volume and their only success is when other people pay attention.; Reply to this comment


by yerhumps May 12, 2010 1:52 PM EDT: You cannot instruct those whose minds have been damaged by Christian lies and fairy tales. Let the go live in caves. Their stupidity and their religion are fading fast from the world.; Reply to this comment

by hakori May 12, 2010 1:31 PM EDT

bossmj, I take it back. I just found the website from which you lifted M-theory and it's almost word for word. If your "alma mater relativity" were ture, you could have used your own words. Nice try. Your assertion that anything not understood at present must be God, is ridiculious!

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by bossmj May 12, 2010 3:19 PM EDT: @Hakori

:-) oh simple one. Has it crossed your mind i wrote the original? If you would provide an email, i can forward you the entire treatise not the synopsis i have online.

Alternatively, browse to - http://www.lookup.cam.ac.uk/person/mw448

Therein you can determine the author. Sheeeesh! How tiresome.


by hakori May 12, 2010 4:26 PM EDT: bossmj, if I had the least bid of doubt that you weren't lying, it is now gone. You can cut and paste with the best of them. You didn't respond to the most obvious point: that it is ridiculous any unknown is deffinetly attirbutable to god--according to you. That's not how science works, if it did, it wouldn't be science. What you posted wasn't a synopsis of anything you wrote. IT'S basically common knowledge when it comes to physisc, and I didn't say what website I found it on... I know for a FACT it wasn't you. Don't talk to me about "tiresome", people like you are a dime a dozen on these boards.

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by actornaught May 12, 2010 12:26 PM EDT: This is the USA, settled and founded based on the Seperation of Church and State. Any politician that campaigns by espousing any religious doctrine or dogma should be removed from the ballot, or removed from office.

We will now return you to our unfortunate and twisted reality.; Reply to this comment

by OranPF May 12, 2010 12:09 PM EDT

What else is he hiding? Does he also believe that the world is round or that it revolves around the sun?

Are people in Alabama really this retarded?

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by hakori May 12, 2010 12:33 PM EDT: OranPF, I'm from Alabama and there are people here who eat this garbage up. I tend to stay away from those types.

by dmwj2 May 12, 2010 11:48 AM EDT

BTW - Byrne is a *****. I used to support him, even when he switched to the republican party, I let it slide, and hoped he would make a good moderate. But when he wholesale ***** himself and his family to gain points with the bible thumpers of our state... that was it... He will do and say anything to claim his political ambition.

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by hakori May 12, 2010 11:59 AM EDT: Amen, brother! Birmingham/Fort Payne here...

by genennene May 12, 2010 10:16 AM EDT

smartasss1--The Church is the one responsible for the scientific method, the University system, our system of modern laws, and much of our understanding of the Universe. Galileo made, at the time, unproveable claims, and insisted that they should be believed without the necessary proof, and that they should be taught in Universities. In that regard, he was wrong. There were scientific minds predating Galileo who had already developed theories that placed the earth rotating the Sun. These scientists acknowledged that while there was clear indication that this may be the case, they had not yet developed the necessary proofs.

Since the 18th Century, the West has carried on under and Enlightenment myth, that the Church repressed science. Nothing could be further from the truth. Were it not for Western religion, science would not exist. If one did not believe in a Higher Power that brought order, then there would be no reason to accept that science could discover laws of operation, since chaos could change them at any time.

But although mimicing the "Church-as-ignorant" theory out of ignorance of six decades of scholarship will still win you the praise of the half- educated ? and you can be sure that those who knee-jerk agree with you will know any better ? that doesn't make it any less dishonest or stupid.

You need to open your mind. People are not stupid, even in Alabama.

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by hakori May 12, 2010 10:53 AM EDT: genennene, you're living in the past. Much of the modern church, at least in the US, is strongly anti-science, as is the republican party. They ignore facts in favor of "theories" that promote their own God based world view. It's the same for every thing from evolution, which is a proven fact, to climate change. I must disagree with you, many people are stupid and many of those live in self-imposed ignorance. In Alabama, where I have always lived, this degree of ignorance prevades the culture. That's why ads like this work here.


by hakori May 12, 2010 11:13 AM EDT: sorry, pervades

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by yerhumps May 12, 2010 10:16 AM EDT

Loved the hay seed, cracker accent of the narrators. It speaks volumes of their ignorant, corn pone mentality.

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by bossmj May 12, 2010 11:58 AM EDT: @Yerhumps. Totally inappropriate. No need for use of the 'c' word. Incidently, I am not. That throws a monkey wrench in your logic.