For some reason we find this Guardian article about Sir David Attenborough (Richard’s older bro) chuckle worthy; even if you don’t recognize the name, you’d probably know his hushed, excited voice — think those BBC wildlife series that allow you to zone out over some beautifully-shot timelapse footage of a bramble simply growing.
It seems that Attenborough has been getting hate mail from Christian fundamentalist viewers angry that he fails to credit God in his documentaries.
In fact, according to the 82-year-old naturalist, “They tell me to burn in hell and good riddance.” Dude. He’s too old and huggable for such harsh talk.
When asked why he refuses to cave and give this portion of his audience what they want, Attenborough — a staunch agnostic — is blunt:
“They always mean beautiful things like hummingbirds. I always reply by saying that I think of a little child in east Africa with a worm burrowing through his eyeball. The worm cannot live in any other way, except by burrowing through eyeballs. I find that hard to reconcile with the notion of a divine and benevolent creator.”
We kind of wish he lived here — oh the letters the Christian right would write.
One of our favorite Attenborough clips — featuring slug sex — below.