Wow. I’ve just discovered this aspect of the Straight Dope site. I spent 30 minutes reading some of this discussion and my eyes hurt terribly, so my response must be short for now.
Science is frequently wrong in it’s conclusions about the world around us. But science does two things religion never does:
1: It constantly tries to update and correct any errant conclusions. Because each answer begets new questions, this is an ongoing process that deliniates science from religion. Religion goes out of its way to halt any new learning or discovery. Science has a long history of reversing previous absolutes, it’s called modeling. When the facts no longer explain the model, change the model to fit the facts. When’s the last time you heard any religious scholar try to reverse something in the Bible through new facts? (Yes, I know, you say the Bible is already correct and is all factual, stop reading this and go to Church). Religion teaches the new recruit (child) to accept what is told to him and refute nothing. Which brings me finally to my second point:
2: Science never says "beleive in me or you will be killed, tortured, excommunicated, chastised publicly (cold fusion notwithstanding), or spend eternity in a miserable and lousy place full of torture and hate, not unlike your high school experience.
Evolution is painfully obvious. Here’s a question for our devout readers: God ostensibly created only two people: Adam and Eve. I don’t care what race or physiacl attributes they had, but i’d say they did not possess white and brown black and yellow skin. I’m sure they didn’t have Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid eyes, having merely two eyes apiece (right)? I assume they weren’t at once tall, short, fat, thin, extomorphic, endomorphic, mesomorphic, blond,
brunette, redheadhed, straight haired, kinky haired…you all get the point.
Clearly, by the Bible’s own reckoning, humans can evolve.
As did everything else.
God, my eyes hurt.