Good on you for posting this, Ghanima. From the outside looking in, it looks like all y’all have gone Crazy for Christ. I’ve read enough Heinlein to be scared, real scared.
Dang it, I forgot to post my story about evolution. I was out for wings one night, and we got talking about evolution, and I made a point of calling it the Theory of evolution. It was funny to see the reactions of the people I was with - probably the same reaction you guys get when you call Creationism a theory.
Bottom line - nobody knows. Period. We don’t know how we all got here, we don’t know where we go when we die, we don’t know how many turtles it takes to support the earth.
I’m trying to remember wo was the last one who said on this message board that I am
1.completely wrong
2.so damn biased
3.so completely ignorant about the USA
because I once again stated that the USA is not at all perceived as a secular nation by people outside the USA.
Usual attacker(s) start to refer to the US constitution who would make US secular and that therefore I have no clue about the USA.
I’m waiting now for these same people to show up here and tell the OP that he has no clue about his own country, its society its culture and its amazing addiction to the Christian religion in an amazing amount of different aspects and views.
Not only that: the way this Christian religion is propagated in the USA is as much amazing as the addiction to it itself.
God here and Jesus there.
God and Jesus everywhere.
God at school and Jesus on TV.
Jesus Saves through Bible quotes on the packing of your grocery.
I never saw any nation that makes such a marketing business out of God and Jesus then the “secular” USA.
Salaam. A
No, but it’s already been established that evolution does not claim to explain how life came to be. But we do know what happens to life once it shows up. It evolves, or it is extinguished. As you said; “Period.”
[Fight Club]
Yes, these are bruises from fighting. Yes, I’m comfortable with that. I am enlightened.
[/Fight Club]
You’re correct that evolution specifically only relates to the origin of species, but abiogenesis is actually pretty solid these days. Anyone looking for a gap to fit God in should be advised that that one’s way too small already.
That would be a huge mistake, Ghanima. Not all religious people impose their beliefs on others. Some maybe comparable to racists, but don’t throw all religious people into the same bin.
Evolution is a fact: Species die out and other species which weren’t there before take their place, over millions of years. This is undeniable.
Then there is no such thing as “knowledge”.
Seeing as how I think I was one that said you were completely wrong, I’ll go ahead and jump in here. There is a huge difference between what you said, and what you now say you said. What ACTUALLY happened was that you came into Great Debates with a rant about how horrible the USers are for thinking that they live in a secular nation when Roy Moore can put up a granite 10 commandments in a courtroom lobby. That was a far cry from “because I once again stated that the USA is not at all perceived as a secular nation by people outside the USA.” See, I have no problem with you latter statement. The USA may not be perceived as a secular nation by people outside the USA. If that was what you had originally stated, we never would have had a problem. But, your revisionist history aside, that’s not what you said.
You see, you consistently confuse the United States government and the United States society. This fundamental misunderstanding by you has been pointed out to you over and over and over and over, to no avail. I do not suspect this post will have any additional effect. However, I will refuse your request to tell the OP he is as horribly wrong as you remain. The OP feels great pressure from facets of society being Christian. I really can’t argue with him there. Evangelical Christians are growing in number and in their visibility. His point, and you’re original mess of an OP to which you appear to be referring, are completely different things.
Only one. But he doesn’t actually support it, the four humongo elephants standing on his back do.
Personally, I’d have cocked my head and pretended to seriously examine my faith for 1.3 seconds, than said “Inconclusive!”
But then unlike you, I’m an atheist with a sense of humour.
Yes, evolution is a theory. A theory does not mean, as many seem to believe, “a wild guess without any firm evidence.” A scientific theory is a coherent explantion for a natural phenomenon supported by tested hypotheses. We have the thoery of gravity, but that doesn’t mean that gravity is merely a guess. We have the germ theory of disease, which is supported by tons of evidence including direct observation.
There is a plethora of things we don’t know–how will the universe end, how to make an effective cold vaccine, how did life originate, does P=NP. That’s one of the beauties of science, that the more we learn the more we find out how much more there is to learn.
But you have a choice, to investigate those questions using reason and analysis, crafting tighter and more coherent theories based on better observations
or
to take refuge in myth and legend, never understanding the mechanics of the universe.
Theists lack imagination because they rely on cheap, dull legends. Axheads floating on water, women turning into salt, virgins having babies. But the real world offers much more entrancing stories . . .
That the starlight we see at night is ancient light that was generated by the fusion of hydrogen into helium thousands of years ago.
That mitochondrial DNA can link an English schoolteacher to ancient bones from the Stone Age
That eclipses of the sun and moon can be predicted exactly far into the future
I wrote a post several years ago that I’m unable to find which addressed the comparative virtues of religion and science.
education - [n] the gradual process of acquiring knowledge by learning and instruction.
I’ll always play Devil’s Advocate (as if you couldn’t tell) to test my beliefs and enlighten myself. I think featherlou’s sig notes an important point:
Give me a system that is completely religiously based and I fear for the scientific method and freedom of thought. Spanish Inquisistion anyone?
Give me a system that is completely secular and I fear that there will be no underlying basis for treating life and the pursuit of happiness with any respect.
In terms of the OP - education should teach history and the facts as we know them. The founding fathers were deists; the laws have a lot of christian principles; some people want religion in everything, some don’t.
I saw the same Travel Channel thing you did, I think (treasure hunters or something). I thought that was lame. They just picked whoever was the closest DNA match among like 10 kids and the teacher - of course you’ll get a ‘closest’ - and then tried to turn it around like ‘isn’t it amazing he’s a match!?’
Anyway, back to the thread. Evolution is as widely accepted a theory as anything in science.
Creationism isn’t science. Don’t pretend it is.
Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone just come out and say it before.
I’m with you, brother.
I was inspired by Douglas Adams. He said it a lot more eloquently (and calmly) than I.
Didn’t see that. I read about Cheddar Man and his modern relative in The Seven Daughters of Eve.
Gosh, I didn’t know Eve had any daughters. What are their names?
Theists =/= ultra-religious wackjobs.
Hello, did I say that every religious person does this? Whooooosh. I don’t care if its just one person or all of them. It’s still wrong. Go ahead and worship your deity, but get it out of my government and get it out of my bank and get it out of my classroom.
The sheer willful ignorance is just staggering. “Intelligent design” my ass! What’s so intelligent about bad backs, fallen arches, bunyons, poor eyesight, heart failure, appendices that rupture and kidney stones? FUCK intelligent design.