Creationism vs. Evolution

The fact that someone adheres to a single religion or god and believe's that their religion / god is the one and only true god is the absolute pinnacle of arrogance. Of the 13000 or so deities out there you are a non believer with the exception of just one and yours is the only correct one. That just boggles my mind how someone can be so absolutely close minded.

I really don't think that some of you grasp how inconsequential we are in the grand scheme of things. As a species, planet, solar system, galaxy, and on into the universe. But some of you have narrowed your view down to such a pinpoint that you are unable to see outside of your own beliefs and that to me is sad. Since I have no belief system to fall back on I have the freedom to want to gain knowledge without the self imposed guilt of questioning the validity of this so called god of yours.

My 8 year old daughter is fascinated by geography, science, history, and the world itself. She has been allowed to go to church with my parent's since she was small but now she is starting to ask questions and I have a feeling that I am going to pull her out of church in the near future. I want her to have the opportunity to find her way without having religious dogma forced into her at a early age. Believe me, it is much harder to not believe than it is to believe.
We were sitting in her room with her globe the other night and I was explaining how the earth moves around the sun and how the seasons work, latitude, longitude, southern and northern hemispheres, tectonic plates, etc etc... I explained how the earth formed and in her mind she is still under the assumption that it was formed in 7 days as it is written in the bible. So I explained that the bible is not completely accurate and as she gets older she will understand and she will have to make up her own mind as to what she truly believes.

But I refuse to shelter her from other religions / beliefs and I want her to have the freedom to decide what she want's to believe (or not believe). It is her life and she deserves that freedom in my opinion.

I believe in science. It is ever changing. When new discoveries are made theories are adjusted as they should be. Religion is stale and never changing (or very little). Most religions are exclusionary rather inclusionary <--- made that word up.

I believe in people. I believe in the innate power of people and that the majority of us are for the most part good and have the desire to do what is right and further humanity rather than keep to a singular god principle.

Man created god... not the other way around. If you could rationalize with religious people there would be no more religion.

That said... This is for us non-Christians


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZJ-_OTvsqo​

 

Well said

 

This is exactly why I don't argue with people about this. Just here for the fun.

Now drink the juice and we'll all be happy.

 

Funny... Make that same statement to some of the people that I have "saved".

 

To b. turner, you said that it was inconsequential what faith we chose, but for someone who has faith in Christ, that statement is FAR from true. For me the consequences are eternal, and saying that you want your daughter to believe whatever she wants to but then telling her that the bible isn't true (when it clearly says it is) is not going to allow her to think freely about that particular faith.

 

Oh St. Louis. I'm so glad I don't live in you anymore.

 

There may well be some great applications for this technology, but to say that he "made" the cell is a bit of a stretch. They used yeast (an already living organism) to synthesize DNA, then replaced the DNA in an already living, naturally occurring bacteria. In essence, he modified already existing DNA and placed it in an already living organism and did not create life.

 

That guy is hilarious, and great points by yourself.

 

I actually somewhat agree with some of this statement.

Limiting a child's exposure to a religion won't allow her to come to her own conclusions about that faith.

However, exposing her to other religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc.) as well as a healthy interest in science (which coincidentally, is also a great career path) will foster a greater understanding of not only her personal choice in faith, but an understanding (and with it, compassion?) of those whose views are different.

The fine line is to make sure she is receiving a balance. Which is...challenging...in a Christianity-dominated culture.

 

Far from true to you not me. Faith is a made up belief system to explain away the unexplainable simple as that. I don't personally believe the bible is true and you clearly do which is fine. No issue with that at all. But you say that the bible (Clearly says it is true) means nothing to me what-so-ever. My problem (one of many) is that you either believe all or none of it. You don't get to pick and choose what you want out of the bible to fit what you want it to fit. You can't say in one sentence that homosexuality is wrong but in the same sentence that it is no longer required for a rapist to marry the woman he rapes. One of many examples that I could give.

The fact remains that you have "faith" in a invisible friend in the sky that you believe has a hand in every day life and I don't. I'm not going to subject my daughter to that dogma. If she want's to believe as she grows up then I completely support her decision.

 

Thank you but please don't.

 

I don't see how the quotes are vague or unfounded. I would do some more research on each individual quoted to review their respective work, but that obviously would not be enough either. The Nabonidus Chronicle would be easy enough to verify if you took the time, but alas, you probably won't. Taken individually, accuracy of Bible accounts could easily be dismissed, but if you had a friend that always was accurate in what they said, even in minute details, would you suddenly doubt them when they told you something extraordinary? 5000 years ago, flight, a trip to the moon or an organ transplant would have been thought to be inexplicable because the people living at that time could not understand them. Is it then that much of a stretch to think that if there is a GOD that he could use the knowledge he possesses to do things that we would consider miraculous? Just a thought.

Kind regards,

 

That's the thing.... I don't plan on limiting her exposure to religion. But I want her to have access to ALL religions not just Christianity. She is a lot like me and very interested in the world. It's funny... one of my favorite past time is looking at maps (weird I know) but she is exactly the same way. She is so interested in other countries that each month I buy her 2 flag patches from the countries of her choosing and we have a huge cork board in her room with them all on there. I sometimes catch her just staring at them and (I think in her mind wondering about each country). I want to foster that.

I do agree with you it is a very fine line to walk though.

 

Wasn't a critique on you, individually.

Good on you for encouraging her internal and external exploration!

 

So people stop bearing children at 20-40 years of age? (Life expectancy of 70-80 years minus 40-60 years). Besides, your assumption only covers the female of the species. Historically, men have continued to father children well into the later years of their lives and have done so for centuries, so my premise still stands. Additionally, some women have been known to have children well into their later years - admittedly with an increase in birth defects and other complications.

So back to the original question: If evolution has made the human race and all life - including trees that live for thousands of years and turtles that live for hundreds of years, why is it that man has not evolved to the point where his life span is much longer than 70-80 years (again a rough average - some exceptions apply)

 

I didn't take it that way I understood your points.

 

This raises the question though, that isn't it just as plausible (if not more so) that because people 5000 years ago could not comprehend some phenomena, that they chalked it up to God as a means of explanation?

So as we develop as a species, why are we continually tied to the tenants of doctrine established millennia ago, as opposed to coming to the realization that what was previous assumed to be impossible are actually well within the realms of human achievement?

 

How about 969 years like Methuselah (Oldest recorded human in the Bible)? Actually, I like the thought of living forever. The first mention in the Bible of death was as a consequence of disobedience related to the fruit in Eden...but that's a topic for another day.

I have enjoyed the discussion. I'm going to stop now. My down time is coming to a close and I just won't be able to give this thread any more time. Somehow it makes me smile a bit to think of all of us sitting down talking about this over a few beers.

All the best to everyone - and I do mean everyone.