Heres a question?

Question

atheist and others always ask " how can you base your faith on a 2000 yr old book". and yes its a decent question.
but for those that ask that I got a question.
How can you base for faith or lack of on 20000 yr old fossils and the guys that are interpreting there facts when alot of these so called scientist are educated in America where we know the education system is in dire need of repair?

No offense it seems like we are both in the same boat on this one.

Answer 1

"bouncing around on a wave waiting to be saved"

I don't know who explained it to you, but we have no hopes of being saved.

"How can you base for faith or lack of on 20000 yr old fossils"

They can't be that old or your book is wrong. I guess we shouldn't trust those stupid Americans interpreting this. Should we take them to the Taliban in their tin shacks with dirt floors for a second opinion? Or we could bring bibles into the schools and educate kids the "right" way?

Answer 2

I think you're using the word faith in two different ways. Faith in the Bible involves setting aside your reason to accept something that cannot be proved by your senses or by experimentation.

No one I know of places faith in fossils. Instead they ask questions about them. The idea is that a decision is made that there is a naturalistic explanation for the events and artifacts on the planet (and in the universe).

While we may not know all of the explanations, we can set up hypotheses and conduct experiments to see which ones are more likely to be true. They've been able to determine experimentally the age of certain sedimentary rocks where fossils were formed. Hence, the deduction that certain animals lived at a certain time.

I guess it could be said that have "faith" in the scientific method, but the method itself leads one to question ALL assumptions until experimentally proven, and even then later data can correct conclusions that don't stand up under greater scrutiny. Religious faith tells you that there are somethings you cannot question.

Now, regarding your question about scientists educated in the US: Below is a link to the top 100 universities in the world. Of the top 50, 37 are in the USA. Students the world over clamor to be accepted into US universities. The media may have tainted your view of education in the US, but the truth is we're doing quite well over all. (If only we could find a way to improve some of those inner city schools...)

Answer 3

Yes, the American education system needs to be repaired. But that does not negate the fact that scientists from around the world, many of whom were NOT educated in this country, concur that some of the earliest human remains date back to at least 250,000 years ago (see link to Peking Man below.)

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/peking.html

Furthermore, many distinguished biblical scholars agree that the accepted biblical timeline of the earth being 6,500 years old is, to put it as politely as possible, hogwash.

Speaking strictly for myself, I have a difficult time accepting the bible as "god's words" because in the English speaking language there are about 20 different versions of the bible. (See link below.) Would you care to tell me which is the "official" bible? And if you can, why is it necessary for all the other versions? It's almost like people are saying, "I don't like what it says in this version of the bible, so I'll just make up my own version."

And please make note that there are THREE King James versions: The King James Version, The NEW King James Version, and the 21st Century King James Version!!! How many times do the believers have to re-write god's words???

21st Century King James Version
American Standard Version
Amplified Bible
Contemporary English Version
Darby Translation
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
English Standard Version
Holman Christian Standard Bible
King James Version
New American Standard Bible
New International Reader's Version
New International Version
New International Version - UK
New King James Version
New Life Version
New Living Translation
The Message
Today's New International Version
Worldwide English
Wycliffe New Testament
Young's Literal Translation

http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/

You even implied in your question that *interpretation* of scientific facts was suspect based upon an educational system in disrepair. Yet your own bible was interpreted 20+ times just for English speaking people. And that's OK? Talk about hypocracy!!

Speaking of interpretation, language is fluid and ever changing. Depending on individual cultures and geographic locations, there may not even be comparable words to describe something. For example, some native languages in Africa do not have a word for snow because they've never seen any. But it's generally accepted that Inuits have many different words for snow. Now compare this to the bible and it's many versions. Since the original bible was NOT written in English, would you care to hazard a guess how many "interpretations" were made in all these various versions? Again, which bible is the official version?

I'd love to debate this issue some more, but I'm sure you've already dismissed my answer with scorn and pity. So I leave you with this one final thought:

You believe in a god who killed his only son.
I believe there MIGHT be a more compassionate god out there.

You believe I'm a heathen because I don't accept your god or your many versions of your "god's words".
I believe you have an absolute right to be different from me.

You believe the whole world should think like you.
I believe in free will (which is SUPPOSEDLY what your god gave to mankind.)

Answer 4

I don't think we are in the same boat.
Christianity is on a cruiser and the Atheists are in a row boat
bouncing around on a wave waiting to be saved.