I've noticed that believers...?

Question

Many theists I've seen on Y-Q&A, seem to think that being an atheist automatically means that you "believe in evolution". I'm an atheist that does not believe in evolution. I do however understand that there is clear evidence of micro-evolution, and there is no evidence of macro-evolution. That is why scientists call it the theory of evolution, and not the fact of evolution. They are still researching it. I also understand that intelligent design is not even a theory. It is presented as fact with no credible evidence accept a book written by believers. You either have faith, or you don't. Which is fine with me. I don't care what people believe, until they push their beliefs into U.S. funded public schools.

Creationism, & evolution are interesting man made beliefs and theories, but none have given us the answer to the origin of the universe, no matter how much you believe.

Do believers use faith for all of their facts? Or do any research atheism for themselves from atheist sources?

I wrote "many theists", not "all theists"

Rephrase; When they "try" to push their beliefs into U.S. funded public schools.

mr d 5 adman

Yes but what you learned in school was presented as theories proven or unproven. That is what science is. Taking a theory, study and research it, to prove, or disprove.

Creationism is based on belief without care of evidence, and presented as fact.

That is the difference

Answer 1

I never have assumed that all atheists believe in evolution.

Answer 2

That evolution is called a "theory" is no more relevant to its truth or not than that Einstein's relativity is called a "theory". That is simply nomenclature for a proposition that could, in principle, be false. However, the key here is that both theories are solidly established science: they make predictions, which workers in the field rely on because they are correct. This alone should be sufficient for people to accept evolution, even if there were no other evidence. But of course there is other evidence, and it is overwhelming. You will find a long list of such in a reply in this forum to a question on evolution dating to last May, and you can also read the reference, which is quite fascinating. As you correctly note, "intelligent design" is not a scientific theory -- it is in principle impossible to refute it, so it can predict nothing. (And that, at least, can be proved.)

Answer 3

downdrain,
It depends on what you are talking about. If you are saying that Christians never rely on facts, I'd think that you were overgeneralizing the way you say they are about Atheists. They probably never heard of an Atheist that didn't believe in Evolution.

"Do believers use faith for all of their facts?" No. But if you are talking about creationism, yes. Unless they can show me a verse that says: God didn't use Evolution as a means to make all things after their own kind, I must say that it is a faith based belief.

"Or do any research atheism for themselves from atheist sources?"
You have to know that there ae a lot of people doing a lot of things. Some do research Atheism. You just aren't seeing them too much on the boards.

Answer 4

Right... so it is OK to teach evolution which cannot be proved(adaptation can be as every species learned to adapt or it dies out), but when you give a secondary idea that is wrong? This is my problem with public schools they complain about one thing, then they turn around and give no options about something. As a Christian I HATED my science classes despite my interest in science for the simple fact that evolution is pushed so hard. I passed Integrated Physics and Chemistry, Biology 1 and 2, and Chemistry all with over 90 avg, yet so much of the stuff in biology was based on theories which cannot and never will be proved.

Answer 5

Most atheist believe in the theory of evolution simply because it is the most scientifically viable alternative to g-d. There are other alternative scientific theories (ie the yo- yoing universe theory, in which the universe is constantly expanding and then retracting in on itself for all of eternity) or the constant universe (always been there), but they have been totally disproven.

Theists, thus, generally assume that atheist are evolutionists as this is the best argument against g-d, faulty though it may be. The fact of the matter is that a creator is the default position, as all physical matter that we know of has been created and formed by someone or something. In other words, unless you have a specific reason to NOT believe in g-d, you logically should assume His existence. In this question, you say what you DON'T believe in, but you have failed to discuss what you do. If you could elaberate on your actual position, it would assist in discussions.

Answer 6

Good points. Creationism is a theory. Evolution as you say happens on a micro level.I ask you to consider that it happens on macro levels to.I'll back that up with artificial selection fact.We as humans like our meats.We like certain kinds so we breed true the livestock that meets our likes.We encourage the breeding that meets these preferences.That is just a small part of artificial selection.It applies to plants and flowers and animals on a large scale.
Natural selection has had a billion year head start on us.There are more species that have gone extinct than the amount of species alive today.
Trilobites are a prime example of what happens when your DNA just isn't suited for longevity.
what causes the DNA mutations that produce different species?Cosmic Rays are a major factor.They bombard our DNA every second.Some of the white and black dots on a static television screen are these cosmic rays. You can hear cosmic rays with a Geiger counter.
Secondly is our environment.It is friendly for some of these new species and they flourish while others die off.
It is just nature. Good questions and points, take care!

Answer 7

Evolution is not a belief system.

There is no hierarchy to evolution.

How many theories became laws. There is no possible way to say that environmental change, genetic mutations and natural selection are the only forerunners to evolution, so it is still a theory. Evolution is harder than gravity.

Macro biological change does not happen overnight or be made aware of suddenly.

Although the amount of disease like cancer, over weight people can be contributed to industrial pollution. Although you cannot find one study that proves it.

Uncertainty of science rushes people to much harsh decisions of answers that cannot be explained with current knowledge.

Answer 8

you say you don't believe in evolution(that's YOUR faith) yet you see the fact of micro-evolution. macro evolution is in the theory stage as it has only just been developed. when you consider evolution must take place over time periods far greater than those in which man has thought about it, you may see why it's not yet a fact. in another million years, man will not only be calling it the fact of macroevolution, man will be able to affect evolution as a science. all science started as theory. disproven theories were cast aside, proven theories became fact. what you said about intelligent design....i would substitute the word "bible" and agree with you. the bible is presented as fact with no credible evidence written by believers....now THAT'S faith. let's leave it in the library where it belongs. now as to the beginnings of these thoughts... i know man was afraid. he had no answers for the night, the moon, or the stars. the sun was so powerful, the land so wide. the weather scared him more. when the winds hurled and the chill came, man had no house to warm him. when the thunder, lightning and rain confused, blinded and cowed him, he threw up his fears and prayed for it to stop. when it stopped, he continued to pray. in order to teach his children, he instilled FEAR in them, and taught them to pray, as well. thus began every religion in this world. when man began to MEASURE the world, the scientific revolution began, and man has not looked back since, aside from those masses of still praying. the birth of the universe is knowable, before that we may not know unless help is available. you may imagine the Big Bang. the universe was a pre-explosive mass about to big bang, then it did. an ever expanding sphere of mass grew, outside of it, an ever expanding sphere of light grew. to witness the birth of the universe, WE must find a way to send a camcorder FASTER than the SPEED of LIGHT to a point outside the light sphere and wait. it would capture the beginning moments, the creation, the Big Bang. we would see all that ensues. we would not see the pre-Big Bang moments.
believers, by definition, may not use only facts. at some point, faith is required to make the leap to illumination. you'd have to ask a believer what sources the belief arises from....atheist sources likely hold no interest for believers, the minds snap shut at their limits. still, a lot of what all of us need to know are from sources requiring no belief. ask the believers. where do i find an atheist source? is it the alphabet? or maybe the dictionary? or the hidden and secret files of the mysterious Illuminati? hmmmm....i hope i've helped.
p.s. i told my kids that success in life depends on treating people well. theory, fact, or faith in a belief?

Answer 9

Intelligent, concise micro-evaluation of theism vs atheism. Thank you! You've given me something to think about as far as evolution is concerned. I don't believe in intelligent design, but have always been a bit disturbed by the theory of evolution being the only alternative. Now I have a clear third choice...not believing in either one, and having that be okay.

Answer 10

I don't think they have researched anything except what their church tells them to.
After being thrown out of a church for being married, divorced and remarried I decided to start doing some research on the many questions I had had since my childhood. And boy did I find the answer to lots of them. And realized that there is more proof for not believing the Bible, Jesus or a Human God that made everything. The answers are there if you only would open your mind and look for them. I don't see me ever joining another church. Religion is man made to control the races. I like being a free thinking individual. If people want to be Christian then be Christian but don't expect that I am willing to just "believe" because someone tells me to have "faith", which by the way is another man made item. I like to see proof instead.

Answer 11

Until I came to Answers I never really thought about what Atheists believed other than no God. Now if I have a question I ask it here and, like with all subject that people are passionate about, some answers are honest and polite others are attacks on my beliefs. Many have given me websites and I have looked at few of them.