Why is evolution singled out by religious people?

Question

Of all the biology and science, why is evolution singled out?

Physics tells us half lives show the earth to be over 4 billion years old.

Geology tells us the world is round.

Why is evolution singled out for attack?
And why is each time evidence brought up against evolution instantly prove evolution is wrong? Do people think quantum theory came up over night to replace classical physics?


And a link to Ken Miller for all those that support evolution although all are welcome to watch it too.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JVRsWAjvQSg&search=ken%20miller

Response to Misstaken: Yes my target was religious but I didnt put it down in anyway. My question is a real question as to why religious people have to get into science via evolution and not other fields.

Reponse to Oldgeaser: That is social darwinism you are talking about. Please do not relate social darwinism with evolution. And prove that evolution is baseless; I have proof...you get sick from flu. Flu mutates to evade your immune system everytime your immune system creates workable antibodies.

Response to radtadstar: Actually, Ive never read the bible and so my post about geology was a mistake. Funny enough, I knew that the bible mentioned the earth being round so I dont know why i put it.

As far as why i mentioned quantum theory and classical physics, I was trying to say that people that attack evolution instantly go from "Good point against evolution" straight to "fact" when the scientific community has not been able to look at it closely.

radtadstar response:
And no, I am not using evolution to "poo poo away Christianity" I did not insult Christianity in anyway and in fact, the only point I make now is that Christianity should not come into Science.

Response to Lonewolf: how does one adapt if it did not evolve/change in the first place. To me, it seems like a play on words. idk, explain yourself further if you wish.

Im closing the question soon but the feedback didnt have enough room.

None of the answers really satisfied me and part of the reason is that I didnt ask the right question.

My concern lies with Religion entering science via intelligent design.

And yes, scientists today still argue about evolution and thats good; knowledge does not come about without being scrutinized. However, the beef I have with inteligent design is that ID scientists find one thing contradictory with evolution and immediately textbooks are printed "Pandas and People" citing it as source. There is no/lack of peer evaluation and that is not good Science.

I have no problem with religion as science in its nature has very restricted guidelines to follow (to ensure ideas are evaluated and re-evaluated) and cannot give all the answers about the world for a really long time.

However, religion, should it be taught in private schools in college, should stay in the philosophy/theology classes.

Answer 1

Evolution is a theory (not science) that goes against religious convictions. Any religion based on a supreme being (not just Christianity) would be completely uprooted if evolution were true. Everything these people believe in would be gone, we would all just be animals, and morality would cease to matter (after all, if there are no consequences to your actions, then why does it matter?). People have a natural desire to seek for something greater than themselves.

There may be interpretations by scientists that the world evolved, but their are also interpretations of evidence by scientists that shows this is not the case. Until someone can finally find the missing link, or God himself comes down from Heaven, the war will go on between the Darwin's and the creationists. That's the beauty of freedom of speech, we all get to have our own opinions.

Answer 2

There are basically a few different ways humans answer questions : religion, metaphysics, speculative philosophy, and the scientific method. Each has there place, or so i believe. But there is no denying evolution. Any christian that tries makes us all look like uneducated fanatics. These people need to recongnize where to draw the line. If they really do believe and read the bible, then they should know that the order in which God created the universe makes sense when considered with evolution. The time line might be skewed, but the main idea is there.

Answer 3

Evolution is easier to reduce to sound bites, bits of the puzzle thrown out during speeches and given in news reports. There is considerable disagreement over the age of the earth, especially as it does not fit into religious ideals. The complexities of dating the earth do not lend as well to impassioned speeches. However, evolution is an easier sell for the fight because people think they understand it, when many times they're completely off. But truth isn't nearly as important as what you think you know. it makes convincing people that evolutionists think we came from monkeys (instead of co evolved), or giving them uneducated ideas of the word "Theory" like candy to a baby. They can be broken down into the small bits the Americans like to feed on, with no regard to the bigger picture.

And for the record, when scientists first theorized that the world is round, there was a lot of grief. People were excommunicated, and worse. Religion has a history of being forced to accept and adapt new scientific findings into their dogmas. The Earth being the center of the universe is another good example. And it will happen with evolution, probably in our lifetime. It already has, as one poster noted, outside of America, it soon will here too. Of course, this doesn't disprove the existence of anyone's god, since something had to start the ball rolling.

Short answer- sound bites.

Answer 4

If you want to find some of the deep reasons read " The Republican war on science".
In a nut shell the fundamentalist Christians working in conjunction with the Discovery institute have been trying for years to drive a wedge between the scientific community and the public at large in order to get religious ideas and beliefs taught in public schools as science.
Not only is this a clear violation of separation between Church and state, it is laughable in the extreme as these people want creationism taught as a valid science which it is not and never can be.
Additionally for the poster who commented that evolution was just a theory and not science, I would suggest you find out what the definition of: theory, science, and the scientific method are before posting such things.
The American public is the only population in any developed country that has a problem with evolution, and that is due directly to a lack of critical thinking being taught in our schools. The rest of the world must think we are a little off our rocker to even be arguing about something a well research and accepted as evolution.

Answer 5

Well evolution is singled out for a reason and a good reason. People like you still hold onto evolutionary theory to poo poo away Christianity which is just as bad as a fundamentalist Christian. I would hate to mention but the mentality of those who just posted contrarily so are just as bad as they are. I am a Christian and believe in a several billion year old earth and an even older universe.

In the Bible, in the book of Isaiah it states:"the circle of the earth." in Isaiah 40:22. It is circular as it states. I don't know where they got another idea. Probably they did not read the Bible thoroughly.

What are you trying to say about classical mechanics verse quantum theory? Are you saying that a paradigm shift is unavoidable, yes but it doesn't negate, it is only a shift? Well classical mechanics is still relevant and still used for practical purposes. Quantum theory will show that there is a designer. Can you tell me how quantum theory nullifies an existence of a God? God will tell you that the universe is an mysterious creation governed by universal laws and constants.

Furthermore, again, "Newton's laws, Maxwell's equations, and all other classical laws of physics will also hold in quantum mechanical systems." from the reference and source that i found.

Answer 6

Religion's job among other things, is to maintain and pass on to later generations the cultural heritage of humanity.

In older days, humans searched for their answers in the old testimonies (books or legends and myths past on from their elders), which clearly suggest a god creating the world in a few days and the creation of man in a couple of seconds. We know now that this cannot be true but, it was an interpretation of the world when telescopes and spaceships didn't exist. A much different meaning can be found in these stories apart from historical facts. Tales of bravery, courage and happiness also come from what it's written in religious books, myths and fairy tales.

In whatever language or religion you look, you will find all sorts of imaginary stories which answered the main existential problems of the early but human mind.

Answer 7

This is an American issue. In the rest of the World, few people have problems with evolution, and theologists generally agree that there is no conflict between evolution and religion.

I suppose the anti-evolutionary propaganda of the Christian Right is related to their general aim at undermining the authority of science because they like to use nonsense arguments to promote their political viewpoints and don't want people to pay too much attention to scientists who say they are wrong. Think of issues like the efficiency of condoms in the combat against AIDS.

Answer 8

Because, the only practical purpose for such a truly baseless theory ( yes, baseless ) as evolution is to try to deny the existence of the Creator, the God of Abrahan, Isaac & Jacob (Israel)

The Communist & Nazi movements depended on the theory of evolution to support their athiestic veiws.....

The Evolution theory trully has more to do with social restructure than it has to do with science......

and that's the way it is.....like it or not

Answer 9

because accepting the theory of evolution will lead to the idea that there is no god who created all things.

the theory of evolution says that the creator will be chance.

Answer 10

Things adapt rather than evolve, your virus adapted to survive in it's changing environment.