Life on Earth has been around for 4 billion years. Homo sapiens only for 10,000 years...?

Question

Plus, there have been well over 100 million species on Earth, 99% of them extincted today.
Plus, there are probably at least 1 billion planets with life in our galaxy only.
All these are scientific facts.
How can you put religion over science, all religions are full of crap!

Answer 1

It is very likely that you are correct Jose. Thank you for posting this. Many faiths are fading away -- the type that is trying to stay alive is the fundamentalist type. Fundamentalists are willing to use force to remain in power.

For some, myself included, non-fundamentalist faith offers a support (crutch if you prefer) that I value. I am a mainstreamer however, I don't believe that the silly bronze age books are divine - nor do I follow outdated religious and purity laws in the modern day -- still I find value personally in faith.

If you don't, then you should not follow a faith. If you are strong enough and have a good enough friendship group -- you will never need one.

Believe in yourself, don't harden in any orthodoxy and keep learning, always -- you will go far, and you will make a difference for many people if you have the courage to do those things.

Kindest thoughts,

Reynolds Jones
http://www.rebuff.org
[e-mail]

PS To Num -- the "god of the gaps" argument, while appealing to some people who haven't followed history -- really is a dead end. The gaps in which such a god might be get smaller and smaller by the year. I believe in God and I think the god of the gaps argument is ludicrous.

To Nermal -- that is true, however, the evidence is for a universal paradigm toward life. I don't' completely understand it -- but the universal set up is MUCH different than they thought it was when I was a child. We have only been, of course on one other planet, even remotely (the moon is not a planet) -- and we are not yet sure that there wasn't/isn't life on Mars -- we are far from it actually -- so our sample size is very small. The contention that there is life on many planets is created mathematically -- number of stars likely to have planets (according to our present understanding, which indicates that planet formation is incredibly common, not uncommon which we used to think) the prevalence of water across the galaxies (which we can determine through spectography) and total number of stars. I don't know the exact equation, and I think he is confusing galaxy with universe, but the likelihood of life elsewhere is overwhelming. I for one say with Dr. Stephen Hawkings that we MUST get off this planet, before the race is destroyed. I do expect to find others out there though -- I agree with the lad, the evidence is overwhelmingly for it.

Note to Lupin -- if you truly do not believe in evolution, then I suggest that you have yourself infected with 2006 TB bacteria, and take the 1950 treatment for TB -- be warned you will die, because of course, evolution does happen, and TB has changed. If you want your "macroevolution" (which is a term made up by creationists by the way, because it is impossible to deny what they call microevolution) then I would suggest you to SARS, HIV, and NIPAH -- all brand new, all evolved from other preexisting viruses. If you want evidence of evolution in advanced species -- then try the six fingered gene that has emerged among human beings in limited communities. It is a dominant!!! Presuming a reasonable diaspora of breeding patterns -- having only 5 fingered hands will occur only for genetic throwbacks in 10,000 years. We are all transition species.

Note to Cathcoug -- There was no matter in the big bang, it was a singularity from whence matter-energy was created. I suggest that if you want an understanding of exacting scientific principles -- then instead of attacking a teenager who has already demonstrated that he knows far more than you do -- you read and study the real topic in question. You can start with simple articles like "Confused About Your Direction" by Bob Berman in the September 2006 issue of Discover, and work your way back -- then, take a few actual in-depth science courses at a local college and actually do the work and research. You may be amazed at what you find.

Note to Larry S -- Christianity is in fact a religion, just like all the others. Each and every one of the over 1400 branches of the Faith is a religion. I presume when you try to say its a relationship you are talking about some fundamentalist or pentecostal branch -- I have news, those are religions too -- more correctly called biblio-idolators than Christians, but religions. The young man is logical, thoughtful and realistic, so I suspect that despite your pathetic assertion, he will continue to place you right where you belong -- as a religion. If you have time, and a mind that isn't completely blinded to facts, read the three pages on "the bible" on the website I maintain, and which is listed in my signature block.

Note to Sir Greggeth -- there is very little relationship between religious faith and the continuation of the spirit. I have no question at all of the latter, but though I am religious and take great comfort from it -- I suspect that it is a crock, and I know the books that so many people hold sacred are a crock.

Note to Tolkiensilma --- Spontaneous Generation was never a law -- it was a hypothesis at best. The idea behind science is to learn. The beauty of science is that it CAN CHANGE. Religions, particularly fundamentalist ones, have a lot more difficulty with that. The Flat Earth Society, which still exists (do a web search if you don't believe me) was, 20 years ago -- still proclaiming "the Biblical Truth of the Flat Earth." (if you want a list of scriptures supporting that, contact me, I'll send you a half dozen) Wahhabi Islam had a fatwa against believing the earth was round that was only rescinded in the 90s. To believe the earth was round was punishable by death. To attack science for being able to change to fit facts as more is learned is disingenuous at best.

Answer 2

I must disagree, but not completely. Look at this universe, its being, and you have to realize that there is something out there that is a higher power than yourself. Although the current incarnations of religions may be inaccurate, I can see that whatever is going on is far too complicated for any human to ever comprehend. These religions could just be putting it in a way that our brains are able to understand.

If I look for proof that we were put here on purpose, I look at the solar eclipse. Did you know that this is the only planet in our solar system where there is a moon at just the right distance from a planet and the sun that when the moon passes between the two, only the corona of the sun is visible. There is a moon around saturn where if on the surface of saturn, the size of the moon is right, but it is football shaped so it wouldn't work. What do you think the chances are that the only place in the solar system this would be possible is also the place where not only life is present, but also complex life that is able to understand that an eclipse is happening. I am a scientific believer. I also understand that were reside in four dimensions, time being the fourth and thus everthing that was, is, and is going to be has already been dictated and the present, past and future are merely cross-sections of these four dimensions. There is a higher-power, call it god, call it the universe, call it the big electron. It is there and it is the only reason why we are.

And yes, there almost definitely is pleanty of other life in our galaxy alone. If you go by the numbers, there must be thousands of civilizations that have become multi-planetary civilizations just in the habitable zone of our milky way alone. Our star is on the average, 1 billion years younger than the average star in our habitable zone. That means others had , on the average, a 1 billion year head start. And that is just the type of life we know about. Whos to say there arent sulfur based life forms, or life forms based on elements we don't know about. And then theres the probability of other-dimensional beings. There may be up to 21 dimensions- Maybe more. And this is all just things our inferior minds can comprehend.

Answer 3

I have to disagree with most of them.

They are NOT all scientific facts. Science can never prove any history because Science deals with phenomena that can be demonstrated and re demonstrated.
Life on earth cannot have been around for 4 billion years. To give a scientific argument, did you know that the Sun is shrinking? That scientifically would show that it used to be bigger. So, logically AND scientifically, calculating backwards, 100,000 years ago the surface of the sun was touching the earth. There could not have been life on earth in that situation.

I haven't done enough research on the 100 million species, so no argument. : )

1 billion planets with life?
I don't know where you got this; I've never heard of it, in fact, there is only a thin belt in the center of the galaxy where gravitational pulls from all the stars allow a consistent solar system orbit.

Religion over science? YES!
Science has had many theories and even laws that have been later proved false, such as the scientific law of spontaneous generation. The theory was subjected to the scientific method again and again, but still appeared to be true. It was taught as scientific fact for hundreds of years but was NOT TRUE. It was also accepted as scientific fact that bleeding a fever patient would help the fever abate. If they had read where the Bible tells us that the life of the flesh is in the blood, they would have known that bleeding a patient is foolishness!

I don't want you to be offended by what I have written. I want you to understand my point of view and consider what I have to say.
God bless you.

Answer 4

These are not documented FACTS. The cabon data tests that say life on earth is that long has been proven to fail. The whole theory of evolution is just that. "A theory" There has never been a missing link found and when they thought they found one it ended up being the tooth of a pig. And 99% of life forms extinct, You gotta be kidding. Even scientists agree that if there was a big bang it started with something and inevitably there had to be a creator. Something cannot come from nothing any other way. Your faith in that is much greater than a lot of peoples religious beliefs.

Answer 5

First, both sides of the argument should check their facts. A good way of doing that is looking up http://www.talkorigins.org or http://www.wikipedia.org

Second, religion and science are not mutually exclusive. There are theistic scientists and even theistic evolutionists.

As authors on wikipedia put it:
"Categorically, the difference between the two subjects is entirely methodological. The scientific method relies on an objective approach to measure, calculate, and describe the natural/physical/material universe. Religious methods are typically more subjective (or intersubjective in community), relying on varying notions of authority, through revelation, intuition, belief in the supernatural, individual experience, or a combination of these to understand the universe. Science attempts to answer the "how" and "what" questions of observable and verifiable phenomena; religion attempts to answer the "why" questions of value and morals."

Answer 6

Who do you suppose created those planets, that life and all those extinct species? If you support the big bang theory, who created the matter that was involved in the big bang? Where the science argument goes wrong is that is it impossible to make something out of nothing. At some point, something or someone had to create the substance that started life as we know it and was the building block for everything you mentioned above. Think about it.

Answer 7

Skipping the religious rant, saying that 1 billion planets probably have life is a huge stretch, and not a fact.

When you look for trends and probabilities, you need some real data points. If we KNEW that 1 in 10 solar systems had life, and we had 50 solar systems as samples, we could make some decent inferences about life probabilities.

But our entire planetary sample consists of one, yes count them, one planet.

The old saying goes, with one data point, you can show any trend you want.

Answer 8

You state that life on other planets is a fact... I've never heard of any scientific proof of life on other planets.

In the beginning.... the very beginning.... What caused "anything" to exist? You can talk about the big-bang theory, but where did the original mass of rock come from... Besides, don't you feel your soul... can't you tell there is something more than your physical existance? Do you really thing once you die, that's it. Einstien said energy never ceases to exist, it jsut changes form... so when we die, our spirts go somewhere... some believe reincarnation, orthers beliefe heaven... I think there is a great spirit (a collection of all spirits that have come before)

Answer 9

not all religions. mine tell me that the word used in the Bible 4 days do not mean days of 24 hrs. actualy the sun only showed up in the 4th day or so. anyways the hebrew scolars agree that the specific word used there 4 day can also mean "period of time" and that coulb b thousands of years. the fact is that all those days are later called only one day!! (Gen 2:4) The reason y they r called one day is cause "day" actually means period of time not a 24 hrs period. And there will be other interesting things about creation that the Bible says but I think this is enough to answer ur question.

Answer 10

How did you come up with ...

the age of the earth being 4 billion years?

1 billion planets with life? As far as I know they have found 1(ours)!

There is no record of humans over 6,000 years!

How did they find proof of these >99,000,000 extinct species?

Facts? Or perhaps unproven theories!