Say if you are a Christian and you believe the Bible, with Adam and Eve being the first people on earth. How does that work if you believe in the' theory' we are decended from apes?
2006-09-07 04:09:31 · 32 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Good question and I hope you can find my answer after the previous one. So I take it you are wondering about human origins and biblical vs scientific explanations.
First off, Charles Darwins theory of evolution by natural selection is widely accepted by greater than 99% of professional biologists today. It is not "just" a theory as some would have you believe. It is a "theory" on par with the theory of continental drift or Einstein's theory of general relativity. These theories are widely accepted and supported by massive volumes of information collected over long periods of time. The scientific method is concerned with knowing truth.
Creationism is not based on scientific method. It is based on faith. There is nothing wrong with basing something on faith but let's be clear on the difference. Intelligent design is also not based on scientific method. Intelligent design was devised by creationists as a political way of teaching creationism in public schools. They did this by removing all mention of God from creationism. In addition, Intelligent design has no scientific explanation rather the body of intelligent design is in it's entirety a criticism of Darwinism. A scientific theory cannot be simply a criticism of another theory without proposing a novel idea.
I think it's ironic that creationists simply say the bible is an allegory and shouldn't be taken literally (some of them anyway) yet they hold Darwinism to an impossibly high standard (such as gaps in the fossil record that simply haven't been filled in yet). So their argument is don't take the bible literally, but still believe in creation yet, at the same time, critique Darwinism as harshly as you can so that you can disbelieve it.
Oh and by the way the Charles Darwin deathbed story is a creationists creation - go to snopes.com for info.
So, I think the answer to your question is that the two are mutually exclusive. You have to choose which to believe based on scientific reasoning or on faith.
Good luck and congrats on reaching this point in trying to make sense of the world.
2006-09-07 05:35:42 · answer #1 · answered by Dastardly 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
If I am a christian and believe the bible,I would not think we are decended from apes. You dont go both ways.If that is the case why Isnt a baby born that looks like a ape hair and all?I dont think there is a big foot either.They had a show on t.v.where 2 guys were faking a movie and how they did it.They could shoot one with a dart to bring it in to prove they are alive but I havent seen it done,yet.I liked the movie King Kong and I knew that was fake.They did a good job because he looked real.The old one didnt look real,It was in black and white.That is all for now.Signed,Free Little Lillie
2006-09-09 04:08:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No place in the Bible does it say that Adam and Eve were humans. Being Christian and living a life of faith and understanding science are not mutually exclusive. I have a Christian "fish" bumper sticker on the back of my car that has the shape of the fish and the name Darwin written in it. Understanding the world and how it works doesn't make you unfaithful.
2006-09-07 04:19:28 · answer #3 · answered by jymsis 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It is certainly possible to be a devout Christian and believe in evolution too.
All you need is to be able to distinguish between the fundamentalist dictum (that every word of the Bible is literally true) and a more flexible view on, in particular, the oldest parts of the Old Testament - which date back a thousand or more years before Christ - and see some of what they say as allegorical or even outdated.
Those who insist we believe every word of the Creation story don't seem to expect us to believe it when it says "Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters" (Ephesians 6:5), and indeed that "you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you." (Leviticus 25:44).
Nor do they seem to want to punish Sunday trading by death, as in Exodus 31:15 - "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh [is] the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth [any] work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."
I don't understand why they can't apply the same flexibility to a creation myth which was simply the best way that pre-scientific mortals could try to understand how people had come about.
2006-09-07 04:21:17 · answer #4 · answered by gvih2g2 5 · 6⤊ 0⤋
i think of Charles Darwin is a great guy, and contributed a great deal to technology with the evolution theory. yet i do no longer agree that religions have been stumbled directly to maintain human beings so as, properly, i think of a faith properly worth its salt is a complete gadget that governs our lives, otherwise we would be roaming like animals without purpose yet to feed, mate, and sleep. faith places issues so as, it encourages logical thinking, ethical status, and definite, it does administration how human beings behave... and that i think of it rather is rather great. i do no longer understand each and every thing or Darwin's theory, so i won't agree or disagree.. yet I do renowned his great medical excellence. i'm a committed Muslim by the way. shop smiling :0}
2016-09-30 10:35:56 · answer #5 · answered by wardwell 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not at all. The problem with us we take the bible too literally. When God created the universe all that science tells us is true. The light was the great explosion that only the creator could have caused. Because God is everlasting, our dimesion of time and his are very different. A day in God's time does not refer to a day on earth, let's be very clear on that. God created the universe which is very very large compared to the earth, which is just a little garden. Because God is a spirit, the spirit can live anywhere and the universe as we know it is so large that it is impossible for creations on earth to fill it, even if we were to take our current being (flesh) with us when our time comes. The orderliness of the universe and all its inhabitants, including earth, can only be the work of a supreme being. We call it nature in science because our minds are too small to begin to understand it. The dust from creation abounds around the earth and indeed in the universe. Our atmosphere, which is unique in the solar system, shilds us from harm that would result from meteorites hitting the earth (they are burned out by friction and oxygen), etc, etc... The emergence of the intelligent being could only have been the work of the creator. Ever wondered where the first ape came from? You can try to extend science and it can never explain the emergence of male and female species! That is God's creation. Thanks for asking.
2006-09-07 04:43:49 · answer #6 · answered by 1967 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
If you take the Bible as the literal truth, you can't believe that Adam and Eve were the first people on earth.
However, many faithful Christians believe that the story of Adam and Eve is an allegory, that it contains theological truth but is not literally or scientifically true.
For an interesting discussion of this, see the FAQs at http://www.talkorigins.org/.
2006-09-07 04:17:54 · answer #7 · answered by johntadams3 5 · 5⤊ 1⤋
I personally dont think it does. Just becuase we may have evolved does not necessarily negate God. Why couldnt the evolutionary process be Gods mechanism of creating us. I do however find scientific fault with the theory of evolution.
2006-09-07 05:47:12 · answer #8 · answered by NaNuk_911 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Intelligent design theory is a scientific theory even though some religions also teach that life was designed. One can arrive at the conclusion that life was designed through both the scientific method, or through religious methods (i.e. faith/divine revelation). Science is a "way of knowing" using observations and the scientific method. Religion is a way of knowing using faith and divine revelation. Intelligent design theory detects design through only the scientific method. Intelligent design theory tells us (i.e. "knows") that life was designed by using the scientific method and uses no reliance upon faith or divine revelation. Some religions, via faith or divine revelation, also may tell us that life was designed. However that does not make intelligent design theory a religious or theological concept. Something is religion or science based upon the methods it uses to make its claims, not based on the claims it makes. Simply because religion coincidentally does make many of the same claims does not make intelligent design a "religious concept." Religions may tell us that life was designed (some religious traditions teach that life developed from lower life-forms, which developed from non-life) but intelligent design theory makes the claim that life was designed purely through the scientific method. Intelligent design theory is a strictly scientific concept. Thus, sometime ID proponents talk about intelligent design from a religious perspective. This is possible to do without negating the strictly scientific basis for intelligent design.
2006-09-07 04:17:58 · answer #9 · answered by Anja 1 · 1⤊ 4⤋
The bible is not a book of science and science is not a religion. If people would stop confusing the two, they will realize they are not mutually exclusive.
- A christian who understands science and the word of God
2006-09-07 04:16:44 · answer #10 · answered by Fire_God_69 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋