Yes, evolution is a scientific theory, but so is relativity. Both are truth and are supported by thousands of valid experiments and observations.
Yes, we belong to the same family as the apes and we share common ancestors with extant apes. It has been proven beyond the slightest doubt by genome projects, amongst other evidence.
No, not all apes would be human by now if evolution were true. Not all whales are blue whales or all birds Ostriches. Why should all apes be human? That arguement makes no sense at all.
So what if Genesis got it wrong? Why are creationists/Intelligent designers so fearful about the first chapter of the Bible being wrong. The authors made up the best story they could. They didn't know as much as we do now. Is it because admitting one thing in the Bible is wrong may make people realise other things are wrong too?
2006-12-12 19:58:40 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
> Is it because admitting one thing in the Bible is wrong may make people realise other things are wrong too? That's what I got from a lecture on "Intelligent Design". The logic is as follows: 1) The Bible is God's word. They have to believe all of it. 2) If Genesis is wrong - it actually took more than 7 days to create the universe and life - then everything else is suspect. 3) If everything else is suspect, they don't have any reason to obey the 10 commandments, or, in a broader sense, to live an ethical life. 4) So, if Genesis is to be taken as a parable, or if it is false, we are free to rob banks, lust after our neighbor's wives, daughters and goats (sex with the first two, eat the goats), disrespect our parents, etc. etc. 5) Utter chaos ensues. In one way they are right; if someone gets caught falsifying one shred of data in a PhD thesis or a scientific paper, the whole paper is thrown out. In most others they are wrong, to my mind, since the Bible had many authors, many translators and many interpretations. Lucky I can understand something without agreeing with it. The folks at the lecture didn't mention the fact there are a lot of different interpretation of God's Word, which is why there are so many denominations, or why the Catholic Bible is four books longer than the Protestant one. They also didn't spend a lot of time on the fact the Word of God as they know it is from the committee that King James convened, and that very few fundamentalists are fluent in Elizabethean English. There is a verse in the Bible about a huge, round table one of the early Hebrew kings had; 10 cubits across, 30 cubits around. The state legislature of Tennessee once supposedly considered a motion to make pi be 3.0, to make school children's lives easier and the Bible 100% true.
2016-05-23 17:17:22 · answer #1 · answered by Lizabeth 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's about authority.
The clergy says this, this and that is true.
The clergy are relating "God's" truths. (according to them anyway)
If they are wrong on the one thing their assertions about other things are suspect. Including the fantasy of personal immortality and cosmic justice/vengance (a fairly common argument among creationists, the 'whole loaf or none' idea)
Odd that they seem to have forgotten all the other assertions about the natural world in the bible that are laughably wrong. Odd as in dis-ingeniousness on the part of the clergy and studious ignorance on the part of the laity.
A lot of shiftless clergymen would have to get their food, material comforts and in many cases sex the same way everyone else gets those things, by earning them instead of having them handed to them because they're some kind of superior human being who's got the inside track to the divine/eternal.
The idea that they are some kind of persecuted minority also comes into play. It betrays the covert egotism of religion that paranoia becomes a virtue. Saying 'them gawdless scientists is out to get us' implies that the speaker and audience are important enough for complete strangers to take the trouble of trying to 'get'. It's a similar appeal to the one hardline ideological racism offers. You're 'better' because of something that has no immediate value and usualy in spite of being a total nonentity from a social, historical or cultural perspective.
2006-12-14 02:51:01 · answer #2 · answered by corvis_9 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
(-: The people who agree with you will go "Right on!" And the people who don't will really flog you.
The thing is, it's not about logic and science. If evolution is accepted by creationists, then it turns the Bible into a mere story book, and completely destroys their faith.
Some people are able to be Christian (in their own minds at least) and accept evolution and other scientific advances.
Evolution isn't really a big deal in the scheme of things -- I mean, it's going to happen whether you believe in it or not. But, God -- God needs believing in in order to happen (at least in my mind, which sides with the evolutionists). A creationist, of course, is going to tell you that evolution is a scientific fantasy, and God will keep on being whether the evolutionist believes or not.
For me, it's not worthwhile to point out to a creationist that s/he is wrong, wrong, wrong. S/he has a great thing going -- God to watch over him/her, and everlasting life waiting at the end. What does a godless scientist have? Lots of fun (if possible) in this life, and a chance to feed the planet when we die. Creationists have a lot to lose when they lose their faith. Let them have it, but do try and avoid them, or the topic.
2006-12-12 20:13:29 · answer #3 · answered by Madame M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a Christian Evolutionist (if that is possible), I don't think my brethren literalists are terrified of evolution, but rather, they just believe so deeply in the bible that evolution doesn't make sense; just as we evolutionists don't understand how they can believe in the bible so faithfully. Also, your use of truth in reference to evolution is a bit risky since it is still a theory; a well proven one at that, but still a theory widely accepted as probable. However, unlike us who have to be proven with experiment and data, Christians believe solely on faith and an unwavering belief in the word of God in the bible. In a way I envy them because this makes life so much simplier. To believe in evolution contradicts with their faith in the bible, thus making them feel uncomfortable but not fearful. Also, many intelligent Christains have challanged and discounted evidence of evolution, which is really a good thing since it motivates us evolutionists to find more and more evidence of our symbiotic linkage with all biological organisms. As we get closer and closer to understanding our past, I hope we can then begin to treat the Biological world around us with more respect and care, since we are ultimately related to it through our DNA and Quantum mechanics. In the mean time, try to discuss eternal life and the origins of life as mutually exclusive. I always like to tell people that I see the bible as a guide to the way we should live our life and prepare for death, and I read science books for everything else.
2006-12-12 20:23:40 · answer #4 · answered by smaatgg 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Fundamentalist Christians are taught that the Bible is the "literal word of God". My brother was one of them and he told me that the entire Bible was true and if any part of it were proved to be not true he wouldn't be able to believe any of it and would be devastated. It is God's word so it must be treated as holy and divine in origin. You dare not mess with it.
THE BOOK OF GENESIS THERE FORE HAS TO BE ALL TRUE AS DOES THE REST OF IT. Adam and eve were specially created, all at once, out of dust and a rib, so evolution falsifies that divine truth. They are also taught that anyone who teaches anything else is working for Satan consciously or unconsciously. The punishment for believing Satan's teaching they are taught is eternity in the fires of hell!They have been so indoctrinated by their pastors that they start shaking if someone challenges these truths. They are also taught that it is their "cross", carried in anguish by them for believing, that they suffer persecution and they go out of there way to seek such persecution in order to fuel their sense of righteousness. I feel sorry for them; I don't hate them because they are unwittingly already in a hell of their pastor's making. Don't persecute them you are just reinforcing them.
2006-12-12 23:40:56 · answer #5 · answered by Mad Mac 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They're afraid that the bible may not be infallible. It may also show that racial hierarchies have no merit, which is displeasing to those who believe they were divinely chosen to be a part of a superior race.
Creationists are afraid to realize that NOTHING is perfect; differences and diversity is what's natural.
2006-12-12 20:15:20 · answer #6 · answered by stelle d. 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the reason evolution is called a "theory" of the origin of all life is because it is just a theory, no one has the capability to prove its validity because there are no possible ways of experimenting on evolution that can be done in our lifetime. To prove that evolution is true and that creationism/intelligent design is false, you need to recreate a whole evolutionary process of a certain species... it is wrong to say that evolution is true just because of the evidence such as ancient fossils and gene re-arrangement. I'm not saying that evolution is wrong, im saying that it is wrong to deem intelligent design invalid because we have no sufficient evidence to prove and disprove both of the theories...
2006-12-12 20:38:03 · answer #7 · answered by durandal_mercenary 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The site on the Internet to find
http://www.dricq.com/school/index.shtm
http://www.dricq.com/school/Health/14102.shtm
http://www.dricq.com/school/Health/index.shtm
2006-12-12 20:11:15 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋