Does GOD and EVOLUTION, both require FAITH?

Question

for the theist argument, I could argue that the "design" and complexity of life, gives evidence of an "intelligent designer", yet there is no solid proof of God
for the atheist argument, I could say that proven "micro-evolution" (variation w/in a species) gives evidence of darwinian "macro-evolution", yet there is no concrete proof of macro-evolution either, since it can't be observed.

so, which requires more faith, that life evolved, or that God created life??

Answer 1

I truley believe that it takes more faith to believe all of this (universe) happened accidental......that it was all just dumb luck that everything evolved from one single cell just perfectly....that humans evolved with the right male parts and woman parts that can come together to create another human..that the earth formed just the right distance from the sun to support human life ...don't tell me that, that doesn't take faith

Answer 2

There's a huge difference in degree of faith. To say that a belief in the theory of evolution requires faith, is to stretch the definition of faith to the point where it has very little meaning. It's like saying it requires faith to believe that the entire world is real and not an illusion.
To say there is no concrete evidence of macro-evolution since it can't be observed isn't correct either. That kind of reasoning would mean we can't be sure of anything since it wasn't observed. We don't need to observe the shifting of tectonic plates to know that they created mountain ranges. We can easily deduce the cause and effect relationship.
However, to believe in an intelligent designer, we would have to use a double standard in evaluating reality. Just because Christmas presents appear under the tree on Christmas morning doesn't mean Santa Claus exist, does it ? There are better, more logical explanations, that have a much higher probability of being correct.

Answer 3

i have studied evolution in depth and while there is evidence for micro-evolution there is very little for macro-evolution, the problem is the time period in which evolution from one species to another would take place, we haven't lived long enough to see it actually happen. As for the fossil record it doesn't really prove anything other than the fact that there were different variations of specific creatures throughout time, many of which still exist today from millions of years ago. As for supposed missing links to humans these could just as easily be variations of human species much like we see today, we dont assume pygmies have evolved into Masai warriors do we. While none of this disproves evolution it simply points out that we should keep an open mind. Now even if evolution did occur and the first simple cell formed from inanimate matter it still doesnt explain the laws of physics that were in place to allow this to happen, the laws that were created at the big bang, the 'programming' that set all of this in motion, that may never be explained but to me it suggests there is intelligence behind it all, we may never comprehend what that intelligence is in our lifetime but it would certainly explain all the 1-in-a-gazillion chance occurrences that have led to the amazing beings we are with our unique consciousness leading to all the marvellous debates we have over its origins (mostly on Y/A it seems!)

Answer 4

I don't know what "Faith" means to you but it sounds like by "faith" you mean "forcing myself to believe in something that is a little far-fetched or just plain lie"! Well, that's not what faith is all about. It has to do with truth, reality and facts. Without realizing it, people accept things as their own belief because they think they are true. People who support the evolution, do it not because there is not a better theory than that but because they firmly accept it as the truth. Same with God. It is not at all about there might be somebody out there which I might consider believing in. No, people who actually believe in God, do it because they accept his existence as a fact. So here it all comes down to facts. To me evolution is not a fact. It is a theory that might or might not prove to be true. Having in mind how difficult it is to find evidence of times long gone, it might be really hard to prove it ever. God, on the other hand, is a fact. He exists no matter if people decide to accept or reject that fact. You, for example, might firmly accept as truth my non-existence but that will not make me disappear. :-) I guess your next question then will be: What made you accept his existence as a fact? My answer is: Personal experience. Contrary to evolution which is not a living thing and can't prove itself, God is a person and can talk to you. That's what Christians all around the world do every day. Or maybe you think we, Christians, are part of a world-wide hysteria contaminating millions of people who talk to some unexistent being and believe that he is talking back? :-) I don't know. Try and see for yourself, the channel is still open.

Answer 5

That's a far-fetched comparison. For evolution, there is an endless amount of scientific evidence. And what's more, evolution does not claim to explain the world as a whole, it is just a working theory that has been confirmed over and over by reproducible experiment, observation, archaeological findings, and logical explanations.
On the other hand, "god" cannot be founded on anything like that. It's just tradition, propaganda, and wishful thinking.

Answer 6

You are trying to say that micro-evolution is different than macro-evolution. They are the same thing. It's just that it takes longer for large changes to be apparent. You need to wait to see the large changes, but the small changes can and have been observed.

Answer 7

As an agnostic deist I think that God was the big bang and evolution then took over.

I don't believe that faith is needed to think there is a God. I think there is a God but His existence has no affect on the eternal life of my soul or who I am.

Answer 8

No. There is evidence of common descent. Although macro-evolution has not been observed directly (although I have seen the stringency of macro-evolution increased several times to exclude observations of speciation), it can be inferred from the evidence. The extremely high degree of corrolation between anatomic taxonomy and genetic homology shows the degrees of relatedness between organisms. Direct observation is not necessary when reproducible analysis of the evidence is available. That is not faith.

Answer 9

Macro-evolution has far more evidence than just micro-evolution.

Hell, look at the freaking 'frilled shark' sometime, it was recently in the news. You want a living transitional form, THERE IT IS!

Answer 10

Yes, God and Evolution both do (note the plural form of the verb) require faith.

As to quantifying the amount of faith required for each, I would not know how to go about that.

Answer 11

Evolution as a scientific model does not require faith as it is there to explain our current understanding of the facts. As new facts are found the model is adjusted to account for them.