Bible preaches that there is a God, who created everything, at the same time. Evolution says we began as monkeys and evovled into humans. If we are God's grand design, made in his image, why did we have to evolve from anything. Yet in schools we're taught to follow evolution but (we used to anyway) pledge allegiance to the flag under one God. Isn't this a contradiction? I have no preconceptions and I am not making an arguement either way, I would just like some insight?
2007-04-04 05:37:39 · 18 answers · asked by scauma 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
They contradict each other. The problem is that our "God Concept" came from ancient people who didn't have a clue as to what going on in the World that they lived in. They believed that the Earth was flat. And when the "Holy Spirit" was inspiring them to write the Bible, he didn't know it either.
2007-04-04 05:46:06 · answer #1 · answered by liberty11235 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
There is no proof that any God did anything unless you accept that a God created the Mass and energy that caused the Big Bang. I would think it would be insulting to such a God if you would not believe that the God would know enough to perceive that the Big Bang began evolution. The God would also know the paths of evolution of every mote of that big Bang. Including the Earth and human beings amongst everything else in the universe.
Why do Christians underrate a God just to have a parable in a book accepted as a true happening?
2007-04-04 12:55:36 · answer #2 · answered by Terry 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To clarify, evolution does not state that we started as monkeys. According to the theory of evolution we actually started as simple amino acids.
There are numerous ways to look at evolution. Adaptation and natural selection is irrefutable. Species adapt to their environment. We can even influence that and we have by selectively breeding certain plants.
Could God have used evolution to create man? I don't see why not. The Judeo-Christian scripture states that man is made in God's image, but does it mean that we look like God? Of course not...the Bible even states that God is spirit. I think our spirit is made in God's image.
The Creation story states that God made man from the dust of the earth. This could be literal or figurative (primordial ooze could be the "dust"). Notice that only when God breathed into Adams nostrils did he become a living SOUL. So could God have chosen a species of primate that developed with the correct brain size to make a being that could worship and glorify Him? Sure. Do I believe it happened that way? I can't say...I am just making speculation.
Many folks have a problem with a Godless creation/evolution. It takes some faith to believe that the complicated organisms that exist today came from something that is essentially as dead as common gravel, regardless of the creative conditions one might come up with.
2007-04-04 12:53:42 · answer #3 · answered by zombiehive 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Evolution does not say that we began as monkeys, you obviously did not pay attention in class. Humans and monkeys both evolved from a common ancestor, which is why both still exist today. When I hear someone talking about humans coming from monkeys, I am always reminded of the sad state that the American educational system is in right now.But, I digress.
It's possible to believe in both, and there are many who believe that god created the first single celled organisms and that he used evolution as the method of creating the diversity of life on earth. I personally don't believe in god at all, but of all the god beliefs out there, that one at least contains some elements of reality.
As for the pledge of alliegence, It originally did not contain the words under god. Those two words were added in 1954 for political reasons. They were meant to distinguish us from communists when the fear of communism was very high. Politicians bowing to pressure from religious groups and others added the words to the pledge, and also changed the US motto from "E Pluribus Umum" to "In God We Trust". Both changes were technically illegal if you were to follow the US Constitution to the letter, but politics won over, and the political force of right wing groups keeps it there. The US was actually started as a secular democratic republic, and none of our laws were derived from any religious texts or codes.
2007-04-04 15:42:13 · answer #4 · answered by eviltruitt 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The literalist cannot believe both. The person who takes the creation stories (Genesis 1 and Genesis 2) as literal and historical writings cannot find the connection between Bible and science.
However, those who see the meaning behind the Bible can make a connection between creation and evolution.
Example: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." What is the important meaning of this verse? Is it that God created the heavens and then the earth? Perhaps it is that God created? Perhaps it is that God created all that is within heavens and earth?
I, a Christian, look for the meaning of the verses, of the stories. They are there to teach us something beyond history and science, beyond but not excluding either.
I believe in both. I believe God used evolution to create and he is still using it to continue his creation. I don't think he is done.
Kev
2007-04-04 13:37:45 · answer #5 · answered by Hobgoblin Kev 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, but as long as God is not the fundamentalist version of the Trinity/Abrahamic God(s) of Christianity, Islam, and Judism.
Why is it that it's mostly the fundies of these 3 religions that have a problem with evolution? Go to East Asia, where everyone is a Zen-Chan Buddhist, Daoist, Shinto, Confucist, etc
and they believe in a greater power & have no problem believing in evolution. In fact, most of today's scientific discoveries in biology/evolution comes from East Asia.
2007-04-04 12:44:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Evolution says we began as monkeys and evovled into humans"
No it doesn't.
"Yet in schools we're taught to follow evolution but (we used to anyway) pledge allegiance to the flag under one God"
All of the "under God" crap can be attributed to President Eisenhower, who wanted to show the world that the US was not an atheist nation like the Soviet Union. The Founding Fathers would be rolling in their graves to know that "under God" was passed--and is still allowed in official government documentation!
2007-04-04 12:43:01 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
No, and I can answer this very simply- In Genesis God said that He created everything and everyone. If he used evolution to get us here- he would not have created Adam from the dirt on the ground and Eve from Adam's rib. Where does it say "Humans were evolved from anything else in scripture? If we believe in God we have to believe in creationism or it would not be belief in the one true living God.
2007-04-04 12:43:32 · answer #8 · answered by AdoreHim 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Well first off Evolution never says we evolved from monkeys, we evolved from a common ancestor.
Anyways, yes you can believe in Evolution AND god, god created life and then life changed over time.
2007-04-04 12:41:44 · answer #9 · answered by Sean C 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Evolution only exist in micro-evolution. Evolution is primitive science...
It's like explaining how an airplane works to a child. You sit in a machine, when the machine is turned on, you go really fast. Um, it's a lot more complex than that. And so is creation.
The theory of evolution is still a theory!
2007-04-04 12:42:50 · answer #10 · answered by AJHL 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋