does anyone else think?

Question

that the biggest problem people have with not believing evolution is that they dont' understand it?

the number 1 argument that i hear from christians is "if we came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?" i recently had a discussion with a christian friend of mine who didn't believe in evolution because in her christian school, she was taught that evolution means we came from monkeys. when i explained to her what it REALLY means, i.e. about the common ancestor and adaptation, etc. she said "oh. that makes sense. i can see that." she now fully believes in evolution (yet still believes in god and creationism) because she now understands what evolution truly means.

i honestly think one of the biggest problems is that people misuderstand evolution because they were taught incorrectly in their schools or because they were too closed-minded to listen to the real theories in the first place.

any thoughts?

Answer 1

Those who don't want to understand it simply won't.

Some people believe that a belief in evolution goes contrary to a belief in God (or gods). It's a bogus belief, but many people have it.

And those people will simply refuse to acknowledge that evolution happens all the time.

Also, those types of people think that the theory of evolution claims that we came from nothing. Try explaining that to those dullards.

Now, your friend is open to new ideas. That is very good. I wish all Christians were like that.

Answer 2

Absolutely. Though I'd take it a step further: people are just lazy. They don't want to make the effort to learn about science, since it requires reading more than 5 pages and learning a lot of new vocabulary words. It's much easier to fall back on "some big invisible man did it".

We use the phrase "rocket science" to describe something that isn't simple to learn. Why do people think studying the change of organisms is any less complicated or demanding than studying liquid-fuel rocket engines?

There's also the whole "conspiracy theory" thing. I'm a mathematician, and I could write a convincing-looking calculation that "proves" 1 = 0. Those who know math however will be able to isolate the step in my work that has the flaw. Not so for the layman. Likewise, the reason why people buy a lot of these creationist claims is because they don't know enough about science to see why they don't add up.

Of course, if people took the time to learn about science (from actual scientists, not sensationalism websites or theologians), they'd realize that you can still believe in God and accept evolution. But again, that sounds too much like...work.

Answer 3

One of my best friends is a Christian, she's extremely intelligent and well educated, her children were all home shcooled, and overall they are very mature, well behaved, intelligent, and academically ahead of the curve, some of them starting college at 16 instead of 18. It always shocks and amazes me when she says something like that, to a point where I don't know what to tell her, when she comes up with something like that. It just so completely blows my mind that someone with her education and intelligence asks me if I believe we evolved from monkeys, or things like when I mentioned to her that I was pagan, she made this remark about a war of good and evil going on for some time. I really can't believe it when she says stuff like that, it is in such opposition to her many good qualities. Fortunately, that sort of conversation doesn't come up with her too often, we have alot in common otherwise, and I know her to be a very loving person, if a bit misguided by her pastor or whoever. But to answer your question, yes, I think they say things like that for the most part because they don't understand or know enough about things like that, and despite a strong interest in nature, her strong suit is history, not science. I don't know if she just plain doesn't study it because it would go against her beliefs, or what the deal is....

Answer 4

It's not only the reason they don't believe evolution, it's also the reason they believe in the bible. If they understood that gods are a cultural creation reflective of the society in which it was conceived, then they would not believe in the god of the Jews, Christians, or Muslims. All they have to do is look at the old testament and look at the people who wrote it. Everything that came after that was built on a faulty premise.

Answer 5

Do you "believe" in geology? Physics? Chemistry? Any other science? "belief" is the wrong word to use here. Belief is for religions, not science. Science does not deal in belief, it deals in evidence, observations and experiment.

I do not "believe" in evolution, I accept it as the best explanation of the variation in organisms we see around us. It is the best explanation of extinction, of DNA, of the basic structure of animals etc. If a better explanation came along, evolution as we know it today would have to change to the new theory. No other explanation has appeared and it is unlikely it will although science is always open to change.

There is no other hypothesis that stands up to scrutiny. People can believe in the creation myths of many different cultures if they want to. Many people use these creation myths to help them understand the origins of their religion but the myths do not stand up to scrutiny. They are not science which is why they require belief.

No scientist "believes" in evolution. It is science not a religion and they accept evolution as scientific theory - the highest status anything can have in science.

Answer 6

I think you have a good point. I recently read an article that said that Chimpanzees are more evolved than we are. Here it is http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGIC,GGIC:2007-03,GGIC:en&q=chimpanzees+more+evolved

Its just a possible explanation for differences in our genomes (a theory). But it shouldn't bother anyone that has a basic understanding of evolution.

Evolution is nothing more then living things changing over generations in response to changes in their environment. Environments change and the animals living in them would not be able to continue to live if they too didn't change too. It doesn't mean lower life forms are on a journey to becoming higher life forms. There are no lower and higher life forms. Any living thing that continues to reproduce and survive is a success as far as evolution is concerned. I'm losing my train of thought...............................................

Answer 7

Yeah, i have to agree with you on that. the problem is... unlike your friend... most christians won't believe what you tell them about the real meaning of evolution. A lot of them have this notion stuck in there heads because they've been brainwashed to think of evolution as a lie & that the only truth is in their bible.

I commend your friend for being open-minded enough to understand what evolution really is and at least accepting that it DOES make sense.

Answer 8

You bring up a very good point. Most christians are brainwashed by their pastors and churches with that idiotic belief that we came from monkeys. They even sing songs like "I'm no kin to the monkey- the monkey's no kin to me. I don't know much about your ancestors but mine didn't swing from a tree", blah blah blah.. the BIGGEST problem isn't that they don't understand it. It's that they refuse to educate themselves. There are plenty of resources available to anyone who wants to learn about evolution.
They would prefer to be spoon-fed on what the bible says just as much as what everything else is like in the world.

Answer 9

I'll tell you what I understand you tell me where I fail ok?
There are two major evidences that I am aware of:
1. There isn't enough time for the small rodent like mammals left after the last extinguishing event to bring them to the size and variety of the mammals the roamed the earth during the last major ice age.
2. Viruses have been known to man for approximately the last 200 years. During that time there have been billions of generations, yet never has a virus jumped species. Yes the have varied but they remain viruses. Jim

Answer 10

I think that many Christian "educators" and preachers deliberately distort what evolution means. They would have to for so many people to honestly believe anyone is saying that people evolved from monkeys.