Evolutionists, Atheists, those who do not believe in creation... Please answer effectively?

Question

I wont quote much scripture on this question, but there's one verse in the Bible that strikes me as particularly relevant to the topic at hand: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1-3). I've stood at the tops of mountains, I've stared at the vast firmament of the sky from the middle of the ocean, and I've seen lots of things in between. There's a sense of awe, a sense of wonder at the majesty of (what I believe to be) creation. I know I'm not the only one that feels it. So how did we evolve that awe, that appreciation? And more importantly, is all of the beauty we see in this world merely a result of some haphazard seeding of proteins and amino acids, with no rhyme or reason? To answer "yes" seems wrong on a visceral level, wouldn't you say?

I acknowledge there's no way for an atheist to really rebut this point.... but please do your best respectfully?

I would really appreciate educated answers only please!

Thank you all in advance!

I'm not saying that evolution is impossible, just... Can you really rule out the option of a creator?

Answer 1

I think what set apart is saying here is that we didn't evolve a sense of awe and beauty... there must be a reason that our breath is taken away at sites like these. It is unexplainable except that God gave us that sense of wonder so we could enjoy what he made for us.

Answer 2

Nicely put. I imagine that anyone standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon, or seeing the incredible blue sky contrasting with the orange spires at Bryce Canyon, feels such a sense of awe. But that awe is not diminished by the understanding that these phenomena are created by erosion over time. The beauty of the Mona Lisa is an abstraction of the beauty that the opposite sexes find in each other, which is an obvious evolutionary asset. The processes of nature are mostly random and haphazard, but when it comes to life, the great organzing principle prevails over all: natural selection. The changes that work, prevail; those that don't are cast aside. See:

Answer 3

First, let me say that as long as it doesn't have a negative effect on fitness, it requires no explanation.

Here is one possible adaptive advantage, just off the top of my head:

That feeling of awe and wonder may have helped drive humans to explore and expand into new territories. For a long time, humans stayed in a small part of Africa. Then, perhaps this trait emerged and was involved in motivating people to spread, as it has continued to do ever since. Individuals that spread into good habitats survived and reproduced there, perpetuating the gene.

People ask a similar question about why humans create art. There are several explanations for that, too.

Answer 4

There is a story from "When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals" where a student at the Gombe Reserve two chimps who would walk up a hill, greet each other, sit on the cliff edge and face the sunset. There they would sit silently and in seeming awe. When the last colors of orange and pink were gone, they would leave. This happened several nights in a row

If anything, this is proof of evolution, not some divine sign in the sky that a god is there.

Answer 5

So how did we evolve that awe, that appreciation?
-- It was beneficial to the species somehow.

And more importantly, is all of the beauty we see in this world merely a result of some haphazard seeding of proteins and amino acids, with no rhyme or reason?
-- I assume you mean our appreciation of it? No, it's a result of evolution, which as I hope you know is not simply random.

Answer 6

First of all, it is not a "haphazard seeding of proteins and amino acids, with no rhyme or reason" - evolution by natural selection is not random.

The concept of beauty stems originally from a desire for a healthy mate. But in the human species the ability to perceive (and create) beauty evolved, most likely, as a way to create an identify for ourselves which extended our physical beauty.

Answer 7

I feel similar appreciation for many kinds of beauty: nature, art, music. That does not mean that Van Gogh was a deity, nor Louis Armstrong... or whoever. A rainbow can be explained entirely scientifically; that does not ruin or diminish its beauty - unless you let it. Science can explain how taste buds, eyes and nerves work - but that does not diminish the sensations they transmit.

We evolved the ability to appreciate as our minds developed; dogs have lesser developed brains, but appreciate certain smells and being petted/scratched in certain ways. Does it really take a magical being to appreciate things? No, of course not.

Answer 8

Regarding the sense of awe, I have a good book for you to check out at your next trip to the library. It's called "The God Part of the Brain" by Matthew Alper.

Now, you can attribute the things that awe you to what ever you want to credit for them, but that does not mean that those things actually ARE responsible for them. We credit Christopher Columbus with discovering America, but it is abundantly clear that there were people already living here, who had apparently discovered it before he did. Yet to this day, we celebrate Columbus day and glorify him as a great American hero. Same goes with your religion. Just because someone told you that your god did it, doesn't make it so.

Answer 9

I believe in a higher power, but I also believe in evolution. I have always felt its much more of a creation for a power to initiate the big bang and allow life to evolve over eons then to say 'poof' there it is.You can't really think all this was done in seven days. In the bible numbers held significant meanings. Whenever we see the number 7 its to signify something is over or complete. We can't take the bible literally. We have to do our part to try and comprehend what the actual meaning of the scripture is.

Answer 10

No, i don't have faith in the supernatural. issues like fortune telling/palm interpreting are parlor tricks anybody can study... seem up 'chilly interpreting.' Ghosts might properly be defined by utilising countless organic phenomenon, and are frequently an results of the human suggestions being fooled by utilising basic seen or auditory enter in an amazing situation. The extra one analyze the suggestions the less possibly one is to have faith in a soul or existence after loss of life. each and every little thing we adventure might properly be defined by utilising neurology and issues like suggestions injury, and chop up suggestions sufferers supply uncommon insights into how the suggestions works and how that's in charge for producing what we usually call the 'self.'