Skeptic Friends Network

Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?
Home | Forums | Active Topics | Active Polls | Register | FAQ | Contact Us  
  Connect: Chat | SFN Messenger | Buddy List | Members
Personalize: Profile | My Page | Forum Bookmarks  
 All Forums
 Our Skeptic Forums
 Creation/Evolution
 This may be a dumb question, but...
 New Topic  Topic Locked
 Printer Friendly Bookmark this Topic BookMark Topic
Previous Page
Author Previous Topic Topic Next Topic
Page: of 6

walt fristoe
SFN Regular

USA
505 Posts

Posted - 09/24/2003 :  17:26:26   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send walt fristoe a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Truth

"To say that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest." (Charles Darwin)


May I take this opportunity to guide you to the Index to Creationist Claims in order for you to have a comprehensive study guide at your disposal? In regards to the above Darwin quote, see this section, which shows that the above quote is very much incomplete.

"If God chose George Bus of all the people in the world, how good could God be?"
Bill Maher
Edited by - walt fristoe on 09/24/2003 17:50:56
Go to Top of Page

walt fristoe
SFN Regular

USA
505 Posts

Posted - 09/24/2003 :  17:49:59   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send walt fristoe a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.


Walt wrote:
quote:
Dave Rocks!
Well, thank you very much. This is sig-worthy, in a copy-cat sorta way.

So happy to have been of service, Dave!

"If God chose George Bus of all the people in the world, how good could God be?"
Bill Maher
Go to Top of Page

Truth
New Member

USA
12 Posts

Posted - 09/24/2003 :  17:51:12   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Truth a Private Message
I'm glad to see everyone is alive out there and that I hit a nerve somewhere.

First and foremost I have to clear something up. KIL- Martin Luther didn't start Christianity, Jesus did. Martin Luther shared the views that were a "sign of the times they lived in" as you say. I don't follow him. I follow Jesus. I don't pray to Martin Luther. I pray to Jesus.

Starman- Neanderthals didn't evolve into modern humans? What happened to them? That is not what some of your colleagues say.

Dr. Mabuse- simply exclaiming that someone is "WRONG", is not a worthy argument.

Tim- I am not the truth, so the fact that I am flawed has no bearing. I simply exclaim that the bible is truth and serves as the word of God. Jesus WAS perfect and He is the author of Christianity. These things ARE the truth. Darwin and Huxley were NOT perfect. They were highly influenced by the "signs of the times they lived in" and Darwin's rebellion against the church (Darwin was a student of Thomas Aquinas, the author of the cosmological theory and the official stand of the roman catholic church on philosophical matters.)

I hear over and over that Christians have no proof of God and creation. How can you attack my beliefs when have none of your own? Time and again evolutionists tell me that they "don't know how everything got here" but they KNOW how it evolved. Can ANYONE tell me how we got here? Don't tell me it could have been this or it could've been that. What do YOU believe? Don't tell me that you simply haven't viewed that facts enough and that when you come to a logical conclusion then you'll have a belief. That is very old and very tired. You're living your whole lives on the assumption that God doesn't exist. I have asked agnostics where they believe life came from and it is always "I don't know exactly but I know it wasn't God!" Where then? For what purpose are we hear? How come the simplest cell scientists know about contains enough information to fill 100 million pages of the Encyclopedia Britanica? Did this happen by chance? How come no intermediary species have been found? The search for bigfoot has turned into an urban legend and now the evolutionists scramble to invent an explanation. You have conveniently "debunked" certain beliefs.

God is real and everyone has felt that at one time or another. You can't look around and see this beautiful earth and not think of a creator. There is too much design involved. Anything else you see with some sort of design you imagine a creator. Like a car or house. How come you look at the most complex design possible, the universe, and immediately seek an explanation of chance?

Lastly, once again I hear some form of the phrase "if God is so good and merciful, why do so many bad things happen." This is a perfectly legitimate question considering everyone on earth is perfect and nobody hurts anybody else! Man is SINFUL! God created us with the free-will to choose between good and evil because evil exists. Evil exists because of satan's fall from heaven. Sin is not an object, it is not something God created. It is a reaction by anyone when faced with right and wrong. If you choose wrong you sin. Satan chose wrong and thus evil was born. Now, if you don't believe it, fine, but don't bring up questions that ask, "why do bad things happen to good people."
Go to Top of Page

Truth
New Member

USA
12 Posts

Posted - 09/24/2003 :  17:53:05   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Truth a Private Message
I see your reply now Dr. Mabuse.
Sorry
Go to Top of Page

Renae
SFN Regular

543 Posts

Posted - 09/24/2003 :  18:11:53   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Renae a Private Message


I hear over and over that Christians have no proof of God and creation. How can you attack my beliefs when have none of your own? Time and again evolutionists tell me that they "don't know how everything got here" but they KNOW how it evolved. Can ANYONE tell me how we got here?



Truth, you didn't answer my question.

You see, the burden of proof is on you as a Christian, not me as an agnostic. I have no vested interest in whether you believe in evolution. I care what Christians believe only when they seek to infringe on the separation of church and state.

However, it's imperative for you (or at least for many Christians)to convince ME that God exists. To save my everlasting soul, right?

So again I ask: How did God create the universe?

BTW--My own belief on the creation of the universe: I don't know. But I suspect it wasn't a white guy with a beard waving his arms and saying "abracadabra."

BTWsquared: Welcome.
Go to Top of Page

Truth
New Member

USA
12 Posts

Posted - 09/24/2003 :  19:48:42   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Truth a Private Message
The burden of proof isn't on anybody, Renae. Will the origin of the universe change just because you or I provide substantial proof? You may be a better orator than I, or I may have better research skills. This is not a courtroom. I just want to pick the brains of those who hold opposing viewpoints than I. Like I said before, I am not here to defend God or even prove he exists. Everyone should know what they believe and why. Whether they have proof or not. If you tell me, "Truth, I just believe it because I feel it is the most logical explanation," I reply, "what about your heart and soul, what do they feel?" We are not smart enough to understand even a fraction of the things on this earth, so how in the world are we going to logically theorize on the origin of the universe? We cannot fathom all the things that go on in this universe so why is it so hard to believe that it was created by a God that is fathomless. We were created with feelings and emotions for a reason. To feel things. To experience things we don't comprehend.

I apologize if I didn't answer your question before. I truly believe in my heart and with all that I am, that God created this universe. I believe it is as the bible says, God always has been and always will be. He is the only thing that has no beginning or end. He created the universe and the life in it from absolutely nothing. I don't understand why he has no beginning or end and I don't believe we have the capacity to understand that. I believe he loves us and gives everyone the chance to accept Jesus.

I have understandably been asked how I believe God has always been and not the elements necessary for evolution and other theories. Faith. I have heard a lot of theories. I do not accept what I believe based on what I have heard. I tested all these the same as everyone else. Obviously, I came to a different conclusion. I have experienced God for myself. Everyone has. Why do you think so many Americans attended church right after the terrorist attacks? The existence of God is inherent in everyone. When the fear of death comes upon someone they immediately think about eternity. People on their deathbed call out for a minister of some sort. God changed me when I became a Christian, and that is real. Nobody can dispute that. Everything about me changed, inside and out. Man cannot create that drastic change in himself.

Thank you Renae, for answering my posting. I fear I may have gotten off to a bad start before. I hope I am not portraying a conceited attitude just an inquisitive one.

quote:
[Originally posted by Renae
BTW--My own belief on the creation of the universe: I don't know. But I suspect it wasn't a white guy with a beard waving his arms and saying "abracadabra."

I agree with you on that. That is only a human portrayal of God. I doubt God has a race, beard or if He needed to say ANYTHING to create the universe.
Go to Top of Page

Kil
Evil Skeptic

USA
13476 Posts

Posted - 09/24/2003 :  20:58:26   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Kil's Homepage  Send Kil an AOL message  Send Kil a Yahoo! Message Send Kil a Private Message
quote:
Truth:
First and foremost I have to clear something up. KIL- Martin Luther didn't start Christianity, Jesus did.

So, did you willfully miss my point? I sure hope so.
quote:
Truth:
The search for bigfoot has turned into an urban legend and now the evolutionists scramble to invent an explanation.

This has to be one of the silliest remarks I have ever heard coming from a creationist. Thank you for this. I will treasure it always....

Edited.

Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.

Why not question something for a change?

Genetic Literacy Project
Go to Top of Page

Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9687 Posts

Posted - 09/24/2003 :  23:10:00   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Truth

Starman- Neanderthals didn't evolve into modern humans? What happened to them? That is not what some of your colleagues say.

What colleagues are that? What are their credentials?
quote:
Dr. Mabuse- simply exclaiming that someone is "WRONG", is not a worthy argument.

Your initial post didn't look like you would stay. "I don't need to "stick up" for God or defend Him. I need only to follow His lead." This is the sentiment we have come to expect from x-ians I refer to as Drive-by-shooter. They come here, drop a post but don't stick around to face the music. I thought you were no different, but now, I hope you stay for a while. Not many christians have the stamina to stay long.
quote:

I hear over and over that Christians have no proof of God and creation. How can you attack my beliefs when have none of your own?
We have no need for beliefs like yours. The way you define belief differs from how we define it. That causes a lot of confusion between people of faith such as yourself and atheists.

quote:
Time and again evolutionists tell me that they "don't know how everything got here" but they KNOW how it evolved. Can ANYONE tell me how we got here?
We evolved to what we are now, from one-celled bacteria 3,8 billion years ago. Due to the nature of the environment, much of the evidence has been destroyed, but enough pieces of the pussle remains for us, to enable us to create a coherent picture of how we came to be. Some pieces remains a mystery, like the field of science called abiogenesis: the study of how complex macro-molecules started to self-replicate and how those evolved into the first bacteria.
By comparing certain mitochondrial DNA we can follow mutations back in time, and search other species for common denominators. Just like you can create a family tree through genealogy, scientists can do the same with all species, thanks to DNA analysis. I think I read that the difference in DNA between human and pymey chimpanzee is 1,2%. If we back down 6% in the tree toward our first common ancestor we will meet our common ancestor to Pig, cow, and sheep, as well as the hen, duck, penguin and turtle. Actually, this can be best described with a picture. I'll try to get one to post, I've searched on google to find it, but alas, I don't want to spend hours on something I might never find. Some day I'll scan the one in my astrobiology book.

quote:
What do YOU believe?

Like I said: I don't believe in evolution the way you believe in God.

Perhaps we get closer to understanding eachother if we say that "you believe that the bible is the word of God" and I say that "The theory of biological evolution is the best theory that explains the origin of the species and life on earth. It might still have to be revised every now and then, but the changes will only be minor because the theory has a sound foundation in evidence."

The way I see it, we create a theory to describe a part of the reality in which we exist. However, the reality is too complex to be readily described in a theory. So, the theory describes only a rough approximation of reality. It's up to us to refine the theory (by experimenting and doing research) to more accurately describe reality.
I guess that is what science is all about. Perhaps you would say I believe in science.

quote:

For what purpose are we here?

Now that is a question for philosophers and theists, not scientists.
I say it has nothing what-so-ever to do with the theory of biological evolution. Other skeptics might disagree with me.

quote:
God is real and everyone has felt that at one time or another.

I thought I felt it, but later I realized it was just my imagination playing tricks on me.
quote:
How come you look at the most complex design possible, the universe, and immediately seek an explanation of chance?

We have formulated theories that describes the universe very well. Very well indeed. Most of those theories are amazingly simple, but they interconnect in complex way. Only in very few instances does those theories depend on chance for the outcome. In most cases the sheer number of random events are so many that they must be handled statistically. In those cases the outcome can be accuratly predicted, even if the events are random by nature.

quote:
Evil exists because of satan's fall from heaven.

No, I believe you are incorrect. When God created Satan he created Satan with the capacity for evil. Otherwise Satan would not have rebelled against God in the first place, forcing God to throw him out.
Since God is the origin of everything, he must be the ultimate origin of evil too.
quote:

Sin is not an object, it is not something God created. It is a reaction by anyone when faced with right and wrong. If you choose wrong you sin. Satan chose wrong and thus evil was born.

Now I understand why christians so heavily depends on their ministers and preachers to tell them what to do, and what is right and what is wrong. Because if they ever attempt "independent thought" they will surely risk choosing to think "the wrong stuff" causing them to sin, which is evil. Hence, independent thought is evil.

Thank you for the insight that I never managed to grasp as a member of the pentecostal church. Perhaps that's why the other members never seemed to care about having me hanging around?

Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder.
Edited by - Dr. Mabuse on 09/24/2003 23:28:34
Go to Top of Page

Starman
SFN Regular

Sweden
1613 Posts

Posted - 09/25/2003 :  01:45:27   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Starman a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Truth
Starman- Neanderthals didn't evolve into modern humans? What happened to them?


Neanderthals died out.
Modern humans descend from Homo Sapiens that lived at the same time as the Neanderthals.

Some small Neanderthal heritage in modern humans (some of the humans alive today) might be a possibility but none have been found.

quote:
God is real and everyone has felt that at one time or another. You can't look around and see this beautiful earth and not think of a creator.

Your mental limitations and fantasies don't affect other people.

quote:
There is too much design involved. Anything else you see with some sort of design you imagine a creator. Like a car or house. How come you look at the most complex design possible, the universe, and immediately seek an explanation of chance?


Please try to learn before you criticize. You were given some good links.
Your uniformed opinion is of great unimportance to me.


Stupidity has a certain charm. Ignorance does not.
-- Frank Zappa

Go to Top of Page

Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9687 Posts

Posted - 09/25/2003 :  09:52:35   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by Truth

We are not smart enough to understand even a fraction of the things on this earth, so how in the world are we going to logically theorize on the origin of the universe? We cannot fathom all the things that go on in this universe so why is it so hard to believe that it was created by a God that is fathomless. We were created with feelings and emotions for a reason. To feel things. To experience things we don't comprehend.
If God created us, and the universe is so complex that we will never understand it, why even bother to try? We can live out our lives in ignorant bliss, living out our prescribed emotions without knowing what a star is, except a speck of light in the sky at night. Or watching loved ones get sick and die for no apparent reason... (as in the case of cancer)

We are intelligent, reasoning beings. We are curious of our surroundings. Science has given us tools to use to explore our surroundings. By saying "God did it" we are giving up our search for an explanation to whatever mystery we were trying to unlock. By not even trying to understand, we will never move forward, never develop as human beings, never become more than we are. Without growing we will wither and die as a human race.

quote:
Everything about me changed, inside and out. Man cannot create that drastic change in himself.

Yes you can (you have), and I think it's a pity you don't realize that.

Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder.
Go to Top of Page

jmcginn
Skeptic Friend

343 Posts

Posted - 09/25/2003 :  12:46:25   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit jmcginn's Homepage Send jmcginn a Private Message
Truth,
quote:
Starman- Neanderthals didn't evolve into modern humans? What happened to them? That is not what some of your colleagues say.

We don't know if Neanderthals contributed any genes to modern humans or not. This is the difference between what is called the Multi-Regional hypothesis vs. the Out of Africa hypothesis. It appears almost certain that modern humans evolved first in Africa. The question then is did the other pre-modern human populations including H. erectus in Asia and Indonesia and H. neanderthalensis in Europe evolve into modern humans aided by extensive gene flow from modern humans in Africa or did modern humans physically migrate out of Africa and replace the indigenous pre-modern humans driving them to extinction. http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/billings_africa.html

As for H. Neanderthalensis, most evidence points towards replacement and extinction with maybe a few cases of gene transfer (a specimen or two appears to have hybrid characteristics between Neanderthals and modern H. sapiens sapiens). The fossil and archaeological record indicates that Neanderthals lived isolated in Europe and parts of the Middle East until around 40 kya when modern humans suddenly appear in the record. Neanderthals and their distinctive technology rapidly disappear across Europe replaced by a sweeping spread of modern humans with a wide variety of more advanced technologies until the last populations disappear. Only in these last populations do we ever find specimens with Neanderthal morphology along with modern-like technology. I say modern-like because the technology is a clear fusion of Neanderthal technology and modern H. sapiens technology and still not as sophisticated.

quote:
How can you attack my beliefs when have none of your own?

I would love to know what beliefs one may or may not have, has to do with the validity of your own beliefs???

quote:
Can ANYONE tell me how we got here? Don't tell me it could have been this or it could've been that. What do YOU believe?

If you are talking about the ultimate question as to why does anything exist, no one can honestly tell you the answer, because no one honestly knows. Now if you are talking about how humans arose from ape ancestors I can tell you all about it with a very high level of confidence because of the vast array of evidence in support of it. Back to the original point of why does anything exist and what I believe: I believe we don't know and may well never know why things exist and it could have been one of a billion causes or it may not have a cause. I simply don't know and neither do you. I just don't go around claiming I do know the answer and if you don't agree with me you will spend an eternity in torment. Its an asinine story based on ridiculous ideas.

quote:
You're living your whole lives on the assumption that God doesn't exist.

So, it seems to be quite a safe assumption to make since there is no evidence for his/her/it(s) existence. I have also lived most of my life on the assumption that fairies don't exist too.

quote:
Where then?

I don't know and neither do you.

quote:
For what purpose are we hear?

I don't know and neither do you, and who says there has to a purpose?

quote:
How come the simplest cell scientists know about contains enough information to fill 100 million pages of the Encyclopedia Britanica? Did this happen by chance?

Define this "information" that the simplest cell contains? No, evolution via natural selection is anything but a mechanism of "chance". It is extremely deterministic.

quote:
How come no intermediary species have been found?

We are surrounded by living intermediary species today and we have found thousands in the fossil record. Heck at least 10 intermediary species between modern humans and our ape ancestors have been found to date and that's just one lineage.

quote:
The search for bigfoot has turned into an urban legend and now the evolutionists scramble to invent an explanation.

I will have to go with Kil on this and treasure this statement. It never ceases to amaze me how people can speak so knowingly upon subjects they are so ignorant in and expect people to take them serious.

quote:
God is real and everyone has felt that at one time or another.

I have never felt such a being, thus your statement is false.

quote:
You can't look around and see this beautiful earth and not think of a creator.

I can.

quote:
There is too much design involved. Anything else you see with some sort of design you imagine a creator. Like a car or house. How come you look at the most complex design possible, the universe, and immediately seek an explanation of chance?

No. I see a design that came about from naturalistic deterministic processes, the very opposite of "chance". In fact we can see these processes in act today all the time.

quote:
Evil exists because of satan's fall from heaven.

Obviously you don't know your Bible very well,
Isiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.

quote:
We cannot fathom all the things that go on in this universe so why
Go to Top of Page

furshur
SFN Regular

USA
1536 Posts

Posted - 09/25/2003 :  14:10:16   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send furshur a Private Message
quote:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
People on their deathbed call out for a minister of some sort.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


All people?? Surely you are now joking.

I watched my father die - he did not call out for a minister on his deathbed. His wife kept bringing in a minister the last few weeks of his life as he lay in the bed wasting away. He was very polite to the minister and respect that his wife needed this shaman in there for herself. The minister would end his visits with a prayer where he would say something like, "lord please help Tom to find you". My father would close his eyes during the prayer and after words would thank him as he left. My father did not convert or change his thinking because he was dying.
As you probably know John Wayne convert to the catholic religion 3 hours before he died. He was a fool. His lived his entire life with out ever thinking about anything with any substance if he could do that.
I read a letter from Saint Peter, in the letters section of National Lampoon after John died. Saint Peter was pissed that Wayne had waited to the end to convert, but he had to let him in heaven, that is the rule. So he said John gets in 3 hours before the end of eternity.

If I knew then what I know now then I would know more now than I know.
Go to Top of Page

Renae
SFN Regular

543 Posts

Posted - 09/25/2003 :  17:25:13   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Renae a Private Message
Hey, Truth, thanks for answering.

You believe deeply and sincerely in God, it seems. Your spiritual experiences were powerful and life-changing, and your faith gives you comfort and direction, yes? That's cool, and I mean that sincerely.

Can you accept that others of us, while respecting (or not) your faith, simply don't share it? That our "truth" (using the term loosely) is different, but as valid as yours?

I wish, sometimes, that I had faith. In fact, it was during the hardest times of my life (grief, etc.) that I felt most certain that I was alone in the universe. You may tell me that God was carrying me, or that I didn't pray properly, or that it was my fault He wasn't there. But those explanations ring as hollow today as they did then.

Carl Sagan had no deathbed conversion to God, according to his wife (per his posthumous book, "Billions and Billions"). She writes:

quote:
"I sit surrounded by cartons of mail from people all over the planet who mourn Carl's loss. Many of them credit him with their awakenings. Some of them say that Carl's example has inspired them to work for science and reason against the forces of superstition and fundamentalism. These thoughts comfort me and lift me up out of my heartache. They allow me to feel, without resorting to the supernatural, that Carl lives."


Seriously, Truth--check out "Demon-Haunted World" and "Billions and Billions" by Sagan. They're outstanding.

Go to Top of Page

Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26020 Posts

Posted - 09/28/2003 :  00:37:25   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message
I know I'm a few days late, but some things haven't been covered:

Truth wrote:
quote:
I hear over and over that Christians have no proof of God and creation.
Well, you don't. You can assert over and over again that God did this, or God did that, but simply repeating those assertions does not make them magically come true. You said, of God and Jesus, "These things ARE the truth," but you supplied no evidence to show us that they really are true. When a alleged statement of fact is presented without any support for its veracity, the proper skeptic must both demand proper evidence and withhold judgement on the truthfulness of the statement until such evidence is presented.

Of course, since "God exists, and that's the truth" is, to use your own words, a "very old and very tired" argument, many of us skeptics have asked, again and again, for solid evidence of that claim. It has never been forthcoming. This allows us to say, without hypocrisy, that such evidence will likely never be forthcoming (after all, if your friend keeps telling you he didn't wreck your car, but refuses to give you back your keys, you can safely assume that he's lying). It's not a definite conclusion, only a probability. My mind is open to the possibility that God exists, just like my mind is open to the possibility that a mouse could, in theory, live on the surface of the Sun for an hour.

In other words, if you know of something that no other self-identified "Christian" or believer in the Old Testament has offered in the last 2,000-plus years, please share it with us.

quote:
How can you attack my beliefs when have none of your own? Time and again evolutionists tell me that they "don't know how everything got here" but they KNOW how it evolved. Can ANYONE tell me how we got here?
No. Nobody can honestly tell you that, since it is clear that you are confusing evolution with abiogenesis and also with theories of how the entire universe began. And once you decide to go back that far, scientists in their proper fields of expertise will tell you that there is no way to measure or test anything "before" the beginning of the universe. And since we cannot do that, your question is unanswerable in scientific terms. And it will always be unanswerable.

quote:
Don't tell me it could have been this or it could've been that. What do YOU believe? Don't tell me that you simply haven't viewed that facts enough and that when you come to a logical conclusion then you'll have a belief. That is very old and very tired.
If your question is, "how do you believe the universe began," then (as above) I believe that I don't know, and that anyone who claims to know how or why it began is an arrogant fool.

If your question is, "disregarding the origin of the universe, how do you believe life on Earth began," then I believe that we don't know right now, but researchers are investigating several possibilities, and as more evidence accumulates, we may soon get a Really Good Answer (and that anyone who claims to know, right now, how it happened is also an arrogant fool).

If your question is, "disregarding the origin of the universe and of life on Earth, how do you believe that humans in particular came to be here on the Earth," then I believe, most firmly, that the preponderance of evidence points towards evolution from other, prehistoric primates. People who claim differently are not only required to provide evidence that the currently accepted theory is wrong (such evidence being equally good, or better than the evidence for evolution), but also an equally-robust (or better) theory to replace it. "Goddidit" fails on both counts, since the "God" theory is much less robust and has much less hard evidence to support it.

quote:
You're living your whole lives on the assumption that God doesn't exist.
And you're living your life on the assumption that He does. So what of it?

quote:
I have asked agnostics where they believe life came from and it is always "I don't know exactly but I know it wasn't God!" Where then?
Why does it matter so much to you? You claim to know the answer, but it appears to bother you that not everyone agrees with you. Skeptics of religion in general, and of your religion in particular, are only bothered by people who demand that we agree with the religious world-view. If you could have your beliefs, and not try to convert me (or spread lies about what "evolutionists" believe), we wouldn't be having this conversation.

quote:
For what purpose are we hear?
From an evolutionary perspective, our purpose is to make more humans. Nothing more, nothing less.

From my perspective, an individual's "purpose in life" is whatever he or she deems it to be. Not many people think that far, and instead just live. I'm fairly confident that a lack of imagination and/or self-respect has lead to many suicides given this question.

If our supposed purpose, per the Bible, is to glorify God, then God is truly petty and superficial. I don't want to have a "personal relationship" with an Asshole who created humans for no other reason than to satisfy His egomania.

quote:
How come the simplest cell scientists know about contains enough information to fill 100 million pages of the Encyclopedia Britanica?
Actually, it doesn't. Nanoarchea has just 500 million base-pairs in its genome, and by my calculation, using print-industry standards, this works out to only 333,334 pages. Make the font smaller than 12-point Courier, and the page count can drop dramatically.

quote:
Did this happen by chance?
No, it didn't, but the correct answer isn't necessarily "Goddidit."

quote:
How come no intermediary species have been found?
You are possibly an intermediate species. Time will tell.

You know, I began this post with a comment on how repetition of a statement doesn't make it true. In a similar

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
Go to Top of Page

Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend

Sweden
9687 Posts

Posted - 10/19/2003 :  20:50:23   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Send Dr. Mabuse an ICQ Message Send Dr. Mabuse a Private Message
While addressing the user Truth I wrote:
Your initial post didn't look like you would stay. "I don't need to "stick up" for God or defend Him. I need only to follow His lead." This is the sentiment we have come to expect from x-ians I refer to as Drive-by-shooter. They come here, drop a post but don't stick around to face the music. I thought you were no different, but now, I hope you stay for a while. Not many christians have the stamina to stay long.

Damn, how I hate to be right.
Edited to add: In cases like this.

Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3

"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse

Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder.
Edited by - Dr. Mabuse on 10/19/2003 20:51:05
Go to Top of Page
Page: of 6 Previous Topic Topic Next Topic  
Previous Page
 New Topic  Topic Locked
 Printer Friendly Bookmark this Topic BookMark Topic
Jump To:

The mission of the Skeptic Friends Network is to promote skepticism, critical thinking, science and logic as the best methods for evaluating all claims of fact, and we invite active participation by our members to create a skeptical community with a wide variety of viewpoints and expertise.


Home | Skeptic Forums | Skeptic Summary | The Kil Report | Creation/Evolution | Rationally Speaking | Skeptillaneous | About Skepticism | Fan Mail | Claims List | Calendar & Events | Skeptic Links | Book Reviews | Gift Shop | SFN on Facebook | Staff | Contact Us

Skeptic Friends Network
© 2008 Skeptic Friends Network Go To Top Of Page
This page was generated in 0.56 seconds.
Powered by @tomic Studio
Snitz Forums 2000