Dear alwight,
Yes, it took me maybe 1/2 hour to put together and then I lost it somehow by pressing the wrong button or something. I felt nearly devastated. It's happened to me a couple time before, but usually I am pretty careful. How does Darwinian theories help you? Do you really think that man is the descendant result of a chimp's ancestors?
As I already explained Michael chimps and humans evidentially shared a common ancestor a long time ago. Humans did not evolve from chimps nor did chimps evolve from humans, they simply evolved separately from some point in the past, they are both modern creatures.
Darwinian evolution offers me a natural explanation based on fact and evidence, without having to suppose something supernatural and miraculous must be required instead. If however I became aware that such miraculous events do sometimes happen then that might be different but apparently they do not. Therefore Michael I do not incorporate supposed miraculous happenings into my reasoning processes, even if some writers of ancient texts did.
God made the RNA, DNA, genomes, genes and atoms within the man's body, woman's body, chimps body, butterflies body, caterpillar's body, etc. Now look at how a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. Is that incredible, or what? God created both of them and for them to be that way. A small miracle!! And the hummingbirds spastic flapping of wings to stay in the air. Do you think they are descended from bees or flies? I don't think so. Every living thing on Earth have similar makeups or DNA, genes, etc.
Despite your personal incredulity Michael, Darwinian evolution explains all the above without having to incorporate unexplainable miraculous events that wouldn't actually explain anything. Some Christians like The Barbarian would say that evolution was simply the method God used to create life as we know it. I've never tried to claim it must be otherwise.
Al, soon enough, you will stand before God, the One you think isn't there, the One that you did not respect enough. What are you going to say to Him?? I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, and I've been trying to change your pair of shoes, but you make it impossible. Your belief in Darwin is like some other people swearing that the Earth is flat!! That really is IT in a nutshell.
I wouldn't want to be in my shoes either Michael if the fundamentalist version of things were true. However evidentially if God exists then He is much more subtle and naturalistic than most fundamentalists can imagine.
I would certainly respect any entity that I knew to exist and deserved respect rather than simple fearful blind obedience.
My acceptance of Darwinian evolution is based on facts and evidence, and in not dogmatically believing that for which no apparent evidential support exists. If the Earth evidentially was flat then I would have to accept that, but clearly it isn't. I call that being adaptable, rational and reasonable.
So you are calling these people free-thinking intelligent persons who believe the Earth is square a Stamp of Approval??
Nobody I was referring to believes the Earth is square Michael, I might accuse you of trying to poison the well here? :AMR:
Who do you think made any intelligent men/women?? You think they all came to be with an incredible system of thinking, without God?? Hell, no!! They didn't just descend from some chimps ancestors. A chimp is not THAT Smart. I know that they are okay, but nothing like a man. God makes sure there is a way to disbelieve Him and let some people believe in those things, to separate them from who actually goes to Heaven, this time around. Millions of people can't be wrong, Al. Do you know that the human brain has a trillion synapse junctions in action at one moment? It is like a supercomputer. But the fact is, it is not a computer.
I don't claim to know if God was behind it all or not, all I'm saying is that Darwinian evolution is the apparent best explanation we have given the evidence.
Al, I explained this earlier. Maybe it was in the post I lost, I don't know. Some texts are scrutinized before they are allowed in the Holy Bible. If they don't pan out, they are left without and not included. This is the case with Bel and Daniel, or Epic of Gilgamesh, the book of Aggeous, Baruch, etc. They were left out because they could not pass rigorous testing. Have you ever checked out the Pseudopigrapha? It includes many books/texts that were found to be inferior to be included in the Holy Bible. There are scholars that decide these things, but you don't know about them, nor trust them enough to know they are excellent fact-finders. Well, I lost the last part of this again. Sometimes I forget to press the Post Quick Reply Button. In a hurry, I guess.
To my knowledge the Bible was compiled in the fourth century to help Emperor Constantine hold the failing Roman Empire together. Every fallible person involved with it along the way, however well meaning, had their own personal agenda and idea of what was true, that's only human nature not a divine truth.
May God Be With You Always And Turn You To His Love. My prayers are with you!!
Ok, Blimey Bloke!! {Did I use the wrong words here??}
Michael
Remember Michael I'm not disrespecting the Christian God, I disrespect fundamentalism and its utter disrespect of evidence based scientific reason and rationality, favouring instead an evidence free, literal adherence to a very specific ancient scripture which was probably never meant to be regarded that way.
