EVOLUTION: Hello all. To kick things off, I would just like to say that I have extensively researched Christian and non-Christian sources so I ask that you please trust that my goal is to sift through any bias and reach the truth.
Intrigue in the human evolution debate has sparked an entire change of direction in my life. It is absolutely, in my opinion, impossible for the literal Bible interpretation to hold any credibility if macro-evolution is true. Now there is the possibility that the Genesis account is non-literal, but I am highly doubtful that it was meant to be a symbolic effort. Biology's most important basis is evolution. 54 branches of Biology use evolution as a matter of fact. For example, Evolution 4703 is a required class to graduate from University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in Biology. While evolution is a theory, did you know that gravity is also a theory? It is virtually impossible to prove ANYTHING. However, using DNA sequencing, biologists can see the differences in species at a microscopic level, and they have found that the DNA patterns show a branching tree that implies divergence from a common ancestor. The evidence is out there, one just has to release any preconceived biases and simply open the mind's "doors" to enlighten.
Why can't the HIV virus be defeated? The rapid evolution that occurs once the human is infected leads to disaster for the immune system. Also, the doctor gives you orders to finish your full course of antibiotics because if you don’t, resistance occurs. Resistance is evolution in germs. The scientific community (99% of them) is in agreement that evolution is as much a fact as any theory could possibly be. The small percentage of people who deny this are in large part Christians, and in America, as many as 45% of people still do not accept evolution. For instance, do you believe, as I did for many years, that God created all the differing languages at the Tower of Babel or do you think the better explanation for this is that humans evolved over varying areas of the world and developed these languages through natural processes? It’s a very difficult pill to swallow, and I have struggled for a long time to accept this, but I feel I have finally crossed over.
Source: http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/lenski.html
7 comments:
I haven't studied Biology or the theory of Evolution. Mainly because I just look at the world around me and know that it had to be created by supreme intelligence. Nothing that man has ever created can compare to the earth, the heavens, and all living things. It's just all too amazing to have been the result of the Big Bang! Or purely by accident. It might have been created in stages, but there had to be a plan, or a design before it began. I also don't believe that we all originated from Adam and Eve. I think they just represent male and female. All the different races, to me, is another sign of supreme intelligence creating humans specific to their native locations on earth. Look at the eskimoe and their slanted, squinted eyes that help them see in the bitter cold. And the native americans where we live, their skin is made to take the rays from the sun. Our delicate white skinned bodies are not meant to be here. lol We're living in a foriegn land not our own. The white men in our nation haven't evolved or adapted yet. Did human evolution just stop?
Pam, there is a lot of confusion among people that don't study biology or the theory of evolution. I am working on a new post as we speak that will hopefully get some "light-bulbs" going for you as far as the evolution thing goes. Evolution is one of the most important factors and debates that exist today and we really need to understand it in order to use it for our conversations. It is very, very important in breaking through religious barriers.
I have an open mind, and I love learning too. I'm waiting on your next post on this subject.
I’m breaking this into 2 posts due to the character limitation:
I appreciate your attempt to reach the best conclusion. However, the best conclusions cannot necessarily be reached without all the facts. You are correct that Genesis was intended as literal history by its authors and it is impossible for it to be true if evolution is true. However, you have several significant misconceptions in your post that you must first consider if you are going to reach a “best conclusion”. In addition, you reveal significant bias in your post, so it does not appear you are properly “sifting through any bias”. Let me explain…
First, you falsely equivocate the theory of evolution with scientific theories like gravity. This is a false analogy because the theory of gravity pertains to “operational” science which is subject to the scientific method. It is equivalent to scientific theories which have brought us new technology and medical “miracles”. On the other hand, evolution deals with “historical” science. It concerns itself with speculations about an ancient past. These speculations cannot be observed, repeated or measured, the three immutable properties of the scientific method. Many would claim this disqualifies it as a scientific theory. However, it can still be scientifically investigated by examining remnants left from past events. However, we can only draw conclusions based on many and significant assumptions. This includes evolution itself, billions of years, and most importantly the assumption that everything we see came about by purely naturalistic means.
Secondly, you claim that DNA “implies” divergence from a common ancestor. However, this is completely false. The traditional evolutionary “tree of life” that was based on morphology is being completely contradicted by DNA evidence. So much so, that some evolutionists have called on their fellows to completely scrap it and start over. Common ancestry is an ASSUMPTION. Any set of objects, living or otherwise, can be arranged into an evolutionary pattern. It doesn’t mean it happened. It can only be assumed.
Third, resistance to antibiotics has absolutely nothing to do with evolution. This is variation within one of God’s created kinds which completely supports creation theory. After literally billions of generations of bacteria (many more than supposedly occurred to evolve man from a monkey), they are still bacteria. They have never changed into any other kind of life. God designed life to be capable of adapting to changing environments, particularly after the flood. What we observe today is completely consistent with that concept and God’s Word.
Fourth, the scientific community is NOT in agreement about evolution. There are a substantial number of scientists worldwide that question its validity. Evolution is NOT a fact. It is a theory and a bad one at that. The more science discovers about life, the more evidence we find which contradicts the theory. Besides, popular opinion does not dictate truth.
Fourth, the scientific community is NOT in agreement about evolution. There are a substantial number of scientists worldwide that question its validity. Evolution is NOT a fact. It is a theory and a bad one at that. The more science discovers about life, the more evidence we find which contradicts the theory. Besides, popular opinion does not dictate truth.
Lastly, you state (and this shows your bias) – “Do you really believe God created all the races and languages at the Tower of Babel…?”. This is a logical fallacy called the argument from incredulity. You inability to imagine or accept the truth does not make it false. In fact, you have it wrong anyways. God did not create all the “races” at the tower of Babel. We are all one race, descendents of Adam. The differences in our features are due to the differences in our genes, just like some children have blue eyes and some have brown. Adam and Eve were genetically robust, probably brown skinned and their children would have been various colors (white, black, brown, yellow, red…). Isolation of these genetic differences, particularly after the flood is what caused the variation we see.
What God did at Babel was to associate these same people together with similar languages. They in turn migrated to different parts of the world. Yes, that is what I accept. The incredible similarity of people groups around the world is evidence of this and is contrary to evolution. If evolution were true, you would see different “races” of people, some superior than others (indeed even races halfway between apes and man), which is what many evolutionist believed before genetics demonstrated that this is false. That is why, for instance, that aborigines were murdered, the flesh boiled of their bones and their skulls sent to museums as samples of less evolved creatures.
I'm going to answer this with as few words as possible. I am not a scientist. I rely on the majority of scientists to provide us with the best available data and evidence. You are totally incorrect when you say that the scientific community is NOT in agreement on the fact of evolution. That, my friend, is just plain and simply a false statement. 99.9% of scientists that work in the world today believe in evolution. If all of these people, as well as myself, are just simply victims to Satan's conspiracy against God. I am sorry. With the technology we have today, if 10 people believe the earth is flat and 1 million people believe it is round. I would logically lean toward believing it is round. The fact is, unless I am mistaken, you are not a genetic scientist. And what genetic scientists are reporting today is that evolution is an undeniable fact. And one last thing. I probably used the term race incorrectly. That will be changed. We are all homo sapiens. Blacks, whites, native americans, asians. The skin pigment difference comes from genetically divergent human populations that can be marked by common phenotypic traits. Source: "American Anthropological Association Statement on "Race"". Aaanet.org. 1998-05-17. http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm.
"However, we can only draw conclusions based on many and significant assumptions. This includes evolution itself, billions of years, and most importantly the assumption that everything we see came about by purely naturalistic means."
-raisemeup
But you aren't drawing conclusion from any assumptions are you? Assuming that the Bible, written by around 40+ authors, is "divinely inspired" and the "infallible word of God" isn't presumptuous? Give me a break. Your information barrage may work against naive, uneducated people, but you won't win the argument by overloading me with words.
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