Science and Religion: What do you think of Evolution?

[melon]

Bottom line question - is God all powerful or has the universe gotten out of hand for Him?

Why would you say that evolution puts the universe out of His hands? There is a very brilliant order to the so-called "chaos." We've only just scratched the surface.

Melon

 

[Achtung_Bebe]

I want to point out something from that "Ten Things Wrong with Cosmological Creationism" article if I may:

5. The Fallacy of Self-Refutation
"Another typical feature of creationist arguments is their readiness to adopt a position that is self-refuting. Since they expect there to be no reason to ask for the cause of God, it follows that there is no reason to expect a cause for all that exists--for to suppose that everything must have a cause is to suppose that something caused God. If nothing caused God, then it is possible for something to exist without a cause, refuting the premise that "everything has a cause." ... Whatever property allows God to exist without cause can just as well be a property of the universe instead, and creationists simply cannot refute that possibility...
..creation is not the only possible cause for order. The universe may be a necessary thing--that is, it was not produced by chance or design, but could not have not existed, and could not have been any different than it is. Mr. Walker already believes this is possible--for he believes it of his God--and if it is possible for his God, it is just as possible for the universe alone. Self-refutation yet again. But even this trilemma is false, for it could be any combination of any of these three factors--maybe some god designed some of it, maybe several gods collaborated on it, and perhaps he or they were constrained by laws which are necessarily always the case (like geometry), and at the same time he or they were unable to prevent some randomness from featuring in the result. Or maybe there is no God, but some necessary things and some random things which combined to make our universe. Indeed, logically, god could have created a billion universes, each time waiting for a random result that suited him--or there could be a billion gods, each with his own "science project" universe. Logically, the possibilities are endless...Thus, there is no way we can be "confident" that an intelligent creator exists..."

This Richard Carrier character disclaims his ten points by saying "I usually find at least one of these errors in each creationist argument I encounter, and for creationists to have a chance of changing my mind on this issue, they must first avoid all ten of these errors in any argument they present."

Give me a break!... notice how he repeatedly takes the element of faith out of the creationist's viewpoint--ok, this can't be done! there IS NO "logical" or "confident" way to describe God and his creation--faith is a primary component here! You can't disregard faith when speaking about the creationist theory. He's looking solely for hard scientific evidence so he may as well quit talking to creationists altogether. I can't take this person seriously based on this. Does he expect God believing creationists to say "oh... you're right... God always was therefore the universe (a PRODUCT of God, btw) may be, too!". This guy tries to take this faith in God and make it appear to be a blind, unsupported assumption! Sorry I'm not falling for it.

As for the geological column/timetable... you can actually find sufficient biblical and scientific evidence for this. First of all, the geologic column is commonly used as proof of evolution, and is founded on this assumption... dating techniques are followed through based on this theory... but let's just look at it from the opposite end and consider the possibility of a relatively young earth. Putting proper emphasis on the Genesis Flood (and all catastrophic geological events associated with it) can account for intricate geologic structures, formations, features, etc. that we observe today. It is believed that the Flood was accompanied by massive and violent earth movement, volcanic action, and dramatic changes in climate. This was an incredible event for geology! A hydraulic episode... producing sedimentation/fossilization on a scale we can't comprehend. Rather than these said formations being a record of gradual transformation, isn't it possible, based on a key biblical event, that it could be the result of a sudden and catastrophic mass death and destruction?? The presence of fossils in deposits of sediment is proof of rapid burial and formation, which is crucial for the preservation otherwise they would decay or be destroyed. Let's not forget to mention that about three-fourths of the earth's surface is covered with sedimentary rocks that originated under moving water (even on the tops of mountains).

As a Christian I will not underestimate the power of God... rather than testifying to evolution, I believe that the evidence of geology records God's mighty hand and righteous judgement on sin. Just as the wonders of the galaxy give glory to God, so does this. If you believe the biblical accounts of history than it should not be so difficult to comprehend that we would be witnessing to this today.

 

[nbcrusader]

As a Christian I will not underestimate the power of God... rather than testifying to evolution, I believe that the evidence of geology records God's mighty hand and righteous judgement on sin. Just as the wonders of the galaxy give glory to God, so does this. If you believe the biblical accounts of history than it should not be so difficult to comprehend that we would be witnessing to this today.

Powerfully said my friend!

 

[melon]

Putting proper emphasis on the Genesis Flood (and all catastrophic geological events associated with it) can account for intricate geologic structures, formations, features, etc. that we observe today. It is believed that the Flood was accompanied by massive and violent earth movement, volcanic action, and dramatic changes in climate. This was an incredible event for geology!

There is zero evidence for a worldwide flood, and don't think that science cannot detect such changes. Cataclysmic meteor hits, like the one that killed the dinosaurs, is detected by a distinct layer of the element, Iridium, which is a fairly rare element on Earth, but a common element in asteroids. Things like massive erosion can also be detected, as exposed rock can be dated as well.

Secondly, there *is* evidence of a great flood, but not a worldwide one. The Black Sea was created by a massive flood 5000 years ago, where the saltwater of the Mediterranean Sea breached a natural land dam, and effectively plunged the massive area we now know as the Black Sea under 500 feet of saltwater. Because the Black Sea has a large anaerobic component to it, science was able to recover evidence of civilization that used to live on the former boundaries of a smaller, freshwater lake before the Black Sea was created so violently. This is the likely origin of the Genesis flood. Do remember...people didn't have concepts of a large Earth, so this story likely passed down through oral tradition, where the flood covered their entire known world. Heck, even Europe didn't discover the New World until 1492, so why do we think that the people of Genesis would be even remotely better?!

This is further examples as to why creationist arguments completely fail.

Melon

 

[RavenStar]

I was just about to mention the Black Sea flood. Way back then due to lack of communication, the area that was flooded could have felt like the whole world.
I saw a program on the Black Sea awhile ago. It was really interesting. It showed the evidence of the flood like places where rivers might have been, etc.

 

[Kristie]

Putting proper emphasis on the Genesis Flood (and all catastrophic geological events associated with it) can account for intricate geologic structures, formations, features, etc. that we observe today. It is believed that the Flood was accompanied by massive and violent earth movement, volcanic action, and dramatic changes in climate. This was an incredible event for geology! A hydraulic episode... producing sedimentation/fossilization on a scale we can't comprehend. Rather than these said formations being a record of gradual transformation, isn't it possible, based on a key biblical event, that it could be the result of a sudden and catastrophic mass death and destruction?? The presence of fossils in deposits of sediment is proof of rapid burial and formation, which is crucial for the preservation otherwise they would decay or be destroyed.

this is a good point... but what about fossils found in volcanic ash/rock? These are dated with a different (and more accurate) method than those in sedimentary rock... those use stratigraphy, while remains found in volcanic rock are dated by the potassium-argon method. Potassium decays at a constant rate to argon and the fossils are dated by determining the ratio of K-Ar in the rock around them. However, it can only be used to date rock older than 100,000 years old (up to about 4 billion).
....did I mention I was a paleontology major before I switched to anthropology?
anyway, I'm curious as to if there's a running biblical explanation for that...

 

[bonosloveslave]

Melon, you really seem to have a problem with the idea that the earth is only several thousand years old. If it is millions and billions of years old, can you (or someone else) please explain to me why:

-there are not more buried human remains in general, old or not so old? If we were to conservatively say that a generation passed once every 25 years (and when was the last time a generation was 25 years long?), then in 100,000 years a total of 4,000 generations would occur. If the number of people on earth never exceeded 1,000,000 at any one time in the past, then in 100,000 years a total of 4,000,000,000 people would have lived, died and been buried somewhere on earth. This is an astronomical number. When people are buried, whether or not their bodies are preserved, there are the artifacts left in the graves which identify them as human. Even if the body decomposes completely their jewelry, tools and vessels placed in the grave with them will survive. If 4,000 generations have passed why haven't we found many many more human burial sites? Where are all those artifacts that should have been left behind by those 4,000,000,000 people? Think about it, that is two-thirds of the entire human population alone today.

-why is there not more ocean sediment? If we were to assume that the oceans were 4.5 to 5 billion years old; that sediments had been pouring into the oceans at current rates for all that time; then the oceans should have a layer of sediment 18.5 miles high on top of each square foot of their surface. I would remind you, however, that there is, on average, only a half mile deep layer of sediment on the ocean floors and that the oceans have a layer of water in them about two miles deep. It simply isn't possible to fit a layer of sediment 18.5 miles high on top of the ocean floors.



So.............

Bueller?


Bueller?



Anyone?



Anyone?


(just curious )

 

[Kristie]

If 4,000 generations have passed why haven't we found many many more human burial sites? Where are all those artifacts that should have been left behind by those 4,000,000,000 people? Think about it, that is two-thirds of the entire human population alone today.

Not every dead thing is fossilized, it takes a fairly specific set of conditions for something to be preserved that long, if they're not eaten or end up in the water somewhere. Also, the entire world isn't under excavation... just selected sites. There's not really an archaeological site in every town. Put all the sites together and it's like an eraserhead on a two foot globe. Not much of a chance to find all 4 billion people.

-why is there not more ocean sediment? If we were to assume that the oceans were 4.5 to 5 billion years old; that sediments had been pouring into the oceans at current rates for all that time; then the oceans should have a layer of sediment 18.5 miles high on top of each square foot of their surface. I would remind you, however, that there is, on average, only a half mile deep layer of sediment on the ocean floors and that the oceans have a layer of water in them about two miles deep. It simply isn't possible to fit a layer of sediment 18.5 miles high on top of the ocean floors.

Plate tectonics. The ocean floor is recycled/melted into the earth's mantle at a regular rate through plate tectonics. In the middle of most oceans more (rock) ocean floor is always being made, which travels across the ocean floor getting sediment on top of it, and at the edge of continents it is being un-made, along with the sediment on top of it.
Nother thing, sediment doesn't really fall too much in the middle of the ocean (compared to close to shore) cos there's.. y'know... not any land. The sediment way out there tends to be more decomposed animals than dirt. Not saying soil doesn't make it out there. It's just that there's a whooole lot more of it by the shore.

 

[pax]

-there are not more buried human remains in general, old or not so old? If we were to conservatively say that a generation passed once every 25 years (and when was the last time a generation was 25 years long?), then in 100,000 years a total of 4,000 generations would occur. If the number of people on earth never exceeded 1,000,000 at any one time in the past, then in 100,000 years a total of 4,000,000,000 people would have lived, died and been buried somewhere on earth.

Probably because humanoids haven't been around for that long--certainly not homo sapiens, at least. If I'm not mistaken, homo sapiens is only estimated to be between 12,000-15,000 years old. Also, cremation is much more common than burial in a great number of societies, and has been for thousands of years--which is another explanation for lack of identifiable remains.

There is a principle in philosophy known as Occam's Razor, which basically states that the simplest explanation for anything is the most likely one and there is no need to "multiply entities." As I attempt to apply Occam's Razor to many different parts of my life lately, I pose the question to those of you on both sides of this debate: why does it not seem to be possible that God created the world at some point (why does it matter when?), that God infused the world with God's own unique and omnipotent intelligent design (why does it matter how?), and that God continues to look after the world with love and concern (why does it matter how long this has been going on, or how long it's going to last?).

Those questions have never mattered to me as a Christian. It's enough for me to know that God did create everything, and that God maintains that creation on a millisecond-to-millisecond basis. Evolution, Genesis...I don't give a damn. It's fascinating, miraculous, and praiseworthy either way.

 

[Kristie]

then in 100,000 years a total of 4,000 generations would occur. If the number of people on earth never exceeded 1,000,000 at any one time in the past, then in 100,000 years a total of 4,000,000,000 people would have lived

crap I forgot something... this is in reply to pax, too
Do you mean like Homo sapiens sapiens humans? You got that date fairly close. Hominids (= walking on 2 legs) appeared aboout 4 million years ago, so the current theory says. Our genus (Homo) lived about 2.2 to 1.6 million years ago. Our species, 120 000 years ago. This is all the most popular theory. Paleoarchaeologists get in to massive fights over this stuff... literally, fistfights.
Just clearing that up

 

[bonosloveslave]

Plate tectonics. The ocean floor is recycled/melted into the earth's mantle at a regular rate through plate tectonics. In the middle of most oceans more (rock) ocean floor is always being made, which travels across the ocean floor getting sediment on top of it, and at the edge of continents it is being un-made, along with the sediment on top of it.
Nother thing, sediment doesn't really fall too much in the middle of the ocean (compared to close to shore) cos there's.. y'know... not any land. The sediment way out there tends to be more decomposed animals than dirt. Not saying soil doesn't make it out there. It's just that there's a whooole lot more of it by the shore.

Is this what you're saying?:

Evolutionists propose that the ocean floor sediments are being destroyed by subduction under the continents; that is that the sea floors are sinking under the continents and are being absorbed in the earths crust. Here is the problem, according to the evolutionists own figures - the rate of destruction is only 1/10 the amount necessary to solve the problem. Or, conversely, the ocean floor sediments are forming at a rate ten times faster than they are being destroyed!

 

[Kristie]

Is this what you're saying?:

Evolutionists propose that the ocean floor sediments are being destroyed by subduction under the continents; that is that the sea floors are sinking under the continents and are being absorbed in the earths crust. Here is the problem, according to the evolutionists own figures - the rate of destruction is only 1/10 the amount necessary to solve the problem. Or, conversely, the ocean floor sediments are forming at a rate ten times faster than they are being destroyed!

Geologists own figures... What are their figures? Where are you getting this from? Is there a place I can read it and thus better reply to the question?

All right, back to answering. Continents are getting bigger... the center of north America is estimated to be 2.5-3 b.y. and the edges .5-1 b.y. Some plates subduct very quickly compared to others, as well. The entire ocean floor is regenerated every 200-300 million years, so let's say the oldest ocean floor is 250 million years old. So.. *math* according to your figures of a deposit rate of 18.5 miles of sediment over five billion years, the entire current ocean floor should have .925 miles of sediment on top of it, assuming all plates subduct at the same rate, and not including formation/enlargement of continents. Doesn't sound too unreasonable to me.

 

[deep]

Take a look at yourself in the mirror. Do you think you are a result of a random "natural" process that started with a primordial slime?

Yeah, sounds about right.


Then I looked at bonosloveslave's picture- and she looks heavenly.

So, I am still confussed->

 

[melon]

-there are not more buried human remains in general, old or not so old? If we were to conservatively say that a generation passed once every 25 years (and when was the last time a generation was 25 years long?), then in 100,000 years a total of 4,000 generations would occur. If the number of people on earth never exceeded 1,000,000 at any one time in the past, then in 100,000 years a total of 4,000,000,000 people would have lived, died and been buried somewhere on earth. This is an astronomical number. When people are buried, whether or not their bodies are preserved, there are the artifacts left in the graves which identify them as human. Even if the body decomposes completely their jewelry, tools and vessels placed in the grave with them will survive. If 4,000 generations have passed why haven't we found many many more human burial sites? Where are all those artifacts that should have been left behind by those 4,000,000,000 people? Think about it, that is two-thirds of the entire human population alone today.

Neandertals used to dump their dead in cave pits. To be honest, most cultures didn't even give a damn about preservation. Even in medieval Europe, they made catecombs to dispose of their dead quickly and to take up as little space as possible. I believe that there is even an entire church made of human skulls in Spain.

Also, many cultures, including ancient Greece and Rome, had customs of funeral pyres--meaning they burned / cremated their dead. The idea of a tombstone and burial plot is a modern concept.

-why is there not more ocean sediment? If we were to assume that the oceans were 4.5 to 5 billion years old; that sediments had been pouring into the oceans at current rates for all that time; then the oceans should have a layer of sediment 18.5 miles high on top of each square foot of their surface. I would remind you, however, that there is, on average, only a half mile deep layer of sediment on the ocean floors and that the oceans have a layer of water in them about two miles deep. It simply isn't possible to fit a layer of sediment 18.5 miles high on top of the ocean floors.

More creationist pseudoscience. May I ask where you got this assumption? Was it next to the bullshit about light particles interfering with carbon-dating, making it incorrect? I thought there was a rule against lying in Christianity, but I guess for some people, the ends justify the means.

But lets look at the concrete facts that creationists are too blind to look at:

-- Pray tell, how do you explain away dinosaur remains? Trilobyte remains? I'm sure you've gone to a museum sometime and have seen these remains. And, if humans were living this entire time, why haven't there ever been human remains beside them?

-- Or the fact that Antarctica has had tropical plant fossils underneath all that ice?

-- Or the fact that there are several gigantic meteor craters on Earth that, if they all had occurred during the last 10,000 years, would have made all life as we know it extinct several times over?

...

-- Or the fact that there is no geologic evidence of an ancient worldwide flood, despite the fact that science would be able to measure such an event?

-- Or the fact that, if there were only two of each animal, they would all have gone extinct from inbreeding? We have many endangered species that are dying this way.

-- Or, assuming that Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel were the first humans, how could Cain, after being cast out of the garden, marry someone who shouldn't exist and procreate with her? Could you explain how Genesis 4:16-17 is even possible if literal creationism is so obviously true?

-- Or, assuming that Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel were the first humans and all are related to each other, where did all the different races come from? White, Black, Asian, Indian, Arab, Native American...or is this a case of "spontaneous generation"?

So.............

Bueller?


Bueller?



Anyone?



Anyone?


(just curious )

Melon

 

[theSoulfulMofo]

Melon, getting a little testy lately, aren't we?

I don't mean to get myself involved in this argument... because I usually hate ending up arguing in FYM...

but please let me allow to make a few observations and comments...

As far as Noah's Flood is concerned... there have been other cultural myths were a massive flood is concerned... example: China records such a history/myth.

Furthermore, according to the Bible, the human race as we know of it today ... are actually descendants of Noah's children... And Noah himself was a child of Seth... Adam and Eve's third son... The lineage of Abel and Cain ended long before the Flood, as I can recall.

Hmmm... I don't know what more I can contribute... I'm just giving away random thoughts here and there...

 

[Achtung_Bebe]

But lets look at the concrete facts that creationists are too blind to look at:

Actually, each of your below points have been taken into account and considered by these blind creationists.

-- Pray tell, how do you explain away dinosaur remains? Trilobyte remains? I'm sure you've gone to a museum sometime and have seen these remains. And, if humans were living this entire time, why haven't there ever been human remains beside them?

there exists a number of simultaneous human and dinosaur prints found, mainly in Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois. They are widely distributed and usually exposed by flood erosion and bulldozers. Also, there are places in Arizona and Rhodesia where dinosaur pictographs have been found drawn on cave/canyon walls by man (before the possibility of depiction by excavation). Furthermore, you will find in Job 40:15-41:34 a reference which seems to refer to land and marine dinosaurs living in Job's day. Five-toed llamas are also thought to have been extinct about 30 million years ago according to the framework of evolution, but archaeologists have found pottery with etchings of five-toed llamas, and skeletons have been found in association with the Tiahuanacan culture. William Mesiter also has found several trilobites in the fossilized, sandaled footprint of a man, but according to evolution trilobites became extinct 230 million years before the appearance of man, which would make this an impossibility. There has been another discovery such as this by geologist Clifford Burdick who studied the prints of a barefooted child containing a compressed trilobite.

that Antarctica has had tropical plant fossils underneath all that ice?

Creationists propose a possible explanation--the collapse of a vast vapor canopy that enveloped the pre-Flood world. Such a canopy would have produced a worldwide greenhouse effect, meaning mild climate throughout with insignificant seasonal change. No rainfall/rainbows would have existed, rather a mist would rise from the earth that would water the face of the ground (Gen. 2:5-6; 8:22; 9:13). This canopy would help to explain why palm leaves, fruit trees, tropical marine crustaceans, coral reefs and vast amounts of subtropical plant life are buried under the polar regions. It's also believed that this vapor canopy may have filtered out harmful radiation from space which is known to have an extreme effect on mutations and the aging process. This canopy may havae been a key factor accounting for longevity before the Flood. After the Flood, the ages of the biblical patriarchs steadily declined:

Noah = 950 years
Salah = 433 years
Peleg = 239 years
Abraham = 175 years
Moses = 120 years
David = 70 years
Present = 70-80 years (Ps. 90:10)

The collapse of this vapor canopy can explain the statement found in Genesis 7:11-12: "the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights." This is not referring to common rainfall here, because if the water vapor and clouds in the given atmosphere where precipitated to the earth, rainfall would amount to only a few inches and end after a few short hours; therefore this could very well refer to the collapse of this gigantic vapor canopy. This would also explain away the frozen mammoths found in Siberia.

There are several gigantic meteor craters on Earth that, if they all had occurred during the last 10,000 years, would have made all life as we know it extinct several times over?

I don't know which collisions you refer to, but I do know that the solar system has been intricately created and that the earth's atmosphere protects us from approx. 20 million meteors that enter it each day at speeds of about 30 miles per second. Sounds like something is watching out for us
...

-- Or, assuming that Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel were the first humans and all are related to each other, where did all the different races come from? White, Black, Asian, Indian, Arab, Native American...or is this a case of "spontaneous generation"?

yeah from what I've heard there has been many theories developed by evolutionists on this issue--but each theory tends to admit that if races are to arise, a population must be split into small, isolated groups which leads to inbreeding. Creationists look to the Tower of Babel as the likely starting point of the "human races". The human population was divided at the Tower of Babel, each group going their own way, resulting in a concentration of certain genes and therefore certain races or groups of people with characteristic features.

Honestly, all this age of the earth argument seems insignificant... regardless of when we were created, it still appears obvious to me that mind is always over matter... matter never produces a mind when left to itself. If you were to isolate a building or car and leave it untouched, it would eventually decay. This principle can be applied to all matter and this theory of evolution takes this out of consideration. There is a mind over all things and I think we all know who this mind is attributed to.

Oh I also wanted to mention the thing about the Black Sea and there being no proof of a worldwide flood.... I do not feel the need to have this proven by present day men because if you turn to Genesis you will find that God informs Noah that ALL flesh on the earth shall perish... I don't think it would be right to alter God's words based on scientific assumptions. Where does it stop?

I can't respond to all of those points, it's time to turn in!

 

[hiphop]

Re: Re: OOOOOps .....MOOOOOOOOOOO

I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time making the connection for how this relates to religion vs evolution debate........

Me too. And I grew up on Floyd.

No one is brainwashed here. To suggest other because someone has a different belief, is ridiculous, Pink. By the way... which one?s Pink?

 

[hiphop]

Both is true.

Women and Men and all beings were created by God.

And evolutionists are on the right track.

Actually time doesn?t matter that much when physicians are researching sth. like twentytwo dimensions. Time is just No. 4, k? To God thus doesn?t matter at all. How about that: What if, in the "perception" of God - even though this perception doesn?t exist because everything IS God - one millisecond is the same like a billion of years?

Is there anybody out there?

 

[bonosloveslave]

Then I looked at bonosloveslave's picture- and she looks heavenly.

So, I am still confussed->

Awww, shucks........



Achtung - good follow-ups


Pax - good questions, and I think you're right about the things that matter. Ultimately, there are some questions that we will never have the answers to until we meet God face to face; believing or not believing in Creation or evolution is not important in regards to our ultimate eternal fate (which in my opinion is the only thing that really matters).

 

[melon]

there exists a number of simultaneous human and dinosaur prints found, mainly in Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, Missouri, Kentucky, and Illinois.

Sorry...I've seen those "prints," which are distinctly ambiguous. I'm looking for bones. If we can get bones from dinosaurs that are a fraction of our size with smaller bone density, then why aren't we there? Is it because we weren't?

Also, there are places in Arizona and Rhodesia where dinosaur pictographs have been found drawn on cave/canyon walls by man (before the possibility of depiction by excavation).

So your "evidence" is ambiguous, prehistoric pictographs? That could be a lizard, for God's sake! You know, we do have small, now living lizards that do stand upright, you know. And, considering their depiction of people were flat, boxy blobs with stick hands and feet, I don't think they were going for masterful detail.

Furthermore, you will find in Job 40:15-41:34 a reference which seems to refer to land and marine dinosaurs living in Job's day. Five-toed llamas are also thought to have been extinct about 30 million years ago according to the framework of evolution, but archaeologists have found pottery with etchings of five-toed llamas, and skeletons have been found in association with the Tiahuanacan culture.

That's funny. The Catholic Bible explains what these ambiguous terms stand for:

"Behemoth" = hippopotamous
"Leviathan" = crocodile

You are grasping for straws.

But five-toed llamas could still have existed. I mean, coelocanths were thought to have been extinct since the Cretateous period, but were found still alive in 1930. I have never stated that evolution is perfect, but, at least, it will evolve, according to concrete evidence!

William Mesiter also has found several trilobites in the fossilized, sandaled footprint of a man, but according to evolution trilobites became extinct 230 million years before the appearance of man, which would make this an impossibility. There has been another discovery such as this by geologist Clifford Burdick who studied the prints of a barefooted child containing a compressed trilobite.

This is 100% illogical. Trilobites were ocean animals. This would be like saying we can find human footprints next to giant squid. Why their fossils appear, though, is due to the nature of plate tectonics, which has reshaped the surface of the Earth repeatedly in the last billions of years, pushing and subducting parts of the Earth's crust (earthquakes are the result of this constant process).

Creationists propose a possible explanation--the collapse of a vast vapor canopy that enveloped the pre-Flood world. Such a canopy would have produced a worldwide greenhouse effect, meaning mild climate throughout with insignificant seasonal change. No rainfall/rainbows would have existed, rather a mist would rise from the earth that would water the face of the ground (Gen. 2:5-6; 8:22; 9:13). This canopy would help to explain why palm leaves, fruit trees, tropical marine crustaceans, coral reefs and vast amounts of subtropical plant life are buried under the polar regions. It's also believed that this vapor canopy may have filtered out harmful radiation from space which is known to have an extreme effect on mutations and the aging process. This canopy may havae been a key factor accounting for longevity before the Flood. After the Flood, the ages of the biblical patriarchs steadily declined:

Noah = 950 years
Salah = 433 years
Peleg = 239 years
Abraham = 175 years
Moses = 120 years
David = 70 years
Present = 70-80 years (Ps. 90:10)

LOL...this is just too much. I see, now, that the patriarchs all abided by the Julian / Gregorian calendar? Their ages lowered, because their calendars changed!

Most human mutations are irrelevant of light and radiation, and that's because the human process of meiosis, which creates sperm and eggs, is deliberately mutagenic. Otherwise, without this process, all children of a certain set of parents would be identical. In fact, the average human has, at least, eight mutations, with most being in "junk" DNA. This argument of yours is illogical as well.

It is just as ridiculous as the notion of "666," which are really three Hebrew characters that look like Arabic numeral sixes. Considering Europe didn't even adopt Arabic numerals until c. A.D. 1000, I doubt an ancient text would even have it.

And, as for the "vapor canopy," how do you explain the Ice Age, then? Glaciers don't and can't form in such a short time frame. Tropical fossils were found in Michigan as well, but was also buried under huge ice sheets. 10,000 years ago, we were in an Ice Age!

I don't know which collisions you refer to, but I do know that the solar system has been intricately created and that the earth's atmosphere protects us from approx. 20 million meteors that enter it each day at speeds of about 30 miles per second. Sounds like something is watching out for us

You mean, stuff like this?

This is in Arizona, and there are over 100 terrestrial impact craters on Earth. Of course, this one is dated 49,000 years ago, so I'm guessing those damn evolutionists invented it! And let's not forget the several mile crater off of the Yucatan peninsula...

Oh I also wanted to mention the thing about the Black Sea and there being no proof of a worldwide flood.... I do not feel the need to have this proven by present day men because if you turn to Genesis you will find that God informs Noah that ALL flesh on the earth shall perish... I don't think it would be right to alter God's words based on scientific assumptions. Where does it stop?

See? This is the problem with creationism, completely devoid of critical analysis, and, when backed into a corner, will invent anything to try and convince that it is true. No one still answered my question about Cain marrying someone who shouldn't exist...

Truthfully? It is my belief that the story of Adam and Eve is a modern mess. First off, it is the story of the creation of man (Hebrew="adam") and woman (Hebrew="yitzah"). I still haven't a clue where "Eve" came from. Genesis, being in a rare place of being likely pre-exilic in origin, exposes a likely cultural truth of Judaism: it was monotheistic in worship, but polytheistic in belief. In other words, they worshipped only the Jewish concept of God, but still believed that other gods existed. Baal, for instance, was the god of the Philistines. Yahweh, in contrast, was the god of the Jews. It is my hypothesis that this is where the idea of the "chosen people" arose from. Adam and Eve, being the first "chosen people"--in other words, being the first Jews, disobey God, and are cast out the garden, which could perhaps be the modern concept of "heaven." So, as a punishment for disobedience, they are cast into the already existant Earth, which is already populated full of non-"chosen people." This is why Cain can suddenly settle in Nod and marry, because it is a given that other people exist prior to them! The people of Nod are not "chosen." Later exilic influence from Persian Zoroastrianism, which gave Judeo-Christianity the concept of Satan and angels, amongst other things, eliminates this polytheistic notion, and we see little other evidence, considering the rest of the Old Testament was all written after the exile.

But these are all stories--myths that all ancient cultures have--and we are foolish to take them for anything else.

Melon

 

[hiphop]

But these are all stories--myths that all ancient cultures have--and we are foolish to take them for anything else.

Melon

Don?t take myths or ancient cultures so easy, they can be very true - generally, not only the bible.

 

[melon]

Don?t take myths or ancient cultures so easy, they can be very true - generally, not only the bible.

Sorry...what I mean to say is you can't take them literally. They do hold a lot of cultural truths, though.

Melon

 

[hiphop]

Hmmm... I wouldn?t take some parts of the bible literally, but others for sure, yes. You don?t need to say sorry, you haven?t offended me or hurt me or sth.

I try to take the Sermon on the Mount literally, f.e., like imho every Christ should.

There is a lot of ancient knowledge w some African tribes, priests, or witch-doctors. The tragedy is that all this is going to be lost soon.

 

[nbcrusader]

Ultimately, there are some questions that we will never have the answers to until we meet God face to face; believing or not believing in Creation or evolution is not important in regards to our ultimate eternal fate (which in my opinion is the only thing that really matters).

We could argue which part of the bible are true, which are false, how my church defines terms, how yours defines terms, etc., until we are all blue in the face.

God did not give us a complete record of all history in the bible or feel the need to explain every detail or answer every question (like the origin of Cain's wife). God is not sitting in heaven thinking "Damn, they got me on the carbon dating evidence".

We will stand before a Holy God and give account for how we handled His Word. As BLS points our correctly (again) we will receive all our answers when we see our Lord face to face.

Shalome

 

[melon]

We will stand before a Holy God and give account for how we handled His Word. As BLS points our correctly (again) we will receive all our answers when we see our Lord face to face.

Ultimately, I find that the origin of the world is flat out irrelevant to moral issues. I guess I'm attempting to say that those who believe in evolution aren't automatically God hating sinners, bent on sending the world into socialistic atheism, as so many creationists wish to imply.

Melon

 

[nbcrusader]

Ultimately, I find that the origin of the world is flat out irrelevant to moral issues. I guess I'm attempting to say that those who believe in evolution aren't automatically God hating sinners, bent on sending the world into socialistic atheism, as so many creationists wish to imply.

Melon

1. We are all sinners. No use in pointing the finger on that issue by anyone.

2. I think the underlying issue is the inherency of Scripture. God's Word is not limited to addressing moral issues.

Thank you for all the effort you put in your posts, Melon. They do make this forum a great thinking place.

 

[Dreadsox]

Why do the two have to be in conflict?

Maybe I am being dumb......

But, isn't God capable at creating whatever he wants at whatever speed he wants?

Why do we have to limit God's power?



Peace (To ALL)

 

[melon]

Why do the two have to be in conflict?

Maybe I am being dumb......

But, isn't God capable at creating whatever he wants at whatever speed he wants?

Why do we have to limit God's power?

The idea of a God-created evolution has never bothered me in the slightest, and I find it far more fascinating to watch the world unfold in this manner.

Melon

 

[U2Bama]

There is just no need for either side to beat the other down and attack their intellect over differences of opinion and theory on the matter.

~U2Alabama

 

[Klaus]

To proof the existance of a good i would need at least 50 gods in my lab ,-)
So science who needs to verify or falsify its theories can't work if you look for "the one who is out there".

For me it's also not verry scientific to speculate abouth the begining of the universe if you just have a few hundred years of data about our galaxy.
It's like watching a movie the verry first time (just 2 seconds in the middle of the movie) and speculate about the beginning and the end.

The only therory i know at the moment which tries to explain all in a scientific way is the string-theory . The good side: it dosn't falsify itself. The bad side: if you try to proof it (the existance of strings) You need a particle accelerator which is bigger than our galaxy.

So it seems to me like it's useless at the moment to discuss this in a scientific way.
The ones who wants to believe in God should feel free to do so, the ones who prefer to believe in science should do so either. But please don't call others foolish just because they don't share your belief.

Klaus

p.s. Yes i believe in God