Texas Governor Rick Perry, the GOP presidential front-runner, began his campaign by planting his flag in the anti-evolution camp.
Evolution, he told a boy during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, is just "a theory that's out there" -- one that's "got some gaps in it." With startling candor he added that in Texas they teach both creationism and evolution. Actually, a bill to authorize the teaching of "intelligent design," a supposedly scientific theory distinct from creationism, died in the Texas legislature earlier this year. But no doubt the Gov. is right -- the illegal infliction of biblical creationism on public school students in Texas continues. Perry's parting words to the lad were laden with mock ambiguity: "I figure you're smart enough to figure out which one is right." Wink, wink.
In Republican primaries, coming out for creationism might seem as courageous as taking a stand for mom and apple pie, but does this really reflect the views of the nation? New evidence indicates that acceptance of evolution is on the rise, even as biblical literalism sinks.
A long-running Gallup poll on the question of human origins finds that evolution beats creationism 56 percent to 40 percent. Now, it's important to note that the evolution figure is a composite of those who believe in theistic evolution, God guiding the process from off-stage and purely natural evolution. Nevertheless, it is striking to note that those who choose theistic evolution are in a statistical dead heat with those who opt for creationism: 38 percent to 40 percent.
Yet, even that pales in comparison with the trendlines. The percentage of strict creationists has fallen by 10 percent in just the last three years, to its lowest point since the poll began in 1982. What's more, the proportion who chose strictly natural evolution has rocketed up by more than 75 percent since 2000 to 16 percent in the poll just released.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, Fox News has a different poll with different results. Its poll leaves out the option of theistic evolution. Instead, it presents these choices:
* The theory of evolution as outlined by Darwin and other scientists
* The Biblical account of creation as told in the Bible, or
* Are both true?
* (Don't know)
The second choice brings the Bible to the fore twice in a ten-word question. Now, that third choice is really interesting. It makes about as much sense as asking whether the Earth is both 4.5 billion years old and 10,000 years old. All the same, 27 percent of respondents picked "both are true."
If you presume that they were taking this choice as a proxy for theistic evolution, then together with the 21 percent who chose the "Darwin" answer, then even in this poll, evolution beats creationism 48 percent to 45.
But once again, it's the trendlines that are really impressive. Since Fox News last ran this poll in 1999, the proportion of respondents choosing the "Darwin" answer has shot up by 40 percent, from 15 to 21 percent. In the same period, the proportion picking creationism has fallen by 10 percent, from 50 to 45 percent. There's no fudging that.
Perhaps Governor Perry, who is if nothing else a canny politician, has picked up on the evolving public view. His response to another question about evolution in South Carolina has a more than a hint of waffle in it. Here's MSNBC's account:
[Perry] talked again about evolution, when a woman congratulated him on his comment that evolution was theory. He said, "Well, God is how we got here. God may have done it in the blink of the eye or he may have done it over this long period of time, I don't know. But I know how it got started."
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I assume doing so will be so mind-numbingly difficult. Yet another one of those situations where reality, experience and knowledge do battle in your brain against the childhood indoctrination.
It requires zero original thought. I could propose a "canine design" theory which is much the same, except my dog designed everything. It's no more or less valid than the Christian ID theory.
And to add another question: Obviously we, like all species, are still evolving. So at some point in the future we will no longer be human and will cease to have souls again.
I have also asked questions like these of religious people, but have never received a response. I think for some reason they tend to be regarded as facetious, or "clever-clever" questions whose only purpose is to catch them out, and therefore not worthy of a reply.
But, as you say, if you believe that humans have an immortal soul but also accept evolution, then these questions arise naturally. The reason they sound like silly questions is because the dividing line between humans and non-humans is arbitrarily chosen by humans. So any belief system that seeks to claim the dividing line as absolute, runs into difficulties.
But why do religious Americans never mention that these people are also the WHITEST ON EARTH?
http://www.city-data.com/forum/atheism-agnosticism/491544-least-religious-countries.html
I demand acknowledgement of our irreligiosity :-).
NYC123: "evolution... something that is a theory at best based on faith!"
Dr. Stephen Jay Gould:
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Evolution As Fact and Theory
In the American vernacular, "theory" often means "imperfect fact"—part of a hierarchy of confidence running downhill from fact to theory to hypothesis to guess. Thus creationists can (and do) argue: evolution is "only" a theory, and intense debate now rages about many aspects of the theory. If evolution is less than a fact, and scientists can't even make up their minds about the theory, then what confidence can we have in it? ...
Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts...
Moreover, "fact" does not mean "absolute certainty." The final proofs of logic and mathematics flow deductively from stated premises and achieve certainty only because they are not about the empirical world... In science, "fact" can only mean "confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent." I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms.
http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/gould_fact-and-theory.html
materialism is a system of beliefs so powerful and accepted that few can see outside that system of beliefs that has become paradigm paralysis for most scientists.
a scientist is as sure of his or her facts as a christian is of their bible as a fact and dont bother with the evidence thing with either.
besides nature only reveals to the materialist the possible evolution of the physical, the underlying reality of the physical is consciousness. the evolution of consciousness process is the stuff of life.
until a scientist indeed anyone goes back to almost zero in their cherished beliefs little new information will formulate in the mind. the ego will scream in protest if even a hint of going back to zero.
above all else the ego wants to be known for knowing and to find that comfort it always finds a way to involve itself in the herd effect. ie like attracts like for a very good reason.
That people communicate is what is important.
When the communication involves clearly thought out ideas, introspection and comprehension, the message is still as strong with miss-spelled words.
None of us know the background of another poster; this person could have been home schooled by rightwing Stepford wife.
That the poster articulated a well thought out argument is what gets my attention.
More and more people are moving away from the literal belief that two belly buttonless humans built from clay and a rib generated the entire human race, and that all the life on earth from the tiny mosquito to the blue whale, all poofed into existence fully formed and intact as we see them today. And once people move farther away from that, EVolutionary Theory is easy to accept.
The fact of the matter is, a god creating evolutionary mechanisms is way more cool than a poof there it is god.
Why are species going extinct an indicator of "non-intelligence?" That's like saying a person who makes a lot of mistakes is not skilled or intelligent. On the contrary, mistakes are part of any process of development, and a person who willingly makes mistakes in order to grow I would say is living life very intelligently.
Judge: Colonel Drummond...
Henry Drummond: Can't you understand? That if you take a law like evolution and you make it a crime to teach it in the public schools, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools? And tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it. And soon you may ban books and newspapers. And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant, and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man. If you can do one, you can do the other. Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding. And soon, your Honor, with banners flying and with drums beating we'll be marching backward, BACKWARD, through the glorious ages of that Sixteenth Century when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind!
Inherit the Wind (1960)
Director: Stanley Kramer
Writers: Nedrick Young (screenplay) (originally as Nathan E. Douglas), Harold Jacob Smith (screenplay)
It was called the "Scopes Monkey" trail. A teacher was arrested and tried for teaching evolution.
For openers “our limited science intelligence and the science community†has no tolerance for a Universal God with no beginning creating all things. Forget about any success with those folks; they dismiss that notion “hands down!†This is why it is chocking a Christian worth his or her weight in salt to accept evolution and big band with an embrace! For to dismiss God the Father from the creation equation – Christians must dismiss their foolishness, hands down!
And rejection of evolution does not mean Believers agree with Church doctrines the universe was created in 7, 24 hours days – for scripture does no confirm that notion! Question: Why would a heavenly community rush through the “universe project†when their timing is eternal, makes no sense! Only a rhetorical question! Even the clueless must admit how off the charts, and magnificent, man, and all creation are weaved together; for Believers it is humbling! Christians wake up – you are being duped
2.) Read any number of experiments and papers - you'll see the evidence (and the hard, meticulous work that went into the research and effort).
3.) do a search, and see how most christians denominations have no problem with evolution, and how very many scientists are christian.
4.) note how nothing in evolution requires a disbelief in god - only a recognition that Genesis is not literal but figurative, appropriate for its original audience.
5.) Reflect on how if god set up the natural world, then she also set up the laws and discoveries we make as we do science, and increase our understanding of how her world operates.
It's an amazing world out there - don't be afraid to learn about it.
Meticulous work and evidence? Ha! They can't even explain where the first bits of matter came from to form the components that ignited the explosion of the big bang let alone any evidence that actually proves that one species evolved into an entirely different species.
but you repeatedly misrepresent even though your errors have been pointed out to you, and the truth is easy to research.
that makes you a liar or a fool. either way you should be ashamed of yourself for misrepresenting facts and pretending to represent truth.
Here is what Jesus said about Satan the Devil:
John 12:31 "Now there is a judging of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out."
John 14:30: "I shall not speak much with YOU anymore, for the ruler of the world is coming. And he has no hold on me."
John 16:11: " then concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
In order to mount a a defense one has to know the enemy especially a formidable one. The only job Satan has is to be a manslayer. Everyday, from morning to night, thinking of how to kill humans and make them alienated from their God..