In the USA, 48% reject evolution, 34% of college graduades are Biblical creationists

[Eran of Arcadia]

Algae are not technically plants, although the author of Genesis probably didn't know that. What does seem to be most important to me about Genesis, compared to other creations stories, is that God did the whole thing systematically and according to a plan, rather than randomly.

 

[El_Machinae]

I wrote a bit of a post deconstructing how off Genesis 1 is from natural history, but I got fatigued.

In what way does it actually fit natural history? I can't see a single creation event that is shown in the right order relative to the others.

 

[Swedishguy]

If the church wasn't so pig headed and controlling when Darwin brought forward his theory of evolution, they could have just acknowledged yes there is evolution, it is part of gods plan.

But no, their opportunity lost. It took until the end of the 20th century for the church to acknowledge that Galileo was right and the earth does go around the sun.

Didn't Galileo say that the sun goes around the Earth?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Copernicus was the one who first said that the solar system is heliocentric, Kepler confirmed it and demonstrated elliptical orbits.

 

[Pounder]

Didn't Galileo say that the sun goes around the Earth?

No, that was the church.

 

[mdwh]

Here's the poll questions and answers in full: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17875540/site/newsweek/

Anyway, the term is nevertheless being phased out because of the connotations it has. Gravitation for example, doesn't imply that whatever goes up must have a contractual obligation to come down. Science is supposed to describe what "is", not what "must be".

Yes this is true. E.g., e=mc^2 might have once been called a law, in that it's a simple equation describing behaviour, but I've never heard it called that.

Perhaps theory needs to be replaced with something (model?), as people seem to confuse it with the lay-meaning of theory..?

 

[Pounder]

Algae are not technically plants, although the author of Genesis probably didn't know that. What does seem to be most important to me about Genesis, compared to other creations stories, is that God did the whole thing systematically and according to a plan, rather than randomly.

Yes algae is technically a plant.

 

[Xanikk999]

Yes algae is technically a plant.

No actually its considered multi-cellular protozoa.

Except for the single celled algae which is still protozoa.

(Edit: After looking a bit, it seems theres prokaryotic algae also)

 

[nonconformist]

Sometimes, I think the NAzis had it right with forced sterilisation.

Reading this thread, this is one of those times.

 

[Xanikk999]

Sometimes, I think the NAzis had it right with forced sterilisation.

Reading this thread, this is one of those times.

Why do you think forced sterilization would of made less die hard creationists?

 

[El_Machinae]

What do you think forced sterilization would of made less die hard creationists?

I don't understand this sentence. Do you mean "have" instead of "of"? Are you pronouncing "would've" in your head as "would of"?

If that's not it, could you rephrase?

 

[Xanikk999]

I don't understand this sentence. Do you mean "have" instead of "of"? Are you pronouncing "would've" in your head as "would of"?

If that's not it, could you rephrase?

I mean why.

 

[Sophie 378]

Oddly enough, I'm most ... angry? Upset? Offended? ... anyway, displeased, about this quote from the article in OP:

In the poll, 68 percent of respondents said they believed someone could be moral and an atheist, compared to 26 percent who said it was not possible.

So, one in four people think that the only way to be moral is to be religious? I find that extremely insulting.

 

[Lambert Simnel]

Good point, Sophie.

Like an earlier poster, I was rather hoping the questions were badly phrased or lead the respondents towards particular answers. Now, looking at the question on mankind's origins, it's pretty fairly worded, and offers the evolution options without mentioning the word itself (which is good, as some may have seen that term very negatively), and offers an evolution guided by God option, which is also good, as it avoids it being seen as a "do you believe in God" question.

And we still have 48% opting for "God created humans pretty much in the present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so". Yikes!

Another rather interesting stat here, is that apparently 13% of American agnostics/atheists belive that God created humans pretty much in the present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so. Double plus yikes! What weird form of agnosticism or atheism is this ?

PS Desperate hope I know, but there's no chance this was just a mis-timed April Fool's gag, is there ?

 

[carlosMM]

Algae are not technically plants,

Green algae are


Please, do we need to drift off into semantics about a text written by guy who quite clearly was a simple shepherd?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Evidently if he was writing all this he was clearly not a shepherd, even if many of his kinsmen were.

 

[carlosMM]

Evidently if he was writing all this he was clearly not a shepherd, even if many of his kinsmen were.

But that's the point, isn't it? That originally, they WERE shepherds, and tradition was oral. And only later, the priests, influenced by the Babylonians, added the younger (second, placed first) genesis story.


edit: maybe I should state that (as opposed to you, if I know you well enough), I advocate a historical critical interpretation of biblical texts, so I can see why you would, based on your religion, be forced to disagree.

 

[SG-17]

everyone just wait until i finish my time machine, then we will finally know, that Creatiolution is the truth.

\/ Creatiolution \/

God kick started evolution, then just stood at the side lines for a few billion years. Until Man finally appeared.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

edit: maybe I should state that (as opposed to you, if I know you well enough), I advocate a historical critical interpretation of biblical texts, so I can see why you would, based on your religion, be forced to disagree.

Oh, I advocate such an interpretation of any historical/mythological texts. I just don't have to agree with the results, as they make perfectly reasonable assumptions (like God not directly intervening) that I don't need to accept.

 

[Phlegmak]

Green algae isn't a plant.