Pheobe Debates The Theory of Evolution

Original scene from the show... Friends. ^ | NA | NA

[Mr.Atos]

I was just lisening to Medved debating Creationism with Athiests on the air. I found it interesting that while Medved argued his side quite effectively from the standpoint of faith, his opponents resorted to condescension and beliitled him with statements like, "when it rains, is that God crying?" I was reminded of the best (at least most amusing)debate that I have ever heard on the subject of Creationism vs Evolution, albeit a fictional setting. It occurred on the show, Friends of all places between the characters Pheobe (The Hippy) and Ross (The Paleontologist). It went like this...

Pheebs: Okay...it's very faint, but I can still sense him in the building...GO INTO THE LIGHT MR. HECKLES!!

Ross: Whoa, whoa, whoa. What, uh, you don't believe in evolution? Pheebs: Nah. Not really. Ross: You don't believe in evolution? Pheebs: I don't know. It's just, ya know, monkeys, Darwin, ya know, it's a, it's a nice story. I just think it's a little too easy.

Ross: Uh, excuse me. Evolution is not for you to buy, Phoebe. Evolution is scientific fact. Like, like, the air we breathe, like gravity... Pheebs: Uh, okay, don't get me started on gravity.

Ross: You uh, you don't believe in gravity? Pheebs: Well, it's not so much that ya know, like I don't *believe* in it, ya know. It's just...I don't know. Lately I get the feeling that I'm not so much being pulled down, as I am being pushed.

Ross: How can you NOT BELIEVE in evolution? Pheebs: [shrugs] I unh-huh...Look at this funky shirt!!

Ross: Well, there ya go. Pheebs: Huh. So now, the REAL question is: who put those fossils there, and why...?

Ross: OPPOSABLE THUMBS!! Without evolution, how do YOU explain OPPOSABLE THUMBS?!? Pheebs: Maybe the overlords needed them to steer their spacecrafts!

Pheebs: Uh-oh! Scary Scientist Man!

Pheebs: Okay, Ross? Could you just open your mind like, *this* much?? Okay? Now wasn't there a time when the brightest minds in the world believed that the Earth was flat? And up until what, like, fifty years ago, you all thought the atom was the smallest thing, until you split it open, and this like, whole mess o' crap came out! Now, are you telling me that you are so unbelievably arrogant that you can't admit that there's a teeny, tiny possibility that you could be wrong about this?!?

Pheebs: I can't believe you caved. Ross: What? Pheebs: You just ABANDONED your whole belief system! I mean, before, I didn't agree with you, but at least I respected you. Ross: But uh.. Pheebs: Yeah...how...how are you gonna go in to work tomorrow? How...how are you gonna face the other science guys? How...how are you gonna face yourself? Oh! [Ross runs away dejected] Pheebs: That was fun. So who's hungry?

[mdmathis6]

Velikpvsky said that Jupiter ejected venus(where the red spot is now), then venus carrened about the solar system, which caused the ten plagues of Egypt, which the clever Hebrews used to take advantage of a weakened Egypt and leave town!(Essentially what his book was about. He was a crack pot but a lot of his predicted measurments about the planets and the sun did come to proven, as the technology to measure them came into being...even crack-pots can still be geniuses)

[PatrickHenry]

I've been out all morning, and I'm just getting up to speed here. I'm not optimistic about the proposed truce. I don't want to sound Clintonian, but everything about the proposed truce hinges on the meaning of "Christian bashing" ("CB" for short). The reason I'm dubious is that I don't engage in CB^{see below}, yet I'm constantly accused of it by the author of the truce proposal. What am I to expect if this truce goes into effect?

As far as I can see, almost anything I post will be construed by some people around here as CB. I can't agree to a truce that will amount to a vow of silence. Even my placemarkers are the topic of heated opposition. What's left to me, after agreeing to this truce? Might I be allowed to post an occasional smiley face?

Before I can even consider this proposed truce as a meaningful idea, I need some answers as to whether these things are considered CB:

1. any opposition to a literal interpretation of Genesis;
2. any opposition to "creation science";
3. any advocacy of the theory evolution;
4. posting any evolution-oriented thread.

Footnote on CB:
"Oh come now, PH, you're a ghastly Christian basher!" Yeah, right. I won't rehash this at length right now, because it will take a few screens and I've already done it twice. But consider that to even make such a charge, some 4-year-old posts were presented. The fact that they had to go back that far is very instructive. When I explained those posts and put them in context, what happened? The accuser just posted them again. When I repeated my rebuttal, and went further with a greater rebuttal, what happened? The accuser posted the stuff again. At that point I dropped it, otherwise the thread would have been swamped by an endless loop of accusation and rebuttal, which would have destroyed the thread -- the actual goal of some around here. But if I stop posting the rebuttals, then the charges stand, and get repeated over and over. So without some serious reforms all around, which are not yet on the table, the whole thing looks rotten, and I am quite dubious about the proposed truce.

[Aric2000]

900?

[conservababeJen]

eh?

[bondserv]

In the often used words of Jesus, "Have you not read?".

[balrog666]

[PatrickHenry]

Yeah, but we know what you're thinking, so even that smirking smiley face is CB. You can't fool us.

[restornu]

Evolution in progress!

[Aric2000]

I will NOT agree to ANY truce.

The behavior itself must change before any such thing can even be considered.

ALS has NO credibility with me at all, and the only way he can change that is to change his own behavior.

To attack a poster personally because they disagree with you is not nice, and yes, I have done it on occasion, I am far from perfect, but ALS takes personal attacking to a whole new level.

A-G as neutral is insane, she is far from it. When bad behavior by her side is put up with, that is NOT neutral.

When I see a change of behavior by ALS, then we can talk about a number of things, but to have them set the rules of discourse would be terminally insane.

So, no, no truce, when and if I see a change of behavior, then we might discuss it, but not until then.

I believe that if ALS and a few others, including myself in some instances, will change their behavior, no truce or whatever is necassary

[f.Christian]

To: f.Christian

In general, the Old Testament doesn't give us a natural history of the Jurassic period, etc. Evolution is not so much "wrong" because of the conflict with some Christians, as it is just plain goofy science. The "theory" entertains a certain class of agnostic materialists who get a bang out of annoying religious people and occasionally by playing around with monkey bones. In the end, it doesn't matter *how* humanity came to be the way we are now. Genesis is about *why*. Even with some modified version of "evolution" after the instant of Creation, materialistic scientism of the 19th-century variety would still be goofy ontologically.

8 Posted on 08/07/2001 16:17:10 PDT by veritas_in_enigma

from my ... 1st creation --- thread (( comments closed )) !

Reposted ... open --- for comments !

[Aric2000]

come on Jen, you should know me by now enough to know that I love to try and get the hundreds. You just happened to be 899.

[Junior]

Matthew 22:31. Skip down a few lines though:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)

Notice, nowhere does Jesus say anything about taking the Book of Genesis literally.

[conservababeJen]

I realized that after replying. I thought you were calling me on one of my posts.

btw, So sorry you failed... better luck next time. It's a shame you turned down the truce or I would have challenged you to a friendly contest for #1,000.

It's time to reset your Virtual Ignore machine :p

[Aric2000]

I haven't turned down a thing, if you are serious, then the onus is on you and ALS.

Show me that you are serious, and we won't need a truce because the entire mood of these threads will change.

I am more then happy to treat you both with respect, but I need to see some effort on your parts first.

[Aric2000]

Oh, and it needs to be consistent, no 2 days and back to the old ways, this has to be LONG term....

So, it is going to take a bit to convince me that you are serious.

[Aric2000]

Oh, and I would go for a freindly contest for 1000 anyway, but I am headed up to the lake for the day, gonna be 95 or so here today, so gonna keep cool in Lake Tapps.

[js1138]

Our country is founded on the axiom that God exists and God exists.

And also on the axiom that no one could force another to believe or publically subscribe to any particular articles of faith. I find it offensive to be called a marxist because I don't belong to your church or a church that you approve of.

I find it interesting that freepers mock the Twinkie defense -- "the sugar devil made me do it" -- but insist that a scientific assertion causes people to behave badly.

[conservababeJen]

I haven't turned down a thing, if you are serious, then the onus is on you and ALS.

errrrrrrr, you just said this... "So, no, no truce.........." .

Moot though. Give me respect and you'll be sure to get it...Bite me though, and I'll be sure to bite back twice as hard. It's just my way...ALS hates it about me too. I think it's a girly hormonal thang, ya know. (pssstt, Cobalt..some of us are proud to have em).

[js1138]

Perhaps we ought to elect someone like that again, just to turn our collective attention away from feasting on each other.

The old War of the Worlds scenerio -- united by a common enemy. How many of us are here because of Clinton?

There's a really fun fantasy/science fiction book -- The Lathe of Heaven -- about a bleeding heart psychiatrist who aquires a patient whose dreams really come true. The shrink, in typical liberal fashon, tries to fix all the troubles of the world by influencing the patient's dreams. So one day he tells the patient to dream of world peace, everybody workng together...