I’m probably going to get flamed for jumping on this thread, but ignorant viewpoints like yours are the reason that conservatives are demonized in popular media.
There are many conservatives (some here, including me) who do not subscribe to intelligent design theory. Now you may come back at me and say “It’s not a theory.” Well...it is. There weren’t any of us there when it happened. Noone that is alive today witnessed creation, no matter how it happened.
Now, intelligent design (as postulated by the religious, I’m not going to go into all the different variations on it here) requires an assumption that can not be proven, that is the belief that God exists. That goes against the scientific method.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not anti-religious. I’m not a religious person myself, and I find no need for it, but if you need to believe to get through your day, go ahead. I won’t stop you. That being said, many of these “athiests” that you talk about aren’t actually athiests. They just don’t share your viewpoint so you demonize them just like the left does to those of us who think firearms should be unregulated.
For some reason there are many here who demonize science and scientists. Without scientists we wouldn’t be able to organize on this forum, so you may want to rethink your position. Science is not about politics, when you get right down to it. Numbers don’t lie (unless they’re statistics, but that’s another post). People do put their own personal biases into their interpretation of the data, but the data doesn’t lie.
All in all, I think many here need to re-think their viewpoints on science in general. Some of those here who go on complaining about “Scientific America” need to look inward to their own viewpoints and the hypocrisy contained therein. Don’t fall into the trap of being dragged down to their level because they’ll beat you with experience.
I’m off to don my asbestos underwear.
If God did not create the universe, then:
(A) God does not exist
(B) God exists but operates independent of our creation
(C) God evolved along with the space dust and this leaves open the possibility for other gods to also have evolved.
The mechanism of that “creation of life” is not the key component to believing in ANY idea of creationism. It hinges on whether you believe God played a role or not.
So those who deride all notions of creationism should really state what ideology they hold that denying any possibility of “creationism” does not deny the existence of god (forcing the “no god” god of atheism on the “deniers”).
Atheism is not the absence of religion. It is a faith too. Agnostics are the ones who say “we cannot know these things”.
I don’t see the point to teaching any theory as fact. That’s how we get the junk science of Man Made Global Warming in the circulum.
Odd too that science is unwilling to declare WHEN life begins even though there are millions of prenancies to observe but they are quite sure of the latest theory of HOW life began.
When those who choose not to believe in God, cannot believe in God, or for whatever other reason do not believe in God (the right not to do so I fully support, although I do believe) say things like you said: “ I’m not a religious person myself, and I find no need for it, but if you need to believe to get through your day, go ahead. I won’t stop you,” you sell believers short. You seem pretty intelligent, so I must assume you meant it as a slight to believers.
Many of us who believe in God do not do so “to get through our day” as you say. We believe because we are led to believe. I imagine that there are some who say they believe in order to comfort themselves in some manner, and others who say they believe in order to fit in with those they wish to associate with. There may be other reasons for SAYING that one believes when one does not really believe.
But I venture to say that MOST of those who believe in God do so out of a sense of internal logic, personal experience and/or a true, abiding faith totally independent of any comfort or relief that the belief may provide. In fact, there are many religious believers whose faith requires them to deny themselves pleasures and benefits that, as a matter of convenience, they would never do by choice.
In short, true faith is not something one merely elects to have (or pretend to have). For those who do not believe and who say so, I respect that and I respect the honesty of it. Because I believe, however, I hope and pray (yes, pray) that non-believers will be open to receiving the gift of faith if that gift should find its way to their doorstep.
That's what the movie seems to be about...
Fine - you believe in "A", others believe in "B".
Why are the "A" so afraid to let the "B"'s have the same rights of free speech and dissemination of their ideas?
You believe you are right. They believe they are right.
You cannot prove you are right. They cannot prove they are right.
But each have the right
to be heard.