Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: MeanWestTexan
I see no conflict in evolution and Creationism.

I do. The only scenario I can see where the two would be compatible is if the Creator set the mechanisms in motion and then walked away. However, neither Christians nor Jews, nor any religion that I know of, believe that God is no longer active in the affairs of men, in which case, evolution could not be relied upon as an explanation of current species.

Here's where it falls apart: let's say that God put some simple organisms on the Earth and established the rules by which they would develop (evolution). Given that He is all powerful, He could, at any time, simply bypass the normal evolutionary process. Now, though evolution may remain the main mechanism by which organisms develop on Earth, we would no longer be able to rely on it as a theory to explain all species because, at some point in the fossil and DNA records, a jump was made that didn't follow the rules. That would then put into question ALL of the conclusions we reach from the evidence we gather, because we would never know which species evolved purely from evolutionary mechanisms, and which were given a helping hand by the Creator. If evolution were ever to be a science by which we could determine origins and predict outcomes, there would have to be no external variables.

To sum up, from a logical standpoint, you cannot believe in both a Creator AND evolution (as a predictable set of rules - a science).
160 posted on 12/21/2004 12:14:28 PM PST by fr_freak
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 130 | View Replies ]


To: fr_freak

I respectfully disagree that compatiability requires a disinterested God.

Going back to the cake analogy, the study of how the cake solidifies is not incorrect because the baker takes the cake out and puts icing onto it --- you just have two forces at work.

It is like how scientist recently showed that the Red Sea can naturally part --- certain wind conditions, tides, and all that. "No miracle!" some cry. "Heresy!" cry others.

Well, the miracle was not the parting, the miracle was parting just as Moses showed up with Pharoah on his tail, and then closing back up.

I am quite sure God put the wind, tides, etc, in motion a million years ago to get that one just right.

Same with evolution. He created just the exactly right conditions for things to be as he wanted.

It's very similar to a baker putting the micrograms of whatnot to get a souffle to rise just so.

Yes, God could intervene and bypass His rules of nature. But why? He made the rules. He knows how they work. Why should he not follow His own rules?

So to answer your quandry: "we would never know which species evolved purely from evolutionary mechanisms, and which were given a helping hand by the Creator"

This assumes God made a mistake in putting the Universe in motion.

ALL were given the exact helping hand by God --- be it by a timely asteroid killing dinosaurs just as those mamals got going, or by parting the Red Sea at the right time.

I do not presume that God would make a mistake. I presume He did it right and it is exactly as He desinged it.


170 posted on 12/21/2004 1:00:00 PM PST by MeanWestTexan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 160 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson