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How Intelligent Design Hurts Conservatives (By making us look like crackpots)
The New Republic ^ | 8/16/05 | Ross Douthat

Posted on 08/18/2005 5:17:34 PM PDT by curiosity

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To: curiosity
How Intelligent Design Hurts Conservatives (By making us look like crackpots)

Well, I don't believe in intelligent design myself. But I'm curious how it makes conservatives look like crackpots in comparison to what many liberals believe:

That America is inherently evil

That abortion is a right but capital punishment is wrong

That it's wrong to pray in school but vital to teach homosexuality

That illegal aliens haven't done anything illegal

That it's a good idea to create diversity of languages and cultures, even though every multicultural country in the past has disintegrated.

I could go on, but there's only so much bandwidth in the world.

581 posted on 08/19/2005 9:32:42 AM PDT by dirtboy (Drool overflowed my buffer...)
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To: visually_augmented
So the big question in my mind is why only primates evolved to become sentient. Why are there not a vast array of higher order being?

As related to body size, our brain is bigger than the brains of most other animals on the planet.

Your brain requires a lot of energy to keep it alive. So, from an evolutionary point of view, a large brain is a double-edged sword. For most animals, evolution has taken them into a different direction where the process of evolution towards sentience is unlikely.

What would, for example, push horse species' into developing higher intelligence?

582 posted on 08/19/2005 9:35:11 AM PDT by Modernman ("A conservative government is an organized hypocrisy." -Disraeli)
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To: doodlelady
Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion.

Then.. I guess..
Freedom of speech also means freedom from speech

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
If we looked at it that way, we'd be an awfully quiet country.
[With 6 people in my little house, I kind of like that idea. :-)] I wonder if my nimble-fingered daughters can use sign language, or if freedom from speech also means freedom from signed speech.

I almost forgot

Freedom of the press also means freedom from the press.

Having no newspapers would be a small loss...many of the more ossified papers are going the way of the dinosaurs, anyway.

583 posted on 08/19/2005 9:37:23 AM PDT by syriacus (You are shouting so loudly that I can't "hear" you.)
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To: CasearianDaoist

Our demonstration over societal impositions must be on an individual basis first, wouldn't you agree?

The depths of your creativity are infinite.


584 posted on 08/19/2005 9:38:08 AM PDT by b9
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To: cajungirl; spunkets
.I care very little for how you regard me, however, I do not like to see lies about Christ go unchallenged. You might honestly doubt Christ rose from the grave, but you cannot honestly say the New Testament teaches He died of cancer in a retirement home. This is comparable to the twisting of words going on here.The Lord saved his most severe criticism (Luke 17:2) for those who undermine the faith of others and this would very much include those teaching evolution -- undermining faith in the Creator. Yet spunkets has Christ denouncing those who have faith in creation and supportive of those He scorns..

And how do you know what Jesus thinks of evolution? You got some kind of pipeline?

And how do you know what Jesus thinks of evolution? You got some kind of pipeline?

You learn how Christ feels about evolution by refering to "original sources." (ie. Scripture) Within those sources you'll find Christ making the most adamant statements endorsing the Word of God and creation.That is the pipeline:

"Haven't you read," He replied, "that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female." Then, lest you suggest this is not an unqualified declarative statement about God's creative act Christ goes further, "For this reason (ie. creation of the two sexes and by extension the institiution of marriage) a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife . . ."

585 posted on 08/19/2005 9:39:13 AM PDT by Zechariah11
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To: Modernman
Countless people have accepted Jesus' words as truth, and have found that simply by doing so, amazing things have occured in their lives.
That can be said of any other religion. Even Islam.

I challenge you then to try them all and tell me about your experience.
I'd be real interested in the result.

586 posted on 08/19/2005 9:42:36 AM PDT by wallcrawlr (http://www.bionicear.com)
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To: js1138

js1138: This is a fundamentally incorrect characterization of evolution.

How so? If man evolved from primate, I assume you would say that this is a step in the higher complexity direction? How does a troglodyte become modern man? Is this not a move toward complexity. How do single cell creatures become multi-cell? The whole foundation of Darwinism must rely on this assumption. Can you name a creature that has de-volved??? Is de-evolution the norm?? Please explain in more detail my improper assumptions...


587 posted on 08/19/2005 9:43:23 AM PDT by visually_augmented (I was blind, but now I see)
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To: wallcrawlr
I challenge you then to try them all and tell me about your experience.

Why would I want to do that?

588 posted on 08/19/2005 9:43:24 AM PDT by Modernman ("A conservative government is an organized hypocrisy." -Disraeli)
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To: visually_augmented
How so? If man evolved from primate, I assume you would say that this is a step in the higher complexity direction?

Part of that evolution involved the loss of a prehensile tale as well as a relative loss of strength. So, it's not clear that humans are any more "complex" than their primate ancestors.

Can you name a creature that has de-volved??? Is de-evolution the norm??

There is no such thing as "de-evolution." However, there are plenty of examples of species that have lost certain abilities and/or traits as they have evolved to adapt to their environment. Penguins can't fly. Land-dwelling animals have lost the ability to breathe in water. Hooved animals have seen their fingers and toes merge into one structure. Whales have lost the use of their legs. Fish that live in caves or in the deep oceans have lost the ability to see. Ants, as descendants of wasps, have mostly lost the ability to fly. The list goes on and on.

589 posted on 08/19/2005 9:50:10 AM PDT by Modernman ("A conservative government is an organized hypocrisy." -Disraeli)
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To: syriacus

I would never assume you'd like my religion imposed upon you.

That's what I mean by freedom from religion.

Freedom to choose our own.


590 posted on 08/19/2005 9:50:31 AM PDT by b9
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To: From many - one.
The word "evolutionist" is usually used as an epithetimplying an unreasonable belief in evolution

That's news to me. Someone should inform the NIH

Here's a listing from one of their pages about Erasmus Darwin...

Physician contributions to nonmedical science: Erasmus Darwin, evolutionist, inventor and poet.

591 posted on 08/19/2005 9:51:54 AM PDT by syriacus (You are shouting so loudly that I can't "hear" you.)
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To: doodlelady

Please explain what mean by "imposing" religion?


592 posted on 08/19/2005 9:53:25 AM PDT by syriacus (You are shouting so loudly that I can't "hear" you.)
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To: curiosity
Is evolution consistent with a six day creation?

Is evolution consistent with Adam and Eve being created on the sixth day?

Is evolution consistent with no death (just human or otherwise) prior to Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden?

Is evolution consistent with the origin of sin and our inherited sin through Adam?

593 posted on 08/19/2005 9:55:03 AM PDT by pby
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To: joanie-f

> ping! <


594 posted on 08/19/2005 9:55:40 AM PDT by Minuteman23
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To: soupcon
ID has nothing to do with theology.

Then why, when I post a creation story like the one below and ask why this version should not be taught in schools, do I usually get a response saying the Hebrew version (i.e., the bible) has attributes which my story lacks, and that only the bible contains the true story of creation? Is this not theology and religion, and one particular version of theology and religion?


Cherokee Creation Story

Long ago, before there were any people, the world was young and water covered everything. The earth was a great island floating above the seas, suspended by four rawhide ropes representing the four sacred directions. It hung down from the crystal sky. There were no people, but the animals lived in a home above the rainbow. Needing space, they sent Water Beetle to search for room under the seas. Water Beetle dove deep and brought up mud that spread quickly, turning into land that was flat and too soft and wet for the animals to live on.

Grandfather Buzzard was sent to see if the land had hardened. When he flew over the earth, he found the mud had become solid; he flapped in for a closer look. The wind from his wings created valleys and mountains, and that is why the Cherokee territory has so many mountains today.

As the earth stiffened, the animals came down from the rainbow. It was still dark. They needed light, so they pulled the sun out from behind the rainbow, but it was too bright and hot. A solution was urgently needed. The shamans were told to place the sun higher in the sky. A path was made for it to travel--from east to west--so that all inhabitants could share in the light.

The plants were placed upon the earth. The Creator told the plants and animals to stay awake for seven days and seven nights. Only a few animals managed to do so, including the owls and mountain lions, and they were rewarded with the power to see in the dark. Among the plants, only the cedars, spruces, and pines remained awake. The Creator told these plants that they would keep their hair during the winter, while the other plants would lose theirs.

People were created last. The women were able to have babies every seven days. They reproduced so quickly that the Creator feared the world would soon become too crowded. So after that the women could have only one child per year, and it has been that way ever since.


595 posted on 08/19/2005 9:56:44 AM PDT by Coyoteman (Is this a good tagline?)
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To: Modernman

Modernman: "As related to body size, our brain is bigger than the brains of most other animals on the planet. Your brain requires a lot of energy to keep it alive. So, from an evolutionary point of view, a large brain is a double-edged sword."

Well, if I am to believe evolution, our brain was not always so large. Obviously, large brains were superior for survival or they would not have propagated. Why is this not the case for other species??

Modernman: "For most animals, evolution has taken them into a different direction where the process of evolution towards sentience is unlikely."

Even if I am to accept your argument (which has obvious and numerous holes), I must contend that only ONE species has evolved to sentience. Consider that there are thousands of other species of animals, not to mention plants. This evidence does not fit assertions made by Darwinists.

Macro evolution is far from a proven theory. It should be presented as such!!

Modernman:"What would, for example, push horse species' into developing higher intelligence?"

Survival. Is that not the basis for all Darwinistic evolution??? Man could exterminate every horse in the world and they would have no (or very little) power to refuse...


596 posted on 08/19/2005 9:57:31 AM PDT by visually_augmented (I was blind, but now I see)
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To: Dimensio
Nice try but a weak counter-point. I give you a 2-out-of-10 on the comeback scale.

Prove: To establish the truth or validity of by presentation of argument or evidence.

Using the generally-accepted definition above and the fact that we can observe the validity of "micro-evolution" (natural selection and adaptation within the "kind") . . . I say . . . yep! "provable" works quite well.

Ignorant of this pseudo-science called Dawinism/macro-evolution I am not.

Your turn!

597 posted on 08/19/2005 9:57:46 AM PDT by DesertSapper (I Love God, Family, Country! (and dead terrorists))
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To: syriacus

I would never assume you'd like my religion presented to your children in a public school format.

I would never assume that your private unfoldment should be publically funded.

No matter what the left attempts to perpetrate, I would never assume I have no choice.


598 posted on 08/19/2005 10:01:27 AM PDT by b9
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To: Modernman

Its my hope you would find Jesus as your savior.


599 posted on 08/19/2005 10:03:02 AM PDT by wallcrawlr (http://www.bionicear.com)
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To: visually_augmented

Your incorrect assumption is that evolution has a direction.

The overwhelming bulk of life is single celled. It is doing just fine.

The undelying incorrect assumption is that things that look more complex by your standards are in fact more complex by some mathematically objective standard.


600 posted on 08/19/2005 10:04:19 AM PDT by js1138 (Science has it all: the fun of being still, paying attention, writing down numbers...)
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