Posted on 10/17/2001 5:24:59 AM PDT by ThinkPlease
I assume you meant to reply to someone else; your comments are unrelated to what I wrote.
I'm sorry that I keep my religion and science separate.
ID is a clever hoax to sell books. That's a fact.
The day you creationists ever start to do that is the day there will be no more creationists.
Creationists just come forward with a collection of long discreditied talking points and a delightful array of scam artists
Creationists just say "I know I am right, I can't prove it so just take my word for it"
Evolutionists on the otherhand can produce mountains of evidence in support of their theroy.
Creationists are not taken seriously because they don't deserve to be taken seriously, They are going to need more than Ken Hamm's little slideshow and blind faith to win over believers!
Yeah, sure. "I usually agree with you, Rush, but ..." It's a classic line. I've never met a person who abandoned rationality, and I don't think you've traveled that road, although you make the claim.
Although I tend not to believe creationists (because their peculiar belief system requires too much denial and distortion to make them credible) it is remotely possible that you believed evolution, as if it were just another cult. But in that case you never understood evolution. So in your mind, you just switched cults. That's not much of an intellectual accomplishment.
The sufficient cause is evolution. The "cosmic accident" is a bit removed in time from the arrival of man-like organisms. Man makes his own meaning and is perfectly capable of according himself and others dignity, worth, purpose and significance. "Real personhood" is exactly what we have -- how can it be otherwise? The proof of the existence of human virtue is provided by the variety of ways it is expressed in different cultures and at different times. It is especially apparent as it contrasts with those people and cultures in which it is conspicuously lacking. In other words, virtue must be learned and depends on the period and the environment.
"...there is no philosophical basis for even defining or understanding such events as 'atrocities' based on a presupposition of pure naturalism. " -- Diamond
Sure there is. Entropy bad. Work good.
"A gigantic, impersonal source provides no rational foundation for distinguishing between cruelty and kindness." -- Diamond
You don't need a giant impersonal source. All you need is a small personal source -- a human being.
"In the same way, it seems no less natural to seek a rational explanation of the cause of some of the characteristics of human nature that we know intuitively such as personhood, with its attendant attributes of worth, dignity, meaning, significance, good, evil, hope, etc." -- Diamond
Seek your cause in the evolution of humans from our protohuman ancestors. Examine the Chimpanzee as an example of an approximate starting point. They behave a lot like humans with all the same emotions. All they really need to join our ranks are slightly better communication skills. They also don't seem to be concerned about where their dignity or "apehood" comes from.
"If after a person is dead he just rots into nothingness, what difference does it make to HIM then whether he has reproduced or not? None whatsover. There is ultimately no point to any of it." -- Diamond
When he is dead he no longer exists. But while he lives and if he has reproduced it will matter very much to him what happens in this world. Nihilism offers nothing by way of direction or meaning. Recognizing that there is no "ultimate" meaning or point to life doesn't require a man to accept the notion that life is not worth living. A man can easily be satisfied with a small purpose -- raising a happy, beautiful child, for example.
"I have enjoyed our conversation, and I hope you have, too." -- Diamond
Yes, thank you.
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