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To: cookcounty
" Related issue, does anyone seriously argue that Darwin's the agnosticism is not related to embracing a closed naturalistic system to explain all phenomena?

When Darwin left on the Beagle, he was very much the normal Christian of the time, in fact studied Theology at university, and was particularly enamored of Paley's argument for an Intelligent Designer. At the time of his departure he was what we would now class as an IDist. His agnosticism did not develop until his return. Although some doubt crept in during the voyage he spent the voyage compiling an enormous amount of raw data (and keeping meticulous notes) which he didn't seriously consider until a while after returning to England. The first years were spent in identifying and cataloging specimens.

"It always amuses me how some insist that it is possible to believe that God "used" evolution to bring about the biological world, When asked how that is possible, they cite, "well so-snd-so belives it." When pressed for the actual argument of how this works, however, there isn't any argument there, just some more feel-good ad hominems.

Since God is supposedly all powerful, how is it possible that he couldn't use Evolution? I believe your question is more precisely - How could someone not take the Bible literally.

Easy, they worship God and not the Bible.

What really amazes me is that Biblical literalists are more willing to believe that there exists some all powerful, all knowing ethereal 'mind' that is not only capable of creating life but the entire Universe while still failing to insert any kind of consistency into the Biblical creation stories, but are unwilling to believe that mechanisms such as trial and error, which humans use 'all he time' and which have been observed in nature can actually be used by nature.

178 posted on 10/14/2006 8:26:00 PM PDT by b_sharp (evolution is not, generally speaking, a global optimiser, but a general satisficer -J. Wilkins)
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To: b_sharp
while still failing to insert any kind of consistency into the Biblical creation stories

The Biblical creation stories are quite consistent and when you compare them with the other views on the origin of the world at the time (3000 years ago) you will be amazed how akin they are to the modern scientific theories. Taking into account that the Bible is not to be a biology handbook for XX century but a description of spiritual relationship between God and Creation the scientific accuracy of Biblical account is sufficient.

Much better in any case that Germanic primordial cow licking the first giant out of piece of ice or scientific theories from that time.

183 posted on 10/14/2006 8:40:22 PM PDT by A. Pole (Russian proverb: "All are not cooks that walk with long knives")
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