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To: GunRunner
I wish we weren't the party of creationism, but what to do. I'm open to your ideas.

A good point. Perhaps it might make more sense if one tries to pull it back into proper perspective with God's creation of the Universe. The Bible tells us why God created the Universe, but is less detail-oriented and more allegorical when it comes to the how. Evolution, in some form, is fact, so it must be the case that God created the world, and the Universe, so that it would evolve. In other words, evolution is part of the "How" in the question of how God created the Universe. He is still creating it.

To the objections that this presupposes some sort of flaw in God's creation, which is simply not possible as God is Perfect, the simple rejoinder is that evolution and the involvement of random chance in the process is part and parcel for God's desire that Man have free will. In other words, if God had simply pre-formed every jot and tittle of the human form in one go, right down to the last molecule, in final finished form, then the result would have been an automaton, a derivative robot with no genuine spark of self, of free will. Without free will there can be no real meaning to the worship of God because such worship would be the product of mere manufacture, and not a genuine choice of Good over Evil.

It is my speculation that evolution is just one of the many subtle ways in which the Lord works, and through which He created - and is still creating - the Universe and the world.
31 posted on 08/31/2011 8:58:48 PM PDT by Oceander (The phrase "good enough for government work" is not meant as a compliment)
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To: Oceander
The Bible tells us why God created the Universe, but is less detail-oriented and more allegorical when it comes to the how.

When Monsignor Lemaitre was crafting the Big Bang theory, he didn't concern himself with such questions. When the Pope tried to use his theory to confirm Genesis, he voiced his objection.

I think the same thinking can apply to religious people like yourself, and while I don't personally subscribe to non-overlapping magisteria, it's probably the best way to approach the 'why' question.

38 posted on 08/31/2011 9:06:10 PM PDT by GunRunner (***Not associated with any criminal actions by the ATF***)
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To: Oceander
The Bible tells us why God created the Universe, but is less detail-oriented and more allegorical when it comes to the how.

OK let's examine that premise, which proceeds out of the mouths of theistic evolutionists on a regular basis.

Go read Genesis chapters 1 and 2. How many words in them deal with how the world was created, and how many deal with why it was created? In my NIV I count 30 verses of how and one verse of why (if we count verse 26 as "why," which is debatable) in chapter 1, and 2 to 3 verses of why and at least 22 of how in chapter 2. Now, certainly those two chapters are not the entire Bible, but they are typical in that God does not restrict His word to the "why" and in almost every case when "why" is dicussed the "how" is "God created them for this reason."

In other words, if God had simply pre-formed every jot and tittle of the human form in one go, right down to the last molecule, in final finished form, then the result would have been an automaton, a derivative robot with no genuine spark of self, of free will.

So, you believe God has the capability to create a human being "in one go, right down to the last molecule, in final finished form" but NOT the capability to create that same form with molecules arranged so that they would have free will?

Could you provide me with some Biblical backup for the idea that free will came from natural selection after humans diverged from a common ancestor with the apes? Scientific backup would be fine as well. What is the exact mechanism that caused natural selection to induce free will in certain arrangements of molecules?

You call God "Lord" in your post. Are you a Christian?

227 posted on 09/02/2011 7:34:07 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback (Anyone who says we need illegals to do the jobs Americans won't do has never watched "Dirty Jobs.")
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To: Oceander

Exactly!


242 posted on 09/25/2011 6:22:47 AM PDT by Ditter
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