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Darwin on the Right: Why Christians and conservatives should accept evolution
Scientific American ^ | October 2006 issue | Michael Shermer

Posted on 09/18/2006 1:51:27 PM PDT by PatrickHenry

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To: Religion Moderator; Admin Moderator
Regarding the suggestion of a separate forum for science threads, I think that's a big mistake. Science is news. The education controversies over teaching science are news. The alleged anti-science attitude of the Republican party (so lovingly perpetuated by the MSM) is news. Editorials about such issues are also news. Such news affects the success of the Republican party. Further, it is (in my always humble opinion) very valuable to have such issues discussed in the news forum because it continues to attract highly educated conservatives -- such as scientists and other academics -- to this website.

On the other hand, there are blog articles related to these topics, often lacking in science content, which obviously belong in the blogger forum, or sometimes chat. But there is no need for the creation of a separate science forum. The news forum seems entirely appropriate.

You may recall, about three years ago, there were a few extremely disruptive posters who were trying to get all science articles banned from this website. Fortunately that effort failed, and most (but not all) of those disruptors managed to get themselves banned. There is no reason to revive their cause by considering a ban of science articles from the news forum. The problem isn't with the subject matter, it's with a few disruptive people. The problem will be easily handled with a few "Stay off this thread!" posts from the mods.

561 posted on 09/20/2006 9:49:18 AM PDT by PatrickHenry (Science-denial is not conservative. It's reality-denial and it's unhealthy.)
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To: Dimensio; js1138

I can not agree that ELS has been thoroughly debunked - applying a little critical thinking shows that the criticism is lacking. This is especially true of the talkorigins website - basically just a 'talking points' site for pro-evolutionists.

Maybe one of you has found some better criticism(s) for the hydroplate theory explained by Walt Brown on his creationscience website -

http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/PartII.html

- but I'm not holding out any hope that it won't be nit-picked on some minor point rather than a thorough refutation of all data presented.


562 posted on 09/20/2006 9:52:37 AM PDT by BrandtMichaels
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Comment #563 Removed by Moderator

To: Junior; Dimensio

Archeology continues to uncover facts that support the accuracy and truthfulness of the Bible everyday.

Included in this - the dead sea scrolls - show that these writings from the old testament are accurate and were indeed written hundreds of years (approx 1000 if I recall correctly) before Jesus Christ.

Nothing about Psalm 22 is vague - some Bible students even think that Jesus last words may have been a full repeating from Psalm 22. Either way he uttered words from both the beginning and ending of Psalm 22 while he was being crucified. Furthermore, many of the prophecies about his life and death were fulfilled by others in His life - including the evil King Herod.

Maybe you should 'pull your heads out of the sand' before the time of your own demise...


564 posted on 09/20/2006 10:02:50 AM PDT by BrandtMichaels
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To: BrandtMichaels
Archeology continues to uncover facts that support the accuracy and truthfulness of the Bible everyday.

See post #449

566 posted on 09/20/2006 10:11:19 AM PDT by Coyoteman (I love the sound of beta decay in the morning!)
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To: King Prout

Hey, that's a great idea! All the evolution threads should be on the religion forum!


567 posted on 09/20/2006 10:13:49 AM PDT by My2Cents (A pirate's life for me.)
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Comment #568 Removed by Moderator

To: PatrickHenry
Regarding the suggestion of a separate forum for science threads, I think that's a big mistake. Science is news. The education controversies over teaching science are news. The alleged anti-science attitude of the Republican party (so lovingly perpetuated by the MSM) is news. Editorials about such issues are also news. Such news affects the success of the Republican party. Further, it is (in my always humble opinion) very valuable to have such issues discussed in the news forum because it continues to attract highly educated conservatives -- such as scientists and other academics -- to this website.

On the other hand, there are blog articles related to these topics, often lacking in science content, which obviously belong in the blogger forum, or sometimes chat. But there is no need for the creation of a separate science forum. The news forum seems entirely appropriate.

You may recall, about three years ago, there were a few extremely disruptive posters who were trying to get all science articles banned from this website. Fortunately that effort failed, and most (but not all) of those disruptors managed to get themselves banned. There is no reason to revive their cause by considering a ban of science articles from the news forum. The problem isn't with the subject matter, it's with a few disruptive people. The problem will be easily handled with a few "Stay off this thread!" posts from the mods.

Good post. It deserves to be repeated.

569 posted on 09/20/2006 10:16:27 AM PDT by Liberal Classic (No better friend, no worse enemy. Semper Fi.)
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To: BrandtMichaels; All
Discuss the issues all you want, but do NOT make it personal!
570 posted on 09/20/2006 10:18:03 AM PDT by Religion Moderator
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Comment #571 Removed by Moderator

To: BrandtMichaels
I can not agree that ELS has been thoroughly debunked

Except that Bible Code math can locate almost any phrase you want in almost any lengthy text, or even in random text. I notice you didn't respond to my example of this.

572 posted on 09/20/2006 10:21:43 AM PDT by js1138 (The absolute seriousness of someone who is terminally deluded.)
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To: js1138; King Prout; DoctorMichael; PatrickHenry

The mischaracterization of science that is often seen here hurts not only the conservative movement, but also the very thing that helped make the U.S. so great.

If we lose science in this country (or even the perception of such) we lose far more than just a few scientists. We will lose being the leader in this world. And with the radical Muslims wanting to take is down, that would be a very bad thing IMHO.


573 posted on 09/20/2006 10:24:46 AM PDT by RadioAstronomer (Senior member of Darwin Central)
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Comment #574 Removed by Moderator

To: js1138

The uniqueness for ELS is in finding related words, phrases, names, cities, and dates in the same passages of the Torah. Not finding things in a random fashion - which is what you get with any other text not written specifically to make an absurd refutation. The text from your example was not from any known literature.


575 posted on 09/20/2006 10:25:49 AM PDT by BrandtMichaels
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To: King Prout
question: when a poster makes (a series of) false statement(s), is corrected by others, repeats the false statement(s), is corrected again and is shown in exquisite detail the depth of the falsity of his posts, and this person continues to post the same false statement(s), does this not constitute ample illustration of either that poster's incurable stupidity or that poster's deliberate mendacity?

Particularly with regard to theology and philosophy, such conduct is almost never stupidity or mendacity. It is most always a matter of belief.

For instance, member(s) of confession A may aver repeatedly that members of confession B are in danger of hellfire due to its assertion of doctrine n. Absolutely no evidence to the contrary by a member of confession B will convince the A posters that it is their confession which is in error as to the truth of the matter. The only solution is for both sides to make the argument – respectfully - for the umpteenth time in the hopes that some passers-by may be persuaded.

Since posters behave this way over doctrinal issues, why would they behave any differently where their doctrines intersect with science?

and, as an aside - since you brought it up, if neither you nor PH put this thread into the religion forum, exactly who did? I still await an explanation of this ill-considered miraculous event.

There are a number of moderators all of whom have the power to move a thread and we operate with a stare decisis understanding among ourselves. For instance, when one of us moves a thread or makes a decision to remove or not remove a post or poster - the others will try not to disturb the decision.

hrmn... so, we can expect you to purge this thread of all iterations of broad declarations that "evolution is pure rubbish" et omnia generis alia, right?

With a few exceptions (anti-Semitism, supremacists and the ilk) - I do not purge condemnations of theologies or philosophies or theories or authors or religious leaders – only condemnations of other Freepers.
576 posted on 09/20/2006 10:25:53 AM PDT by Religion Moderator
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To: Religion Moderator

Here is where definitions get in the way. For the scientist, the term "faith" has no bearing on a scientific theory such as gravity or evolution. The theory is nothing more than a model describing observed phenomena and related facts.

OTHO, there are many that view a theory of science in the very same way that faith is viewed.

Thusly, the arguments get heated because the scientist is promoting a pure natural view of the theory whereas the non-scientist is adding a faith component to the theory thusly tagging it as anti-God or bigotry.


577 posted on 09/20/2006 10:36:26 AM PDT by RadioAstronomer (Senior member of Darwin Central)
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To: Religion Moderator

So why has science been hijacked to the religion forum, where the arguments and methods of science are not respected?

It makes no sense to argue science with apologetics. You have said yourself that no statement is too stupid to be believed by someone.

But this isn not how science works and how science reasons. Once a stupid idea has been discredited by facts, it will never come back in the same form. At the level of specifics, it will never come back at all.


578 posted on 09/20/2006 10:36:34 AM PDT by js1138 (The absolute seriousness of someone who is terminally deluded.)
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To: RadioAstronomer

The only science we are losing in this country is from public education which fails to educate the students at a rate that is even competitive with other countries - other countries which by the way have no problem presenting both sides of the evolution arguments.

Furthermore, imho we are a world leader when we stand up for truth and justice - something that is lacking more and more as we move away from God, ethics, and morals...


579 posted on 09/20/2006 10:39:27 AM PDT by BrandtMichaels
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To: King Prout
Christians believe in an omniscient and omnipotent God. What difference does it make when God created the universe--10,000 years ago or 10,000,000,000 years ago?

I've heard an intepretation of Genesis 1 that in verses 1 and 2 where it states, "1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters," that there could be an interval of billions of years between verses 1 and 2. That's possible, I suppose.

The basic conflict between the premise of evolution verses the Biblical account is that Gen. reports that two human individuals were specifically created by God "in His likeness" (in their spirits resided the Spirit of God), and that the Bible's account presents Adam and Eve as historical figures. They are part of the geneologies found elsewhere in scripture. Also, if we're to accept the rise of man through evolution, we are required to consider the first 10 or so chapters of Genesis as myth. The problem is, when in the biblical narrative does "myth" end and real history commense? At the story of Abraham? The Bible account doesn't differentiate between characters such as Adam, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. The narrative is a seamless flow that leads from the earlier people in Genesis into those who are acknowledged as historical figures.

Evolution may have occurred (although what evidence there is isn't conclusive), but the Biblical account maintains that man was specifically and specially created by God, that God "breathed" in His own Spirit into the spirit of man. In other words, all of life, aside from man, may be the product of evolution, but man, as he is, is not.

580 posted on 09/20/2006 10:42:00 AM PDT by My2Cents (A pirate's life for me.)
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