First: The April 9th issue of
Newsweek has a very interesting article on religion vs. atheism which includes a discussion on creationism vs. evolution by two well known proponents on each time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shinerbock
However, I think a substantial portion of the population simply dislikes the attitude of the modern scientific community. History has shown, and will continue to show, that science itself is evolutionary. I think this warrants a bit of caution when proclaiming truth. I'm not saying the theories are going to be entirely different a century from now, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised to find that they've been augmented to a level making some current factual assertions look foolish. Religion aside, I know a lot of people with logic-based reasoning that have trouble getting their mind around currently advocated origin theories. I'm one of them. Thus, it gets a bit annoying to have a community saying "you're a %#$@!^% idiot if you question this." I guess I'm just reluctant, in almost any matter, to assert that "we know" something, especially in such a haughty manner.
|
I know my professor I work for who is ethnically Jewish, but an avowed atheist stated how angry he would get if someone came to him regarding "creationism". He said that anyone that states things should be arrested. Ironically, I just hope he never gets very, very sick... And at the rate he is going, that might happen...
Interesting you say that science itself evolves. Yes, it does. One answers one question, there is always another question to answer... That is why science is the enigmatic puzzle that it is. It is what drives us scientists.
Quote:
|
I'm certainly not a person who has a problem with teachers explaining evolution and the theories involved in the classroom. I don't even care if ID or Creationism or whatever isn't taught beside it, though I do think it should be mentioned that there is some opposition. As I said, my biggest concern is the hostility towards those who question or believe differently. I know you said Christians can believe what they want, but that doesn't mean people will let them do so without affront. Hell, the candidates reluctant to raise their hand at the GOP debate got absolutely slaughtered in the media (I also haven't seen similar questions asked to democrats). This is the kind of thing I'm talking about. Does it really make a difference? Does a reluctance to believe fully in evolution make an otherwise intelligent person unfit for leadership?
|
All people are questioned on their "moral barometers". I think it unfair to make a litmus test of a candidate's personal past. But, I am not naive to think that those ideas factor for votes.
IMHO, a lot of people have lost their "faith" in US... That is how we are hurting, generally. It has started showing up in the major medical journals: Science, Nature, JAMA and NEJM.
Well, like I stated somewhere on GC, when I start to teach some basic concepts in biology, I have to teach the concept about
DG or the Gibbs free energy requirement for reactions. It is involved in the calculations of the Laws of Thermodynamics. Without these laws we cannot discuss how and why cells divide. These concepts are in place, provable my mathematics and repetitively tested to suggest that these are taking place.
All humans are evolving. But evolutionary time is millions of years. What will we be millions of years later? Probably nothing because we will become extinct...
One thing is certain, you were born on Earth and you will die... Everyone has had it happen to them who is alive today. Whatever happens before and afterward, I have not a clue. And although I would love to think there is more, and I am not fine with being worm feed. But, that's just me...