Creation or Evolution, does it matter?

[46AND2]

It matters if you care about holding accurate beliefs.



You don't know that. You believe that.



This is a dead give away. You don't want to believe whatever turns out accurate. You just want to believe in your religion. So you'll reject at face value whatever contradicts that which you want to believe.

Amirite?

yeah, urite. Er, well, almost, anyway.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Because it says so right in the Bible

He knows what the bible says. He knows that that is where you got it from.
He's asking you how you determined that what the bible says, is actually factual.
He's not asking you to repeat the claims. He's asking how you know that the claims are correct.

, it says then the sun set and there was another day, one whole day, a 24 hour day.

Plenty of books say plenty of things.
The question is: how do you determine that whatever a book says, is actually a factual representation of reality?

 

[SkyWriting]

You might need to capitalize 'the earth' and make it a larger font, too. But only do it in the last sentence...

Otherwise, the point might be missed.

Would all CAPS and COLORS help make the point as well?

 

[46AND2]

Would all CAPS and COLORS help make the point as well?

Hard to say. Context is enough for me. But, as you know, it's hard to predict with some people.

I sometimes think theistic evolutionists (for lack of a better term) have a harder time getting their point across than atheists.

 

[Spikey]

Does it matter whether we are the same as our forefathers or if we evolve from apes?

Well for starters we didn't evolve from apes.

What I know is God creates us.

How do you 'know' that?

So long as God creates us, does it matter whether creationist or evolutionist is right?

Depends whether you are interested in truth or not. If you can prove that God exists then, no it doesn't matter.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

How do you know what is truth? Other than truth being the fact that we are created by God.

You can't be certain of truth, including what you think are facts about God. As Descartes realised in the 17th century, you could be being fooled about everything by a malevolent demon.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

Well for starters we didn't evolve from apes.

That's debatable; AIUI, the common name for the family of hominids is 'great apes', and hominids derive from the superfamily 'hominoids', common name 'apes'.

 

[46AND2]

You can't be certain of truth, including what you think are facts about God. As Descartes realised in the 17th century, you could be being fooled about everything by a malevolent demon.

Descartes? Dang, thought I nabbed that thought when I was ten.

 

[Spikey]

That's debatable; AIUI, the common name for the family of hominids is 'great apes', and hominids derive from the superfamily 'hominoids', common name 'apes'.

The superfamily Hominoidea 'includes' the great apes as well as humans and some extinct ancestors. Hominoid is defined as manlike or 'of man'. So you could conclude the great apes evolved from a manlike common ancestor if you are that way inclined
Personally I don't care.

 

[xianghua]

If you can prove that God exists then, no it doesn't matter.

i think that we can do this. for instance: say that we will find a human-like robot with a self replicating system and DNA. do you think that such a robot is evidence for design in this case?

 

[Speedwell]

i think that we can do this. for instance: say that we will find a human-like robot with a self replicating system and DNA. do you think that such a robot is evidence for design in this case?

If it shows evidence of being manufactured, otherwise not.

 

[zephcom]

Apologies. Replied to wrong person. Oops. No I didn't. Wasn't talking to you.

Yep. I did make the mistake. Sorry.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

i think that we can do this. for instance: say that we will find a human-like robot with a self replicating system and DNA. do you think that such a robot is evidence for design in this case?

I think that such a robot only exists in your imagination.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

The superfamily Hominoidea 'includes' the great apes as well as humans and some extinct ancestors. Hominoid is defined as manlike or 'of man'. So you could conclude the great apes evolved from a manlike common ancestor if you are that way inclined
Personally I don't care.

Fair enough - what's in a name? [/shakespeare] The main reason for using 'Ape', 'Great Ape', etc., is to make life easier for the less taxonomically aware who have difficulty distinguishing between Hominoids and Hominids.

But plenty of people seem to get exercised about whether we are apes, or descended from apes, or are related to apes or monkeys, and so-on. Some of the more creationist-minded don't seem to mind being called a mammal, but find being called an ape insulting. Go figure...

 

[hedrick]

The evolution debate matters for at least two reasons:

• While there are people who try to reconcile evolution with a literal reading of Genesis, that seems questionable. So accepting evolution is naturally associated with an understanding Genesis is at least in part legendary. That doesn't mean that the whole Bible is legend. By the time you reach the time of the kings, there were written records, and of course the NT was written fairly near the time of Jesus. But it affects how you think of the Bible. Evolution goes more naturally with a view that it is a human witness to God's acts, and not God's actual words.
• If evolution is true, there was no actual Adam and Eve. Christians at times have tried to believe in both, but I think it's implausible. But if there's no Adam and Eve then there was no literal Fall. You can believe in evolution and still think that we fall short of what God wants for us, but some presentations of Christianity only work if there was actually an Adam and Eve.

 

[zephcom]

The evolution debate matters for at least two reasons:

• While there are people who try to reconcile evolution with a literal reading of Genesis, that seems questionable. So accepting evolution is naturally associated with an understanding Genesis is at least in part legendary. That doesn't mean that the whole Bible is legend. By the time you reach the time of the kings, there were written records, and of course the NT was written fairly near the time of Jesus. But it affects how you think of the Bible. Evolution goes more naturally with a view that it is a human witness to God's acts, and not God's actual words.
• If evolution is true, there was no actual Adam and Eve. Christians at times have tried to believe in both, but I think it's implausible. But if there's no Adam and Eve then there was no literal Fall. You can believe in evolution and still think that we fall short of what God wants for us, but some presentations of Christianity only work if there was actually an Adam and Eve.

I think you have revealed the real problem some have...and have had since Darwin wrote his book...with evolution. It conflicts with what their religion demands they believe. I think that one of the worst things...if not the single most worst...that the religion has done is foster the image the Bible is the revealed word of God and can not be considered to be 'wrong'.

For instance, the Adam and Eve story -can- be thought of as a spiritual teaching (a parable if you will) which reveals the difficulties of becoming a sentient being. But that understanding becomes a very difficult sell when the religion finds itself demanding that the Bible is, literally, the revealed word of God and has to be treated as more accurate than anything else.

As a spiritual teaching, the Adam and Eve story has little to no conflict with Evolution. Becoming a sentient being brings all sorts of problems that does not affect non-sentient beings. The story does a nice job of discussing them.

 

[juvenissun]

Does it matter whether we are the same as our forefathers or if we evolve from apes?
What I know is God creates us.
So long as God creates us, does it matter whether creationist or evolutionist is right?

If creation is right, then evolution is wrong.
So, to you, evolution is wrong.
Does it matter? Does a wrong faith matter?

 

[juvenissun]

How do you know if the 7 days God mentions is literally 7 days or metaphorically 7 days?

It is not critical. The sequence is critical.

 

[Jimmy D]

If creation is right, then evolution is wrong.

Not really, just how you imagine creation to have occurred is wrong.

Maybe the diversity of life we see was created in the most basic form and allowed to unfurl and develop over the millenia.

Does it matter? Does a wrong faith matter?

It depends on whether you want to drive people from, that faith away due to appearing ignorant and arrogant.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

If creation is right, then evolution is wrong.
So, to you, evolution is wrong.
Does it matter? Does a wrong faith matter?

The majority of christians believe that evolution is the way god created things.
So clearly, your blank statement that it is either one or the other, doesn't seem to be accurate.
It's, in fact, a minority view even within your own religion.