Evolution Promotes Brutality

stephen583 said:

In fact, no archeological evidence has ever been found of homo sapiens killing one another, or cannibalizing each other.

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But you'll admit that you have jillions of missing links, will you not?

Any one of which could be killers?

I started a thread showing that [some] evolutionists used to believe in what was called a "bad seed," and no one wanted to take it seriously.

I see evolutionists as trying to cover their tracks.

Subduction Zone said:

Seriously, I am sorry for your loss. But we know when we get most of our pets that we will outlive them. Part of the price of falling in love with a pet is taking care of it at the end.

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Yep. It's always a heart-breaking time to say good-bye to an animal that has been a loving friend. But those of us who love them, always go back and find another. Because life isn't complete without them.

This thread is mistaken in that "evolution" is not an ethical framework, it is what happened in the natural history of life on earth. Ethics requires minds, it postulates rational relations including "intention", "desire" and "reason" in the most basic level. When a spider's web catches a moth no one thinks of it as an ethical dilemma.

Aelred of Rievaulx said:

This thread is mistaken in that "evolution" is not an ethical framework, it is what happened in the natural history of life on earth.

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One of the strengths of evolution, IMO, is not in what evolutionists find -- but in what they don't find.

Missing links.

The more faith they put in the missing links, the stronger their belief in evolution will be.

Heissonear said:

There are many true Christians who have accepted that life on Earth evolved over millions of years.

In particular, lifeforms have been around for over 200 million years which have continuously lived by biting and devouring other lifeforms.

Has God allowed brutality to be the means for many lifeforms to exist for such a long period of time?

I don't think so. How about you?

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Why do you assume that anything other than greed and desire promotes brutality. This is a human trait and has nothing to do with any theory other that why the #%&&# are we so ^&*^# to our fellow man. Dog eat dog has been the statement of life in the animal community since time memorial. What has not always been the case is that we as humans sometimes act like that for the sake of that which you can't take with you, when you die. There is no redeeming feature on that which is done for the instant gratification of those who don't appreciate anything they get. It is only an addiction to a feeling that can not be sustained.

AV1611VET said:

One of the strengths of evolution, IMO, is not in what evolutionists find -- but in what they don't find.

Missing links.

The more faith they put in the missing links, the stronger their belief in evolution will be.

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I don't think that the idea of evolution is anything other than the search for deeper questions. Science is like that, as well as education. The more you find, the more you find out how little you actually know.

AV1611VET said:

Yes.

But your analogy doesn't fit the Bible.

Rahab the harlot testifies of this.

Joshua 2:8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
Joshua 2:9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

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If it doesn't have anything to do with the bible, then it is your error somewhere, because it matches what we were talking about.

You said god (police) had to use brutality (SWAT) to protect jews (owner of property).

I asked if he could have done it another way.

You said he could (negotiator) but didn't (SWAT).

Where did you err?

AV1611VET said:

One of the strengths of evolution, IMO, is not in what evolutionists find -- but in what they don't find.

Missing links.

The more faith they put in the missing links, the stronger their belief in evolution will be.

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I think that the real strength of evolution is precisely what it finds and how elegantly it has synthesised various other strands of science.

Perhaps a little genetic engineering would make things better

Aelred of Rievaulx said:

I think that the real strength of evolution is precisely what it finds and how elegantly it has synthesised various other strands of science.

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Then why do scientific methodists say that, even if the fossil record never existed, biological evolution would stand on its own?

Heissonear said:

There are many true Christians who have accepted that life on Earth evolved over millions of years.In particular, lifeforms have been around for over 200 million years which have continuously lived by biting and devouring other lifeforms.Has God allowed brutality to be the means for many lifeforms to exist for such a long period of time? I don't think so. How about you?

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Well, yes he has and does. But death entered the world through Adam.
We have only ourselves to blame.

USincognito said:

Perhaps a little genetic engineering would make things better

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The meat had the optimism & personality of Carl Sagan.

SkyWriting said:

Well, yes he has and does. But death entered the world through Adam.
We have only ourselves to blame.

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I think you mean sin. Death, I think for the animal kingdom has always been around.

AV1611VET said:

Then why do scientific methodists say that, even if the fossil record never existed, biological evolution would stand on its own?

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Because DNA and genetics demonstrate that common ancestry is a fact.

JonFromMinnesota said:

Because DNA and genetics demonstrate that common ancestry is a fact.

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But not the fossil record ... correct?

AV1611VET said:

But not the fossil record ... correct?

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Where did I say that? Do you think it's honest to put words in someones mouth?

Heissonear said:

There are many true Christians who have accepted that life on Earth evolved over millions of years.

In particular, lifeforms have been around for over 200 million years which have continuously lived by biting and devouring other lifeforms.

Has God allowed brutality to be the means for many lifeforms to exist for such a long period of time?

I don't think so. How about you?

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I think so, and I don't believe it is brutality. God saw the ecosystem that he created and said it was "very good." A good video on this I think is this one by William Lane Craig:

Please excuse the title as it is a bit provocative but the content of the video is good.

Leevo said:

I think so, and I don't believe it is brutality. God saw the ecosystem that he created and said it was "very good."

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God considers death an enemy.

1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The question of brutality in the natural order is a difficult one. Even Darwin wondered how God could allow such brutality. In addressing the question, you want to be careful you don't get told that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. The problem is that more than one Christian has bemoaned the alleged brutality of evolution and then rejected it s an ungodly concept; yet the Christian religion has been one of the most brutal religions there has ever been. Augustine, for example, legitimated torture as a way of forcing conversion. And then ther were the witch hunts, Inquisition, persecutions of fellow Christians, persecutions of those of other faiths, etc. In fact, our founding fathers, especially Adams, Madison, and Jefferson, had grave doubts how appropriate Christianity would be in a free and just society, as they were quite outspoken that all it had ever fostered was bloodshed, tyranny, fear, ignorance, oppression, you name it. Dawkins is quote outspoken on how brutal and sadistic the OT God is. Hitler's extermination of the Jews can be traced back into the anti-semiticism of Christian Germany, where Luther wrote a book titled "The Jews and Their Lies," in which he recommended an extermination policy almost identical to what Hitler carried out. Hitler said more than once that "I am only doing the Lord's work." So when we are working out of a Christian perspective, we have to be very careful we don't get tarred by the same brush. Animals kill for a definite reason. They have to in order to eat. Humans kill and torture and coerce just because they are intolerant and cannot stand someone who doesn't share their beliefs. Who are we to criticize nature?
I don't think that competition and survival of the fittest are the whole story on evolution. There is also cooperation as well. Even bacteria have been shown to have altruistic behavior. There is a definite direction to evolution and it is from the most simple and insensitive upwards to the more complex and sensitive. Often, the more complex and sensitive are not the ones most likely to survive.

Leevo said:

I think so, and I don't believe it is brutality. God saw the ecosystem that he created and said it was "very good." A good video on this I think is this one by William Lane Craig:

Please excuse the title as it is a bit provocative but the content of the video is good.

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I've listened to enough William Lane Craig to know how much special pleading he is going to.