evolution.......

[BioPooka]

SCRUDSWALLOP!
Sorry to veer of tnagent for a sec but woah, my blesings count just shoot up from 71 to 673. WOAH!

 

[npetreley]

Originally posted by chickenman
It doesn't make me worthless to know that I am the result of evolution. If I think about it really hard it makes me thankful that i'm even here and able to think.

Who do you thank?

 

[npetreley]

Originally posted by BioPooka
Ohhhh, nice. Exactly.
My purpose in life is to learn. To grow. To experience. To pass on MY legacy.

Speaking from the materialist perspective, pass it on to whom? Do you believe that mankind will be around forever? Or even any form of life, for that matter? According to the latest materialist theories, the the universe is ultimately destined to be a cold, lifeless mess.

I don't need to have been created by a God, a Spider or the twistings of a Rainbow Serpant travelling across the land to have those purposes.

The transient illusion of purpose, you mean. It's only a matter of time before any memory of you disappears for eternity.

Of course, you MAY have a short-term legacy. No doubt it is comforting to you to hope that your short-term legacy will be positive. Give us the address of your graveyard and we'll let your decaying remains know how it turns out, either way. ;-)

 

[seebs]

Originally posted by npetreley

Speaking from the materialist perspective, pass it on to whom? Do you believe that mankind will be around forever? Or even any form of life, for that matter? According to the latest materialist theories, the the universe is ultimately destined to be a cold, lifeless mess.

So? If I'm having fun, my kids could have fun too. The problem is some ways off.

(Of course, I dodge it entirely by believing in God.)

 

[TheBear]

I would like to know where biological evolution necessarily equates to 'random' and no need for God. Can someone explain that one to me?



John

 

[LouisBooth]

Ask darwin, he is the one that came up with it

Well it has to be random, or the theory doesn't work. It is not longer evolution.

 

[seebs]

Originally posted by LouisBooth
Ask darwin, he is the one that came up with it

Well it has to be random, or the theory doesn't work. It is not longer evolution.

Not really. Evolution has never been *genuinely* random; natural selection is anything but "random".

However, there's a difference between saying "I can explain this without needing to claim God actively intervened" and saying "I no longer need God at all". I can tell you why hydrogen and oxygen can ignite and form water and heat. That doesn't mean God isn't important.

 

[LouisBooth]

"natural selection is anything but "random". "

its totally random, who ever is the better adapted. its random in that no one is choosen over another specifically in terms of I like this one better. No bias.
In terms of being random, http://staffwww.fullcoll.edu/tmorris/evolution_random.htm

the proper use of the term is directed. Evolution is far from being directed.

 

[Freodin]

"Random" evolution:

One of the mechanisms of the Theory of Evolution is "selection". This excludes a totally random outcome.


"value" and "purpose":

if evolution is true it basicly means your worthless, your life is pointless.

No, basically it means that the purpose and value of life is not obvious. It is attributed to life by living beings.
This quote really means "You see other purpose and value in life than me, and this is wrong.".

But consider, value is a very subjective word.

You value your life because you think it is god-given, I value it because I think it is good to live.
You value it, because you think yourself made in the image of God, I do it, because I think I am unique.
You value it, because you hope for eternity, I value it, because I live now.

 

[RufusAtticus]

Louis,

Selection is not random. That's one of the points Darwin raised.

 

[Neo]

Originally posted by npetreley


Who do you thank?

I think that it would be more appropriate to say that you are able to appreciate the fact that you are here, but not thankful. Unless, of course, you’re a pantheist, in which case you would be thankful.

 

[elephanticity]

If it were random, there would be no trends. Just survival of every third one, or whatever.

Survival of the _______ leads to a future population showing the qualities of ________.

When we breed cattle, we promote the beefiest, or leanest, or whatever we're selecting. So, it's survival (and reproduction) of the beefiest.

Dog breeds come from selection as the biggest, or the smallest, or whatever.

Natural selection of the fittest is anything but random. Those that survive longer have a better chance to reproduce, and their descendents have a better chance AND a headstart.

 

[LouisBooth]

"Louis,

Selection is not random. That's one of the points Darwin raised.
"

*sigh* ruf did you not read my post at all?

 

[RufusAtticus]

Yep I did. That's why I clarified Darwin's point.

 

[TheBear]

Darwin has laid down some serious groundwork on evolution. But, did you know that as science progressed, so have the models of evolution. Some of what Darwin concluded has since been overturned. What current model of evolution claims that evolution is completely random, and needs no God to explain the origins?

John

 

[LouisBooth]

*sigh* Ya'll don't read posts at all do you. Did you miss the word directed, or do you have blinders on?

 

[paulewog]

in the Creation account in Genesis, the word for "day" (as well as the Hebrew idiom "evening and morning") clearly represents 24 hour days.

So there goes theistic evolution

Both Evolution and Creation are theories, though more evidence point towards Creation... and they have to stay that way. Nobody was there to observe the beginning.

 

[seebs]

Originally posted by LouisBooth
"natural selection is anything but "random". "

its totally random, who ever is the better adapted. its random in that no one is choosen over another specifically in terms of I like this one better. No bias.
In terms of being random, http://staffwww.fullcoll.edu/tmorris/evolution_random.htm

the proper use of the term is directed. Evolution is far from being directed.

The point is, "whoever is better adapted" is not a bit like "random". Agreed that evolution isn't "directed"; we don't start with a bunch of soup and try to find a way to make people out of it. (Or, perhaps, God does; we don't know.) However, it appears that the selection of the best competitors will, over time, eventually *produce* intelligent life.

 

[RufusAtticus]

Louis,

Would you claify the point you were making when you brought up "directed" earlier?

Thanx.

 

[seebs]

Originally posted by paulewog
in the Creation account in Genesis, the word for "day" (as well as the Hebrew idiom "evening and morning&quot clearly represents 24 hour days.

So there goes theistic evolution

No, it doesn't. Theistic evolution is perfectly consistent; God speaks in allegory and metaphor sometimes, *especially* in Genesis.

If I say that it's "been a long day", I may be using a word that refers to a 24-hour period, and I may have used a word that discusses length or duration, but everyone knows that the literal meaning is probably not the intended one.

And, as to the other point: There is absolutely no evidence in the physical world that would favor young-earth creation over evolution. None.