Why are some Christians anti Evolution?

[ottawak]

I noticed you keep dodging the question about your use of the word “stories” in your previous posts. That’s because in the context you we’re using the word you we’re referring to fictional stories yet you claim that you believe in God’s miracles so you we’re caught contradicting yourself and now you refuse to admit it.

No, you assumed for reasons of your own that I was using "stories" in the fictional sense. In future, I will call them "narratives" to disabuse you of that assumption. Here's a question for you: How many different genres of historical narrative are there and which ones were in use in pre-Christian times?

 

[Astrid]

Chances are nobody is wondering but if they did,
this thread is a good example of why my investigation
of Christianity didnt make a convert of me.

 

[ruthiesea]

The way I see it there’s only two sides to the debate. You either believe the Bible or you believe science. You can’t have it both ways because the two are completely polar opposites. The Bible is a spiritual supernatural book that will always be in opposition to science so you can’t merge the two together at least not in this day and age with our limited scientific knowledge.

I find no conflict between the Bible (Tanakh) and science. So you present a false dichotomy.

 

[AV1611VET]

He must have... otherwise His perfect pet human would have bled out all over the scenery...

And since Adam allegedly could not die until after being expelled from Eden, I'd be hard pressed to imagine a worse torment.

Then you realize that God can clean things up seamlessly, do you not?

P.S... you are aware that some scholars consider "rib" to be a translation error, right?

Correct.

I'm sure that's an example of how they got their scholarship.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

You believe that all of God’s miracles are explainable by science?

Nope. The near opposite.

Moreover, I'm a Methodological Materialist (or Methodological Naturalist) where science is concerned.

This means there's room for me to have my cake and eat it too! Mmmm! Yummy!

 

[Astrid]

I find no conflict between the Bible (Tanakh) and science. So you present a false dichotomy.

The false dichotomy may not be recognizable to everyone

Some people are very rigid, binary thinkers.

Everything is right or wrong, good or bad, for or
against, no shades of grey anywhere between
night and day.

 

[sjastro]

I know there are some Max Tegmark fans here.
Tegmark was involved in the MIT Survey on Science Religion and Origins: the Belief Gap.

We present a detailed survey of how different US faith communities view origins science, particularly evolution and Big Bang cosmology. We find a striking gap between people’s personal beliefs and the official views of the faiths to which they belong. Whereas Gallup reports that 46% of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form less than 10,000 years ago, we find that only 11% belong to religions openly rejecting evolution. This shows that the main divide in the origins debate is not between science and religion, but between a small fundamentalist minority and mainstream religious communities who embrace science. The fact that the gap between personal and official beliefs is so large suggests that part of the controversy might be defused by people learning more about their own religious doctrine and the science it endorses, thereby bridging this belief gap.

 

[BNR32FAN]

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Anyone else not content, with my little scheme of marching up & down the square a bit!!?

 

[ottawak]

Anyone else not content, with my little scheme of marching up & down the square a bit!!?

Camp it...Up!

 

[TLK Valentine]

Then you realize that God can clean things up seamlessly, do you not?

Cover His tracks, you mean.

Correct.

I'm sure that's an example of how they got their scholarship.

Indeed -- unlike you, they've heard of languages besides Jacobean English.

 

[BNR32FAN]

I find no conflict between the Bible (Tanakh) and science. So you present a false dichotomy.

Excellent can you give a scientific explanation for these three miracles?

Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt as a result of looking back as Sodom was being destroyed.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego surviving the fiery furnace.

Balaam’s donkey talking like a human.

 

[BNR32FAN]

Camp it...Up!

I’m a lumberjack and I’m ok I work all night and I sleep all day, I like to run and skip and jump I like to press wild flowers

 

[BNR32FAN]

Nope. The near opposite.

Moreover, I'm a Methodological Materialist (or Methodological Naturalist) where science is concerned.

This means there's room for me to have my cake and eat it too! Mmmm! Yummy!

The point I was trying to make is that the miracles of God cannot be explained by science because they are supernatural events. That was the whole point of doing them was to show God’s power and glory by doing spectacular feats that should be impossible to perform.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Excellent can you give a scientific explanation for these three miracles?

Ooo! I bet I can!

Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt as a result of looking back as Sodom was being destroyed.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego surviving the fiery furnace.

Balaam’s donkey talking like a human.

Didn't happen,
Didn't happen,
and... I'm going to go with "Didn't happen" on this one, too.

 

[TLK Valentine]

The point I was trying to make is that the miracles of God cannot be explained by science because they are supernatural events. That was the whole point of doing them was to show God’s power and glory by doing spectacular feats that should be impossible to perform.

My Uncle Bob used to pull quarters out of my ear and do that thing where it looks like he's taking his thumb off... same idea, eh?

 

[sjastro]

Chances are nobody is wondering but if they did,
this thread is a good example of why my investigation
of Christianity didnt make a convert of me.

Christians can be hateful bigots like anyone else.
On the other hand I knew of a Jesuit priest who was also a physicist.
I'm not sure how he combined both activities but as a parish priest in Ancona he was able to successfully negotiate with the Vatican to convert a 13th century church into a refuge for battered women and prostitutes.
My impression of him was a kind profoundly intelligent individual.

Now according to fundamentalist Baptists despite his good deed he will be put to death by Jesus Christ for not having a literal view of the Bible if he happens to be still around, like the majority of Christian and non Christians who share the same opinion.

Christians come in all shapes and sizes.

 

[SelfSim]

.. and... I'm going to go with "Didn't happen" on this one, too.

Are you absolutely sure about that last one?:

 

[2PhiloVoid]

The point I was trying to make is that the miracles of God cannot be explained by science because they are supernatural events. That was the whole point of doing them was to show God’s power and glory by doing spectacular feats that should be impossible to perform.

Right, I get that. I agree with you that, theologically speaking, God's power and glory are shown through feats He has done, and I have no intention of explaining away those feats. However, I simply take a different epistemological and hermeneutical tact in handling the Bible than you do, one which in no way should be seen as somehow relegating me to the 'atheist side' of things.

Furthermore, I'm not here to alleviate you of your current commitments in your Christian faith. That kind of thing might be a project among some of the skeptics we see here, but it isn't mine.

 

[AV1611VET]

Cover His tracks, you mean.

Would you know the difference?

If He wanted to cover His tracks, then why did He put what He did, when He did it, where He did it, why He did it, what order He did it in, how long it took Him to do it, and who the eyewitnesses were?

Indeed -- unlike you, they've heard of languages besides Jacobean English.

Yup -- and they know how to misuse them, don't they?

 

[AV1611VET]

My Uncle Bob used to pull quarters out of my ear ...

So what?

My dad could beat that.

He pulled half-dollars out of mine.