Why are some Christians anti Evolution?

[TLK Valentine]

I'm not sure other Creationists would like the "This is creationism as I see it." bit, it seems to defeat the whole purpose of being a fundamental Creationist.

It's not uncommon for students to ask something to the effect of "Is this course going to be of use to me in the real world?"

I have to admit, it's refreshing to see a "no" answer delivered so directly and honestly right out of the gate.

 

[TLK Valentine]

I said that if God created them the way they are formed naturally then they would appear to be millions of years old on the day He made them. If you can’t comprehend that, it’s not my problem. I don’t expect that you can because you don’t want to.

So God can fake it so well that we can't tell the difference between His fakes and the genuine article?

I agree -- Satan may be the Father of Lies, but CreationistGod is the King of Counterfeits.

 

[Astrid]

So God can fake it so well that we can't tell the difference between His fakes and the genuine article?

I agree -- Satan may be the Father of Lies, but CreationistGod is the King of Counterfeits.

But are all able to comprehend this

 

[BNR32FAN]

Here is the quote where you say it takes millions of years.

I wasn’t talking about God creating it in that post. That was referring to rocks being formed naturally without any intervention from God. Rocks naturally take millions of years to form but God can create them exactly the same way in no time which would give them the appearance of being millions of years old.

 

[Astrid]

I wasn’t talking about God creating it in that post. That was referring to rocks being formed naturally without any intervention from God. Rocks naturally take millions of years to form but God can create them exactly the same way in no time which would give them the appearance of being millions of years old.

"God" COULD fill the ocean with pink seahorses.
Do you believe the earth was made in 6 days.or not?
.

 

[eleos1954]

All because of some bad advice from a talking reptile... who knew perfection could be so fragile?

pretty flipped thinking .... we were created to live a certain way, however God created His intelligent beings with free agency (make their own choices) .... when we make choices contrary to how we were created* ... there are negative consequences .... it's not about a "snake" it's about choices we make that are contrary to creation.

*analogy - if you create and build a kitchen table and try to use it for a surf board .... it's not going to work.

 

[Astrid]

pretty flipped thinking .... we were created to live a certain way, however God created His intelligent beings with free agency (make their own choices) .... when we make choices contrary to how we were created* ... there are negative consequences .... it's not about a "snake" it's about choices we make that are contrary to creation.

*analogy - if you create and build a kitchen table and try to use it for a surf board .... it's not going to work.

And lions will start eating the gazelles.

 

[eleos1954]

Nonsense if we were made perfect in character as God is there would’ve never been a fall because Adam wouldn’t have been able to sin just as God cannot sin.

He created mankind as free agents .... God don't force Himself on anyone .... true love requires choice .... love can not be forced or else it's not love .... and God is love.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

...He is not good because anything He should choose to do is considered to be good. That would imply that He could do anything and it would be defined as being good just because He did it.

OK, good. So what God does and commands is good not because He defines what is good by His actions and commands, but because He is constrained to follow an independent moral standard from which He cannot deviate; i.e. God is not and does not define a moral standard, He is effectively its messenger.

Then it follows that we don't need God for a moral standard, that God's nature (and free will?) is constrained by an external standard that He cannot change, and so, God is not omnipotent (as Thomas Aquinas supposedly said, "Not even God can change the 10 commandments").

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

So we can love and worship Him properly.

Sure ... as He put it:

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

But that doesn't mean we should have to "abandon our own minds" and hold Him at arms length.

That's why He gave us His word, so we can use It as our Standard for faith and practice.

If God is beyond logic, reason, and understanding, then how can you understand His word? If you take His word literally, it would seem you're making a serious error because what He's really saying is irrational, illogical, and incomprehensible...

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

I wasn’t talking about God creating it in that post. That was referring to rocks being formed naturally without any intervention from God. Rocks naturally take millions of years to form but God can create them exactly the same way in no time which would give them the appearance of being millions of years old.

So is the Earth millions of years old or not? If not, then how do you know rocks take millions of years to form naturally? [actually, they don't, but they can last for millions of years]

 

[AV1611VET]

If God is beyond logic, reason, and understanding, then how can you understand His word? If you take His word literally, it would seem you're making a serious error because what He's really saying is irrational, illogical, and incomprehensible...

God's word is His autobiography, our Standard for faith and practice, and your History Book.

 

[TLK Valentine]

pretty flipped thinking .... we were created to live a certain way,

...and then dropped in an environment that made it impossible to live that certain way.

Pretty poor planning on CreationistGod's part.

however God created His intelligent beings with free agency (make their own choices)

...for the second time, after the first time led to the angels... and Lucifer.

CreationistGod isn't exactly what one would call a "fast learner," is He?

.... when we make choices contrary to how we were created* ... there are negative consequences .... it's not about a "snake" it's about choices we make that are contrary to creation.

So "free agency" was pretty much a lie from the start.

The more I hear about CreationistGod, the less inclined I am to worship.

*analogy - if you create and build a kitchen table and try to use it for a surf board .... it's not going to work.

CrearionistGod should have thought of that before He dropped His kitchen table on the ocean and told it to surf.

 

[stevil]

You recall correctly.

The Creation Week belongs in history class -- not science class.

It belongs to religious class. Christian class if you are only going to be teaching Genesis.
Religion class if you are also going to be teaching other religion's origins stories.

Definitely not science, definitely not history.

 

[stevil]

God's word is His autobiography, our Standard for faith and practice, and your History Book.

The bible belongs in a religious section, or a mythology section or a fiction section of the library.
Certainly not science, history, or even non fiction.

 

[AV1611VET]

It belongs to religious class.

I take it you think this because you give Christianity equal airtime with other religions?

 

[AV1611VET]

The bible belongs in a religious section, or a mythology section or a fiction section of the library.
Certainly not science, history, or even non fiction.

I'll tell you what I told Kylie:

Then I'll sit myself right down ... like Rosa Parks did ... on your science bus, right up front.

 

[BNR32FAN]

He created mankind as free agents .... God don't force Himself on anyone .... true love requires choice .... love can not be forced or else it's not love .... and God is love.

I agree with everything you’ve said here but Adam did not have a perfect character like God. God cannot sin because of His character, because of who He is. Adam showed without a doubt that his character was capable of sin.

 

[Astrid]

I agree with everything you’ve said here but Adam did not have a perfect character like God. God cannot sin because of His character, because of who He is. Adam showed without a doubt that his character was capable of sin.

That has nothing to do with creo v evo.
Are you planning to say if you think the
world was made in 6 days, or not?

 

[stevil]

I get your main points.

But correct me if I'm wrong.

You're of the persuasion that I should teach the Bible only?

If you are wanting to be respected as a literal fundamental Creationists whose mantra is "The Bible says it, that settles it." Then you really ought to stick to what is explicitly in the Bible.

That is, as soon as I say "photosynthesis" or "entropy," I'm shooting myself in the foot?

You would be losing credibility, you are not a qualified scientist, what do you know about photosynthesis or entropy? Do you think you would be able to have a respectful engaging and informed 2 hour discussion with an actual scientist on these matters?

How about when your students are asking whether photosynthesis is mentioned in the bible. Or after you have done your talk about shekhinah energy and the next day after your student has done some quick research they confront you with the Wikipedia page that says "This term does not occur in the Bible, and is from rabbinic literature"
How do you then explain why you are going to other resources other than the bible?
Is it possible your students will ask how accepted in Creationist circles are these explanations such as Shekhinah energy. Will you confidently say, this is just your own ideas and that no reputable Creationist organisations know, accept or teach these explanations.

Anyone can stay at home and read Genesis 1 and 2.

Sure, but many people are falling into the trap of adding their own biases, their own logic, their own thoughts into it. It seems to be very tricky to read it and understand or belief it in a literal sense.

But they can't address the tough questions about sunlight and the order of the creation events (e.g., trees without sunlight).

I presume if god wrote the book and didn't provide these details then god didn't consider them necessary to convey. So why are you then taking it upon yourself to embellish god's book with details that god himself either didn't think were necessary or perhaps thought were distracting from the key message that god wanted to convey.
Do you think the bible should be re-written, re-edited to include AV's extra information? Stuff that AV has just made up and decided to add to the bible.
Surely god knew about photosynthesis and knew people would come to understand photosynthesis and energy and warmth and god would have surely had the foresight to see that people would consider this a problem with having trees before the sun. But god didn't go to the effort to add this detail to his own autobiography. Why not? God isn't lazy, god isn't lacking in foresight? So why didn't god write about this????
Think about this, when you are deciding for yourself to embellish god's perfect book by adding this detail that god himself decided in his infinite wisdom to leave out.

Maybe he wanted to test people's faith. And maybe you providing this solution is corrupting god's intent and destroying this test of faith that god wants in his book? Who knows. But it seems clear to me that if a book is perfect, people shouldn't be embellishing it.

That's where I come in; to teach them how to defend Genesis 1 and 2 with a set of heuristics that can allow for scientific explanations of things that are scientific, and reject things that are presumed scientific but are instead miracles.

It seems to me you want to create an army of apologists, armed (with AV maybe's) to debate against atheists who are finding scientific issues with the bible.

What does it matter what us atheists think. As long as you believe the bible, no matter what. Doesn't matter if it conflicts with science, doesn't matter if it conflicts with evidence or logic. You don't have to explain yourself to atheists, you only have to explain yourself to god.

If god confronts you and asks why you were embellishing his book, why you were taking it upon yourself to inject photosynthesis or shekhinah energy into his book. How will you explain this to him? "So I can argue with atheists?". Do you think God would think this was a great thing to do?
Why didn't god think of this himself when he was writing the book????

Such terms as "photosynthesis" and "entropy" and "frame story" are right at home in my class, and I would teach them in order to equip my students to be better defenders of the Faith.

Then your class isn't about the bible, it isn't about god's word, it's about AV's interpretation, it's about pseudo science, its about apologetics.

Don't agree with what I teach? don't take my course.

Simple as that.

But again what I am asking of you, what value is this certificate that you are giving to your students?
Would a school employer be impressed that a potential teacher has a certificate in AV apologetics?
Would this school employer be impressed with the potental teacher starts talking about photosynthesis or shekhinah energy when these aren't in the bible at all.