I am Catholic, but I am also a Chemist. I know the the old testemant is not supposed to be taken literally. But I also know that the Catholic church is never going to stand up and say that evolution has occured, and it wasn't God. So it's kind of a grey area, isn't it? In my opinion, we cannot deny science. But I believe that the Universe and evolution have happened for a reason. Maybe it was God that controlled this, and created it by producing the big bang? But what is God anyway, not a man sitting up in the sky like I used to think when I was a kid lol God is an idea, and a very strong one at that. And you can't say that he doesn't exist, because it's people believing in him that make him exist. And as a Catholic, and many other religions also, we believe that we are on this earth because of God's doing. So therefore, I would have to say both, in answer to the poll. Evolution has occured, but it's being directed by and as a result of Gods intervention. Only my beliefs though
I really think the most convincing argument for God's existence is Jesus Christ. Know-nothing skeptics don't stop to think about it, but #1 - no scholar would argue that the man didn't exist, only whether or not he was the Son of God, and #2 - whatever the man did, however he did it, people were impressed enough to change the entire system of keeping track of time to honor him - our frigging calendar is living testament to this guy and what he did. Tiger Woods won't be able to lay claim to that, nor George Bush, or -hmmm- just about anyone.
So if I was David Blaine, and I went back to the past, would it not be insanely easy to declare myself as the son of god? The existance of Jesus Christ is not evidence for the existance of God. Numerous individuals across history has declared themselves to be the human representation of god, or God's child itself. The only problem was that the only successful ones occured during times when knowledge was a privledge. People in Rome had probably had less knowledge of the natural world than 1st graders do now. If Jesus Christ was born today, and made that claim, he would be deemed a joke to society. How many people died of through convinction of heresy throughout the dark ages??? My point is not about time travel or what not, it's about the existance of an individual that may have been skilled in the art of trickery or slight of hand, or maybe just a very influential leader. A ancient "magician." There is no direct proof Jesus Christ was the son of God. All there is is a bunch of writing from numerous apostles. I'm sure George Bush, (don't really know what tiger woods has to do with it), and world leaders like Hitler and Stalin could make a much more convincing "Son of God" in those times with their charisma and leadership qualities.
Heh, I saw the David Blaine argument coming and I intended to use his name but someone distracted me and derailed my train of thought. Still, in an indirect way I got him involved by stating that no human since Christ has had an effect on the world that will earn them an honor equalling having mankind's system for keeping track of time revolve around their lifespan. In plainer terms, there ain't gonna be no B.B./A.B (Before Blaine/After Blaine). The fact that we keep track of days based on his life is HUGE. While I guess most people take it for granted, I almost can't get my mind around it. Now you say those were simpler times, more poorly educated people (which doesn't equate to less intelligent - read on ), so they were more easily duped. I guess I'm inclined to agree with you. People back then were nothing like the people today... falling for phishing scams, credit card scams, email viruses, pyramid schemes... looking up to people of high moral character like Paris Hilton and Bill Clinton... suing large corporations because they didn't realize that their hot coffee would be hot or that eating deep-fried grease-filled fast food every day would make them fat... believing in John Edwards, Miss Cleo, the Y2K bug - hell, just about anything... yes, I see your point. :lol: Btw, bringing up Hitler proves my point rather than yours... shining example of how gullible people even today are and how easily misled. That was less than a century ago. Christ may have been a charlatan, but his success wouldn't have been a sign of the age - more the audience. Humanity. Consider though that if he was a faker, he would have to have been thoroughly insane in addition to being genius and immensely charming. Moreso even than Hitler - Hitler at least had a goal in mind, something to gain. There was nothing in it for Christ. He knew that pursuing his goals meant a life of persecution, poverty, and probable violent death. Thanks for the discussions, friend
lol I'm sorry but your mind works like a 10 year old's. I'm assuming you're about 10-15 years of age...which makes this a really worthless. Your points are totally illogical and funny at best. If you really want to understand the concept of how the human mind connects with the concept of religion, go watch the Movie "the Mist". It's a pretty deep movie.
I am an atheist and don't believe in God. Period. I have had many people try to convince me that there is indeed a God. But the more I listen, the more I don't believe in any of it.
There's a rebuttal. Thanks for the laugh P.S. It's a well-known fact among intellectuals that the first person to resort to personal insults in a debate, whether they're winning or losing, is the loser. That's why I didn't call you a moron for suggesting that SETI is sending radio signals to one-celled organisms in that other thread and also why I haven't poked fun at your grammar. Think about it.
I don't understand why people are even arguing. Science is fact. The Old Testament is fictional. The thought of humans coming from monkeys is as mind-blowing as the thought of Moses splitting an ocean in half or that Noah lived for more than a thousand years. The only difference is that evolution is a proven fact while the story of the Bible is not.
i believe that evolution only happened bc of God, youd have to be stupid to not believe in a god! think about it what made the trillion upon truillion of stars out there?
LOL. Not trying to be disrespectful but you are just setting yourself up for flaming if you write something like that. I think that these days believing in God really depends on the person, not their intelligence. Also I'm not sure about evolution but it seems much more plausible than creationism.
they can both happen. its not that complicated, god will evolve (people will say the story is a metaphor or something like that) and they will coexist. the church's view of god constantly changes, like this will change it proabably http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/w...ne.html?_r=1&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print i didn't read it all but i think the gist of it is they found some old thing that taught us something new, lol
I say God, because there is no possible way that a creature can evolve from this, to that, I mean you see the giraffe? you know how it takes a sip of water and after it's done it see's a lion, it pulls it's head up and starts running, now if evolution existed, it would have passed out because of not enough oxygen, but instead I forget what the thingy things are called but God made it so when it pulls it's head up, it can start running and escape that tiger. Actually, your "proven fact" was proven wrong in the 18 hundreds I believe.
seriously.... unless you plan on revolutionizing the way we see science, arguing on behalf of creationalism is idiotic, evolution has been observed, proven, and debated on by better people than you and I. Evolution is the only way to go unless you are an idiot, or are extremely faithful.