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Maybe evolution isn't the beginning of life but it's definitely a part of life. If you want to believe the earth is a few thousand years old you'd have to basically ignore so many facts like temperature. Dinosaur fossils are found in snowy places like canada and there's no way that the earth turned from a tropical paradise to this in a few thousand years. If so, global warming really ISN'T something to worry about then I guess!

You'd also have to somehow explain that every animal fossil we found and every animal present today all lived in the exact same climate and polar bears managed to wander around the tropical world of the dinosaurs, or that dinosaurs hung out with glaciers.

Unless God has been sitting around constantly creating more animals, how did these animals transition from a tropical island to winter wonderland? To do that they'd have to *gasp* evolve!

It also seems like creationists would be going crazy trying to save species of animals that are going extinct because eventually all of the animals die out forever!

This post has been edited by Syaoransbear on Nov 17 2009, 06:23 PM

21% Oxygen, for God given life, and 78% Nitrogen, to test faith.

What's the other 1%?

The other 1 % is to allow wierd stuff to happen... ;-)

I did not read the whole thread but did browse the last few pages.
Since you mention God & faith, when talking about evolution, I don't see why the scientific theories have to conflict with the bible if you consider the writer of the creation story did not really understand the concepts in the terms we use them today.

I posted this in the Religion thread and got no comments on it (or missed them):

For comparison, the NRSV text:

Does it make sense to consider religion explaining the who/why and science explaining the what/how - with evolution being the how?

I think I've mentioned several times that evolution doesn't conflict with religion at all. In fact, I've frequently mentioned Kenneth Miller, who is a devout Catholic and a fairly well-known biologist.

Of course they don’t clash. I think they can go rather well with each other, actually. I mean, when you look at the mechanism of evolution, I think it’s clever, beautiful even. Is it that hard to think God wouldn’t have placed down the laws for it to follow?

I believe religion is actually a evolutionary adaptation we humans came up with to deal with the lack of an Alpha Male, has anyone noticed that in almost every religion there is one all powerful guy who pretty much is in charge I mean if that doesn't scream alpha male I don't know what does; I mean just look at it from a evolutionary standpoint i mean we got to a point in our history where there were to many ppl for the alpha males to control so we made one up that never died to deal with this issue. There issue solved religion is a evolutionary adaptation we made up to deal with our need for an Alpha Male figure just like gorrila's we need that Silverback alpha male due to the fact that we are primates and at some level need it. Oh and hello..

I haven't read most of this thread, but...

Of course evolution exists... that's already been proven, hasn't it? Through random mutations and natural selection, all living creatures will change slowly over time. Even our species of human is changing, an example being that we are gradually losing our wisdom teeth due to the fact we don't need them because our diet has changed. My dad had all four wisdom teeth, my mom only has one, and I have two.

I know several religious people who believe that God created life, but also believe in evolution. Actually, I've never met anybody, religious or not, that doesn't believe in evolution. o-o

Quite a few biologists have been looking at the possibility of religion being an evolutionary adaption. I know there’s on theory stating that we developed religion and moral laws to help work as a ‘glue of society’ to help keep us together, since we humans are social animals.

Others say that religion is just a bi-product of other psychological processes. Its linked to the idea of cause and effect- we’re programmed to see cause an effect in places, even if it’s not there, because we have a lot to lose if we’re wrong, and a lot to gain if we’re correct (like grass moving, and hiding inside it is either a lion or possible prey).

Others, of course, argue that the presence of religion is just evidence that out there, there is a God, and all the religions are just our way of searching for him.

This post has been edited by Completely Different on Nov 19 2009, 07:53 AM

I'd go with the misfiring of other evolutionary adaptations. The sheer time and resources dedicated to the task makes me think that the return (if it is even positive) isn't quite worth that much.