<p>How can you say that we should be teaching creationism at all in schools? It is just a guess -- an uneducated one. Evolution has proof and nothing has shown concrete proof that it is wrong. But if something were to show that that it was wrong or there was a more explaining alternative with more proof the educated would undoubtedly slide to that belief.</p>
<p>Saying we should teach creationism and evolution is not like astrology and astronomy it is like teaching Zeus as the source of lightning.</p>
<p>Just because we do not know something -- big bang, origin of matter, etc. -- does not mean we make a guess and call it fact. And it certainly does not mean that we just say that God is the answer. We research and hypothesize looking for answers.</p>
<p>God created the earth. He is watching over us whether we're eating, sleeping, or having sex. Lightning is caused by God when he is angry. A camera operates because God creates images in the camera.</p>
<p>It's suprising as you get further up into the academia world you have more and more people who simply lack purpose in life, or simply refuse to acknowledge it.</p>
<p>I saw it. Was entertaining propaganda. Lawl, "No Intelligence Allowed."</p>
<p>What was more entertaining that the movie, however, were the people in the theater. I live in a large, liberal metro area, and Expelled was only playing at one cinema within 40 miles.</p>
<p>Everyone in the theater was white. I sat down and -- this is the first time this has ever happened to me -- a couple sat down right next to me. I had never met them before.. they probably just assumed we were automatic pals because everyone in that theater was so self-selected. People were clapping and laughing whenever Ben Stein made a point. Meh. Human nature is weird.</p>
<p>Maybe some of you can explain this, but my problem with evolution is that if something evolved, then it must have started as something to evolve from. And if you trace backward in the evolutionary tree, there must be a starting point from which everything else evolved. My problem with evolution is, how did that first living thing (or starting point on the evolutionary tree) evolve from nonlife to life (since no one has ever witnessed a nonliving substance change into a living organism)?</p>
<p>"It's suprising as you get further up into the academia world you have more and more people who simply lack purpose in life, or simply refuse to acknowledge it."</p>
<p>I suppose our purpose in life was to sit in caves and have sex then? Seriously, I don't think the people with Ph.Ds and M.Ds fabricate new technology and medical cures because they lack direction. Quite on the contrary. Is that a lack of purpose or just one that doesn't match your own narrow worldview?</p>
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Or, for that matter, how did the Big Bang happen? From my perspective, it just makes sense that something has to be infinite. Otherwise, you just have to keep explaining where the last link in the chain came from.
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<p>The Big Bang is physics, not biology. As for the beginning of life, read "The Origins of Life" by John Maynard Smith and Eors Szathmary. Early on, it describes how macromolecules may have come together to form a cell. Anywa, we can't say everything we don't know is caused by God, and for every decision or rule we make, there should be a reasonable rationale behind it. For example, don't murder because murder violates the rights of the person whom you are murdering, or because it causes undue pain and suffering (zarathustra's link is good). Evolution has our observations behind it. It can be disproven at any time, but we cannot choose to modify our observations.</p>
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Jainis*m* seems to be the exception with the violence stuff
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<p>Wow, somebody knows about my religion! By the way, Jains have no creation theory. Jainism says the world has been here forever and operates in cycles, with souls being reborn and dying until they rid themselves of karma. I demand that be taught in school.</p>
<p>Seriously, though, it's not as hard to reconcile with science as some other religions, although I'm still struggling with it.</p>
<p>Evolution -- as previously mentioned -- does not show how life started. It shows how things have evolved after life started. We do not know how life started but we have hypotheses. </p>
<p>We have seen Amino Acids [sic?] being formed from nothing and maybe given enough time enough would form for a prokaryotic cell. There a many guesses and ideas.</p>
<p>To put it simply, evolution does not cover nor try to cover the origin of life. Because we do not know does not mean we have to attribute it to the unlikely idea of God.</p>
<p>The theories of how life came from 'nothing' are well-established and well-argued in the scientific community. Anyone who's studied biology (or at least AP Bio) should be familiar with Miller and Urey. </p>
<p>Of course, there's no way to really know, but experiments have proved that it's possible for organic molecules to be synthesized from inorganic components under the appropriate conditions. There are several models for the origin of life on earth, many backed up by experimentation.</p>
<p>How is the idea of God unlikely?
There is absolutely no proof for or against the presence of God. I don't think it should be taught in school, but to dismiss the possibility is just as naive as declaring it as fact.
The word BELIEF is defined by dictionary.com as:
to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.
People believe in God, but declaring it fact is different.
Life had to come from somewhere, think beyond your anti-social intellectual bubble and think about where everything came from. Facts can only take you so far. Use your reason (where did that come from?) and you will understand that we can't know where, what, or how the beginning was or if it even existed. You guys are a bunch of nihilists.</p>
<p>Now the rest of the story.
Where did God come from?
He can't have just existed.
Why would he put life on only one planet in his whole universe?
If god is infallible, omnipetent, omnipresent, and omnivorous why did he have to decide to create the universe, wouldn't he know it was a good idea and make it immediately upon his creation (or "happening")? So wouldn't the universe be just as old as God and God be the same thing as the universe?
There're others but I just can't remember, and the one above is more detailed but I can't remember all of it.</p>
<p>Take a philosophy class or read some GERMAN transcendentalists or some existentialists and you'll probably have to change your pants.</p>
<p>It is not a nihilistic attitude at all. I believe there are things, I believe that you can have meaning, love, etc. I just don't believe in God.</p>
<p>Unlikely can be relative. God is unlikely because there is no proof for him at all, it is just a guess because we don't have all of the knowledge. God is as improbable as any other imaginary creature. He is as improbable as the invisible pink unicorn, etc. </p>
<p>We -- atheists -- are not dismissing the possibility, just the likelihood. It is dumb to live your life for something that might exist or contemplate random guesses. Believing in creationism etc is just not admitting that you do not know everything and it is a refusal to look for answers. </p>
<p>Your argument has gone past just the facts and into subjective personal insults, "anti-social intellectual bubble." </p>
<p>How can you have confidence in something with no logical evidence besides that you do not know something.</p>
<p>You are right, our knowledge at the present can take us only so far. We do not know what the beginning was but we do not have to attribute it to God.</p>
<p>So the moral of the story is RELAX.
If you believe in God, you will respect his gift of free will and allow others to think as they like.
If you don't, why does it even matter what other people think if there is no higher purpose?</p>
<p>pseudoreal- they teach that amino acid theory in school, which is an unproven theory.</p>
<p>AND how many kids in your class understand that there are alternatives to what is taught in school. To most people, school is the be-all-end-all of human knowledge. </p>
<p>Devil's Advocate here. I like things how they are.</p>
<p>You know what guys/gals? You are all wrong. The atheists, agnostics, and the Christians.</p>
<p>It was the freaking Flying Purple Spaghetti Monster. If you guys had any brains inside those big heads you would already be bowing down to FPSM. ;)</p>
<p>Actually, the "one eyed one horned flying purple people eater" is the arch enemy of our beloved Lord The Flying Purple Spaghetti Monster. Those who follow the one eyed one horned flying purple people eater are damned for all of eternity. ;)</p>
<p>A question I've been meaning to ask someone religious about: If God is omnipotent, all knowing, and all good, as it states in the bible numerous times, then why is there cruelty? This is called the paradox of cruelty and is a common proof against the existence of God. If God is omnipotent then he should have the power to stop cruelty. If he is all knowing, then he should have known in creating the world he would be creating cruelty. The only other explanation for cruelty is that god is not all good, and does not care to stop cruelty.</p>
<p>Empirical observation of the world makes me think that the ancient Greeks were closer in their views on divine beings that the current paradigm is. If there is a divine influence affecting our daily lives, it may not be benevolent.</p>
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If god is infallible, omnipetent, omnipresent, and omnivorous
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Hahahahaha! </p>
<p>Just for the record, I'm not knocking you for arguing for the God side or anything or calling all religious people stupid. But that's funny as hell.</p>