The theory of evolution

I heard a few people in the Philosophy and religion forum state that evolution was not a scientific fact so I decided to put this in history, ancient history I guess?

Evolution can be divided into two parts, macro and micro. Micro evolution is a fact, where as macro evolution remains a theory due to debates on the exact steps of the evolutionary process.

EVOLUTION DID HAPPEN we simply can’t trace the exact evolutionary steps of the of the 3 trillion plus species on earth. Considering there is no way that we can even prove if we have located all the species on earth, this may always remain a theory.

We can prove though, beyond a doubt, that humans have evolved. We can trace it back conclusively 3.6 million years. 97% of all scientists accept evolution (so does the Catholic Church). Christians have spread lies about this excessively, they especially like to say evolution preaches that Humans evolved from monkeys. Evolution does not state that humans evolved from monkeys, that idea is completely absurd. Science states that monkeys and humans evolved from a shared forefather and are hence relatives, (all primates are) but we are in no way direct descendants of them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_as_theory_and_fact

 

I'm a christian and this offends me. Actually, no, I'm not a christian... and this doesn't offend me... maybe I'm too high.... *shrugs

 

As if such a thing were possible...

 

If you start believing in someone named "God", you're too high.

 

For the last 40 years we have been in Devolution. Needent talk of evolution.

 

Stephen Hawking: "Humans Have Entered a New Stage of Evolution"

I don't much understand it as I don't worry about it to often but i thought someone else might get some use out of it.

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblo...net-has-entered-a-new-phase-of-evolution.html

 

That's very interesting, perhaps humans through technology have indeed taken evolution into there own hands, maybe on some distant planet aliens can pin point the exact moment when they took the fate of their species into there own hands?

Maybe natural selection as used by evolution is just a step in a process, once the species is able to gather enough information(and in some way retain it) concerning medicine, communications, science and the such they take fate into there owns hands by extending there lives beyond what would be considered natural for the species, or higher capacities for memory storage in the brain, super healing and strength? Whats the saying, Anything is possible?

Very cool indeed, I think I remember Michio Kaku,Carl Sagen, and even Terrence Mckeena all mentioning something similar to this.

 

the sad part is they haven't smoked anything

 

It isn't really necessary to couple ideas about evolution to belief in an organized religion. Perhaps you could point to a statistical correlation, but as we all know, correlation does not mean cause and effect, and in fact may be totally misleading.

You could probably just as easily point to a correlation between belief in evolution and political affiliation. I would hazard a guess that it would fall quite nicely along American party lines. But so what? To suggest that being a Republican automatically makes you an ignoramus about biology is absurd and insulting.

The thing about evolution, as it is with any historical happenings, is that belief is totally irrelevant, anyway. It doesn't matter what anyone believes, what matters is what actually happened. If I say that I don't believe that my ancestors were ape-like primates living on the savannahs of east Africa, does that have the slightest effect on whether they actually were or not? They either were or they weren't. What I happen to believe is meaningless. And until someone comes along who has the power to choose their own ancestors, making statements to the effect that "I wasn't descended from no monkey" just makes you look like an idiot.

One might as well say that you don't believe that George Washington was the first president of the US. Well, ok ... you can not believe it, as you wish, but you're a fool, because his presidency--or non-presidency--is a past event, and it either was or it wasn't. Again, what you believe matters not a whit.

I'm not making claims about evolution itself, either for or against. I'm simply pointing out that making connections between one's opinions about evolution and one's religious belief is to draw unwarranted conclusions.

 

Prove it

 

Theistic evolution has always made the most sense to me. All other theories seem to come up lacking.

 

And the belief that a supernatural being created everything isn't lacking?

 

I read this recently

Imagine God created a 30 year old tree right now in your front yard next to a truly 30 year old tree. A friend comes by and says "how old are these trees?". You say "One is 30 years old and the other is 2 minutes old". The friend realizes they are both the same size and appear the same age so cuts the trees down, he sees 30 rings in both and concludes that both trees are 30 years old because the tree grows a new ring every year. SO who is right? Does one say that the tree counting method of determining tree ages is incorrect? NO. DOes one say that both trees are 30 years old? YES - because God made a 30 year old tree. Can you convince the person that the tree is only 2 minutes old? Maybe. He has to have FAITH that the tree is only 2 minutes old yet at the same time he can KNOW it is 30 yrs old and it is not a conflict because the tree can be BOTH.

We are human beings and we see time in a linear way. We were given by God a certain set of physical rules of the universe in which we live. All of those rules have to apply to us both FORWARD and BACKWARDS in order for our world to make sense. If we were to cut down a tree that looks like a 30 yr old tree but find no rings, that would not make sense. We could no longer use that method to determine tree age and t hat would not allow us to do simple things like grow trees for houses since we would have no idea how long it takes certain trees to grow.

So it's no surprise that He gave us a backwards path that makes sense all the way back to some infinitely small point. That point being the big bang and that's where it all breaks down. At that point all things cease to make sense but it is far enough back to allow us to discover the laws of the universe as he decides we should discover them and apply them to our lives.

Evolution is just one of those things. It allows us to make sense of everything within the physical laws of the universe that He created. Without some kind of clear path backwards that can be applied going forward and tested and proven, we would not be able to discover diseases and correct them. We could not figure out why DDT no longer works on bedbugs. And perhaps worse of all, it would be glaringly obvious to everyone that there was a God and faith would no longer matter.

hehe nice

 

I see no problem with evolution. We all evolve. We start as sperm and egg (actually even much earlier but I'll keep it simple) and then become a baby and then a child, young person, adult, etc. Evolution is God's plan.

Where the difficulty is, and where the disagreement is, is the starting point. Either everything came from nothing by nothing...(the atheist viewpoint).

OR...there was a First Source and Center from which the evolution of the universe began.

The latter viewpoint is Theistic Evolution....to which I subscribe.

Jammin on.........

 

You guys are still making this into a religious issue, and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with religion.

It doesn't have anything to do with what anyone believes, either.

Look at it this way ... evolution either happened or it didn't, correct? And if it did happen, then it happened in the past. Which means that nothing that you or I believe today has any effect on it. We can't affect events in the past by what we believe today. You can't say "well goldurn it, no ancestor of mine was a monkey". How absurd is that??? You have no say over who your ancestors were or weren't.

If it didn't happen, then this is a moot point anyway.

Since evolution involves events in the past, belief is not relevant. What's relevant is discovery ... figuring out what happened, if anything.

Religion has nothing to do with discovering what actually happened in the distant past.

 

Look, the whole thread started with an evolution-religion bend in it so you have to go with the flow and not try to avoid the question. I tend to agree with you as the scientist that I am that when in the world of science you can leave your religion out of lab (I will not go that far in the hospital, however, will you?).

Nevertheless, what you say avoids the ultimate question of the zero hour. Which is what is your answer when you get to that point? If you don't want to answer, that's okay. But that is what the thread is all about.

 

I think you might be talking about the wrong thread. If you go back and look at the original post, there's nothing in there about the "zero hour". So no, the whole thread didn't start with a "religion bend" to it.

 

We can prove though, beyond a doubt, that humans have evolved. We can trace it back conclusively 3.6 million years. 97% of all scientists accept evolution (so does the Catholic Church). Christians have spread lies about this excessively, they especially like to say evolution preaches that Humans evolved from monkeys.

Evolution....Catholic Church....Christians.....................................

 

hawkings should have died decades ago

he has at least four kids since he should have died

Evolution has changed.

Simple enough?

 

Why are people hard-wired to believe in the ooga-booga?