does the Bible teach Evolution?

[monoxide_child]

i understand that different people expose themselves to different subjects, and that when a classroom of people are supposed to learn the same thing, that some people will retain it while other's don't
it just seems annoying that "Christians" will so frequently use their "Faith" as an excuse to be uneducated

like saying that dinosaurs came into existence and became extinct in the "gap" that's supposedly between genisis 1:1 and Genisis 1:2 even though this doesn't make sense because it would put the extinction of the dinosaurs BEFORE the creation of the sun and the moon

or how "creationists" refuse to believe in any kind of "evolution" because it contradicts Genisis

or how "Christians" think that extra-terrestrials must somehow be "angels" or "demons" just because their "holy" text doesn't mention life on other planets

 

[hexwind]

i understand that different people expose themselves to different subjects, and that when a classroom of people are supposed to learn the same thing, that some people will retain it while other's don't
it just seems annoying that "Christians" will so frequently use their "Faith" as an excuse to be uneducated

I agree. The thing that i like about the belief system that i'm following is that it says, educate yourself in all fields possible and you will recognize who's your God.

or how "Christians" think that extra-terrestrials must somehow be "angels" or "demons" just because their "holy" text doesn't mention life on other planets

Heavy metal wasn't mentioned in any holy book, does that mean it doesn't exist?

 

[monoxide_child]

.

Heavy metal wasn't mentioned in any holy book, does that mean it doesn't exist?

heavy metal is a type of music
and music is actually mentioned a lot in the bible
one of the descendants of "Cain" was "the first to make harps and flutes"

 

[judas69]

Evolution invalidates the genesis story so, there really is no reason for Jesus to die on the cross after that.

 

[bathory_rocker]

This is a topic that I'm really involved in, because I'm actually a Christian (gasp). My opinion on the subject is that, first off, evolution has way too much legitimate scientific support to be tossed away. I believe in evolution. Secondly, my exact thought on the subject of Christians believing in evolution is this: I believe that God created the world. The Bible doesn't say HOW he did it, just that it happened. I see evolution as a tool.

(Please don't flame on me for my beliefs. That would be really annoying.)

 

[hexwind]

I believe that God created the world. The Bible doesn't say HOW he did it, just that it happened. I see evolution as a tool.

But the Bible said that God created us in a human shape, didn't it?

(Please don't flame on me for my beliefs. That would be really annoying.)

A different opinion is always better to learn.. huh?

 

[razoredge]

I think we came here from a dying planet, adults who had that advanced technology died from not being able to climatitize. A few children survived but lacked the technology of their ancesters because no one could educate them... and the race began again from the primitive state history shows. Lets face it, try as they do they can not explain the vast difference between the human mind and the rest of the creatures that have roamed the earth, nor can they locate the missing links in human evolution, yet they can uncover dinosours millions of years old

That ought to get some feathers up........

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

This is a topic that I'm really involved in, because I'm actually a Christian (gasp). My opinion on the subject is that, first off, evolution has way too much legitimate scientific support to be tossed away. I believe in evolution. Secondly, my exact thought on the subject of Christians believing in evolution is this: I believe that God created the world. The Bible doesn't say HOW he did it, just that it happened. I see evolution as a tool.

(Please don't flame on me for my beliefs. That would be really annoying.)

This is exactly what I think of when I conceptualize a rational Christian.

But the Bible said that God created us in a human shape, didn't it?

I see evolution as a tool.

I think that's a (comparatively) reasonable belief.

I think we came here from a dying planet, adults who had that advanced technology died from not being able to climatitize. A few children survived but lacked the technology of their ancesters because no one could educate them... and the race began again from the primitive state history shows.

Sounds like Scientology.

Lets face it, try as they do they can not explain the vast difference between the human mind and the rest of the creatures that have roamed the earth, nor can they locate the missing links in human evolution, yet they can uncover dinosours millions of years old

That ought to get some feathers up........

None of this is true. There is an abundance of transitional stages in the fossil record, but human evolution isn't covered in much detail in most curricula. Brain size and even the evolution of specific brain areas has been chronologically mapped about as accurately as can be imagined, and there are several known (and probably even more undiscovered) extinct species from the genus Homo preceding ourselves. We also know of at least one genus (Australopithecus) preceding Homo and the lack of transitional stages between Australopithecus (first known fully bipedal hominids) and Pan (chimps and bonobos) isn't unexpected by any means, because of the shear improbability of any organism being fossilized in the first place. Fortunately though, due to the relative recency in geologic time that primate evolution occurred, we have sufficiently more knowledge of the relationships between the different stages of human evolution than of nearly any other group of organisms. However, because human evolution is a much more personal topic, it generates a lot more skepticism and criticism than simply whether or not dinosaurs existed.

 

[razoredge]

I enjoyed the latest unveiling of a fossilized dinosour toddler with some form of bone structure similar to our hands or something, with a tail, that they hope to pass off as our oldest ancestor.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

That wasn't a dinosaur, it was an arboreal mammal that seems to be a transitional stage between monkeys and lemurs.

 

[monoxide_child]

Evolution invalidates the genesis story so, there really is no reason for Jesus to die on the cross after that.

yeah, this is pretty much why i don't worship "Jesus Christ"
however "Jesus of Nazereth" was an actual historical personage talked about by pagan scribes, and he seems at least somewhat inteligent
"the sermon on the mount" seems like a really good blue-print for how people should live and how society should function, but other than that i don't really re-read very much of the NEW testament, the OLD testament is so much more interesting

 

[Thoth-Amon]

The first chapter of Genesis could just as easily be figurative like Jesus's parables were or the book of Revelations was.

Keep in mind that the point of the story was to illustrate a larger truth and distill it into something simple that uneducated nomadic people could pass down easily. It wasn't supposed to describe every bit of scientific minutae that future scientists would uncover.

Well the bible itself interprets Genesis 1 literally and bases the Sabbath Law upon a literal interpretation of it (Ex. 20:8-11)... plus the persons and events in Genesis 1-11 which are clearly at odds with scientific, historical, archaeological, paleontological, et al ad nausem fact are constantly referred to as real and literal throughout the bible. Paul bases his idea of original sin off of a literal interpretation of Adam and the fall from grace in the garden of Eden (Rom. 5:12). Frankly this non-literal interpretation was virtually unheard of during Christian history until science started proving that such things couldn't have really happened. It's revisionist Christianity... a desperate attempt to salvage a false ideology.

 

[monoxide_child]

Well the bible itself interprets Genesis 1 literally and bases the Sabbath Law upon a literal interpretation of it (Ex. 20:8-11)... plus the persons and events in Genesis 1-11 which are clearly at odds with scientific, historical, archaeological, paleontological, et al ad nausem fact are constantly referred to as real and literal throughout the bible. Paul bases his idea of original sin off of a literal interpretation of Adam and the fall from grace in the garden of Eden (Rom. 5:12). Frankly this non-literal interpretation was virtually unheard of during Christian history until science started proving that such things couldn't have really happened. It's revisionist Christianity... a desperate attempt to salvage a false ideology.

i remeber the first 2 or 3 chapters of Genisis being scientifically innacurate, but, what's happening all the way out in chapter 11 that's provably wrong?

or do you mean Genisis Chapter 1 verse 11?

 

[Thoth-Amon]

i remeber the first 2 or 3 chapters of Genisis being scientifically innacurate, but, what's happening all the way out in chapter 11 that's provably wrong?

or do you mean Genisis Chapter 1 verse 11?

The Tower of Babel. Its clearly a myth to describe how languages came to be. Plus of course the flood myth with Noah in chs. 6-9 not to mention people living for hundreds of years... plus numerous other historical innaccuracies such as where the human race originated, how long the human race has been around, etc. Basically if these stories were found in say the Rig Veda or some Jainist text Christians would laugh at them and call them myths... but since they are in the bible they cling to them desperately while the more intelligent Christians explain them away as mythical stories meant to teach divine truth even though the bible itself interprets them literally and bases important Christian doctrines upon those literal interpretations.

 

[razoredge]

Watched a interesting documentary on the exhile of Moses and his people from Egypt last night. Its of considerable interest that Egyption hieroglyphs show the parting of water. There is other things that correlate between Egyptian stories and those of the Isrealites, yet they both live in denial of each other and have learned nothing after 3 thousand years of fighting... if anything I suppose it could be thought of as reasonable population control being as most people still seem not to have the smarts to "pull it out"

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

I saw a documentary on Moses' journey and it deduced that the parting of the water was a precisely timed escape through the Nile delta's tital marshes, made possible by his intimate knowledge of the terrain.

 

[razoredge]

That one sounds more viable than seas parting, but it is interesting that the Egyptian hieroglyphics showed the parting of the seas with them chasing "someone" across and then the seas closing in and them being trapped in the sea. I say this with consideration that the two beliefs try to deny the validity of eachs others "God" and their "Gods" desires and powers. Yet there was the event clear to the eye, "carved in stone" as they say, by Egyptians.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

The "sea" actually did close in around them... that's how tidal marshes work.

 

[razoredge]

The area is not muddy ? When people say marsh I think of sinking knee deep in muck

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

According to the documentary, it was muddy and difficult even for Moses and his followers to walk through, but their pursuers were unable to follow because their horse carriages got stuck and then the area flooded.