<< <i> Note that he makes a clear distinction between "evolution" and "evolutionary theory".
Very well written, IMHO. I might steal it from you someday -- you explain it much better than I do.
(j/k about the stealing part.) >>
Thanks. People constanty confuse and conflate the terms "evolution", "theory of evolution", and "evolutionary theory".
"Evolution" is the proposition that organisms change through time. Evolution is a fact. It's just as much a fact as gravity.
There really is no such thing as the "theory of evolution". There are many theories of evolution designed to explain different aspects of evolution. When people speak of the "theory of evolution", they are usually referring to the theory of natural selection, which seeks to explain speciation and phenotypic change.
A theory is an explanatory model designed to explain a set of facts. It is not a lesser order of truth. Some theories are weak. Any theory that seeks to explain bipedalism in hominids is weak. We just don't know why one group of apes stood up on two legs. Other theories are unassailable. Germ theory nicely explains why chickens get avian flu. Natural selection is one of the most secure theories in science, with a huge mountain of direct evidence that supports it. However, natural selection is not designed to explain all of evolution. It does a poor job explaining why some lineages persist and many perish during a mass extinction. In such dire times, survival is more like a crap shoot. Evolutionary biology recognizes that all organisms contain lots of pointless features that were not tailored by natural selection. Such "neutral features" can arise in many ways (I can think of eight). For example humans -- like all anthropoid primates -- have a single bone in the forehead. It's no better than having paired bones in the forehead (the primitive mammalian condition). It was a evidently a neutral mutation that occurred in the earliest anthropoids and, because it was neither harmful or helpful, just happened to get fixed in that ancestral population due to random chance. The only thing natural selection does is select out deleterious traits. It allows favorable traits to pass through but also allows meaningless features to do so as well.
"Evolutionary theory" is the entire body of theory designed to explain ALL aspects of evolution. It includes natural selection, sexual selection, kin selection, neutral drift, mass and background extinction, transposable genetic elements, endosymbiosis, etc., etc.
Of course, the origin of life has its own body of theory, separate and apart from evolutionary theory. Although it's assumed that there was some form of competition among early self-replicating molecules, the exact nature of this competition (and the competitors) is purely conjectural.
Mike Diamond is an error coin writer and researcher. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those held by any organization I am a member of.
Like it our not, this nation is a predominently a Christian nation and Judeo-Christian principles serve as an underpinning of the constitution and many of our laws (i.e. the federal and state laws making murder a crime stems directly from "Thou shall not kill" contained on one of the tablets Moese brought down from the mountain.
The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime.
<< <i>The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime. >>
Wow. What a huge and inappropriate leap of illogic there.
<< <i>Like it our not, this nation is a predominently a Christian nation and Judeo-Christian principles serve as an underpinning of the constitution and many of our laws (i.e. the federal and state laws making murder a crime stems directly from "Thou shall not kill" contained on one of the tablets Moese brought down from the mountain.
The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime. >>
TRUE!! Once there is no reason (religion and God) for morality, except that.........well, it just feels right so that is what we will do; Then humanity will complete its slide back to the jungle. To the atheists that would probably be just fine; then we just strike up a conversation with with our cousins, the chimps.
<< <i>Like it our not, this nation is a predominently a Christian nation and Judeo-Christian principles serve as an underpinning of the constitution and many of our laws (i.e. the federal and state laws making murder a crime stems directly from "Thou shall not kill" contained on one of the tablets Moese brought down from the mountain.
The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime. >>
TRUE!! Once there is no reason (religion and God) for morality, except that.........well, it just feels right so that is what we will do; Then humanity will complete its slide back to the jungle. To the atheists that would probably be just fine; then we just strike up a conversation with with our cousins, the chimps. >>
Again with the "you're not moral if you're not religious" argument. So only non-religious people commit crimes? Gee, I guess I'm way behind then. I could have been ripping people off on Ebay all these years as I couldn't possibly be a moral person based on what you just stated. I suggest some catching up on world history if this is the general view. Its also easy to make judgements about people you don't know. I don't live my life that way by basing relationships simply on a religious affiliation...but thats me. I have friends of many different religious beliefs...I don't think any of them are worried that I will make off with their silverware when they are not around. BTW, I'm not in favor of removing religion from public life. I do think there is a very fine line the government needs to walk to preserve these freedoms for everyone.
<< <i>Like it our not, this nation is a predominently a Christian nation and Judeo-Christian principles serve as an underpinning of the constitution and many of our laws (i.e. the federal and state laws making murder a crime stems directly from "Thou shall not kill" contained on one of the tablets Moese brought down from the mountain.
The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime. >>
TRUE!! Once there is no reason (religion and God) for morality, except that.........well, it just feels right so that is what we will do; Then humanity will complete its slide back to the jungle. To the atheists that would probably be just fine; then we just strike up a conversation with with our cousins, the chimps. >>
History is full of instances where murder in the name of the Church was condoned by the Church. Judeo-Christian principles are not the only ones proclaiming murder is a crime. Murder is universally a crime according to athiests and non-athiests alike.
It all boils down to a single tenet. Treat other people the way you'd like to be treated yourself. It is as simple as that. It doesn't matter what religion or non-religion you are. This is the only thing that counts. Another way to state it: "what goes around, comes around". That is the universal morality. If you murder, expect to be killed yourself. If you state falsehoods against others, expect falsehoods to be stated against you.
The implication that athiests are immoral and that they want murder to be legal is exactly the type of argument that Hitler presented against the Jews.
<< <i>Consider that God can do what he wants, whenever he wants, including setting up red herrings all along mankinds path to test the faith of man which is, after all, the bottom line reason everything exists in the first place >>
You heard it here folks, God lies. And then expects Man to continue to have faith in a liar.
<< <i>Consider that God can do what he wants, whenever he wants, including setting up red herrings all along mankinds path to test the faith of man which is, after all, the bottom line reason everything exists in the first place >>
You heard it here folks, God lies. And then expects Man to continue to have faith in a liar. >>
No person can comprehend the vastness of the almighty. And humanity was purposely designed that way; It's all about FAITH. Go ahead and burn out your circuits trying to comprehend the beginning or end of nothingness.
Lying is unfortunately a human trait and one which each of us should try to control as best as we can.
Once I understood why I dismissed the Heathens' many Gods, I understood why the Athiests dismissed my One.
And We the People at last began to Trust in Each Other, having finally relegated the last of our cherished Primitive Beliefs to the realm of myth and fable.
Baley---Why did you resurrect this 4 year old thread?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Comments
<< <i>Its refreshing to see somebody finally say that a theory is neither true nor false.
Well, that's not exactly what he said. Note that he makes a clear distinction between "evolution" and "evolutionary theory".
Very well written, IMHO. I might steal it from you someday -- you explain it much better than I do.
(j/k about the stealing part.)
<< <i> Note that he makes a clear distinction between "evolution" and "evolutionary theory".
Very well written, IMHO. I might steal it from you someday -- you explain it much better than I do.
(j/k about the stealing part.) >>
Thanks. People constanty confuse and conflate the terms "evolution", "theory of evolution", and "evolutionary theory".
"Evolution" is the proposition that organisms change through time. Evolution is a fact. It's just as much a fact as gravity.
There really is no such thing as the "theory of evolution". There are many theories of evolution designed to explain different aspects of evolution. When people speak of the "theory of evolution", they are usually referring to the theory of natural selection, which seeks to explain speciation and phenotypic change.
A theory is an explanatory model designed to explain a set of facts. It is not a lesser order of truth. Some theories are weak. Any theory that seeks to explain bipedalism in hominids is weak. We just don't know why one group of apes stood up on two legs. Other theories are unassailable. Germ theory nicely explains why chickens get avian flu. Natural selection is one of the most secure theories in science, with a huge mountain of direct evidence that supports it. However, natural selection is not designed to explain all of evolution. It does a poor job explaining why some lineages persist and many perish during a mass extinction. In such dire times, survival is more like a crap shoot. Evolutionary biology recognizes that all organisms contain lots of pointless features that were not tailored by natural selection. Such "neutral features" can arise in many ways (I can think of eight). For example humans -- like all anthropoid primates -- have a single bone in the forehead. It's no better than having paired bones in the forehead (the primitive mammalian condition). It was a evidently a neutral mutation that occurred in the earliest anthropoids and, because it was neither harmful or helpful, just happened to get fixed in that ancestral population due to random chance. The only thing natural selection does is select out deleterious traits. It allows favorable traits to pass through but also allows meaningless features to do so as well.
"Evolutionary theory" is the entire body of theory designed to explain ALL aspects of evolution. It includes natural selection, sexual selection, kin selection, neutral drift, mass and background extinction, transposable genetic elements, endosymbiosis, etc., etc.
Of course, the origin of life has its own body of theory, separate and apart from evolutionary theory. Although it's assumed that there was some form of competition among early self-replicating molecules, the exact nature of this competition (and the competitors) is purely conjectural.
The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime.
<< <i>The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime. >>
Wow. What a huge and inappropriate leap of illogic there.
<< <i>humans do have paired frontal bones (forehead) until very early in life. >>
Quite so. As do all anthropoids. About 5% of humans have paired frontal bones as adults, by far the highest percentage of any anthropoid species.
<< <i>Like it our not, this nation is a predominently a Christian nation and Judeo-Christian principles serve as an underpinning of the constitution and many of our laws (i.e. the federal and state laws making murder a crime stems directly from "Thou shall not kill" contained on one of the tablets Moese brought down from the mountain.
The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime. >>
TRUE!! Once there is no reason (religion and God) for morality, except that.........well, it just feels right so that is what we will do; Then humanity will complete its slide back to the jungle. To the atheists that would probably be just fine; then we just strike up a conversation with with our cousins, the chimps.
<< <i>TRUE!! Once there is no reason (religion and God) for morality >>
Why do Christians feel they have a monopoly on morality? 'Tain't so, y'know...
<< <i>
<< <i>Like it our not, this nation is a predominently a Christian nation and Judeo-Christian principles serve as an underpinning of the constitution and many of our laws (i.e. the federal and state laws making murder a crime stems directly from "Thou shall not kill" contained on one of the tablets Moese brought down from the mountain.
The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime. >>
TRUE!! Once there is no reason (religion and God) for morality, except that.........well, it just feels right so that is what we will do; Then humanity will complete its slide back to the jungle. To the atheists that would probably be just fine; then we just strike up a conversation with with our cousins, the chimps. >>
Again with the "you're not moral if you're not religious" argument. So only non-religious people commit crimes? Gee, I guess I'm way behind then. I could have been ripping people off on Ebay all these years as I couldn't possibly be a moral person based on what you just stated. I suggest some catching up on world history if this is the general view. Its also easy to make judgements about people you don't know. I don't live my life that way by basing relationships simply on a religious affiliation...but thats me. I have friends of many different religious beliefs...I don't think any of them are worried that I will make off with their silverware when they are not around. BTW, I'm not in favor of removing religion from public life. I do think there is a very fine line the government needs to walk to preserve these freedoms for everyone.
<< <i>
<< <i>Like it our not, this nation is a predominently a Christian nation and Judeo-Christian principles serve as an underpinning of the constitution and many of our laws (i.e. the federal and state laws making murder a crime stems directly from "Thou shall not kill" contained on one of the tablets Moese brought down from the mountain.
The segment of society that seeks to remove "religion" (specifically Christianity) from government and public life, better hope that their goals are not met, for if they are consistent, then murder will not be a crime. >>
TRUE!! Once there is no reason (religion and God) for morality, except that.........well, it just feels right so that is what we will do; Then humanity will complete its slide back to the jungle. To the atheists that would probably be just fine; then we just strike up a conversation with with our cousins, the chimps. >>
History is full of instances where murder in the name of the Church was condoned by the Church.
Judeo-Christian principles are not the only ones proclaiming murder is a crime. Murder is universally a crime according to athiests and non-athiests alike.
It all boils down to a single tenet. Treat other people the way you'd like to be treated yourself. It is as simple as that. It doesn't matter what religion or non-religion you are. This is the only thing that counts. Another way to state it: "what goes around, comes around". That is the universal morality. If you murder, expect to be killed yourself. If you state falsehoods against others, expect falsehoods to be stated against you.
The implication that athiests are immoral and that they want murder to be legal is exactly the type of argument that Hitler presented against the Jews.
<< <i>Consider that God can do what he wants, whenever he wants, including setting up red herrings all along mankinds path to test the faith of man which is, after all, the bottom line reason everything exists in the first place >>
You heard it here folks, God lies. And then expects Man to continue to have faith in a liar.
<< <i>
<< <i>Consider that God can do what he wants, whenever he wants, including setting up red herrings all along mankinds path to test the faith of man which is, after all, the bottom line reason everything exists in the first place >>
You heard it here folks, God lies. And then expects Man to continue to have faith in a liar. >>
No person can comprehend the vastness of the almighty. And humanity was purposely designed that way; It's all about FAITH. Go ahead and burn out your circuits trying to comprehend the beginning or end of nothingness.
Lying is unfortunately a human trait and one which each of us should try to control as best as we can.
And We the People at last began to Trust in Each Other, having finally relegated the last of our cherished Primitive Beliefs to the realm of myth and fable.
edit: And then the Space Aliens arrived
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
<< <i>edit: And then the Space Aliens arrived
shhh. they're already here.
60 years into this hobby and I'm still working on my Lincoln set!
<< <i>
<< <i>edit: And then the Space Aliens arrived
shhh. they're already here. >>
We're from France.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.