Courtesy of Church of the FSM
Surveys by a Michigan State University researcher find that about one-third of the American population does not believe in evolution, a figure which is much higher than those found in similar surveys in European nations and Japan.
The research of Jon D. Miller, MSU Hannah Professor of Integrative Studies, is published in the Aug. 11 issue of the journal Science.
For example, in Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and France, 80 percent or more of adults accepted the concept of evolution, as did 78 percent of Japanese adults.
Only adults in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim nation, were less likely to accept the concept of evolution than American adults.
There were several reasons for these inflated U.S. numbers. Miller said the most significant factor was the influence of fundamentalist religions.
Any good reason why some religions dedicate so much energy to holding back knowledge and education — and others don’t?
You will get an education like no other by reading the Bible. It is the basic flaw of man to think he knows better. Design demands a designer.
You can’t argue with that. Seriously, it would be pointless. Reason isn’t within your grasp.
I think Higghawker just answered our question about why some religions spend so much energy holding back knowledge and education. It is a control issue. They want to control the flock for the flock’s dinero. If you can get your flock to hate another group you can control them easier.
(see Bertrand Russle’s What Desires are Politically Important. lecture)
Holding back knowledge and education? Design needs a designer – as Higghawker said. But anyhow if you do believe in the Darwinian theory, and can’t let go, there might be a conjunction between the 2. To be continued…
Think about it; according to the bible, adam was punished for eating from the forbidden tree. Can a 3-day-old eat fruits? Obviously god created adam as a – lets suppose – 40-year-old. Now, why shouldn’t the same apply to the universe itself? God created a 5-billion-year-old (or whatever number you might propose) universe! why not?
I can put it simply for the feeble minded.
Evolution is an evidentiary fact. There are different theories of evolution but Evolution is a fact.
It is the creationists that keep bringing up the term design and then stating that it requires a designer. Nice trick! But we are way ahead of you!
If you want a good laugh!
http://www.venganza.org/
While reading it realize that he has set it up so that it is just as valid as intelligent design. This guy is brilliant!
Evidently you have never met Ocamm’s Razor.
For the “Fundies” since evolution, like all science should be, is agnostic, they have a harder time embracing it and wrongly see it as an athiest concept.
For others, they regonize the agnostic nature of science, and realize that though science does not require a belief in deity, it does not counter it. Rather science aids us in understanding creation, and by understanding creation we come closer in our understanding of the One who creates. Thus eveloution presents the best current human understanding of how the One who creates decided to create life. Just a physics, chemistry, biology, and all of sience gives us greater understanding of the One who creates and that creation of which we are part of.
It’s different world views, unfortently thos who typically embrace the term “Funimental” often want everyone to see the same as they do, and when others disagree, or something challenges their world view they go on the ofensive, rather than allowing others to have a different understanding.
I don’t have enough faith to believe in evolution!
Just toured a rock museum in Illinois that had a ton of evidence supporting creation and very little supporting evolution.
What always suprises me is the “scientists” that, when confronted with something (evidence) they don’t want to see, pretend it doesn’t exist, and then they manufacture their own evidence…
See post #2 ReadingThis.
There is little argument that God can, by definition, create anything. In creating the Universe, as per the creationist view, he added all the evidence required for use to draw the exact opposite conclusion that the Universe started and evolved following relatively simple but natural rules.
Throughout human history evidence found by studying nature and the environment has shown again and again that theories developed by observation and testable repeatable experimentation actually do describe how the Universe works. It is only logical that in this case to, evidence and observation are telling us something about reality. Asimov put it well when he stated:
“It is not so much that I have confidence in scientists being right, but that I have so much in nonscientists being wrong.”
If you take all of the terms that comes out of every religious group about God, you will come to the realization that man is God give or take a few inconsistancies. Just try to think about this logically and not metaphorically.
God is one tricky SOB.
Why else would he want us to believe one thing when all the evidence he has provided points to another?
And since that begs the question of how we know what God wants, seeing how he has not made any personal appearances in some time, we know because The Book says so. And we know The Book is correct, because The Book says that too.
Yes, that’s circular logic, but what, I ask you, is more perfect than a circle?
And friends, we need your support to get the word out. Please, for the sake of the children.
ReadingThis
What museum?
“What always suprises me is the “scientists” that, when confronted with something (evidence) they don’t want to see, pretend it doesn’t exist, and then they manufacture their own evidence… ”
OH BALLS!!!!!!
“Throughout human history evidence found by studying nature and the environment has shown again and again that theories developed by observation and testable repeatable experimentation actually do describe how the Universe works. ” -DAN
Creationism does not need anything but the bible and a feeble mind!
If the scientists would quit acting like religious domatists and not be afraid of any opposing positions, I might start to believe some of crap they lay out.
What now Evolution in, Darwin out? Evolution is an all encompassing word, when some talk about adaptations.
Hell I know a few atheists that don’t buy any of the Creationist dogma but guess what? They ain’t buying the Evolution bs either.
No way to edit I see, make that “dogmatists”
Actually, I think the numbers make me a bit optimistic.
66% vs 78% is not as bad as I would have guessed considering the influence of the fundamentalists in this country.
Hmm – DWright seems to have a logical position – for one I’d like to know how exactly evolution is an “evidentiary fact” (6), but also realize I can’t prove Creationism scientifically – there is evidence that supports it, but its impossible to prove (same situation with evolution though) You just have to believe. Something.
Wow, the nut-jobs are out in force on this one!
It is interesting how the creationists don’t have any theory (naysaying someone else’s theory isn’t a theory). Unfortunately, they come down to the hands over ears and shouting lalalalalalalalalalal… type of “argument”.
I’m not even going to bother reading all that.
I am going to re-state, or introduce the fact that most of the respected universities and sciences were started by religious folk.
You might say that all that happened before our time, and its changed now. You might be right.
Belief in God aside, I could scarcely care less whether man evolved or was created, but I do care about how to live, how to interact with other people, and how to manage my resources, all to live a peaceful and successful life. I’ve learned more about these things reading religious texts (yes, including money management) than I ever learned in american’t public skools.
I wonder if the texts’ critics really know what is written in these texts
ok, I read it… what a waste of time
Bruce IV
“for one I’d like to know how exactly evolution is an “evidentiary fact””
fossils, comparative anatomy, vestigial organs, molecular phylogeny
Why don’t you list some of the “evidence” that supports creationism
woktiny
“I wonder if the texts’ critics really know what is written in these texts”
if you are referring to the bible.
Unlike most “christians” I , an non christian, most certainly do!
*sighs*
I’d post a long response, as I did in a post a while back – but I pretty much condenced everything I have to say on this topic (for both sides really I guess) here: http://twilightuniverse.com/2006/02/evolution-of-ideas/
To summarise though: it’s not an either/or situation. The theory of Natural Selection and the process of Evolution (different things) are perfectly compatible with belief in God.
Anyone who declares otherwise is a fool.
Evolution has been tested through the rigors of the scientific method. Only information that has done the same should be taught in schools, and those who reject evolution must therefore reject EVERYTHING that has been discovered and developed using the scientific method. You can’t selectively reject certain science because it doesn’t agree with some story written hundreds of years after the events it purports to chronicle (ever play the “tell a story in a circle” game? Play it over multiple generations and see what happens). More on this here and here
So, you all are saying that when you die, you just…die?
It’s your choice to believe what you want. But I’m not going to put all my effort into believing that we’re just on a big rock that’s moving at speeds through this solar system, through this galaxy and through this universe at speeds we cannot fathom–that at any moment an asteroid could hit and obliterate the entire planet and it’d all be for nought. That we’re all here for no purpose at all. No, I’m not going to believe that. I’m putting my effort into believing we were put here. So, if I’m wrong, so what? I’m dead and can’t care one way or the other. But, if I’m right….
Why do so many people believe in a higher meaning, a higher power? Could such a huge percentage of the world be wrong? Even a lot of atheists believe in a purpose to life. Why would we believe that? Why would almost every human tend to feel that way? The vast majority of us are weak?
Gregory
“The theory of Natural Selection and the process of Evolution (different things) are perfectly compatible with belief in God.”
Very True! But they go against the tenants of many religions and that is where the problem comes in.
The Universe originated just as described in Genesis. When we look around us we see male and female in most all organisms and each kind of organism only reproduces after it’s kind. What few minute microbes that may be out there that do not have male and female counterparts still only reproduce their own kind. Now, if life began by some happen-chance development in a primordial soup or wherever, it would have had to have a simultaneous development of the opposite sex for continuation of itself. If that is not the case, then why is it necessary in the present and when did it change.
Higghawker
Man you really need to pick up a biology book because your lack of knowledge could not be corrected here in this forum