God or Darwinism........

What Dan said. I don't see how anyone can look at all of the "coincidences" from the Big Bang on up through your sister's kids being born and not see divine intervention. The question you might really want to ask is whether the Bible is to be taken literally or whether the whole Adam-and-Eve thing is a bit of a metaphor, or a parable told to explain the unexplainable.

Personally I believe in evolution, but I'm not necessarily a 'Darwinist' as natural selection in his version has too many caveats that have been disproven. But, I do believe in both micro- and macro-evolution. We did NOT come from monkeys, but we DID have a common ancestor.

As far as God goes, I don't believe there is one and I don't believe there isn't one. For me, there is not enough evidence either way to convince me. I believe that organized religion is a man-made construct to keep (or at least attempt to) society civilized.

I asked a ecology professor once his stance, and I quote "Science tells us how we got here and religion tells us what to do now that we're here."

Dg- Who said the Big Bang was real?!?

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 08-09-2003 07:08: Message edited by: 1_pointer ]</font>

Believing in the big bang without God is like believing if you explode a nuclear bomb in a junk yard you'll get a lexus dealership.

The world is too well designed and the chances of nutuaral development of the universe are way beyond statistics for there not to be a God.

I don't see how anyone can stand on the top of a mountain and not believe. Like an old teacher of mine use to say everyone believes in God-eventually-hopefully before they die.

I go to a church, but I'm also the first to say it's not about religion (man made laws) its about God. That's why we have so many churches that are messed up today. Like the catholic priest abusing boys. That is purely the result of religion. God never said anwhere in the bible that priest should not marry, but the catholics made it a rule and look what happened. I believe our country is in serious trouble because we have begun to ignore God and as a result he is no longer protecting us.

Those are part of my beliefs.

You really have to study the bible and it's translations to understand how some came up with 6000 years. The term that got translated into 1 day could also have meant thousnads of years. Yes sometimes it was meant as 1 day but you know how languages and translations can be. (Just look at how posts on the internet are taken out of context and twisted around)

Yes I believe in a higher power (God). Why?

FAITH is why.

Who believes in what on this board, just wondering

Personally i beleive in Darwin's theory, makes more sence to me than the world only being 6000 years old.

Ha!Ha!Ha!..

Why would the planet be only 6000 years old??

Ever stop to think that maybe they are both right??

Why should they have to be mutually exclusive?

i will stand and say i don't believe in God because anything litterally or figurativly translated all leads to one thing, making people feel secure about dying, that is all i get out of any of it is if you live a certain way you'll have life in heaven for ever which makes people feel better about it, in some of your minds i am just a "Dumb Kid" but i have read into more than just one religion and they all contrdict in some way or another, and take a look back in history and see how many wars "God" has caused because of different beliefs in him.

and Please don't jump all over me again like the last time i said my opinion, just state yours as well

Mini.. Why don't you think about God in relationship to a way of Living.. rather than something to consider when you're dying?? It might make more sense....

If you read a little further into religion, you'll find that they have more in common than they do in opposition... Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all have thier roots in the same stories. They all have a common source. Taoism, Budhism, Shinto, while not alike have common threads... Be at peace with yourself and with the universe. They may address different ways of getting there, but they all lead to the same thing. PEACE... With yourself and the rest of the world.

Granted man has screwed all this up beyond repair,, that's called FUBAR... but PEACE is where they all point...

Think about it...

...as for God and Darwin.. Why can't they both be right to some degree... Certainly animals and man have changed over the millenia,, but where did they all come from in the beginning?? What does it mean in the Bible when it says " ..and God commanded that they be fruitful and go forth and replenish the earth..." Does that mean the the earth was "plenished" at one time and something happened??



<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 08-09-2003 18:47: Message edited by: danr55 ]</font>

Elkmtb: Celibacy in Catholic priests had nothing to do with religion when it was mandated; it was purely political. I'll elaborate if you're interested. You're right, though, that religion has caused a lot of ills.

MM: The answer to your statement about God causing a lot of wars would be that God doesn't cause them, mankind causes them. A major fundamental rule of Christianity (all flavors) is that God created man in his image, but placed him on the earth to live by his own free will. Wars over religion are products of humanity. But, then, too, the God in the Old Testament encouraged a man to slay an entire army with the jawbone of an ass, so....

1_p: there's no more "proof" of the Big Bang than there is of evolution, just a lot of facts and theories that point in that direction. Nevertheless, whatever tack you take, I can't separate human existence from divine intervention. The way the universe works, the long list of happy "it just so happens" that allows life to exist on earth, all the various coincidental processes that go on inside the human body. The earth's position in the solar system...the moon's relationship with the earth...the way weather works on the planet...ice floats on water...DNA...the Kreb Cycle....Blah, blah, blah. You can't call that "proof," but mathematically speaking, if there ain't a God then we are the lucky winners of the biggest, most impossible lottery in the universe.

Here's the big thing I just got out of this post. Mini is contemplating the big questions in life, and seems to be giving them some real thought. For someone I know personally as a "punk kid" (you know you're my bro) I think that is awesome! No matter what your belief system, the real point of life is to get through it figuring it out. So listen very carefully Mini, to what all these people have to say. Arrange all the different ideas in careful neat little piles in your mind, then go out and figure it out for yourself.

Thus sayeth the great sage Mojave.


Oh and by the way I know for a fact that the Great Bang happened. Just ask my husband about last night. .....OK I couldn't be serious through this entire post, could I?

Good question Mini. One vote for Darwinism here. I have respect for most other peoples religions though.

Unless of course your religion involves marrying 13 years old girls, 4 wives, talking salamanders, jesus jammies, going door to door hoping to brainwash, and getting married in some shrine temple.

Not talking any specific religion here of course.

Dg- You're right, science never 'proves' anything, but the evidence of support for evolution is more convincing to me.

I will state that I DO NOT take anything in the bible literally. The time lag when things supposedly happened and their recording in text and different translations leave to much room for 'fudge factor' for me.