Yuck!
Apologize for something worth apologizing for.
Posted on 07/01/2007 4:42:27 AM PDT by Kaslin
Hitchens is the Kitty Kelley of political writing- a professional contrarian, with that mean streak the British do so well. He doesn’t have the gravitas or skill for a career in depth, and I predict we’ll see some real ‘look at me’ absurdities from him- when he finally offends the last reader on earth.
I responded in message 20 to Invisible hand. You, too, deserve a response and an apology. I am sorry to have offended you. It is just so amazing to me that creationists and fundamentalists firmly believe that man was not on this earth before 6000 years ago. How can the theory of evolution deny that God created the earth, man, etc.? Taking Genesis literally..that is how. Christ spoke in parables and metaphors...is it not possible that Genesis and other books of the Bible do the same?
All of this may not matter much to you, but I have two earned degrees, one in biology and chemistry, and the other a DDS. I have INTENSELY studied the evolution-creation debate for about 35 years, and have read something like 250 books on both sides of the issue. I have come to the studied conclusion that evolution is junk science, sort of like man-made global warming. We have been told so many thousands of times, for so many years, that evolution is a fact. As a result many people who are basically uninformed have been brainwashed. You might look at some of the articles and archives at the Discovery Institute. You might want to read some of the offerings by Michael Denton. By the way, Dr. Ken Ham of the creation museum is INCREDIBLY well-informed.
Well even though I will most likely step on your toes, I will address this presentation of the Word of God.
Yes indeed Christ did in fact speak in parables to the masses, however, if you keep reading he privately explained them to his disciples..... That means that we have this day, God willing the understanding of what was said and at least a hoped for comprehension of what is going on in and on this earth this day.
Genesis literally does NOT say how old this earth is. So to claim that people are literally using what Genesis actually says is not correct. Yes there are *parables and metaphors* hidden in Genesis, and while I know that I do not have full and total understand, still working, Christ Himself said that He foretold us all things. That to me means that it will be at the *WILL* of the Heavenly Father to be given that knowledge.
I appreciate your rephrasing. I often say things hastily myself, and then wish I’d been more thoughtful of others. If nothing else, it’s then too easy to get caught up in an argument about how one’s put things, and never get to any discussion of the actual issue!
However, if you’ll pardon my saying so, your new posts to “invisible hand” and to me seem to make the same point as the original, only in more (and more polite) words.
As I understand it, your contention (and the author’s) is that anyone who disagrees with your perspective on the origin of the earth and the origin of life must be either mentally deficient or educationally deprived. You’re allowed to believe that if you like, of course, but you can’t expect everyone who disagrees with you to accept your definition of them.
I think you need to be very careful making assumptions that fundamentalists and creationists are limited intellectually. I myself used to make the same assumptions, but as I left those liberal assumptions behind and began to broaden my mind, I realized that many are well educated people who have given these matters a great deal of thought and study.
Take this man for example:
http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/index.php?id=84&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=277&tx_ttnews[backPID]=3
Mrs.AV
I am an ID’er. You might notice that the Discovery Institute has tried to distance themselves from the fundamentalists and especially the creationists.
Yuck!
Apologize for something worth apologizing for.
Michael Pearl is obviously and intelligent gentleman and I like what he has to say. As I mentioned in previous posts I believe in Intelligent Design. The Discovery Institute has made somewhat of an effort to distance themselves from the ‘Creationists’and fundamentalists.
The theory of evolution never threatened my faith. There were too many gaps when I studied it 30 years ago. But there is enough science to blow the ‘man was created 6000 years ago bunch’ out of the arena of reality oriented discussions.
I just can’t understand how the theory of evolution which is nothing more than a theory can threaten Christians.
Newsweek Poll, March 2007:
1)Nearly half (48 percent) of the public rejects the scientific theory of evolution.
2)One-third (34 percent) of college graduates say they accept the Biblical account of creation as fact.
3)Seventy-three percent of Evangelical Protestants say they
believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years.
4)39 percent of non-Evangelical Protestants and 41 percent of Catholics agree with that view (#3)
Darlin', evolution doesn't terrify "them." "They" merely disagree with you.
Have you read my comments? I am clearly a proponent of Intelligent Design. They don’t disagree with me, they simply have no desire to take their faith beyond the literal Bible.
Not according to some here
What 'man' says is not where the 'right' emulates from, and it is quite the freeing of the mind to finally get a glimpse of that. At least for me it has been, although I do not believe one ever fully flushes out of the mind the concern or awareness of what others think of them.
My opposition to the theory of evolution is that it is now the LAW of the land, and there were tooooo many sleeping, possibly blinded Christians that allowed this nation to devolve to a worldly status. So long as I am by force of LAW required to fund this half baked deceptive theory I will speak out. Of course many would say I am half-baked myself, but that is ok what they say doesn't alter what I know Genesis actually says, and it says NOT one word about the age of this planet.
These people should lighten up on Hitchens, as Sisyphean as his self-assigned task seems, we must accept that it is as allegorical as biblical tales meant to regale; after all, David would have never become a great king had he merely slain Mickey Mouse.
Padre35 - You have a myopic view of history. The Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Jewdahism, and Islam) have caused more suffering on Earth than any other religion. It was the Christians who during the Cursades kill many “Infidels”. It was a Christian Nation (Deutschland) that killed millions of Jews. Hilter said in Mein Kampf “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.” It was a Christian Nation that dropped 2 nuclear bombs on Japan. Islamic people are killing “Infidels” too. There will never be peace on Earth as long as the Abrahamic religions are around. They cause so much suffering.
BTW: I am a Buddhist. Buddhist are peaceful people.
Really? So the Japanese weren’t budhist shinto practicioners? There really aren’t some 100 million graves all over the world from Communist oppression and genocide?
For all the handwringing, the crusades (in response to Islamic campaigns BTW) killed less then 1 million people, the total for “religious wars” is less then 3 million, werear communism has killed into the hundreds of millions.
And they still do today.
As for Hitler, he tried to remove the Christian religion as a dominant or even counter balance to his vision of “Aryan Purity” when ol’ Adolfie finished his confirmation ceremony, he never attended a RCC church again and told a childhood friend that he found the whole experience distasteful.
And on could just as easily say that “Buddhist Countries” like china and Cambodia killed millions of their own citizens, when in fact, it is simply mankind who uses whichever excuse that we can find to kill rape and destroy.
That’s not fair... the first church in Houston was the Episcopal church, and they conducted the services for all the denominations there, including Catholic and Jewish.
I had the privilege of attending the TLM this morning at the first Catholic church in Houston, a wonderful, glorious building completed in 1879.
Just yell at them “GOD SEES YOU LAYIN THERE IN THAT BED, BOY!” (or girl).
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