Evolution & Atheism... Is it really more plausible?

[Zacharine]

you'd think atheists would not have a religious bias twords anyone and be more open minded but all of the atheists i have ever met have always told me how stupid and ignorant i was for being a christian (lutheran. AKA catholic lite) and how i deserved to be ripped on for it. all they did was insult my inteligence and try to degrade me. even my roomate and friend for the last 5 years who was catholic and recently converted to atheism did this to me! this made little sense to me. i have had friends who are muslim, buhdist and pagan who did not care that i was a christian because i was cool with them and they were cool with me. (except for my pagan friend ripping on me every christmas because he said we were celebrating the same holiday.) the point is i have no problem with atheits and i do NOT wish to convert anyone. im not a religious nut job. hell, i dont even go to a church. but i would like to know why all the atheists i have met seem to have a sense that they are better than everyone else. i am sure this is not the case for all atheists but if anyone has any answers let me know.

I used to be a lutheran christian before becoming an atheist.

The reason for your dilemma is simple: The change to atheism does not alter ones personality. If one was arrogant and know-it-all while religious, it doesn't change with 'conversion' to atheism. Or if one was raised to believe that all christians are dunderheads and illogical idiots, then that is what the person will likely continue to think to their adult lives.

I personally have many friends who are buddhists, lutheran christians, I know some catholics and even a fundie christian who is a YEC! I am not their friend because or in spite of their beliefs, but because they are my friends, I like their company and we have fun times together. Likewise, I've come across atheists who think that just because they have shed their former beliefs they are now suddenly the kings of the universe.

Personality and religiosity (or lackthereof) are not tied together. We atheists can be just as discriminating bunch of people as anyone else. After all, atheism is only lack of belief in any god, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[randomrob]

To the OP

for fucks sake, would you kindly read a book you moron and learn from countless people saying 'don't start religion threads'.
And don't come out with a gay-arse answer like 'I did read a book, The Bible! Tehehehehehe'.

 

[bluepilot]

The best explanation of evolution that I ever heard was on `south park` `go God go`

Evolution is something that is explained in over-simplisctic terms, made even simpler by the press and thus I think everyone`s individual idea of evolution becomes rather warped.

Evolution does not call for an act of Faith, it calls out for more research and proper understanding into the nature of life.

 

[US Crash Fire]

you'd think atheists would not have a religious bias twords anyone and be more open minded but all of the atheists i have ever met have always told me how stupid and ignorant i was for being a christian (lutheran. AKA catholic lite) and how i deserved to be ripped on for it. all they did was insult my inteligence and try to degrade me. even my roomate and friend for the last 5 years who was catholic and recently converted to atheism did this to me! this made little sense to me. i have had friends who are muslim, buhdist and pagan who did not care that i was a christian because i was cool with them and they were cool with me. (except for my pagan friend ripping on me every christmas because he said we were celebrating the same holiday.) the point is i have no problem with atheits and i do NOT wish to convert anyone. im not a religious nut job. hell, i dont even go to a church. but i would like to know why all the atheists i have met seem to have a sense that they are better than everyone else. i am sure this is not the case for all atheists but if anyone has any answers let me know.

I used to be a lutheran christian before becoming an atheist.

The reason for your dilemma is simple: The change to atheism does not alter ones personality. If one was arrogant and know-it-all while religious, it doesn't change with 'conversion' to atheism. Or if one was raised to believe that all christians are dunderheads and illogical idiots, then that is what the person will likely continue to think to their adult lives.

I personally have many friends who are buddhists, lutheran christians, I know some catholics and even a fundie christian who is a YEC! I am not their friend because or in spite of their beliefs, but because they are my friends, I like their company and we have fun times together. Likewise, I've come across atheists who think that just because they have shed their former beliefs they are now suddenly the kings of the universe.

Personality and religiosity (or lackthereof) are not tied together. We atheists can be just as discriminating bunch of people as anyone else. After all, atheism is only lack of belief in any god, nothing more, nothing less.

finally! someone who gets me!
thanks for your help it explains a lot. my friend who converted was a know it all bastard before he ws an atheist. he just never acted like that to me because we used to think the same. so i never noticed untill he acted like that to me! also im in california right now where people are jackasses anyway no matter what belief system they use. man, a major light just went on in my head.
thank God....or maybe not.

 

[Zacharine]

Hasn't evolution been proven through Genetics and Heredity (or whatever that science is called, since I am too tired to think aat the moment)? I'm not sure how everything began, but I find adaptation and evolution more plausible than a bearded man in the sky making things.

Evolution has not been proven, as in science it is inherently impossible to prove anything for certain. That is why the highest form of truth is a 'Theory'.

Why? Because just due to the sun rising every single day in the past is no guarantee that it will rise tomorrow. We can only gather evidence, find the facts and build models of them and test these models. So far the theory of evolution has yet to fail a single test.

Evolution has been 'proven' (as far as anything can) by genetics, morphology, geneology, palenteology and is supprted even by geology. Several independent courses of study from a multitude of scientific fields have arrived at the same conclusion.

So really, trusting the theory of evolution is a good idea, because nothing in biology makes sense without it.

 

[Icedshot]

on an earlier post, does anyone realise that evolution is accepted by the christian leaders, even the pope?

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

Face, meet Palm.


Hi there! Its nice to meet you!

WAAAAAAAPPP!

 

[The_Echo]

I'm deist, but I believe in the Christian God. Therefore, I don't believe the Bible is as accurate as it's claimed. I'm also into the Intelligent Design idea. So, yeah evolution is plausible, but it had to start somewhere.

Damn, as i rolled past the Deist claim my respect for you was growing (I have an innate respect for Deists, don't ask why) and it hit its crescendo at the Bible line. But then sank through my shoes when you mentioned intelligent design. You should probably know that intelligent design proponents aren't quite the people you think they are.

Here is a cell biologist explaining Intelligent design as we know of it in America. I realize that you probably mean a 'God starts evolution' sort of thing. But as it is known in the scientific communities 'intelligent design' is just creationism in disguise.

http://fora.tv/2008/08/18/Kenneth_Miller_on_Evolution_and_Intelligent_Design

Yeah, "God starts evolution" was where I was headed, and I used my basic knowledges to explain it... It didn't occur to me to look more into my claims.

 

[Mikkaddo]

Wait, just a second here.

How can people say they are Christian and believe in evolution? If the Bible says "God made man", then God made man, right? It doesn't say "God made chimps and then left them a while in a pre-heated oven then let them settle over night to become man". How exactly can both viewpoints be supported?

Here's an easy way to explain it, God made the monkeys with the plan being that they would grow upright, gain knowledge, and evolve along a path he's decided on. As long as they use the signs he gives them.

There, God made monkeys that got smart, some of them stayed in the trees for the same reason that every family has idiots. Some of us missed our signs, some of us saw them.

(*still not Christian)

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

Are you fucked in the head?

Right,so by now I'm sure you've realised(or had to deny) that your wrong about a great many things you said. But I'd like to add that we really, REALLY don't need these threads. While I usually enjoy discussing things like this, The Escapist is not the place. Now, so you don't quote me for being absoloutley useless to the thread, some more substance for my post:

Personally I'm an Atheist, and a strong beleiver of evoloution. Now I'd like to point out that evoloution is indeed provable, it has been proven, but it is still called a theory. The key word,obviously, is called. This is because a once a theory is proven, it is still called a theory. Theory, is not a synonym for speculation, nor assumption, or any other such word. To be so naive as to deny that evoloution has been proven after you've been presented with so much evidence and intelligent response, is pure ignorance.

And with that, I'm done.

 

[Diablini]

I will not touch and of your "religions". I have an alternative.

Oh, Almighty Spaghetti Monster! Let there be enough pasta on our table and wine in our glass.....

 

[Bigeyez]

Wait, just a second here.

How can people say they are Christian and believe in evolution? If the Bible says "God made man", then God made man, right? It doesn't say "God made chimps and then left them a while in a pre-heated oven then let them settle over night to become man". How exactly can both viewpoints be supported?

I'm not at all religious and I'm not trying to catch anyone out here; I genuinely want to know the reasons behind this. Most of the people I knew who were Christian seemed to twist the Bible to a 'one-size-fits-all' explanation of the world and would quite happily contradict themselves and their gospel to win an argument, so you'll have to forgive me if I seem pessimistic when I ask how that makes sense.

It just strikes me as choosing particular parts of the Bible to take literally, while others as 'symbolic', but only when it makes it fills in the blanks. My personal view is that Christianity was a set of stories made by man or woman for moral guidance rather than the words of a deity; but somewhere along the line I also think people took advantage of this and used it as a method of control and false justification.

But in either case wouldn't have God created man? Why can't both statements be true?

All religion is, is a justification of whats around us. Religions change to fit society. Your trying to rationalize something thats irrational.

Theres no reason both viewpoints can't be supported. Just because evolution exists doesn't mean God doesn't. Remember God and religions in general are things that cannot be proven or disproven. The Church simply acknowledges Evolution as a means to an end.

The ONLY people who can't accept both evolution and religion are those that take biblical stories literally and those people are actually the minority in the many Catholic/Christian divisions.

--------------------------

Edit: Let me talk about this quote specifically

"Bible to a 'one-size-fits-all' explanation of the world"

At the end of the day THATS EXACTLY WHAT RELIGION IS!! (caps are to emphasize my point, not to shout at you)

ALL Religions, since the beginning of time, are meant to explain the world to their society/believers. That is way religons change over time. Thats why the bible we have today has been heavily edited over the years. Thats why many come to understand the bible today in many different ways. Religion is malleable, fluid, ready but not always willing to change.
So really no matter what science discovers tomorrow, religion will always be here. It will simply change to adapt to whatever humanity needs it to be.

 

[somekindarobot]

Show me a REAL missing link, noob. Part of the point of this thread is to have people actually give real EXAMPLES. That seems to be the problem nowadays. You say, "this is supported by facts and statistics," and people believe you. THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS POST. And fossils that show similarities... hmmm. Maybe because those bones work? Maybe they serve a freakin similar purpose??? Geez. Good job regarding grammar and spelling though

Archeopteryx, perhaps? Or Australopithecus? Or Icthyostega? There's a million of them.

All of those have been disproved (even evolutionists have realized that, although they are not always vocal about it (why would they be?))(and when I say 'all', I don't include the "million" you claim is there, show them to me (I won't believe them, but I'll appreciate your intelligent response nonetheless) and I will hopefully find the time to view them).

Disproved? By who? I'm pretty sure they're still held in regard by scientists, or do you mean 'disproved' by your pseudoscientific creationist buddies because they were inconvenient? Now it's YOUR turn to prove something to me by showing me evidence that they have been discredited and by real scientists, so no links to the Discovery Institute, okay? But thanks for telling me before hand that you won't take any proof of mine seriously as long as it contradicts your preconceived notions. How scientific of you.

 

[Chicago Ted]

I really don't understand what the OP is trying to say, can someone tell me what the question is?

 

[Pimppeter2]

I really have started a war...

the "Atheists, It's time to turn the spotlight on you" topic has me ranting.

Sheesh we've seen like 5 religious threads in 2 days. But I digress.

As far as the point of evolution goes. I still do believe in it, even though I consider myself christian. Because it really does make a lot of sense. I think that their might be a god, and evolution is a part of his "scheme", or their is no god and evolution is really just random chance. I really don't know, but most modern day Christians (I think) do consider evolution to be true. Because religious or not, the theory makes a lot of fucking sense

 

[TehCookie]

I believe evolution more plausible than we suddenly poofed on this planet. Also I don't know about the bible but weren't Adam and Eve both white? Where did black and Chinese and other nationalities come from? The most hilarious answer I got from a christen was the children of Adam and Eve evolved into different races.

Evolution may not be right I'm open to more ideas and the most logical one is the one I side with, magical appearance is not logical.

Live long in prosper.

 

[Kriptonite]

This is a bad idea pal. Religion threads(Atheism counts) are bad news. Everyone had opinions, but this is not the place to share them, at least on the topic of Religion.

 

[Bigeyez]

two quick questions:

1. where did matter itself come from? lets start at absolute zero at nothingness and explain where everything came from scientifically.

2. if we are to assume Darwinism is correct in the beginning every one of the billions of species on the planet had equal opportunity to evolve to the same intellectual levels as mankind so why are we the only ones driving cars and going to the moon?

this post is not meant to sound rude or anything so if you reply to it please do so in the same kind manner.

1) The Big Bang theory doesn't have us starting at absolute zero. The current form of the theory is something along the lines of "All the matter in the universe was infinitely compressed onto an infinitely small space which exploded releasing all matter into what we see today". Thats the gist of it anyways.

2) Simply because they didn't. Just because we're the only intellectuals on the planet doesn't mean Darwinism is wrong. Something not happening doesn't mean it doesn't or can't happen is essentially what I'm saying.