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Apr 4th, 2007
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Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

I'm not quite sure I entirely agree with some of the things he said, such as here:
Quote originally posted by the article ...
Yes, evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true. If there was any lingering doubt about the evidence from the fossil record, the study of DNA provides the strongest possible proof of our relatedness to all other living things.

But why couldn't this be God's plan for creation? True, this is incompatible with an ultra-literal interpretation of Genesis, but long before Darwin, there were many thoughtful interpreters like St. Augustine, who found it impossible to be exactly sure what the meaning of that amazing creation story was supposed to be. So attaching oneself to such literal interpretations in the face of compelling scientific evidence pointing to the ancient age of Earth and the relatedness of living things by evolution seems neither wise nor necessary for the believer.
We have never been able to prove that evolution is real, and as far as I am concerned, never will. I'm not saying it's not a possibility, but I don't think we'll ever have solid enough evidence to believe it for sure.

However, the article was very interesting. Thanks for the link.

(btw the matty, congrats on entering the "DaniWeb hall of fame", how does it feel to have a nice badge beside your name? )
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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

Click to Expand / Collapse  Quote originally posted by joeprogrammer ...
I'm not quite sure I entirely agree with some of the things he said, such as here:


We have never been able to prove that evolution is real, and as far as I am concerned, never will. I'm not saying it's not a possibility, but I don't think we'll ever have solid enough evidence to believe it for sure.

However, the article was very interesting. Thanks for the link.

(btw the matty, congrats on entering the "DaniWeb hall of fame", how does it feel to have a nice badge beside your name? )
Hi Joe:

I believe Evolution is a high possibility, but that is not to say I am completely convinced; the pieces that make up Evolutionary Theory almost fit, it seems, but almost is not empirical proof. I believe, though, that there is a high possibility that it will most likely be proven in our lifetime (if it is indeed true).

As a Protestant I hold specific beliefs closely and without question-- but, some I do question very much such as "Creation": I believe the Big Bang produced our Universe and that our Universe continues to expand. I have a deep notion that other life forms (possibly humanoid, possibly carbon-based) exist in other galaxies and that they observe\study us. It follows that God would have created them as well if they did exist. Creationism: I have never embraced the pure definition as it seems quite primitive I have to say; most old-world cultures have similar stories and they are obviously not true. But, could not the Creator of the Universe create "Adam" and "Eve" if He chose to? Of course He could-- he made the bloody universe!

In regards to the Bible I am 98% a literalist-- the miracles, the plagues, the prophecies, the Resurrection, the promise of Revelations. Why then do I isolate my criticism to Creationism solely? I do not know. It appears to me that science and mathematics have shed light upon the depths of our origins and we are updating our understanding of Life. This does not take away from Faith but, IMO, builds stronger belief by adding one more massive feat performed by God for his creations, us.

Thanks, Joe, for the congrats on the "Featured Poster"; it was quite a suprise and a wonderful honor to receive it.

Best Regards,
Matty
Last edited by mattyd; Apr 5th, 2007 at 7:30 am.
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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

First off, I am a Fundamentalist Christian... which means I believe in the Bible as being literally true. It also means that I believe the universe is in existence because of a Divine Creator.

Creationism - an omnipotent and omniscient deity (GOD) created the world as written in the Bible; Genesis 1.

Evolution - humans evolved from lower life forms and turned into what they are today according to a theory made from a single man named Charles Darwin.

The Big Bang - the world was created by a cosmic explosion that pushed matter into all different directions and somehow created the universe.

The two most widely accepted theories are Creationism and Evolution. The problem with certain people is that they NEED proof to believe in something... such as creationism. Evolution is considered "naturalistic" while Creationism is considered "supernatural." But at the same time, evolution and creationism are both faith-based. Evolution has not been proved, so why believe it? The Big Bang has not been proved either, so why believe it? Creationism, however, is obviously proved. Look at the world around you. Look at the mountains, the sky, the clouds, the sun, the life that was given to you. Why try to find answers? Why ask questions? When the answer is clear, it's right in front of your eyes. If you are looking for scientifically proven answers, it is hopeless. Evolution, the Big Bang, and even Creationism will never be proven by scientists. So we have a choice; to believe in a Powerful God who created the world in 7 days and is still holding it all together, or to follow the belief of men who made up "scientific explanations" hundreds of years ago to challenge the belief that has so long been kept by humans since the beginning of time.
Last edited by christina>you; Apr 5th, 2007 at 6:28 pm.
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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

God created the world in 6 days; not 7. God rested on the 7th day. This is Fact based on faith!

There was a point in time when folks believed that the world was flat. The world was as round as it was back then as it is now.

Why do people have to "understand" stuff. A little faith goes a long way. Just gotta believe, right? ... but no matter how much I believe, my code still contains bugs.
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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

Click to Expand / Collapse  Quote originally posted by christina>you ...
The two most widely accepted theories are Creationism and Evolution. The problem with certain people is that they NEED proof to believe in something... such as creationism. Evolution is considered "naturalistic" while Creationism is considered "supernatural." But at the same time, evolution and creationism are both faith-based. Evolution has not been proved, so why believe it? The Big Bang has not been proved either, so why believe it? Creationism, however, is obviously proved. Look at the world around you. Look at the mountains, the sky, the clouds, the sun, the life that was given to you. Why try to find answers? Why ask questions? When the answer is clear, it's right in front of your eyes. If you are looking for scientifically proven answers, it is hopeless. Evolution, the Big Bang, and even Creationism will never be proven by scientists. So we have a choice; to believe in a Powerful God who created the world in 7 days and is still holding it all together, or to follow the belief of men who made up "scientific explanations" hundreds of years ago to challenge the belief that has so long been kept by humans since the beginning of time.
Yes, this is my opinion, too. The scientist in the article says something about "Gensis and evolution theories conflicting", and I say that's absolutely true. However, the Bible never explains exactly how God created the creatures, but that is rather irrelvant in the bigger picture. The goal of the Gensis was not a scientific summary of the beginning of the Earth, which is probably why many scientists reject the theory.

Click to Expand / Collapse  Quote originally posted by M_K_Higa ...
God created the world in 6 days; not 7. God rested on the 7th day. This is Fact based on faith!
It's still debated however, what "day" was defined as when the thing was written. Especially considering that God had to create a physical day first, it's rather difficult to gauge how long it actually took.
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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

Yes. It's debated because it's hard to understand. Just like the folks who had a hard time understanding that the world was not flat. It must have taken a whole lot of faith to believe that the ships going west were not going to fall off the edge. Of course, now we know better.

As time goes on, more gets revealed. These days, almost everyone knows that the world is not flat. Perhaps some day, we will get a definitive answer. In the meantime, I prefer to believe all was created in six literal days - until proven otherwise.
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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

First off, Darwin’s theory of evolution is just that- a theory. But do any of you know what a theory is? A theory is a scientific hypothesis that has been tested thousands of times, and has been proven true every single time. Evolution is fact, and whoever denies this is a blind fool.

As for the bible, it is not literal... and not intended to be. There are several things throughout the bible that have been proven false (the age of the earth, for example). The Bible is simply a tool in which the ideas of Christianity are told through parables. Since we know there is some deceit in the Bible, the entire book is subject to deception and therefore we can't trust any of it.
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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

Yes I realized I put 7 days instead of 6. I tried to edit it later, but ran out of time.
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Re: Collins: Why this scientist believes in God

Click to Expand / Collapse  Quote originally posted by joshSCH ...
First off, Darwin’s theory of evolution is just that- a theory. But do any of you know what a theory is? A theory is a scientific hypothesis that has been tested thousands of times, and has been proven true every single time. Evolution is fact, and whoever denies this is a blind fool.

As for the bible, it is not literal... and not intended to be. There are several things throughout the bible that have been proven false (the age of the earth, for example). The Bible is simply a tool in which the ideas of Christianity are told through parables. Since we know there is some deceit in the Bible, the entire book is subject to deception and therefore we can't trust any of it.
You are wrong my friend.

Evolution has NOT been proven true as fact. It was a theory that came from one man's head, Charles Darwin. But how can you deny something that has been proven since the beginning?

Tell me this, where is there "deceit in the Bible," if you can tell me or show me a scripture that you believe is "deceitful" then please show. Otherwise don't talk unless you have something to back yourself up.
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