Do any PHers believe in creationisum?

[Lord Pikey]

After seeing this report that the Vatican is hosting a Darwin conference celebrating 150 years since the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species and also that four out of five brits do not believe in creationisum, I am now intrigued into what my fellow PHers believe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7920205.stm

and

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religio...

Personally, it makes my fuzzy little brain explode thinking about such deep things.

LP

[Eric Mc]

Very few INTELLIGENT people believe in creationism - and that includes devout Christians too.

Christianity and evelotion are not mutually exclusive.

[smifffymoto]

You are joking,aren't you?

[Lord Pikey]

smifffymoto said:

You are joking,aren't you?

Me or EricMC?

[Jasandjules]

Eric Mc said:

Very few INTELLIGENT people believe in creationism - and that includes devout Christians too.

Christianity and evelotion are not mutually exclusive.

Sorry, can you clarify that for me? I thought that Christianity was all about God creating man in his image. Therefore, evolution is kind of off the menu? (Forgive my ignorance in this matter, I'm an athiest).

[barney123]

Eric Mc said:

Very few INTELLIGENT people believe in creationism - and that includes devout Christians too.

Christianity and evelotion are not mutually exclusive.

However, Evolution and the Bible are mutually exclusive as one contradicts the other.

Where does that leave the Bible & Christianity ???

[barney123]

Jasandjules said:

Eric Mc said:

Very few INTELLIGENT people believe in creationism - and that includes devout Christians too.

Christianity and evelotion are not mutually exclusive.

Sorry, can you clarify that for me? I thought that Christianity was all about God creating man in his image. Therefore, evolution is kind of off the menu? (Forgive my ignorance in this matter, I'm an athiest).

Dohh ! You must be reading the version of the Bible with all the ridiculous stuff left in !

[speedy_thrills]

Depends how literally Christians take the word of the Bible doesn't it?

[elster]

barney123 said:

Eric Mc said:

Very few INTELLIGENT people believe in creationism - and that includes devout Christians too.

Christianity and evelotion are not mutually exclusive.

However, Evolution and the Bible are mutually exclusive as one contradicts the other.

Where does that leave the Bible & Christianity ???

That isn't actually quite true. Very few modern Christians believe in creationism. That also includes a lot of Catholics.

Will see what the Vatican have to say after this conference.

[Jasandjules]

speedy_thrills said:

Depends how literally Christians take the word of the Bible doesn't it?

Surely, it's a bit difficult to hold that in the beginning there was nothing, then God said let there be light. Then he got a bit busy and made heaven and earth, then added Adam and Eve, then made all the flowers, and made the animals. I mean, isn't that a fairly fundamental aspect of the whole Christian thing, God did all these things? And yet that evolution is right? I mean, the semantics of "how literally" cannot be surely broken down any further with respect to God creating the universe, heaven (hell?), and all God's creatures. And man in his image? It's a relatively black and white issue? If God created man and all animals, plants, flowers and Earth, then evolution is not the answer. And vice versa?

[mechsympathy]

Creationisum: It just doesn't add up.

[Eric Mc]

Jasandjules said:

Eric Mc said:

Very few INTELLIGENT people believe in creationism - and that includes devout Christians too.

Christianity and evelotion are not mutually exclusive.

Sorry, can you clarify that for me? I thought that Christianity was all about God creating man in his image. Therefore, evolution is kind of off the menu? (Forgive my ignorance in this matter, I'm an athiest).

As you no doubt well know, the Bible is open to all sorts of interpretations. There are many scientists (including evolutionary biologists) who are Christians and who have no problem with reconciling their scientific knowledge with their Chritianity.

I think a lot of non-Christians have a very simplistic view of what Christianity is and seem to think that the only type of Christian is one who never reads beyond the first few chapter of the Book of Genesis and can't accept ANYTHING that isn't mentioned in those chapters. The reality is a lot different.
For Christians, the core factor to their belief is in the teachings of Jesus and the way he wanted people to lead their lives. Jesus has very little to say about Creationsim (or evolution for that matter).
His opinion on bicycles, jet aircraft and Big Brother is also unknown - but they all exist.

So yes, science and CHRISTIANITY can live together - and they do.
Thge compatibility of science and bible weilding fundamentalist preachers from the Deep South is a different matter.

Edited by Eric Mc on Tuesday 3rd March 08:51

[Slate99]

I am a Christian, I do not entirely belive in creationism, Evolution defianatly happened but i don't think the Big Bang (which started it all off) just randomly happened on its own accord! I think that it was started off by God.

Reading the creation story as God made the world in 7days and believing it is a bit uncommon these days. If you look at the story in the bible as 7 "periods of time" it fits in alot better with science and the whole big bang/evolution theory.

[barney123]

elster said:

barney123 said:

Eric Mc said:

Very few INTELLIGENT people believe in creationism - and that includes devout Christians too.

Christianity and evelotion are not mutually exclusive.

However, Evolution and the Bible are mutually exclusive as one contradicts the other.

Where does that leave the Bible & Christianity ???

That isn't actually quite true. Very few modern Christians believe in creationism. That also includes a lot of Catholics.

Will see what the Vatican have to say after this conference.

Mmm Vatican - reminds me of this : http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/818dq/wha...

Wait for the memo to arrive in order to determine what to believe in.

[kambites]

I'm open-minded about the whole thing; albeit strongly leaning towards the "evolution from single celled organisms" theory.

[Eric Mc]

It's not really a theory. It's a fact.

[barney123]

Slate99 said:

I am a Christian, I do not entirely belive in creationism, Evolution defianatly happened but i don't think the Big Bang (which started it all off) just randomly happened on its own accord! I think that it was started off by God.

Reading the creation story as God made the world in 7days and believing it is a bit uncommon these days. If you look at the story in the bible as 7 "periods of time" it fits in alot better with science and the whole big bang/evolution theory.

TBH one can believe in whatever they like so long as it makes them feel better, ANY theory has the same amount of evidence/reason/imagination as the God one. Some people are uneasy not being able to reconcile their existence somehow, and religion often fills the gap.

ETA : When I say THEORY, I mean religion, not evolution, as there is a HECK of a lot more evidence of that.

But then, the religious will just reply 'God created evolution !', very clever, he created evidence to suggest he never existed !

This is going to degenerate into a Richard Dawkins debate !!!

Edited by barney123 on Tuesday 3rd March 08:57

[elster]

barney123 said:

elster said:

barney123 said:

Eric Mc said:

Very few INTELLIGENT people believe in creationism - and that includes devout Christians too.

Christianity and evelotion are not mutually exclusive.

However, Evolution and the Bible are mutually exclusive as one contradicts the other.

Where does that leave the Bible & Christianity ???

That isn't actually quite true. Very few modern Christians believe in creationism. That also includes a lot of Catholics.

Will see what the Vatican have to say after this conference.

Mmm Vatican - reminds me of this : http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/818dq/wha...

Wait for the memo to arrive in order to determine what to believe in.

Well if anyone read any of the major Holy books, then God forgives. So how could there be a hell?

Oh and forgot to say I am not a mentalist.

[speedy_thrills]

Jasandjules said:

I mean, isn't that a fairly fundamental aspect of the whole Christian thing, God did all these things? And yet that evolution is right? I mean, the semantics of "how literally" cannot be surely broken down any further with respect to God creating the universe, heaven (hell?), and all God's creatures. And man in his image? It's a relatively black and white issue? If God created man and all animals, plants, flowers and Earth, then evolution is not the answer.

Evolution explains the origin of species, not the origin of life itself.

Someone who doesn't interprit the bible literally might say "When god speaks of creating man in his image he means man is composed of molecules, he shares these with god".

I said once that religion and the theory of evolution where not mutually exclusive, the Bible has more holes than a sieve however.

[kambites]

Eric Mc said:

It's not really a theory. It's a fact.

I disagree.

I would say that it has been "proven" (in so far as anything can be proven) that species are now evolving and that they have been for some time. It has not been "proven" that all species evolved from single celled organisms.

Very likely, yes. Proven, no.