[Annihilation]

I guess that some people here were molested by priests when kids. That would explain so much hate...

[Ford Prefect]

Originally posted by Liberator
No, because it's the same thing.  Without the other side being represented.

You can be religious without being completely block-headed. I consider myself very open about religion, but when people spout **** like, "Evolution is just a theory," they demonstrate that they unquestionably have no idea what they are talking about. NEWSFLASH: GRAVITY IS ALSO A THEORY. People have aboslutely no idea what "theory" means in science. A theory is not a hypothesis; it is an explanation based on what our observation tells us, and our observation tells us that life evolves. It tells us this with much stronger proof than we have for a lot of other theories.

Creationism and evolutionary theory are simply not on equal ground. Creationism has as much merit as an assertion that the moon is made of cheese, and it has absolutely NO PLACE being suggested as legitimate in schools.

[Black Wolf]

Originally posted by Liberator
However, in this case you're missing link is a missing link between a gibbon and a chimp not chimp and humans.

I'm going to ignore that on the basis of being bad palaeontology and bad modern day biology. Seriously - read up.

Originally posted by Bri_Dog
It doesn't matter where we came from. We're here now and that's all that's important.

Yes it does.

Anyway, this kicks arse, both for bragging rights on the so called missing link, and the fact that we're fixing up a severe case of fossillessness in a key period of ape evolutionary history. Excellence.

[Getter Robo G]

I wasn't molested by a priest, but when I was a kid I fantasized about molesting a nun at my sunday school (truth!)...

FYI: I was 9-10 (anyone else ever think of bending over Teenaged Sally Field when she was the Flying Nun? ) :devil:

[Flipside]

It's late.....

Gettar....

[Mongoose]

Why the hell is it that almost every thread on this damn forum seems to instantly degrade into religion-bashing?  This news article by itself has nothing whatsoever to do with religion, and yet you can't go four posts without the flames beginning.  Seriously, it's not even worth reading this forum anymore.

[Flipside]

And the thread title didn't give you any hints that the disussion contained within may just possibly be biased?

[Ford Prefect]

Or just the fact that it was an0n who posted it?

[Mongoose]

Yes, I was well aware of that.  It goes along with what I said, though; even the titles of some of these threads are enough to stop flame-wars.  Here's my whole view on the matter:  I believe what I believe, you believe what you believe, but we should both just shut up about it.

[Singh]

tell that to hte gun toting people out there who want to make you believe what they want to believe.

I believe they can put under terrorists.....or somesuch thing like that.

an0n's one, but fortunately he's a nice one and lets us play about on NW and gives hosting stuff too........errr....

*wonders if he should be on hte running now

[Nuke]

i believe that what i believe and what everyone else belives is irrelevant. nihilisim rules!

[mrfun]

Liberator was right, this is not the "missing link" in the popular sense.  That's an idea proposed about a hundred years ago that if eveolution was true, we would one day find a fossil that has halfway between apes and humans.  Guess what? We did that.  It's called australopithicus afarensis.  Only half the scientists can't agree on whether it counts or not, and the religious people walk around with fingers in their ears going "Da da da da da da da THEORY! da da da da da da."

Even so as an anthropolgy student it's cool to find new stuff.  Maybe in ten years the texbooks will catch up =)

Ok, back to religion bashing, a healthy pastime.  You guys hear the one about how the grand canyon could have been made in a day or two when this big lake lake suddenly flooded all at once?  Yeah, that's a Duane Gish thing... the worst thing to happen to creationists since the bible was written...

[karajorma]

If they weren't so serious about it everyone would just lump creationists in with flat earthers and be done with it.

If the Earth is only 6000 years old where did dinosaurs come from?

[Flipside]

According to many, the fossils were put here to test our faith.

I suppose it's like a detective turning up at the scene finding the husband, knife in hand, which is buried in his wife's chest, blood all over the place, and him standing there saying 'I didn't do it, it's a test to see how good a detective you are!'.

[an0n]

I like think of like this:

Religion is a giant cube. All sides are perfect squares, equal in height to width to depth to the most infinitecimal degree. The sides are perfectly smooth, the corners infinitely sharp and precise, the surface - glossy and red.

And common sense is a circular hole.

[Ransom]

Originally posted by Mongoose
I believe what I believe, you believe what you believe, but we should both just shut up about it.

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever agreed with Mongoose on anything. Frankly I'm sick of all the religion bashing, it's pointless and it achieves nothing.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by Flipside
According to many, the fossils were put here to test our faith.

That's the outlook that worries me. Lets say for absolute certainty that there is a God who would do that kind of thing. He then gives you a book and say "This is the absolute truth" How on Earth can you take that on faith? You know damn well that he's capable of making **** up. It's not even as if the bible actually says "Ignore the fossils. They're just a test". You're supposed to figure out for yourself that they're a test cause they contradict the 6 day creation story.  

What these people fail to consider is that if the fossils are a test who says all the tests are external to the bible? Surely the same God who would put scientifically accurate fossils in the ground just to check if people are paying attention would also put tests in the book itself too. After all what good was the fossil test for the 5800 years people thought that they were just angel-kin's bones?

No. The same God who'd test your faith with fake bones would test your faith in other much more subtle ways.

If there is a God I'd bet that the bible is full of other tests. The clauses on homosexuality for a start. I'd bet that was just a test to check if people were paying attention to all that love thy neighbour stuff.

[Taristin]

Some Native American groups believed that the Earth was formed from a lump of dirt on a turtle's back.

What makes their idea of how the Earth began any more crazy than the Christian idea?

[Flipside]

Actually, the thing on the back of a turtle/cow/other animal idea has bounced across quite a few continents. Buggered if I know why

If creationists want to believe they are created then it's up to them, it affects me not, but if we tried to be truly 'equal', no-one would learn anything at school because there are always 2 points of view on everything.

I guess it is a lot more rewarding to show kids fossils and see them come to their own deductions in their own minds, than reading litany from a book. Though, that's just my opinion

[Annihilation]

For all that I know we can be all in a computer simulation being run by an advanced civilization of bored plasma blobs. (yeah some scientist are considering this possibility, hmmm minus the plasma blobs...)

Why should I care if someone believes earth is 6000 years old and people and dinosaur walked together. If that makes them happy more power to them. I think it is idiotic but I'll not lose my time bashing them and their religion. I know good religious people and good atheists and F***** up fanatics, both religious and atheists. I don't give a **** what a person believes unless they are ****ing fundamenlists or psychos.