I Wonder How They Had the Cheek To Print this ?

by BluesBrother 22 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Disillusioned JW

  At https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/120077/watchtower-evolution-fraud a quote is made saying that Alan F. said 'Hitching also implied that his book had been endorsed by Richard Dawkins, but upon inquiry Dawkins stated: "I know nothing at all about Francis Hitching. If you are uncovering the fact that he is a charlatan, good for you. His book, _The Neck of the Giraffe,_is one of the silliest and most ignorant I have read for years." ' But, where did Hitching supposedly imply that his book had been endorsed by Richard Dawkins? Until I see where Hitching supposedly made that implication I will disbelieve it. I borrowed from my local public library (through InterLibrary Loan) two different editions (the ones published by "Ticknor & Fields" and by "Meridian": "New American Library") of The Neck of the Giraffe and despite my thorough checking, I don't see any implication therein of Richard Dawkins having had endorsed The Neck Of Giraffe. In the "Acknowledgements" page of both of those editions there is no mention of the name "Richard Dawkins" though there is mention of "... at Harvard, Professor Jay Gould... ". Regarding the scientists whom Hitching acknowledges, Hitching says "... I hasten to disassociate them from any of the mistaken opinions or errors of fact that, in spite of their help, may still have crept into the text, for they surely are mine."

  In the "Introduction" of the book Hitching does say that "Thus you will find Darwinism being dismissed as empty rhetoric; and the status of biology likened to the dark ages of pre-Newtonian physics. On the other hand you will will come across one of the world's most eminent evolutionary biologists saying that attacks against Darwin's theory are invariably either based on ignorance or politically motivated." But, in the Introduction he does not name who that most eminent evolutionary biologist is. The only mentions I see of Richard Dawkins in the book is in reference to a quote by Dawkins (from his book called The Selfish Gene) saying "the fundamental unit of selection .. is the gene, the unit of heredity."
  
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  Diogenesister

  Watchtower we get to thinking that we know better than the organization, we should ask ourselves: "Where did we learn Bible truth in the first place? Would we know the way of the truth if it had not been for guidance from the organization? Really, can we get along without the direction of God’s organization?" No, we cannot!

  Following that line of reasoning, Watchtower, where did you learn your doctrines from? The Bible Students was it? You prideful people! Go back to that organization, then!

  Or for that matter where did you learn about Christianity? Catholicism? The Adventists? How prideful to think you know better! Go back to your mother organization !!!
  
  
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  Disillusioned JW

  I was somewhat mistaken when I wrote "Hitching does however appear to believe "psychic evolution" in the sense of appearing to claim that psychic powers in humans have evolved [see my post on page 2 of this topic thread]. Regarding that see his The Mysterious World: An Atlas of the Unexplained book." Instead of what I said above he says evolution might have caused humans to loose much psychic ability. In the "chapter" called "Neanderthal inheritance", on page 43 (of the "First American Edition", published in 1979 by "Holt, Rinehart and Winston") he says the following.

  "Today, the human race may be built from the genes of both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man. ... In which case, what characteristics have we inherited? Just as the explosive increase in brain size was one of the first main indications of the uniqueness of man, from now on the way the brain is organized provides the main clue. In Neanderthal Man that part called the cerebellum is more prominent; it lies at the back of the head, and seems to deal mostly with our unconscious, instinctive reactions. During our evolution it has steadily been pushed back and down until today it is largely buried by the cerebrum, including the high frontal lobes that are a feature of Cro-Magnon Man, and us; it is here we seem to be able to sort out unlikely combinations of ideas (the basis of intelligence).

  When the two dominant strands of instinct and intelligence were mated, perhaps something was lost as well as gained. Many people believe that telepathy was commonplace to Neanderthals, as it has been until recently among Australian aboriginals and some North American Indians; it has even been suggested that the Neanderthal jaw was not capable of speech, in which case telepathy would have been essential."