Letter to Dad

mavie

I'm doing good. I'll be flying back to Portland next Monday.

I'm reading a book by a biologist named Richard Dawkins called "The Blind Watchmaker".

http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Watchmaker-Evidence-Evolution-Universe/dp/0393315703

He argues against the teleological argument, the argument that all life is designed by a god. The Watchtower, and your email, use this argument. Usually it's presented like this:

"One of the most famous arguments of the creationist theory of the universe is the eighteenth-century theologian William Paley's: Just as a watch is too complicated and too functional to have sprung into existence by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed." You could also say the same thing about a house (the bible uses this), airplane, etc.

Of course, a watch, house, and airplane were designed. Yet, they are not living things. This brings us to the butterfly, a living thing. Of course, the odds against a butterfly, or any other complex organism like a fish, flower, or human suddenly springing into existence are so remote they can be considered impossible. However, this is NOT what Darwinian evolution is about. Unfortunately this is how the Watchtower and Awake present evolution.

Darwinian evolution argues that small changes in organisms occur through environmental stresses and/or random mutations. Now, most mutations are not benefical and do not survive to the next generation. Do small changes occur? The January Awake of 2006 admits as much about finches on the Galapagos Islands. Micro-evolution *is* observable...even the WT has to admit this.

So that begs the question, does macro-evolution occur? How can different species develop through micro-evolution? Well, given enough time and relative isolation a series of cumulative micro-evolutionary changes will eventually give rise to an organism that cannot mate with it's relatives who had a different set of micro-evolutionary changes.

You can see 'missing links' throughout the fossil record. You can see micro-evolutionary changes in existing data. Yet, how is a mutation that gives the stub of a foot better than no foot? How about change that gives something 1% of an eye, how is that possible? You have to research this to find out. It's really eye-opening dad.

I love you guys very much and it wasn't easy to make this decision. It's important to do proper research and not be afraid of what might be out there. The tendency towards rejecting something because it doesn't fit with your current worldview is harmful.

This clip is by Richard Dawkins...he is talking about his new book. I don't necessarily agree with everything he says, but why be afraid of it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xUk78ocGvs (Richard Dawkins)

Love you,

Michael

-------------------------original message

Hi, How are you?

I wanted to share this with you, I got it from Sister Hatridge in our Cong.

We watched the Al Gore movie last night, we don't have long!!

Love, Dad

Subject: FW: Glasswing Butterflies ....Gorgeous!

Subject: Fw: Glasswing Butterflies ....Gorgeous!

I hope the pictures come through on this.

Lives in South America
A butterfly with transparent wings is rare and beautiful.
As delicate as finely blown glass, the presence of this rare tropical gem is used by rain forest ecologists as an indication of high habitat quality and its demise alerts them of ecological change. Rivaling the refined beauty of a stained glass window, the translucent wings of the Glasswing butterfly shimmer in the sunlight like polished panes of turquoise, orange, green, and red.
All things beautiful do not have to be full of color to be noticed: in life that
which is unnoticed has the most power.

(pictures of butterflies up close, beautiful shots)

Really something isn't it?

Letter to Dad

mavie

Gregor

Madame Quixote

mavie

mavie

Blueblades

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