12/8/01 Awake (Arthritis one)

by patio34 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  patio34

  Hi all,

  For the 1st time in about 8 months, I glanced thru a mag. In the "Watching the World" section at the back, there was a small article about the percentage of genes matching in a mouse and human and other examples and percentages. I forget the point of the article. It seems it was something about humans aren't so great? I've thrown the mag out.

  Anyway, they glaringly left out chimpanzees and humans sharing over 98% of their genes, which heavily evidences a recent evolutionary split.

  Has the WTS ever commented on the 98% sharing of chimps and humans? Does anyone know?

  When I was a dub, I waited for an article to put the proper spin on that 98%, but never saw it.

  Have a great day!!
  Pat
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  outnfree

  Funny, pat,

  my daughter was just telling me about the 98% shared DNA thing with apes yesterday morning.

  And then I got that mag in the mail yesterday afternoon.

  Here's the text:

  "Not So Special After All"

  "We have been humbled as never before," states New Scientist. "While we congratulate ourselves on the momentous achievement of sequencing the human genome, the genome itself is telling us we are not so special after all. It turns out we have only five times as many genes as a baterium, a third more than a worm and about twice as many as a fly." Additionally, "around 40 per cent of our genes are similar to those in nematode worms, 60 percent are similar to those in fruit flies and 90 per cent are similar to those in mice."
  Knowledge of the human genome also alters our view of race, says the magazine. Two individuals may look alike and be of the same race, yet genetically they may be far more different than two individuals from ethnic groups that differ greatly from each other. Says Luigi avalli-Sforza of Stanford University: "The differences between people of the same races are so large that it's ridiculous to think of races as different -- or as even existing."

  outnfree

  Par dessus toutes choses, soyez bons. La bonte est ce qui ressemble le plus a Dieu et ce qui desarme le plus les hommes -- Lacordaire
• 

  Seeker

  Just speculating on the purpose of including this item in the magazine, but it may have been to support the argument against racial prejudice. Or it may be part of a general plan to slowly introduce evolution, something I've predicted for years. Or it may have just slipped notice that it contradicts their teachings on creation.
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  Grout

  Modern biology is incompatible with JW theology. Without special creation there could be no Adam and Eve; without them, there could be no original sin. And what about Enoch being "sixth in line from Adam"?

  On the other hand, they have to acknowledge evolution SOMETIME. I wonder how they'll contort their theology to fit.
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  patio34

  Hi OutnFree,

  Thanks for posting the text. It DOES seem to go against their special-creation stance. Seeker, the gist is racial ideals, but I think this is a good one to remember to see if it was an 'easing in' to evolution.

  Grout, it would undermine the whole premise of the bible. For me it was the existence of predatory dinasours, BEFORE the "fall of Adam."

  Have a great day! It's raining here in California, and I love it!

  Pat