DId Darwin kill God?

PSacramento

Part one of 6 in a program by the BBC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVLRZkNeclE

Not sure if it was posted already...

parakeet

Yes, Darwin killed God. When Darwin visited the Galapagos islands, he didn't notice God and accidentally stepped on him, thus making extinct the only species known as Goddus imperceptus.

PSacramento

LOL !

Ok...

Still, those 6 clips are actually very interesting, especially the part on "ultradarwinism".

He starts by saying that belief in the Christian God and evolution are not incompatible. What stands out is the way he tries to rationalise away the whole account in Genesis while confirming his belief in the Bible.

The fact that the order of creation, man being made before the vegetation is explained by telling us it is not to be taken literally.

He rationalises away further events saying we should not take it at face value but look for a deeper meaning. Perhaps this is what Adam and Eve did when they were told not to eat the apple? How much do we rationalise away God's word before God himself is rationalised away?

Belief in God and evolution is not necessarily incompatible but belief in evolution and the Bible's account of things is a non-runner.

Either it is God's word or incoherent fiction. Either will do, but something in between is a trick of the mind I cannot accomplish.

PSacramento

Either it is God's word or incoherent fiction. Either will do, but something in between is a trick of the mind I cannot accomplish.

An extremist view, no? and do you apply that view to everything or just the bible?

Evolution tells us HOW life came to be at a certain point, is doesn't tell us how it started or why, it doesn't tell us everythign we need to dispell the believe in a "creator" or whatever way you wanna look at it.

As the scientist who was leader of the Human Genome project till 2007 said, and I am paraphrasing and going on memory, Evolution gave us a starting point to consider, it is still a work in progress and we don't knwo what the end will be.

We also don't know th ebeginning either.

That said, what he ( the guy in the clips) was doing was trying to show how the FICTIONAL account of Genesis ( it is a story of creation made for the times it was created and for the people it was created for) has some simialrities to "reality".

THE GLADIATOR

We also don't know th ebeginning either.

These are your words. The opening sentence in the book of Genesis says something quite different.

Perhaps this discrepancy is explained by your statement that Genesis was:

...trying to show how the FICTIONAL account of Genesis ( it is a story of creation made for the times it was created and for the people it was created for) has some simialrities to "reality

To say that the word God " has some similarities to reality," does not inspire confidence in me.

PSacramento

The bible is NOT the Word of God, it is the writings of inspired writers, of Men.

The bible may certainly have the message of God in many places, but, to me at least, it is more a "history" of the religious views of a group of people.

In the case of the OT, the Hebrews.

The " We also don't know the beginning either" part was aimed at science and evolution.

superpunk

Either it is God's word or incoherent fiction. Either will do, but something in between is a trick of the mind I cannot accomplish.

I agree, but maybe that's just our JW training coming through - the bible is the infallible/inerrant...or it's not. I don't understand the value in making it some amalgamation of the two - wherein each individual draws an arbitrary line around the bits that are historical fact and metaphor.

It seems to me throughout history they hold onto it all as reality - until reality disproves it - at which point (biblically recorded) reality is seamlessly transformed into metaphor. Presto!

It's certainly convenient. Is it honest?

I liked those videos. I actually watched the program while I was in Ireland, resting in the hotel at night in between action-packed days. Mem'ries...

PSacramento

May biblical scholars do NOT view the bible as innerant, including the Late Bruce Metzger I think.

Its not a question of, "we thought it was literal and know that is not the case so it is a metaphore". It's the case of progressive learing and understanding of the bible.

I don't see why people have issues with that.

This is why fundamentalists groups get so many people ( same case for JW's), they have the answer, A Answer I should say.

They may be wrong, or maybe the answer is not what some people want to hear ( typcially those outside the religion) but it is an answer.

The moderates, like myself and others that view religion as an ongoing, learning experience, we are the ones that get the "backlash".

Extermissim has no palce in this world, but I see many people wanting to live thier lives that way.

DId Darwin kill God?

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