Are Faith-based assertions falsifiable?

braincleaned

I say yes.

Common statement from Faith: Creation proves that God is love.

False.

The circle of life proves the contrary.
Love is not the basis for the carnage needed for survival. Any Loving creator would have adapted vegetation to fit the needs of all species.
No blood. No fear. No pain. No need for one sentient life to feed off another sentient life.
As for the overcrowding of a species, timing a natural and painless death is no problem for an all powerful/intelligent creator.
* (Not to mention the controlling of a species' birth rate, a cinch for an Almighty God)

Conclusion: Reality contradicts the intelligent design of a Loving God — on the contrary, it fits the harsh reality of natural selection and survival of the fittest.

tootired2care

@Braincleaned -

I think you're spot on, everything in this universe is in a constant violent state of consuming or being consumed from the super large to the infinitesimally small. The more advanced the microscope gets the more you realize that things really aren't so pretty on the inside. What is interesting is that one of the most important systems that make life possible for us is our microbinome (trillions of bacteria living off of each of us in a symbiosis). Bacteria literally is the fabric of our existence.

braincleaned

True tootired2care.

Not to mention the mayhem in Space. Stars & planets dying and being born — often in a cataclysmic manner.

tootired2care

A good example is one that Darwin studied in depth, the ichneumon wasp. You'll probably never see this insect mentioned in the Awake article "was it designed".

This is an exceptionally large wasp, which as part of its reproductive process locates larva of other insects whose living body will nourish her developing young.

“I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars”—and then, as if to reach the layman, he adds, “Or that a cat should play with mice.” - Darwin 1860 letter to biologist Asa Gray ( a proponent of the idea that nature reveals God’s benevolence).

Terry

I once worked in an Art Gallery with a middle-age lady whom I would identify as fanatical evangelical.

I had way more fun with her (at her expense) than I should have. But, I was a naughty lad back in the day.

Her ideas were the least informed by fact compared to anybody else I have ever met.

For instance, she had a garden where she would only plant when there was a Full Moon.

Why? I asked.

"Don't you understand science?" she replied. "When the moon is full, there is greater gravitational pull and your garden comes out faster."

Oh. I see.

She once told me that death had entered the world through Adam.

"How do you know?" I foolishly asked.

"Because it is in God's Holy Bible!" she responded triumphantly.

"What about all the dinosaurs who were killing and eating each other? Did none of them die?"

Here face screwed into several micro-expressions before she blurted: "That's just a myth and you know it."

One day she told me about her great grandmother. What happened with granny confirmed her faith in God.

"My great-grandmother was very ill with fever and the family doctor was called to come out to her house. . ."

I stopped her for a moment to ask, "How long ago was this? Doctors don't make housecalls these days."

She told me it was in the late 1800's and continued the famous family story she had been told when she was a little girl.

"The doctor pronounced her dead, but her husband was a man of God who kept praying over her for over an hour. And then, she opened her

eyes and spoke to him! The doctor was called back to the house and he declared it a miracle! So, Mister smart alec--how do you explain that?"

I shook my head and instantly replied, "That's pretty easy. The `19th century family doctor gave the wrong prognosis. She wasn't dead--he just couldn't detect signs of life. She woke up because she wasn't dead--not because prayer resurrected her."

I will never forget the look of horror on her face! She actually considered what I said and was stunned into silence.

She simply had never thought to explain the "miracle" any other way.

braincleaned

Haha! Love that story...
So many similar characters rush thru my memory — my JW mom and dad for example. I love them to death... but I remember them throwing their wedding rings away in the 70's because satan had a way in the house — you see, a priest blessed these rings! I remember asking them "...were you not blessed too?" I was 12. They said it wasn't the same. LOL!

Watchtower-Free

Great post . "braincleaned"

braincleaned

Thanks Watchtower-Free! :)

JeffT

The life cycle of the ichneumon wasp is the basis of the movie "Alien." That would be interesting to see discussed in the Awake!

jgnat

I had the most wonderful opportunity to live in the mountains for a couple years. I fell in love with the place instantly. The remoteness, the wildness, the mountain sentinels stolidly waging their silent battle with the clouds daily. It is one of the few places on earth where perhaps, nature holds sway over civilization.

As a bonus, there was no Kingdom Hall!

I had the sense I could resolve some mystery if I observed long enough.

I pondered, and observed, and asked myself, what is the nature of Mother Nature?

I got my answer. She is not kind.

Are Faith-based assertions falsifiable?

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