Preterism

by Chris Tann 67 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  cofty

  I read some knee-jerk reactions on after Shubin published that was facile drivel and unworthy of a response. I am not aware of a more recent objection if there is one.

  The key thing about Tiktaalik is that they went looking for it in a specific rock formation that was exactly the right age for the transitional form they hoped to find. Evolution makes predictions that can be tested in the real world.

  All creationism would have to do to prove evolution wrong would be to find one fossil of a modern species in pre-cambrian rock. Every one of the millions of fossils ever found is in the sequence evolution predicts.

  Tiktaalik is just one of many transitional forms bewteen fish and reptile. The development of limbs as well as the jaw and inner ear are all described in detail in the fossils.
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  cofty

  Cofty- the book I refered to is Darwin's Doubt by Stephen C. Meyer.

  Yes. We have discussed it here on the forum. There was a copy-paste "expert" called QC who started a thread on it although he never actually read the book or the refutation. It has been totally dismantled by real scientists.

  If I remember rightly he is hung up on the Cambrian explosion. His books depend on his readers having little or no knowledge of science.

  Please remember that Darwin would not recognise his own theory if he was alive today. The evidence from fields of science that were not know to him have confirmed and refined his ideas to a degree that would blow his Victorian mind. The strongest evidence is in genetics.
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  Chris Tann

  Yes, I thought that may be true of Darwin. When Christians refer to Darwin in disputing evolution thats like using ancient beliefs about the earth in refuting todays scientific claims.
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  cofty

  Darwin's genius idea was the mechanism by which random changes can result in increasing "fitness" in a species. He called it "natural selection". Many others had already observed evolution before Darwin but had not been able to suggest how it happened.

  This is why creationist illustrations about junkyards and 747s or monkeys and typewriters are nonsense. People who argue from complexity don't get it.

  Darwin knew nothing of genetics but we now know that it is mutations in the genome that cause differences in the body that is built by those genes - the phenotype.

  No individual evolves or adapts. It is vital to grasp this point.

  Evolution is about changes in the frequency of a particular version of a gene - an allele - in a breeding group - a gene pool.

  If an individual has acquired a mutation that makes his/her body better able to survive and breed then that mutation is more likely to be passed on to offspring and become more common in the gene pool. Evolution is a slow and gradual process. However complex something appears to be there will always be a series of smaller steps that led from simple to complex. The evolution of the eye is a classic example.
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  Crazyguy

  Chris you may want to look into Joseph Atwill, he claims that the NT and Jesus was an invention by the Flavians and that Jesus was in fact Titus. I'm not sure if I agree with everything he has to say but his argument is compelling. There are so many mistakes in the gospels one from another and they were written in greek not aramaic etc. Its hard to take them seriously anymore. The bible has near 100 contradictions and many of the things christ supposedly said were in contradiction to what the god of the old testament said. Atwill's opinion makes sense and puts the preterism idea square into fact.
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  Chris Tann

  Thanks crazy guy, I did briefly looked into that, but it seemed like a far fetched strawman. But i will give it another look.
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  Cold Steel

  Strange how this discussion evolved from preterism to evolution. This happens a lot when the resident atheists show up.
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  cofty

  It is Chris Tann's thread and he chose to discuss evolution in the context of aligning theology with reality. I am sure we will continue that in a new thread.

  A bit rich coming from you who preaches his magic-underpants cult at every opportunity.
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  Chris Tann

  It is funny. I'll start a new thread when im done with the book. I chose Why Evolution Is True by Jerry Coyne. So far pretty good.
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  cofty

  Good choice.