so it comes down to this other humans were on the earth Fact!!! We won out fact!!! People who claim to have a brain dismiss Neaderthal dismiss the fact they lived were on the earth at the same time as US and now sould take a nother look at their beliefs and OPEN THEIR BRAINS TO THAT FACT. I would like to hear from the BIBLE viewers what they think it means to their understanding of their belief system.
Neaderthals and the Hobbits what the heck?
by skyman 19 Replies latest jw friends
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LouBelle
I believe that ( I think - this is a new way of thinking that I'm going down) there have been humans for millions of years - science proves that - I do believe that they looked different & behaved different. I do not beleive that they were fish many years ago that decided to take a walk. I beleive that humans have adapted to their surroundings/environment at whatever time they happend to live in & in that sense have evolved.
how that effects my view of the scriptures especially in relation to the Adam & Eve theory - I reckon that was just a parable - there was not literally an adam & eve. Many people - some were godly some not - some could lead some not.....
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tetrapod.sapien
hey loubelle,
I do not beleive that they were fish many years ago that decided to take a walk.
the argument from personal incredulity does not have much weight, unless you can justify your incredulity. all the data points to this having occured, gradually over millions of years. you would have to have data that throws out the other data, in order for the argument from incredulity to work.
reckon that was just a parable - there was not literally an adam & eve
but if this is the case, then doesn't that call into question the entire christian faith? after all, according to genesis, we are sinful and need redemtion and salavation as offered by the lord jesus. but if we evolved, then that means that god did not make us inherently "imperfect", and there was no original sin, and therefore no need for salvation. if it's just a parable, i would like to know why we have to accept jesus' ransom in order to be saved? -
tetrapod.sapien
classicist,
the two beliefs don't necessitate the belief in both
yes true. but also, the creationist has a lot of explaining to do. if we were created, why do we share 97% of our DNA with chimps? why do we share the good DNA, and the DNA errors? why would a creator take a short cut, and copy 97% of the genes over to chimps, and copy the junk as well? DNA does not categorically prove evolution, but it certainly does work in its favor.
Is it a new species, or could it be something of a young homo erectus or one of its predecessors?
initial studies are showing that the skulls found on Flores belonged to adults. they can tell this sort of thing by how worn the teeth are, etc. another interesting thing about those islands, are the morphological variances in different species. for example, they have these giant rats (Papagomys armandvillei ), and these miniature elephants called stegadons. so it is possible that homo floresiensis was small via the same island dwarfing phenomenon. -
skyman
I'll be damned you are correct about the Junk DNA who would of thought that was possible. This a very strong point against God creating us from nothing or from a blank slate.
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LouBelle
tetrapod.sapien: hey : first of all I'm no expert on creation vs evolution theory. What I stated is my personal belief. If there is truly conclusive evidence that points to man as originally being a fish....I haven't seen it....perhaps because I don't "mingle" in the scientific circles.
Secondly: I'm questioning the whole christianity thing. My belief in a God is hanging on by a thread....You see I don't believe Jesus died for me - I believe he died for the jews, he was their messiah not mine. There are messiahs all around us today - annointed ones of God. Don't know if this actually makes much sense in such a short explanation....
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googlemagoogle
I reckon that was just a parable
you are on the right track, lou belle. the way to agnostic/atheist starts right there. -
LittleToe
Belief and evolution are not mutually exclusive.
Appreciation for one section of scripture does not mean credulity of all, nor should ignorance exemplified in one section write off the worth of an entire library of 66 books (plus many others besides).
It is possibly to be eclectic in these matters.
Why do I state these things? Because I see an all-or-nothing approach peppered all over this thread. I don't think I have much more to add...
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tetrapod.sapien
Belief and evolution are not mutually exclusive.
LT,
true. a lot of people use evolution as a reason for atheism. i always note that the theory of evolution is a scientific theory that explains current biological diversity better than any others out there. it doesn't get into cause, or the existence of god. theists and atheists are both guilty of using it in theism debates.
Appreciation for one section of scripture does not mean credulity of all, nor should ignorance exemplified in one section write off the worth of an entire library of 66 books (plus many others besides).
true again. it is wrong of me to write-off the whole bible because a couple of it's universal threads are started in genesis, a highly questionable book from a literal standpoint.
i guess for me, it is about probabilities. genesis is the book, out of all of them, that god should have done a good job of getting right. believing the rest would be easier. and so i have a hard time with the rest. but i should not be black and white about it. after all, according to secular history of the bible, genesis is only at the front because it addresses early history as opposed to later history. but there, is another probability caveat for me. a study of secular bible historicity increases the probability of it all being the work of men, for me.
I don't think I have much more to add...
don't go... -
seattleniceguy
Hello skyman,
I think that a JW who considers Neandertals thoughtfully will have to reassess much of their worldview. Here's an article I wrote about Neandertals: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/88271/1.ashx
It is interesting that the evidence on Neandertals is not scant as Witnesses might have people believe. Over 400 Neandertals have been unearthed so far, and we have recovered DNA from at least eight of them now. See the article above for more details.
SNG