Posts by Doug Mason

posted

78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

sea breeze,
I recall decades ago - early 1970s - JWs I knew would use the same reasoning "To whom else can we go?".
The WTS builds a wall to keep its sheep inside by giving a "them-and-us" picture. They do this with their focus on "Trinity", "Cross", repeated use of that word "Jehovah", not participating in war, owing allegiance to the WTS over all governments, and so on.
Interestingly it is in Babylon where God's people are to be found ("come out of her my people."). That is where God's people were being kept (6th century BCE).
There are, in reality, other more potent powers at play-- loss of family, loss of friendships, fear of missing out, fear of the Big A, and so on.
It should not be an issue of leaving one superstition (the WTS) and entering into another. It is possible although difficult, to ditch superstition. Mental scars will remain.
All the best,
Doug
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

THE THREE STRATA OF REALITY
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

This might be of interest:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/15-answers-to-creationist/
Doug
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

hooberus,
Which of the books on evolution you researched posed the question: "What is life?"?
What conclusions did you arrive at?
What iS Life?
Doug
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

hooberus,
When you studied evolution, what conclusions did you reach regarding the significance of punctuated equilibria?
Which books did you research?
Doug
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

hooberus,
When you studied evolution, what conclusions did you reach regarding the significance of the homeobox gene?
Which books did you research?
Doug
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

When you consider the mathematics cumulatively, the extinctions would be closer to 99.9%
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

Hooberus,
What conclusions did you reach when you studied the mitochondria?
What are your sources?
Doug
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

Geologists find the record is highly uneven. Species appear very suddenly, then show little or no change during their existence in the record, then abruptly they disappear. The majority of fossils show stability over extensive lengths of time.
Unique body plans with new features suddenly appear. More than half of all major divisions of animal life seem to have appeared in a relatively short period of time. Because many new and distinct life forms appear so suddenly in the fossil record, paleontologists refer to this period as “the Cambrian explosion.”
The “Cambrian Explosion” refers to the sudden appearance in the fossil record of complex animals with mineralized skeletal remains. It may represent the most important evolutionary event in the history of life on Earth.
78
What The Fossils Say
by cofty in
1. watchtower
2. beliefs
the old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record.

if i remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

the reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life.
Doug Mason

Hooberus,
Of life's 4 billion years, the majority of it has not had complex life forms. The earliest fossils are of bacteria.
Most life forms never formed fossil remains. Most of today's complex life forms do not have fossil records.
Evolutionary science is based on a range of skills, not just the physical remains, many of which are calcified outlines, not the actual animal, fish, bird, etc.
Which of the evolutionary sciences have you researched? Which books have you read related to evolution that are based on quantum mechanics and on punctuated equilibria?
How many scientific books do you own which deal with evolution?
What do you believe Tiktaalik tells us?
If evolution is not true, do you want me to go to the outback of my country and accept the myths of the Australian Aboriginals? Were the ancient Egyptians correct? Or the Romans? Or the Indians? You open a veritable Pandora's Box if you wanted to accept supernatural mysticism. I live in a country that is proud of its scientific achievements.
When I told a visitor this afternoon that there were some people in USA who accepted the two Creation myths in the Hebrew Scriptures, she was absolutely shocked.
Doug