Posts by azaria

38

Creation vs Evolution? or Creation and Evolution?

by azaria in

i believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought id start my own.

i know that im going out on a limb here.

a number of times ive hesitated before submitting a post or response.

azaria

Yes I do believe that God created us. I'm not sure why you think I don't. Is this a trick question?

38

Creation vs Evolution? or Creation and Evolution?

by azaria in

i believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought id start my own.

i know that im going out on a limb here.

a number of times ive hesitated before submitting a post or response.

and so it seems the post must end there. You know that there has never been a person that's been able to truly answer that, not that I know of anyway. Can you answer what was before something? How long did nothing last? I feel like a puppy dog, not realizing that there might be trouble ahead, but maybe having a little fun in the process. Glad I'm not the only one that feels that way, about the big dogs.

38

Creation vs Evolution? or Creation and Evolution?

by azaria in

i believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought id start my own.

i know that im going out on a limb here.

a number of times ive hesitated before submitting a post or response.

azaria

I feel like I'm playing with the big guys and I'm foolish to even try. I started out stating that I believed in Creation and Evolution and I ended stating that I believed in Creation and Evolution (to a point), never once implying that I believed in Evolution alone, so I don't understand the dishonesty. You state my questions can be easily answered by science. Would you do me the honour? Nobody else seems to want to.

One thing you overlook, is how the designer idea binds you w an even bigger problem: who designed the designer?

Because we can't comprehend this does it mean it's not true? As a child I couldn't comprehend how the universe continued on and on, with never an end. You can totally accept the idea that something came from nothing?; that the big bang happened by chance, that the solar system took form by chance, the planets aligned themselves perfectly by chance, that the earth was formed by chance, that plant life, insects, animals and finally humans formed by chance. One of the questions I asked: When could this evolution process end and what could decide this, or could we continue evolving forever. Correct me if I'm wrong but in the last 5,000 years anyway man hasn't changed much. We basically seem to look the same. But I realize that evolution is an extremely slow process.

38

Creation vs Evolution? or Creation and Evolution?

by azaria in

i believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought id start my own.

i know that im going out on a limb here.

a number of times ive hesitated before submitting a post or response.

azaria

AlanF: You seem to imply that I was dishonest. Right from the start I stated that I believed in God; that hasn't swayed. I started this post because of Trumangirl. I thought it was very one-sided. It seems to me that because of my "ignorance" that I really have no right to speak. If a poster is tired of these threads the best would be not to respond to them. In the big scheme of things I really don't know anything. I feel there's a huge arrogance when we do think we have the answers and I never claimed I did. I'm just trying to make sense of a few things and as I said before I am curious. God created (I believe) and our tiny and some not so tiny brains are trying to understand the how's and why's. You say that my mind is made up and I won't consider the alternative. Likewise I feel that others here have also made up their minds and not consider the possibility of a God that created everything. I have yet to see anyone answer the questions from my first post. As for the couple of books recommended, how do you know that I won't consider reading them? Would you consider reading the ones I recommend? Just to clarify, I'm not being confrontational. I realize that it's usually difficult to tell when we post here. If anything I feel that others can be very confrontational, but then again, it may not have been their intention. I do think that I have a right to state my views, just like you do.

38

Creation vs Evolution? or Creation and Evolution?

by azaria in

i believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought id start my own.

i know that im going out on a limb here.

a number of times ive hesitated before submitting a post or response.

azaria

this thread was about evolution not first causes.

Maybe I’m more curious about that. I still believe in ID. For me it’s ludicrous to believe otherwise. Because we can’t comprehend that God didn’t have a beginning, we dismiss it? I understand that the universe is approx 10 to 20 billion years old; that a big bang happened, that the earth is approx 4 billion years old. I can accept that with the knowledge we have at the present moment. The thing that puzzles me is how someone can believe that this all happened by chance. There was a big explosion. What was the reason for this explosion? And all the planets aligned properly? Well obviously it did or we wouldn’t be here. I don’t believe in chance. I do have a large book on biology which I bought last year but never really opened it up. There is just too much to read in this world so one has to limit himself or he would go crazy for sure, and there is a life to live besides reading. The interesting thing I noticed is that those who believe in evolution alone, do seem only interested in the mechanics of it. I feel I asked a number of relevant questions but none of them, I believe, were answered.

Below I did quote a number of people. If you want these people names I will pm you.

As for Darwin's theory of"macro-evolution"-that we came from apes-Initially troubling to me was the the paucity of fossil evidence for the transitions between various species of animals. Even Darwin conceded that the lack of these fossils "is perhaps the most obvious and serious objection" to his theory, although he confidently predictedthat future discoveries would vindicate him.

We are now about one hundred and twenty years after Darwin and the knowledge of the fossil record has been greatly expanded. We now have a quarter of a million fossil species, but the situation hasn’t changed much...We have even fewer examples of evolutionary transition that we had in Darwin’s time What the fossil record does show is that in rocks dated back some five hundred and seventy million years, there is the sudden appearance of nearly all the animal phyla, and they appear fully formed, "without a trace of the evolutionary ancestors that Darwinists require. It’s a phenomenon that points more readily toward a Creator than Darwinism. In his book Origin of Species, Darwin

side-tracked-Beethovens 9 th Symphony just came on-and you say there is no God-who, what inspired him, what inspired Dvorak to write New World Symphony, Schubert-Ava Maria-if God doesn’t exist, thank goodness they believed otherwise, or we wouldn’t be enjoying their music.

Continue: Darwin admitted: "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, then my theory would absolutely break down". Taking up that challenge, ----showed how recent biochemical discoveries have found numerous examples of this very kind of "irreducible complexity."

Biological evolution can only take place after there was some sort of living matter that could replicate itself and then grow in complexity through mutation and survival of the fittest.

Where did life begin in the first place? The origin of life has intrigued theologians and scientists for centuries. The most amazing thing to me is existence itself, How is it that inanimate matter can organize itself to contemplate itself?

Darwin’s theory presupposes that nonliving chemicals, if given the right amount of time and circumstances, could develop by themselves into living matter. Is there scientific data to back up that belief?

This is not a case of religion versus science, rather, this is an issue of science vs science. More biologists, biochemists, and other researchers-not just Christians-have raised serious objections to evolutionary theory in recent years, claiming that its broad inferences are sometimes based on flimsy, incomplete, or flawed data. What looks at first blush like an airtight scientific case for evolution begins to unravel upon closer examination. New discoveries during the past thirty years have prompted an increasing number of scientists to contradict Darwin by concluding that there was an Intelligent Designer behind the creation and development of life. The result of these cumulative efforts to investigate the cell-to investigate life at the molecular level-is a loud, clear, piercing cry of "design".

The conclusion of intelligent design flows naturally from the data itself-not from sacred books or sectarian beliefs...The reluctance of science to embrace the conclusion of intelligent design...has no justifiable foundation...Many people, including many important and well-respected scientists, just don’t want there to be anything beyond nature.

Obviously I don't have most of the answers. I am on a journey like all of us. But the bottom line, the more I look into it, the more I believe and am in awe of God. (Hopefully while typing this I didn't make any mistakes) I'm off to enjoy the day, might be back tonight.

38

Creation vs Evolution? or Creation and Evolution?

by azaria in

i believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought id start my own.

i know that im going out on a limb here.

a number of times ive hesitated before submitting a post or response.

azaria

I said I would respond tomorrow but would like to throw out a couple of questions tonight.

I sometimes wish I was smart (I’m not being sarcastic) I’m not really into remembering a lot of data. I’m more of a creative person, touchy, feely, believing in intuition,; not so much analytical. I do realize that there are different kinds of intelligence. Some people are good at retaining data, some are good at analyzing it, some at abstract thought, some people are emotionally intelligent, etc. So I shoulnd’t be hard on myself. But I am curious.

My question's are: How long has this universe been in existence? I’m not really into information from the internet. I would prefer it from an actual book. Also do you think that Darwin’s theory still holds up or do you think it’s obsolete and other theories have replaced it?

38

Creation vs Evolution? or Creation and Evolution?

by azaria in

i believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought id start my own.

i know that im going out on a limb here.

a number of times ive hesitated before submitting a post or response.

azaria

Thanks to all who responded. Just got home from work a while ago and I'm just too tired. Copied your responses to WordPerfect and will read off line later. I'll try to respond tomorrow.

38

Creation vs Evolution? or Creation and Evolution?

by azaria in

i believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought id start my own.

i know that im going out on a limb here.

a number of times ive hesitated before submitting a post or response.

azaria

I believe this has been touched on in an earlier post but thought I’d start my own. I know that I’m going out on a limb here. A number of times I’ve hesitated before submitting a post or response. I really thought about not posting this one. It’s a scary thing to open yourself up to criticism. But I feel strongly about this. I feel that some posters (who, I admit, are much more intelligent and informed than I am) can be extremely intimidating and people back off. Because of this I feel that only one dominant view is shown. I’m sure there will be some that will take the opportunity to pounce and ridicule. Hopefully it won’t come to that. We are all entitled to our own views. I wrote this very late last night and I’ve tried to clean it up as much as I can. It may ramble and repeat at times but I hope that for the most part it’s coherent. Any quotes by others are in italics, the rest are my own words.

Some say prove God’s existence? Can you prove to me that the essence of your being exists, or are we strictly physical beings, (controlled?) by chance, by nature. The mechanics can be explained to a point but how do you explain spirituality, the mind, to dream, to hope, to love, things that one can’t see? ; things that one can only see the effects of.

Personally I believe that Creation and Evolution can and do go hand in hand. I believe in God, not because of fear, but because for me there’s overwhelming evidence of God’s existence (Intelligent Designer if you prefer). Some people are so convinced about Evolution and discarding God; they won’t even consider the possibility that maybe an intelligent designer was responsible for creation. One only has to look at his own body, his own mind, his spirituality; to be in awe of their own being. I was fortunate enough to have two human beings grow inside of me. There is so much in this universe to be in awe of and yet some are so blasé about it all, that all this happened by chance. What puzzles me is how some people can be so morally indignant about a wrong and yet not believe. Where does this moral indignation come from? Does chance care? William Provine (prominent evolutionist) says that if Darwinism is true, then there are five inescapable implications; there’s no evidence for God; there’s no life after death; there’s no absolute foundation for right and wrong; there’s no ultimate meaning for life; and people don’t really have free will.

Putting aside Provines view about right or wrong, I think that most people will agree that there is a right and wrong. Who decides what’s right, what’s wrong? We simply evolved and what works for a time is what is used and if it’s no longer useful it’s discarded? Why does chance care if we care for one another, that we try to do the right thing? Why does chance care about our survival? If each person wants to survive, where did he get that desire to survive?

We have a desire to live, to love, to create. That’s how God created us. Chance doesn’t care if we create, if we love, if we survive. What about music, art, literature? What inspires these people to create beauty? Beauty in nature (created for no other purpose but for our enjoyment-flowers, birds, a snow flake), a new born baby, the love for our children, family? Why do we have joy, agony, tears, laughter, pain, pleasure? Where does that desire come from? Why all the senses, taste, feel, see, hear? For no other reason than survival? Yet we use all these senses for survival and pleasure. All this is chance, all of life is one big cosmic accident, with no purpose? We are spiritual beings. Why should we be? What’s the point when all this is by chance?

Maybe some feel that without God they are free to do what they want. I think the reverse is true. We truly are then just puppets with absolutely no control over our destiny. We are here, then we are not here. Whatever feelings we do have is controlled by evolution. You can’t personally claim it as uniquely you. That’s the way I see it anyway.

Why is that people all around the world have the same needs, the need to be loved, to love, to feel connected? Some will say it was necessary for survival. Why the need to survive? So many questions. One more that never occurred to me before. If we evolved, at what point is this evolving business over and what decides it?

Something is in control. Could it be that God truly exists?

P.S. I’m a little concerned about quoting others (even though I did quote two people) to support my views but am concerned about copyright infringement. Does anyone know anything about this?

Love every leaf, every ray of light

Love the animals, love the plants, love each separate thing

Loving all, you will perceive the mystery of God in all.

Feodor Dostoevsky

15

Gross things kids do!!!!!

by Lehaa in

ok, my daughter is so gross, i've just had to put her in the bath and disinfect my walls.. she's 2 and loves to play in her pooey nappy.

as soon as she's done a poo she gets her hands in it an wipes it over whatever is nearest, gross, disgusting.

my son never did this.. think it's about time i started toilet training her.. what are some other gross things that you've heerd of kids doing?

azaria

When my son (now 22) was a baby I layed him down for a nap. When I later checked on him I carefully opened the door and the stench. He had painted the (Jennie Lynn) crib and the walls with his poop and had fallen asleep. It was everywhere. I gently washed him up and everything else. He never woke up.

I reread my post Yes he did eventually wake up. Sorry I'm still thinking of the lifesaver joke.

4

Out of the Mouth of Babes...

by ThiChi in

a college professor was doing a study testing senses of 5th graders.

using a bowl of life savers he gave all the children the same kind of life saver one at a time and asked them to identify the color and flavor.

the children began: red - cherry, yellow - lemon, green - lime, orange - orange.

azaria

That's too funny. I'm killing myself laughing.