Monday, April 29, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
"Youth" and Darwin's Evolution
A while back I mentioned the "youth" of today will give more credibility to Darwin's Natural Selection / Evolution than we do.
Whether we agree with their conclusions or not science believes they are correct and that they can prove it. Creation cannot be taught in schools because it cannot be proved. So far my conclusions after reading several books on the subject stand firmly on the "how can I argue" side. When engineers tell me a computer runs at nano-second speed (a billionth of a second) I do not argue. Without the same tools how can I disagree with their conclusions? When science says the earth is 4.5 billion years without the same tools who can disagree? When Christians say the earth is 10,000 years old they leave a lot of questions unanswered.
Nature abounds in catastrophes, disasters, imperfections, dysfunctions, suffering and cruelty. Tsunamis destroy and kill; volcanoes erase cities; floods and droughts bring ruin to farmers. Scientists say the human jaw is poorly designed, parasites kill millions of humans every year and make additional hundreds of millions sick. About 20 percent of all human pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion during the first two months; that is 20 million natural abortions every year.
There is extreme cruelty in nature i.e. predators eating while the prey remains alive; male leaders killing all the young; when a mother stops nursing she mates. One lion was clocked at 157 matings within a 55 hour period.
Are those the work of a loving creator or the results of the clumsy evolutionary process?
In the January 2010 issue of Smithsonian magazine there is an article about the Dead Sea scrolls. The article says the thousands of tourists who flock to Qumran each year, where the scrolls were discovered, are told the site was once home to a Jewish sect called the Essenes, who devoted their lives to writing and preserving sacred texts. An Israeli archaeologist disagrees, and says the settlement was originally a small fort that was later converted into a pottery factory to serve nearby towns. Which story sounds better to the tourists? Do they want to know the truth or do they want to continue to believe what they want to believe even if it might be false?
The bible is not a science book. We know scientifically that the sun does not move and the earth does not stand still, even though the bible gives examples of both. The bible tells us what God did not how he did it. Science believes they know how he did it at least those scientists who believe in God. The church fought for a long time before it accepted that the earth is not the center of the universe. Today what the church needs to understand is the complete story of creation. Refusing to discuss it or to learn about it does not help. To declare it a miracle stops all discussion possibly leaving the truth undiscovered. Do Christians want to know truth? I am curious to know Brad Harrub's opinions.
John Jenkins
865-803-8179 cell
Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
http://alumcave.blogspot.com/
"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."
--- Will Rogers (1879-1935)
The Story of Stuff: http://www.storyofstuff.com/
"Youth" and Darwin's Evolution
A while back I mentioned the "youth" of today will give more credibility to Darwin's Natural Selection / Evolution than we do.
Whether we agree with their conclusions or not science believes they are correct and that they can prove it. Creation cannot be taught in schools because it cannot be proved. So far my conclusions after reading several books on the subject stand firmly on the "am not convinced" side. When engineers tell me a computer runs at nano-second speed (a billionth of a second) I do not argue. Without the same tools how can I disagree with their conclusions? When science says the earth is 4.5 billion years without the same tools who can disagree? When Christians say the earth is 10,000 years old they leave a lot of questions unanswered.
Nature abounds in catastrophes, disasters, imperfections, dysfunctions, suffering and cruelty. Tsunamis destroy and kill; volcanoes erase cities; floods and droughts bring ruin to farmers. Scientists say the human jaw is poorly designed, parasites kill millions of humans every year and make additional hundreds of millions sick. About 20 percent of all human pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion during the first two months; that is 20 million natural abortions every year.
There is extreme cruelty in nature i.e. predators eating while the prey remains alive; male leaders killing all the young; when a mother stops nursing she mates. One lion was clocked at 157 matings within a 55 hour period.
Are those the work of a loving creator or the results of the clumsy evolutionary process?
In the January 2010 issue of Smithsonian magazine there is an article about the Dead Sea scrolls. The article says the thousands of tourists who flock to Qumran each year, where the scrolls were discovered, are told the site was once home to a Jewish sect called the Essenes, who devoted their lives to writing and preserving sacred texts. An Israeli archaeologist disagrees, and says the settlement was originally a small fort that was later converted into a pottery factory to serve nearby towns. Which story sounds better to the tourists? Do they want to know the truth or do they want to continue to believe what they want to believe even if it might be false?
The bible is not a science book. We know scientifically that the sun does not move and the earth does not stand still, even though the bible gives examples of both. The bible tells us what God did not how he did it. Science believes they know how he did it at least those scientists who believe in God. The church fought for a long time before it accepted that the earth is not the center of the universe. Today what the church needs to understand is the complete story of creation. Refusing to discuss it or to learn about it does not help. To declare it a miracle stops all discussion. But the truth may still be hidden. Do Christians want to know the truth? I am curious to know Brad Harrub's conclusions.
John Jenkins
865-803-8179 cell
Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Blogs: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
http://alumcave.blogspot.com/
"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."
--- Will Rogers (1879-1935)
The Story of Stuff: http://www.storyofstuff.com/