Speaking of Darwin
sometimes i think it's as simple as this: i cannot believe in creationism because there is no way i can believe that we have evolved to where we are on purpose and that God's plan actually meant to include such stellar human achievements as the show Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy.
God: oh yeah, totally. i totally created man and woman so that like, you could discover fire and build yourself some civilization and create art and learn science and eventually, with lots of guidance from Me, grow to provide all humankind with silly string and microwave popcorn. yes, that is most definitely My Plan.
sure.
whereas the theory of evolution allows for the idea that nature is messy and not always super efficient and thus has built-in explanations for things that are clearly evolutionarily awry, such as (in particular) the people i have to ride the bus with.
God: oh yeah, totally. i totally created man and woman so that like, you could discover fire and build yourself some civilization and create art and learn science and eventually, with lots of guidance from Me, grow to provide all humankind with silly string and microwave popcorn. yes, that is most definitely My Plan.
sure.
whereas the theory of evolution allows for the idea that nature is messy and not always super efficient and thus has built-in explanations for things that are clearly evolutionarily awry, such as (in particular) the people i have to ride the bus with.
Flat Earthers believe that the earth is flat and is covered by a solid dome or firmament. Waters above the firmament were the source of Noah's flood. This belief is based on a literal reading of the Bible, such as references to the "four corners of the earth" and the "circle of the earth." Few people hold this extreme view, but some do.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this one, sistah.
ReplyDeleteokay, so here is where I stand on such things: WHY DO THE TWO HAVE TO BE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE?! If someone believes that God just said *poof* and this beautiful and complex world was created why can't God say *abracadabra* and set evolution into motion?! And all that crap about trying to date the earth using the bible... how does that even begin to make sense? And, how do we know that God's 7 days aren't the equivalent of, like, a bazillion years to us?!
ReplyDeleteThese creationist folks can be awfully narrow-minded. Sheesh. Unlike me, my thoughts and ideas are based on every other thought and idea... IN THE WORLD.
I'm done now...
oh, and i'm not saying that i don't believe in God or anything like that.
ReplyDeletemy point is only that a strict, narrow, literal interpretation of the bible inevitably becomes hypocritical and silly. because you can't like, take some parts literally and not others. and if you're going to believe that god created the world in seven days you're also going to have to believe in dragons.
there are of course perfectly sound ways to believe in christian principles *and* scientific principles.
though both sorts seem to be in short supply on muni.
You are SO going to hell young lady!
ReplyDeletea mythical animal usually represented as a monstrous winged and scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head and enormous claws. i believe in dragons.
ReplyDeleteMUNI will ruin all theories of a divine-influenced humanity.
ReplyDeleteAwful.
To the first anonymous: Everyone knows that the world IS in fact flat...and it's carried on the backs of four elephants (named Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen) that stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, for K and Michelle, and the rest of course, the Dalai Lama had a very nice editorial in the NY Times (link below) a couple days ago that is certainly pertinent to your comments. You may enjoy it.
Dalai Lama Op-Ed
I was going to point out the not mutually exclusive thing, but you guys beat me to it... perhaps i'll just add that most plans are messy, too.
ReplyDelete"a monstrous winged and scaly serpent or saurian with a crested head and enormous claws"
ReplyDeletehey, i saw that guy on muni!!
my point is only that a strict, narrow, literal interpretation of the bible inevitably becomes hypocritical and silly.
ReplyDeleteYou mean I'm not a firey, serpent-like creature w/ 3 sets of wings, so glorious to look on that men are smote down by the very sight of me????
*crys*
I had just posted on how -- my great admiration of Richard Dawkins notwithstanding -- I had trouble seeing how natural selection could have led to great works of art like Ralph Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem. I had not considered Trading Spouses. Thank you for providing perspective.
ReplyDelete"buy you a drink!"
ReplyDeleteYou do realize that the bar in Hell only has Yoo-hoo, right?
Instead of all this conjecture and trying to put words into God's mouth, why don't you just ask Him yourself?!
ReplyDeleteSo, the people on the bus can be explained by evolution gone awry-I like that. :-)
ReplyDeleteAre the buses in San Fran really that bad? REALLY?
ReplyDelete'Cause my wife and I will be down there this weekend and we were told to take the bus if we had to and NOT take a cab....
I don’t allow religious comments from myself because I tend to be inappropriately sarcastic and inevitably offensive to someone…so I will just say that only a chaotic system could explain bus people.
ReplyDeletedan, it depends on the bus... and the time of day.
ReplyDeletewasn't that helpful?
they're really not THAT bad. it just seems like it when you ride it every goddamned day, to and from work... especially AFTER work...
or is that just me?
Nicole, thanks for that link. It kind of disillusioned me..."God" isn't very smart. He asked me who my favorite robot was. Huh? Then I asked him how Jesus was doing and he said I should ask John Lennon. No wonder we think people who talk to God are crazy. God is saying some crazy stuff.
ReplyDeleteGreat, now i'm going to hell with the lot of you. At least we can all take comfort in knowing we'll all be in the clever section.
I was listening to some conservative talk radio the other day... Michael Medwet? Mitwit? Nitwit? I dunno. Anyway... I'm not a freaky conservative. It's just that when I drive home I'd rather yell at him than the drivers around me. Driving friendly is easier when I can displace my anger on an easy target like talk radio.
ReplyDeleteSo anyway... I was listening to him the other day and he was talking about the whole creationism vs. evolution argument and basically said that since we cannot prove or disprove either theory beyond a shadow of a doubt, we need to present both theories and there is nothing wrong with bringing in religion--I mean, excuse me--creationism into the classroom.
Um. My first thought was... anyone every tried to potty train a kid with one of those "Potty Train your Monster Baby in Two Hours!" or some nonsense like that? Parents will know what I'm talking about. Basically you read the book, try their approach and it doesn't work. You read some other book, try their approach and it still doesn't work. Then in a moment of exasperation, you throw a handful of cheerios in the toilet and tell the kid to point, shoot and sink 'em, and it works like a charm.
The point is (and I do have one) that you have to do what works for you. :) And most of the time, it's something that you figure out for yourself rather than have someone preach or teach it to you.