God's Place in Evolution.

Davey Gaga

Davey Gaga

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So, I was chatting away to someone on my MSN contact list and they passed on a quote from their Biology teacher, pertaining to how God and Evolution co-exist.

If you placed all the materials to build a fully functioning house all taken apart, just lying on the ground, if you came back in 6 billion years, there would not be a fully formed house (it wouldn't have built itself)
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What are your thoughts on the matter? How would you criticise this claim? Does it just sound like another stab in the dark or does it make you re-consider your views?

As always, no flaming, etc.
 
Personally i think that is untrue i speak with many belivers in god but i've never heard of anything like that. I think God and evolution are two seperate things because god can't change what is going on now.

And if you leave bricks laying on the ground it's not like some force is going to make them into a house, it just seems like nonsense to me.

That's my opinion if any feel different please say, it will be good to see others thoughts.
 
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Awesome Reno said:
And if you leave bricks laying on the ground it's not like some force is going to make them into a house, it just seems like nonsense to me.
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That's the point the statement addresses - if it can't build itself, then something had to build them. Ergo, something had to "build" life - it couldn't have started on its own.
 
Well my typically agnostic view on the matter is that whilst it is a very good point indeed, you may as well spend your whole life coming up with acceptable points which back up the existence/non-existence of God, but you wouldn't be any further in knowing the truth. Mind you, I'm sure whoever said that knows this too, but that's just the way I see it. I'm open to anybody's ideas on why there should/shouldn't be a God, but nothing will ever sway me in one direction or another, no matter how convincing.
 
I'm a born and raised catholic, but i'm also studying biochemistry at college, so this is a difficult topic for me. EVen though it goes against the bible, i believe in evolution, but i also believe in God. My advisor had a professor who was a monk, and this monk taught EVOLUTION! My advisor asked him how he could teach evolution and the monk answered, "There is enough scientific evidence to prove evolution of other species, but because of my belief in God and my faith, i believe that God put humans on this planet as they are today, so humans did not evolve, they have simply gone through life the same, whereas other species have evolved and died off." I like his view, but i just don't agree with it. Personally, i think we did evolve from the monkeys, but to each his own.
 
I belive that things happen as our lives were planned previous to our birth, that the path that our lives will lead is already set and it's up to us to walk that path and the decisions in life are like forks in the road.

But as for God making the place we now call home i just don't see it as being truthful, no matter the greatness of one man, i see it unlikely that one could create mindkinds exsistence in such a way.

Sorry if my posts don't seem to make much sense i have a problem describing my thoughts, i hope you all understand.
 
Awesome Reno said:
Sorry if my posts don't seem to make much sense i have a problem describing my thoughts, i hope you all understand.
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Don't worry about it, I'm quite the same on occasions... And ALWAYS can't get my point out very well in face to face speak.

Hmm. I'm not sure about this. The sparks that kick started life on this planet, and in the universe in general (that is, if the building blocks of life came from across the universe, and that many other planets may also have life) is still a mystery to us...

We still don't know what started it, or how that little spark of life led to animals as complex and sometimes comedic as the Platypus over time... How a single cell decided to multiply and create a full thinking, functional animal over millions of years still baffles us. Was God driving all this? That is an explanation for a question of the unknown. Was some force behind all of this? Possibly, but we don't really know, and can't prove it.

I think that Biology teacher came up with a very good point, even if we might not agree with it. How could life develop from nothingness? How could the most complex of animals evolve over millions of years out of single celled organisms of the simplest degree? Surely if the universe was left alone, nothing would occur? Nothing would kick start? Something must have happened. Godly intervention is up to individual belief, but I'm not to sure what I beleive as to what kick started life, and what channelled evolution... Or, what enabled the proccess of evolution.
 
The comparison between a house and an organism is inaccurate if we are simply talking about evolution. Obviously a house isn't alive and therefore can't evolve unlike living organisms. As evolution is a series of mutations which advanced life.
Now as to how life got started, there is a theory called panspermia, which states that life on Earth was created after an asteroid, comet etc hit the Earth.
Personally, I don't believe it, however there is a lack of evidence to either disprove or prove this theory.
The truth is that the Earth was filled with what was needed for life, amino acids so that there could be proteins, DNA etc. Whether it was just a matter of time, or maybe a warming or cooling of the Earth, life started. I find that non conclusive series of events much more likely that some deity, just deciding to start life.
 
Horatio Caine said:
So, I was chatting away to someone on my MSN contact list and they passed on a quote from their Biology teacher, pertaining to how God and Evolution co-exist.



What are your thoughts on the matter? How would you criticise this claim? Does it just sound like another stab in the dark or does it make you re-consider your views?

As always, no flaming, etc.
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Of course the house can't build itself, but that's because it's missing a component--someone or something that puts it together.

But it is not necessary to assume that there was a creator required to start evolution or to make it happen--all the necessary materials and components required for evolution are there--an environment, organisms with DNA and genes, mutation, etc. It's all there.

According to science, there is no statement that says it is necessary for God and evolution to co-exist. If you think they do, it is only because you believe that--not necessarily because it must be the case.
 
Your Biology teacher that?!

Living matter can form unassisted, ála Abiogenesis.

Matter that has no ability to change itself, no ability to evolve, that can't form itself.

A magical sky ninja has no place in the theory of Evolution.
 
That is far to simple of an analogy to even be taken seriously for the way Life works and the complications of Single Celled organisms into what we are today. My dad is a science teacher, if I told him this, he would wonder what the hell kind of teach you have. That kind of statement would make me question his qualifications for teaching you anything scientific or about evolution.

The whole GOD and EVOLUTION is just an example of how religion can hate on science for bringing things up that contradict everything it has taught. But when something does make sense they try and find a way to fit it into their belief structure. Such as the absurdness that is "Intelligent Design". Evolution was never part of the structure of life in religious thought. So it can't ignore it when it comes out by a scientist then embrace it and try and change it to fit it's mold when they want to.
 
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Vayne Solidor said:
So, I was chatting away to someone on my MSN contact list and they passed on a quote from their Biology teacher, pertaining to how God and Evolution co-exist.

What are your thoughts on the matter? How would you criticise this claim? Does it just sound like another stab in the dark or does it make you re-consider your views?

As always, no flaming, etc.
Click to expand...

Houses are not self reproducing. If Houses could reproduce, it would be different. All of the analogies with regards to inanimate objects miss the BASIC FACT that all life and proto-life is self perpetuating and self replicating.

They are also poor analogies in that they want to go from all the parts to a full structure in one go, which is not how evolution works at all.

It is, in short, a poor analogy.

Gods of any sort are completely redundant to the process of evolution.
 
I personally don't think any theist god and Evolution / Science are compatible.

A theist God exists according to its scripture- if science or reality disproves anything within that scripture that cannot be explained- then said theist god is not compatible with reality. ie, non existant. Now, of course, you can say 'oh well, science disproves that the god is [whatever]...erm, but actually, he really like this...' If someone does this, then the god they speak of is not 100% the one of their theist religion/scripture- and they have changed/added things for their own benefit- therefore they have made up this particular god (albeit with a lot of its attributed like their religions one, but not all)

I garuntee* that there is no single person on this planet that believes in the god of theit scripture EXACLY as he or she is. Im positive there is NONE.

Which means that every person as made up their own god (though based it on their religions god). Of course they do not realize they do it, but they do. The evidence for christianitys god is the bible. Any god that isnt the same as the one in the bible is not the christian god. So, if someone thinks slavery is wrong- they do not believe in the christian god (they only think they do). Because the god of the bible thinks slavery is Ok. If you do not, and say this god does not- your going agaisnt the bible and the god of it- changing what this god is to suit the morals you already have. you are making this god up and putting it in place of the bibles one. because they are not the same. everytime your morals change or your ideas change you say 'i know the bible says this, but what it really meant was that', and you put this new god in place of the old one.

But this is waaay of topic. No, evolution and religion are not combatible.

----

*i cant spell, it seems.
 
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I believe God is Evolution. It states that he made us... But not how in a realistic way. For all we know it could be he made a single germ and as it evolved it became what we call Adam. I am more scientific than religious [If religious at all] but I believe they can coexist. All things can coexist in some form of balance.
 
It's a false analogy. Evolution is how life that already exists changes over time. How it all began is another topic of science called abiogenesis. It's a common error that creationists often make.
 
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