Need Some Education On EVOLUTION? Start Here! Perry & Axal take note!

by Seeker4 178 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Asheron
    Asheron

    Dearest Kate,
    In order to keep order in our discussion I will highlight my latest responses.

    "This is not a debate board but a discussion board and it is good that we can keep it respectful.
    A matter of semantics really. A debate IS a discussion isn’t it?
    Why do you feel the need to refute someone anyway?

    I could ask the same of you. Usually I feel the need to refute someone when I believe they are wrong. You? Why not a calm respectful discussion?"

    I have and shall always be calm. If you paid close attention I even made light of the fact that you called me a cult member. I thought I took that rather well.
    I have been told by an evolutionist that the 2nd Law of thermodynamics was not a law.

    That guy was wrong as any well informed scientist will tell you.
    What I posted was from Wikipedia as the description of biogenesis, then I pointed out that sometimes current scientific theory's have been wrong.

    The former belief that maggots spontaneously appeared as a result of abiogenesis is just an example I used to show that sometimes current "theories" are later found to have been wrong.
    The sudden appearance of maggots on a body with no (at the time) known cause being called abiogenisis and the current experiments in duplicating the primordial soup to see if basic amino acids can be formed by external forces being called abiogenisis is a bit confusing, but fine, I will accept your statement that you simply wanted to point out that theories do get overturned, adjusted and thrown out. In fact that is exactly what I love about the scientific process. Someone came along and invented a better way to see and observe. They discovered that flies dropped very small black dots onto the decaying corpses and voila (my salute to RAF) Maggot EGGS were discovered. The mysticism of the Maggots from nothing theory was dismissed!! That Maggots were though to come from nothing isn’t exactly correct, they thought that life transmuted and what not but you get the general gist. This type of belief is what happens when a belief is adopted WITHOUT evidence.

    So negative entropy means that this computer I am using at some point may not need electricity to power itself and may even self evolve into a better machine. Wishful thinking.

    Please do not use straw man tactics. No, negative entropy does not mean that-- unless you are using a MAC and in that case it just might. We are talking about LIFE not your computer. I will say though, that in fact, computers do indeed adapt or evolve. Your environment requires a new solution or "software", so you buy the new software and find out you need more RAM. You put new RAM in your machine and it has now "evolved" (with your environmental help) into a bigger badder machine. If your machine can not be upgraded it gets thrown out or DIES as a SPECIES like my old computer.

    Closed system or not the 2nd law is functioning on earth as is entropy.

    Agreed, but it simply is not a valid objection to evolution. It wasn’t really designed to be. It was brought up by ID proponents to disprove "The Origin of LIFE" theory of abiogenisis. Going
    forward I will not clarify your objections to evolution. You must do this yourself.

    If you believe in evolution I think you would have that proof right? Do you base your beliefs on fantasy or concrete proof?

    I do believe in evolution and indeed there is evidence to support the theory. I base my beliefs on evidence not fantasy. Do you base you belief in god on evidence and concrete proof? If you do where does faith come in? There were links to proof provided at the beginning of this thread. That would be a good place for us to start. Pick a piece of evidence that you disagree with the interpolations of and provide the reasons why. We can have a discussion. Why are most creationists skeptical about evolution but not about the bible or God…never understood that.

    I believe in biogenesis, life comes from life. Not in evolution, life comes as an accident from nothing, then evolves into higher more complex life forms.

    I believe in biogenisis as well. Life does indeed come from life. That is the basic premise of evolution. You are talking about the ORIGIN of first life. That is another subject altogether. I say that we know almost NOTHING about the origin of first life right now but there are a few interesting hypothesis. Our difference is that you attribute first life to God and I do not. Why are you stuck on the term "higher more complex forms?" Do you really think a dog is any less complex that you or me? What do you measure to determine complexity? It is simply different.

    If evolution is dependent on a living organism adapting to its environment into a higher more complex organism then the fossil record needs to be changed.

    Why do you think the fossil record is wrong? Some species died out while others were more suited for the changed environment. Those survived and the difference was passed on in the “gene code” to their children and so on and so on. Evolution. Voila

    It is full of extinct species, get it, extinct species. Species that did not adapt.

    I get it thanks. I say you are sort of correct. Species or MEMBERS of the species that did not have the correct characteristics to survive or procreate went extinct. Their particular gene code “died off” This is just ONE of several extinction factors. Did the Dodo bird die off because it could not adapt? Well yes, it could not adapt to hunters bullets!!!

    Today we have humans riddled with diseases and getting sicker and sicker with more fatal mutations occurring not less.

    Proof? More fatal mutations? We live longer, healthier lives that our great grandparents. This just shows us that viruses can “evolve” as well. Please keep in mind that evolution is no guarantee of survival. It is life’s way of trying to get by!!!

    Evolution if a true scientific law would be evident across the board, all living things would be subject to it.

    Yes and they are.


    Instead it is common sense that says all life is subject to the 2nd law, entropy and will die.

    Why did you use the word instead? Yes, all things die but most pass on their genetic code. I do not see how “things die” denies evolution. In a sense “things dieing” are necessary for evolution to work.

    Small adaptations can be seen such as in e coli becoming more antobiotic resistant, but it is still e coli. The adaptation did not cause it to evolve into a higher life form.
    Do you believe that the rapidity of ecoli procreation is fast enough for it to evolve into a different life form while you watch?

    You are neither ignorant nor pathetic for presenting them

    Thank you. Sorry for the large type and all the red. I tried to make the font smaller and for some reason, entropy I'm sure, I could not.

    You are welcome. Dont sweat the type I fixed it.Asheron

  • Asheron
    Asheron

    Tetra..

    Great stuff you posted

  • Apostate Kate
    Apostate Kate

    I can't spend the time I would like to since hubby is home. I will just post my thoughts on the skull fossils briefly and be back in a few days. Tomorrow is Valentines Day at the nursing homes.

    My opinion on the different skulls are that they all were either simian or human. When I was a child I was taught and believed that Neanderthal was a hairy ape man. Then later I learned that they buried their dead with flowers and other information was unearthed.

    Neanderthal now is believed to have been fully human and intermarried with people from other regions that did not have the pronounced brow ridge. Some scientists think that apes and man interbred. That is stupid to me. It can't happen today, it did not happen then.

    If that were even possible there would be sick people doing it today and we would have hybrid humans.

    I still have not heard the logical explanation for the Human Genome Project tracing human DNA back to the first humans and ending there with a tribe in Africa. Wouldn't DNA be traceable all the way back to chimps?

    There are gaps, big gaps that cannot be explained away with, "look at the similarities they prove we evolved" bunk. Where is the DNA trail? I have heard theories to explain the gap such as "the gaps are in the missing link's DNA" which opens up a whole new set of questions. If macro evolution works then how and why did entire species die off? gaps gaps gaps....

    In order for macro evolution to work we would see transitional species today.

  • Satanus
    Satanus

    Kate

    Some scientists think that apes and man interbred.

    Can you name them?

    S

  • Asheron
    Asheron

    Kate,

    Respectfully you are all over the road here. I dont think we finished our discussion on the other posts you made but oh well. Your latest post if filled with logical falacies and before we go any further I must point them out and refute a few of your statements.

    I can't spend the time I would like to since hubby is home. I will just post my thoughts on the skull fossils briefly and be back in a few days. Tomorrow is Valentines Day at the nursing homes. Happy Valentines Day to you and your patients from my wife and I.

    My opinion on the different skulls are that they all were either simian or human. This is an argument from personal incredulity. As much as we would like, things are not as we think or want them to be. They are as they are. When I was a child I was taught and believed that Neanderthal was a hairy ape man. Then later I learned that they buried their dead with flowers and other information was unearthed.

    Neanderthal now is believed to have been fully human Neanderthal is a sub species of homo sapien or human -NOT fully? human whatever that means. Please site a source for this statement. and intermarried with people from other regions that did not have the pronounced brow ridge. intermarried? Have we determined that they got married? Do mean interbred?The pronounced brow is a small part of the differance. Some scientists think that apes and man interbred. No, some scientists think that closely related species of sapiens (there are many known species) MAY have interbred. That is stupid to me. It can't happen today,Donkey?? it did not happen then. This is an argument from personal incredulity.

    If that were even possible there would be sick people doing it today and we would have hybrid humans. Argument from fallacy.

    I still have not heard the logical explanation for the Human Genome Project tracing human DNA back to the first humans and ending there with a tribe in Africa. Wouldn't DNA be traceable all the way back to chimps?

    PLEASE read some of the links sited earlier about HMDNA tracing and the research being done. It is facinating stuff. BTW if you happen to have the "first human" in your backyard let someone know will ya so we can examine it.

    There are gaps, big gaps that cannot be explained away with, "look at the similarities they prove we evolved" bunk.HUH? How does this?? Where is the DNA trail? I have heard theories to explain the gap such as "the gaps are in the missing link's DNA" which opens up a whole new set of questions. If macro evolution works then how and why did entire species die off? gaps gaps gaps....

    What is the GAP between number 1 and number 2. It is infinate if you want it to be. AGAIN I ask, what level of fossil proof would prove evolution to you??? You are jumping between unrelated points and I have no other response for gaps gaps gaps. PLEASE read about how and why species appear and disappear, what a sub species is and how it is all just how WE decide to cut the cake. Start with this

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species

    In order for macro evolution to work we would see transitional species today. WE ARE THE TRANSITIONAL SPECIES!!!! We are evolving to the next version of ourselfs!!!!

    Millions of years from now WE WILL BE THE TRANSITIONAL FOSSILS!!!!!!

  • Seeker4
    Seeker4

    Asheron and Tetra,

    Thanks for the posts on this thread. They give both important links and just overwhelming responses to the Creationist viewpoint.

    I still find it very interesting that both RAF and Kate use a lot of the same reasoning as the WTS has used in rejecting the evidence for evolution. The WTS also feels that the pre-human and co-human species were just types of apes, and also seems fixated on the "missing links" as RAF is.

    I started a thread today with a couple of links to NY Times articles on the AMNH display on human origins (a video piece) and an article on a new book by Carl Sagan. In the piece on the evolution exhibit, the scientists who put it together comment on how much has been learned about evolution from a number of different branches over the past decade or so, and how important the DNA evidence has been, especially the human genome project, in proving evolution. You may want to check those links out.

    S4

  • Asheron
    Asheron

    Creationists,

    WARNING THIS IS NOT SCIENCE BUT PERSONAL EXPERIANCE

    Go find a Zoo http://www.colszoo.org/animalareas/aforest/bonobo.html that has a Bonobo monkey in residence. Get the head Zoologist to let you interact with it. Come back here and tell me that we dont share a cousin somewhere in the past.

    We share 98% of our DNA with them.

    Asheron

  • tetrapod.sapien
    tetrapod.sapien

    yes, it's a very high percentage of genetic similarity we share with other apes.

    the creationist is loathe (or unable) to follow the philosophical extrapolations and implications of such findings of course. here are some of my thoughts:

    if we have such close genetic similarity with chimpanzees, for example, what does it do philosophically to the generally held belief in God the creator a la da bible?

    well, if one is a literalist, it (along with the rest of evolutionary theory) decimates the genesis account and the subsequent need for a savior. this is because if you take genesis literally, then we all came from two people named adam and eve that god created out of dust and a rib, respectively (har har). but this would show us that god is not telling us something: that he used the same code in creating chimps and humans. apart from the whole sin debacle, this does something else. it turns God the creator from a blueprint type designer, to a computer programmer of sorts. a programmer that copied code from species to species in his making life in the world. which is typical of programmers, since they are usually lazy bastards (thankfully). but, is it fitting for God almighty to be a lazy programmer? and if the creationist admits that the genetic similarity does indeed make God a programmer, then they have also admited that evolution is manifest reality because genomes are not static peices of code. they mutate. this is a fact of embryonic development, which is why we do not look exactly like our parents. also, if god made us imperfect after "we screwed up" in the garden of so-called eden, then what was it exactly that god did to our genomes? if we share say 95% of our gemones with chimps (to be safe), then did God do the imperfection tinkering in the 5% that we don't, since it was humans and not chimps who sinned? lol. and, what about all the other "junk dna" that we share with chimps? if God is really a programmer, and he copy and pasted a bunch of our genomes to the chimps (or visa versa considering that i believe the humans were created last, meaning that we have chimp dna because they came first), then why did he also paste all of the junk dna over from the chimps to us? he must be really really weird (first off) to create chimps with junk dna, and then really lazy (secondly) to then copy all the unused junk dna over to humans! my oh my, this creator god is a real contradiction!

    the liberal creationist will come along and say "well tetra, i am completely fine with god the creator being a programmer, and him setting evolution in place billion of years ago."

    well, why did he have to go through all of those iterations of life on earth before humans (and chimps) even came along? because he works in mysterious ways? or because he doesn't care about what life actually arose on earth? and if your creator God is a programmer who set evolution rolling millions of years ago, then are you really a christian, or rather a deist? or i should say a deist who has a name for their god?

    but what sort of god is this? evolution lessens the god to a lazy programmer billions of years ago. what's the point of worshiping him (she/it [sic {lol!}])? because it makes you feel better? sorry, not good enough for me!

    things that i am not sure many creationists have thought about.

    things that should make them go "hmmmmm...." ponderingly, but instead make them go: "IS NOT SO YOU RUDE ATHEIST!"

    cie la vie

    tetra

    alt

    not sure if these great apes believe in evolution either.

  • Asheron
    Asheron

    Im not sure but I think that one in the back is an Evolutionist and if Im not mistaken he is about to fling some poo.

  • dark angle
    dark angle

    tetrapod, thanks for that more comprehensive links. it would take a lot of time to digest them all. thanks everyone for your insights and contribution. its time to upgrade our thinking!!!

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