M,
I'm 50 and that is what we were taught.
Warlock
?Please explain Evolution to me in simple terms
by Guest with Questions 125 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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PrimateDave
For the original poster, an explanation that I hope will be easy to understand.
Think about what a living thing is.
All living things, humans included, are made up of cells.
Evolution, as with all of life's processes, occurs at the cellular level.
Entropy is what causes organized things like cars and buildings to break down.
These things do not evolve because they are purpose built and do not reproduce.
A cell is a set of chemicals that take in energy and export entropy (disorder).
A cell is a chemical unit of "negative entropy" (order) supported by external energy.
A cell has a boundary to help it maintain its own internal order.
A cell has the ability to copy itself.
Each copy is different from the original in some way.
Single celled life existed and evolved for 3 billion years on Earth before multicellular life evolved. (Look up Symbiogenesis.)
Simple multicellular lifeforms evolved when certain single celled lifeforms cooperated for greater efficiency.
Multicellular lifeforms use boundaries more efficiently for taking in energy and exporting entropy.
Multicellular life evolved further when cells took on specific functions and formed organs, hierarchical cellular boundaries.
An original can be destroyed and lost forever, so reproduction allowed lifeforms to preserve themselves through offspring.
As an aside, in the history of life on this planet, only the preservation of the lineage has ever mattered, never the individual.
You and I are the product of a continuous lineage of living things that have existed without interruption for billions of years.
Each of the millions of distinct species alive today is also a product of a continuous lineage existing without interruption for billions of years.
All lineages merge at some point or another until a common ancestor is reached.
Any species that no longer produces offspring becomes extinct.
Life is a process that can occur anywhere in the observable universe because all of the laws of physics and chemistry are the same everywhere in the universe as what we observe on our planet.
Life is an inherent feature of our universe.
No one knows for certain why our universe is the way it is.
There comes a point in one's search for answers where one realizes that it's not so important where we came from or how, just the fact that we are.
Primate Dave (99.4% chimpanzee) -
proplog2
X = 1 TO INFINITY
do A
If ooops then A=A+ooops
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Warlock
That's the supreme irony. You adamantly refuse to believe in evolution until you see a fish become a bird become a Neanderthal become a human and write a symphony right in front of your eyes, dismissing the overwhelming body of evidence supporting it, (real evolution that is, not your bizarre caricatures of it) and yet you seem willing, eager even, to believe just about any supernatural story that anybody at all comes up with regardless of how implausible or unsupported by evidence it is. Perhaps there's an emotional bias there influencing your judgment. It might be worth reflecting on that.
Derek,
Unlike you, I really don't care what people choose to believe, or choose not to believe.
I have recently been accused of still having the JW mindset or some such nonsense, but I'm not the one who is telling people you MUST believe in God, but I'm being told that I MUST believe in evolution, or I'm just a dumbshit. AND I'M THE ONE WITH THE JW MINDSET????????? You people are those who still have the JW mindset. You either forget, or may not know, but I am not a born-in. I was converted. If and when I need to fully function in "the world" I WILL HAVE NO PROBLEMS DOING SO. I was an asshole before I became a JW and I will have no problem becoming one again. Some say I already am, but they don't know me either.
I don't care whether people believe in evolution or not. I'm just saying I don't believe it. To me. it's a myth, but you seem to care that people believe in the supernatural. Who appointed you the caretaker of us who believe in the paranormal? Why do you, and people like you, feel you have to "save" us from our supposed "delusional" ideas? Where do you get this urge to control what people believe? Who said you MUST believe like we do?
If you get on the paranormal threads and say you don't believe, or whatever else, fine. But don't tell us what we saw or heard is not what we saw or heard. You were not there and you don't know the circumstances. Don't tell us that our friend, our mom, our brother, or our sister made up a story about what they experienced. You don't know them. We do.
Warlock
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nvrgnbk
It takes a really, really, really, really long time, but stuff changes.
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B_Deserter
"but I'm being told that I MUST believe in evolution, or I'm just a dumbshit. "
No one is telling you you HAVE to believe in evolution. As was pointed out earlier, science is not a democracy. It is based in facts and evidence. If you're in a room with ten people and all ten of them vote that 2 + 2 = 5, that doesn't make 2 + 2 equal five. You can believe in creationism all you want but belief in God is based on emotion, not evidence and that is the plain, ugly truth. Still, no one cares if you continue believing in God if that's what makes you happy. I've seen this tactic in evolution/creation debates before. The creationist will lash out against evolution/science in general, then when people respond, accuses the responders of doing the very same thing just did. Want examples?"Simply put, evolution is a myth.
Men wrote the Bible, and men wrote all the books explaining evolution. Those who wrote about evolution are as loony as those who wrote about a creator."Here you openly attack evolution and call people who wrote about it "loony."
"The reality is that we were not there when everything began, so then, it's all speculation as to how everything got here. I believe there is a God who created the earth and everything in it. Others believe that everything got here by chance. I would say that the most logical, rational and common sensical conclusion one can reach is the existence of a creator. Others would say that I am crazy. All of mans negative qualities aside, do you REALLY believe men evolved from animals? Why is there this large chasm between man and the lower life forms on this planet? Please show me the great cities, financial systems, and governmental structures that the lower animals have created. Not just presently, but thru history. Show me the music halls where the great musical compositions of lower animals are enjoyed. Please show me anything even close. Other than "I've never seen God", show me where I am wrong."
Here you clearly invite a debate while showing your complete lack of knowledge on the subject. The fact that evolution is not by "chance" and the fact that there are millions of "missing links" have already been addressed, so I will not go further"
Just as a side question, why did evolution choose to stop here on planet earth, or did it start here and will soon travel thru space to the other planets?
Not sure what you're going for here, other than to spark more "debate" with your vast misunderstanding of evolution.
So, Alan, the universe is millions or billions of years old, with stars and planets and whatever else, and the evolutionary process started here on earth? Just here? Such a "stupid" question on my part can surely be answered by someone with your superior intelligence. Or is it just a "stupid" question because YOU can't answer it?
Again, more ignorance on the subject, yet still trying to provoke a response.
You are the one calling evolutionists "dumbsh*t." You provoke a debate and then when you've clearly lost you backpedal to the "let's live and let live" high road. -
Warlock
BD,
Go back and read the paranormal threads.
You can call my beliefs bunk, but when I call your beliefs bunk, it seems to be a different story. The usual "you can dish it out, but you can't take it".
Warlock
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wednesday
It is very hard to open your mind after years of a wall being put up. Name calling does not help anyone.
Not everyone can teach, it is a gift.
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nvrgnbk
Name calling does not help anyone.
Agreed.
Not everyone can teach, it is a gift.
Agreed.