Hi all, I've been having some small but effective chats with my wife of late. She is, I hope, starting to think about some things a bit better now regarding the WTS. When I told her of the rule about not hugging in the prayer, she thought it so absurd and thought I was telling lies until she saw it herself. She said she wants to 'talk to the elders about it'. A good step. But onto my point. One of our conversations was about the hippo being the closest living relative to a whale. She agreed, and so I asked her why she agrees if she believes what JWs teach. She said why are they related? I explained about a common ancestor and a branching tree of evolution. I explained how the DNA was similar, like Humans and Chimps, etc. She said to me "Of course their DNA is so similar because God created them in a similar way and to all live in this planet's conditions." So I like to think I understand evolution but I could use help formulating a response. I already did the 'if we evolved from apes, why are there still apes' already, but the phone went before I could answer the point mentioned above. Suggestions? And what do you who accept evolution as fact, as I do, usually come across from JWs specifically trying to disprove it? What are your!,better refined than my, answers?
Creationist Evolution
by GapingMouth 1 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Doug Mason
Evolution has reached the stage of being a Theory. In science, a Theory implies that something has been proven and is generally accepted as being true. Because Evolution is a Theory it can be used to underscore modern science, such as in the work of medicine.
Darwin was not the first evolutionist; for example, Lamarck (1744-1829) proposed his theory in the very year Darwin was born, 200 years ago. Darwin (1809-1882) worked on his ideas for a long time and only rushed into print when he heard that another was about to publish their ideas on the evolutionary process. He got much of his ideas from observing the behaviour of natives in South America.
Regarding Apes and Man, have you researched all the latest information regarding Ardipithecus?
Creationists have no demonstrable evidences that enable their ideas to reach the status of a Theory. At best it can be called a hypothesis. Their’s is a negative campaign that is predetermined by their concerns at the conclusions that would be reached. Their prior concern with the end-point affects their reasoning.
Where did the community that wrote Genesis get its information? It’s not valid to reason that it was transmitted orally for thousands of years from Adam, since that assumes there was an Adam in the first place, which makes the reasoning circular. It’s not reasonable to say they had adequate scientific knowledge to formulate a scientifically sound hypothesis.
When was their story written? When did writing first become a viable means of communication? It is likely that the Torah began to be written about the 8th century BCE, to be refined by the priests during or shortly after the Babylonian Exile.
What was the motive of the groups that conceived and refined the story? The parallels of days 1 to 3 with days 4 to 6, culminating in the Sabbath, indicate that the motive was to embed the Sabbath into the universality of mankind. It would therefore be reasonable to say that the writers started with the religious agenda of establishing their sacred day, and that is the reason the story is structured thus.
Since they did not use YHWH in their account, but rather used the God El, it should indicate a probable source of the story. The second account of Creation, the YHWH account, focuses on the creation of Man. The desired conclusion determined the story.
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The WTS has greater problems, for it does not believe the days are 24-hours, but that each day is either 1000 years or maybe even 7000 years. So it does not believe the story literally, either. And the interdependence of animals and plants could not be sustained were each created so far apart.
What about the matter of death and dying? Everything that is eaten was once alive. Everything.
How long does it take light to reach the furthest star from one side of the sky to the other? How long does it take light or radio signals to reach us from the bodies in deep space? Far far longer than that proposed by Young Earth Creationists.
Rather than attack the evidence that provides the facts of Evolution, the Creationists need to provide sufficient evidence to produce a Theory, not just a preconceived hypothesis.
It is not up to us to tell God how he has to work. If evolution does not fit our preconceptions, then it is we who must accept that God works according to his own ways, not ours.
A key feature that makes humankind very different from others is our preoccupation with our death and the afterlife.