ARE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES CREATIONISTS OR EVOLUTIONISTS?

by Viva la Vida 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Viva la Vida
    Viva la Vida

    The answer to this question is not that easy or obvious as you might think. If your answer is "creationists" you are wrong, they are evolutionists – a rare “breed” of evolutionists, but evolutionists at last –.

    At this stage of my argumentation you might think I have lost my mind for stating Jehovah’s Witnesses are evolutionists, but this might be because you are thinking as the WT has taught you to think. The WT has presented a distorted view of the theory of evolution. For this particular view, the theory of evolution is very broad, it is said to explain the origin of the universe (with its millions of stars and planets), the origin of life on earth, and at last the origin of the species, including humankind. Besides, the WT adds philosophical components to it such as that evolution and science denie the existence of God (when in fact science does not denies or affirms the existence of God as is not a subject that can be studied through the scientific method). The theory of evolutiondoes not try to explain all the above. In brief, it just focuses on how species change to adapt to its environment (I’m not an expert on this field so excuse any misrepresentation).

    So, do Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in the true meaning of the theory of evolution? Yes, they do. But, they take the stand that evolution started after the flood of Noah’s days. They are forced to take this stand because the Ark that Noah supposedly built could not accommodate the high number of species that populate the earth today. It is just physically impossible. Then, the only possible solution to this dilemma was for them to accept that a much reduced number of species were in the Ark, and that from these few the rest of the species evolved. Therefore, in my opinion, they can be considered to be "post-flood evolutionists".

    Can I produce any proof of this? Well consider what “Insight on the Scriptures”, under the heading “Ark” says:

    “It has been estimated by some that the hundreds of thousands of species of animals today could be reduced to a comparatively few family “kinds”—the horse kind and the cow kind, to mention but two. The breeding boundaries according to “kind” established by Jehovah were not and could not be crossed. With this in mind some investigators have said that, had there been as few as 43 “kinds” of mammals, 74 “kinds” of birds, and 10 “kinds” of reptiles in the ark, they could have produced the variety of species known today. Others have been more liberal in estimating that 72 “kinds” of quadrupeds and less than 200 bird “kinds” were all that were required. That the great variety of animal life known today could have come from inbreeding within so few “kinds” following the Flood is proved by the endless variety of humankind—short, tall, fat, thin, with countless variations in the color of hair, eyes, and skin—all of whom sprang from the one family of Noah.” (Bold and underlined mine)

    My questions to WT: Do God supervised this process, or species between each “kind” evolve by their own? Without an answer to this question, can you be confident to raise the question “Was it designed?” in Awake magazine’s articles?

  • OneEyedJoe
    OneEyedJoe

    They're not so much creationist or evolutionist as they are throw-crap-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks-ists.

    The problem with that is you tend to end up with an enourmous pile of crap at the base of the wall.

    Their view that evolution happens within "kinds" is not unique to the JWs. This is commonly called microevolution by many fundamentalist groups and is primarily the result of how slow evolution happens. It can be observed happening on a small scale, and folks who claim to deny "macroevolution" just lack the imagination (or are willfully ignorant) to see how small changes ("microevolution") might add up over time to create a wholy new species.

  • poopsiecakes
    poopsiecakes

    Well put and I love that you found that quote in that book of theirs.

  • KateWild
    KateWild

    JWs are a breed of their own. An Awake article was clear to point out that they were not Creationists. Obviously any JWs reading that excerpt from "Insight on Scriptures" would deny it was conclusive evidence that JWs are evolutionists. They are seperate from the world, and WT wants to make sure all JWs know this to keep them isolated.

    They are niether creationists or evolutionists.

    Kate xx

  • Viva la Vida
    Viva la Vida

    KateWild - I see your point, but being objective (not being limited but their own definitions) if they believe in evolution they are evolutionists. They like it or not...

  • simon17
    simon17

    The best way to describe them is that they are old-earth creationists.

  • galaxie
    galaxie

    They are undoubtedly both ;..they create bullsh...t then evolve it into a bigger pile of bullsh...t !!!

  • BU2B
    BU2B

    They believe in Creation but are not Creationists.

    They believe in the Bible as Literally true but are not Fundamentalists.

    They go to a place of "Christian" worship, but its not a Church.

    They claimed for years that they were not a Religion.

    I love the reasoning in thr OP, and might I add that not only did evoloution take place to make those few "kinds" transform in just a few years into the millions of species we see today, but also the plant eaters evolved into the carnivourous features we see today! Things like snake venom, the teeth of Lions, camoflage in animals, etc must have all evolved in a couple decades after the flood, since WT current light is that animals were all herbivores prior to 4000 years ago. Before that a spiders web must have been there to catch seeds! I guess a cheetah can run 70 mph to catch that grass and shrubbery!

  • KateWild
    KateWild

    Exactly viva la Vida, we can define them whether they like it or not. Kate xx

  • Giordano
    Giordano

    Science and the WTBTS? Here's a sample:

    ‘The Flood may have been caused by all of the other planets being on one side of the earth simultaneously. God may have inserted the “youngest” planet Neptune on the other side to act as a gravitational corrective to make
    sure it cannot happen again!’ Golden-Age Jun 16 1926 pg 58

    And some medical advice:

    “Air baths are good for preventing colds. What you do is strip naked mornings and evenings and then bob up and down for a while.” Golden-Age Feb 1926 pg 310

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