What The Fossils Say

by cofty 78 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  cofty

  The old creation book had a lot to say about the fossil record. If I remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table. The reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life. One of my personal favourites is the succession of species, discovered in Pakistan, that are the ancestors of modern whales.

  Donald Prothero, one of the world's leading paleontologists, put the record straight in his 2007 book Evolution; What the Fossils Say and why it Matters. I highly recommend the book but if you prefer there is an opportunity to listen to a talk he gave about some of the evidence.

  ...
• 

  westiebilly11

  I'm starting to read Darwin's Doubts....book. I'll be honest, I'm keeping a very open mind. I have been reading the Beyond Today magazine too , which has a very interesting article on the subject. I was brought up to believe evolution, but am finding it hard to accept. I even gave several talks at the hall on this. Yes, I know, many will say I've been indoctrinated by being a JW, (1981-2013), but many scientists too, are questioning their once unquestionable stance... sigh...Please don't shoot me down! LIke all of us, I want to know!
  
• 

  Sea Breeze

  One evolutionist website made the picture below to represent approximately what that skeleton looked like clothed in muscle and skin:3

  

  Note that although the authors of the technical paper in Nature say that Pakicetus is a land animal and “no more amphibious than a tapir” [a pig-like creature], the title of the article calls it a “terrestrial cetacean,” which translated means “land whale” or “land dolphin” or “land porpoise.”
  
  But that is just evolutionary double-talk based on wishful thinking. There are no living “terrestrial cetaceans,” and there is no indisputable fossil evidence presented in the Nature article or any other evolutionist publication that such creatures ever existed in the past.
  
  Article
• 

  Vidiot

  cofty - "The reality is that there is an embarrassment of riches illustrating the evolution of life."

  Not to mention that, IMO, it does a way better job than creationism at explaining the weirder shit found in nature.
• 

  Xanthippe

  If I remember correctly it was some lie about all the fossils ever found would fit on a single table.

  Yes, that's the line I specifically remember. Just a few teeth and tiny bones. When my husband and I found books on fossils at the library we were shocked at the lies we'd been told.
  
  
• 

  cofty

  many scientists too, are questioning their once unquestionable stance

  Hi westibillie11 - That is just one of the many many lies that creationists tell each other.

  Look carefully at the credentials of these 'scientists'. Remember that science is very specialised. An expert in chemistry is no more qualified to give an opinion about cell biology than your local barber is.There are many lists of so-called dissenters that are full of dentists and chiropractors.

  Ask a creationist for a link to a peer-reviewed paper supporting special creation. (spoiler alert - there aren't any) Go to Google Scholar and search for papers on any aspect of evolution that interests you. You will find hundreds of thousands of results.

  In reality there is no debate about the fact of evolution. Every living thing - including the 99% of species that are long extinct evolved from a common ancestor over millions of years. That includes humans. The vast majority of christians accept the fact of evolution. Evolution is NOT about atheism. Many of the world's best biologists are also christians. The debates are about the details of how evolution unfolded - not about the fact that it did.

  You really need to look at the evidence for yourself. Would you appreciate a suggested reading list?

  Here are forty threads that will give you a taster of the sort of evidence that is available. Please feel free to ask questions.

  Sea Breeze - The paleontological evidence for the evolution of cetaceans is astonishing. If you are too closed-minded to study it and prefer to resort to copy-paste then I can't help you. Why not read Prothero's book and then get back to me?

  Edited to add - you have to find better sources than Ken Ham's Answers in Genesis. That is embarrassing.
• 

  cofty

  westbillie11 - You should also take a bit of time to familiarise yourself with the 'Intelligent Design' movement and the Discovery Institute.

  See for yourself how ID was a blatant attempt to force creationism into American schools after it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. It is nothing more than creationism is a cheap tuxedo. Do some research on the court case Kitzmiller v Dover for a devastating expose of the tactics of charlatans like Behe and Meyer. Also Google 'Wedge Strategy document'.

  Every one of ID's arguments - including Meyer's waffle about the Cambrian Explosion - has been thoroughly debunked by actual scientists. Let me know if you need any help.
• 

  Finkelstein

  One could easily say evolution is intelligent in how it works.

  You could also say if there was a grand creator of everything in the universe, that it too could be identified as being intelligent but the apparent physical evidence of what we can visual observe is that there is no evidence of a supernatural being ...........yet
  
• 

  cofty

  Fink - Evolution does not in any way negate the possibility of an omnipotent supernatural being.

  It just explains the diversity of species by a process that does not require supernatural interference.

  Some of the world's best biologists believe in God. Francis Collins is just one example.
• 

  Esse quam videri

  Cofty - Every living thing - including the 99% of species that are long extinct evolved from a common ancestor over millions of years.

  What an amazing bullshit statement.