by cofty 147 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Progress? I was 99% sure (give or take a couple of percent) of evolution already in 2000 when you were still a Bible thumping literalist. ;-)
And deconstruction is not BS, it is the earthquake of the age, the Derridean epoch we inhabit, and the Foucauldian sea in which we swim.
Vidqun "I see that it has moved up from hypothesis to theory. Still not a law or fact."
In science, theories do not become facts, theories are well-substantiated and supported/demonstrated explanations of how the facts operate. Fact: Gravity exists. Theory of gravity (aka general relativity) explains how gravity works. Fact: Evolution occurs. Theory of evolution explains how evolution works.
To criticize a theory for not being a law or fact shows your misunderstanding of basic science.
"In common speech, a "theory" is little more than a hunch. It's just some explanation you came up with by thinking about it for 5 minutes. That's very different from what the word "theory" tends to mean when used by scientists.
Scientists typically only call something a "theory" if it is a precise framework for understanding a large number of facts, and this is usually only after that framework has been thoroughly tested. So saying "just a theory" is effectively an oxymoron: in science, a theory is pretty much the highest point for an idea to reach."-physicist on quora
Cofty you should put these on a blog as well as threads. A blog explaining evolution to a JW / ex-JW audience might be useful. How many facts of evolution are there going to be? - SBF
I find it really tiring how some people relentlessly try to persuade others on the forum to adopt their own viewpoint as the absolute truth. It's pathetic and JWesque. - Also SBF
This is what happens when your mind is polluted by postmodernism. You have not the slightest idea what you are supposed to think anymore.
By the way evolution is not a viewpoint. It's a fact.
I think there's a difference between making information available to people who are looking for it and pursuing people telling them things they don't want to hear. In the case of JWs looking for information about evolution tailored to their background, I still think this is an excellent idea, and well suited to a blog on the topic. Running around the forum, or the streets for that matter, telling people your views on evolution and God whether they are interested or not seems somewhat less productive.
Evolution may be a fact. At the same time no fact is immune to revision in light of further evidence, as you apparently conceded elsewhere. So we agree on this.
It may be very unlikely that evolutionary theory will be overturned in any meaningful sense. But can we rule it out? Human history is littered with ideas that were taken for granted at the time but are now discarded. There are undoubtedly things about the world which we now take for granted, and think it would be wrong to question, but people in hundreds of years will think how could we have been so stupid. The trouble is we never know what those things are. So alongside a commitment to reason and evidence we should also have some humility and resist dogmatism.
I think there's a difference between making information available to people who are looking for it and pursuing people telling them things they don't want to hear. - SBF
Who is doing that?
Are you talking about me talking to JWs at literature carts? If a cult recruiter goes into the public square to find new victims by spreading lies they are fair game. No apologies from me for that.
Running around the forum
I have a series called Evolution is a Fact. You thought it was a great idea.
"you should put these on a blog as well as threads" - SBF
Now you reckon you can get more praise and attention by criticising it.
I make no apologies for sharing facts that were denied to forum members as JWs. In fact it's worse than that. We were brainwashed with lies and misinformation about evolution. We see them repeated in this forum most days. I have had lots of thank you messages on the forum and by PM for sharing this information - I don't care about your opinion.
I have had countless personal attacks and insults from Jesus' fan club on my evolution thread so I started this thread to offer evolution deniers the opportunity to challenge it with evidence.
I also have lots of other threads on lots of other topics.
telling people your views on evolution and God whether they are interested or not seems somewhat less productive.
Trolling a thread to tell the author you don't like the topic is what is unproductive and arrogant.
Are you talking about me talking to JWs at literature carts? If a cut recruiter goes into the public square to find new victims by spreading lies they are fair game. No apologies from me for that.
I agree that's one way of looking at it, and I have some sympathy for sure. Nevertheless the picture you paint of a JW shaking hands and calling an end to a conversation and you carrying on anyway is, first of all hilarious, and secondly not terribly different from how you act on the forum either.
I don't criticise your threads on evolution. I'm not aware that I've ever done so. It's more the threads where you call believers ignorant or imply intellectual cowardice if they don't engage you in debate I've got in mind.
I already underlined the irony of a relativist pushing their views above. At least I intended to I'm not sure if it was understated.
It's more the threads where you call believers ignorant or imply intellectual cowardice if they don't engage you in debate I've got in mind. - SBF
Ignorance is not a pejorative term. We are all ignorant of many things. People who reject the fact of evolution despite not having read a single word about it are wilfully ignorant. That deserves criticism.
Creationists proudly display their ignorance because they think it is a virtue.
People who don't read Derrida and Foucault are also wilfully ignorant, and that deserves criticism. ;-)
