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Dec. 17th, 2004 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
http://www.livejournal.com/community/anthropologist/367325.html
Why I believe in Creation
I believe in creation every day. Obviously, people create buildings, and children, and works of art. Daily.
I was stunned the other day when I asked evolution-believing listeners to my nationally syndicated radio show to call in and tell me why they believed.
"Just give me one reason why you accept the theory," I said. "Just give me the strongest argument. You don't have to give me mountains of evidence. Just tell me why I should accept it."
Not one evolutionist called in.
This proves... what, exactly? That nobody who believes in evolution is likely to be listening to this show? That if you talk towards a certain audience, that's the audience you're going to get?
Meanwhile, the phone banks lit up with dozens of evolution skeptics.
Of course! That's because those people are the people who are listening to him! What a big surprise!
Go figure. For more than 40 years, evolution has been taught as fact in government schools to generations of children, yet there is still widespread skepticism, if not cynicism, about the theory across the country.
40 years is, what, two generations? Three? Not the huge number "generations of children" really implies. And all the skepticism means is that government schools suck at teaching evolution. What else is new?
But, because of political correctness and the fear of ostracism, most people are afraid to admit what they believe about our origins. That's why I wrote my last column – "I believe in Creation."
*laughs* What? Most people most assuredly are *not* afraid to admit what they believe about our origins. That's why we have idiotic cases all the time trying to put religion back into the schools in the guise of creationism/intelligent design.
The reaction to it has been unprecedented. While I expected mostly negative fallout, most letters have been quite positive.
Probably because you're preaching to the converted. That, or people who disagree are "afraid to admit what they believe about our origins" because of "the fear of ostracism".
So, I decided to take this issue a step further. Since the evolutionists don't want to tell me why they believe in their theory, I figured I would explain why I believe in mine.
Evolutionists have explained why we believe that. Repeatedly. And we've also explained the difference between a scientific theory and any old idea off the streets. Repeatedly.
The primary reason I believe, of course, is because the Bible tells me so. That's good enough for me, because I haven't found the Bible to be wrong about anything else.
Well, bully for you. Here's a hint - the Bible can't be taken as proof of anything scientific. The Bible, in several parts, has pi equal to three. The Bible, to many people, isn't a pillar of faith. They have other holy books, or no holy books. Try again.
But what about the worldly evidence?
The evolutionists insist the dinosaurs lived millions and millions of years ago and became extinct long before man walked the planet.
Straw man! Please explain how proving that dinosaurs didn't live millions and millions of years ago and didn't become extinct disproves evolution.
I don't believe that for a minute. I don't believe there is a shred of scientific evidence to suggest it. I am 100 percent certain man and dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time. In fact, I'm not at all sure dinosaurs are even extinct!
Still a straw man! You have yet to show how this applies to evolution and creationism. And because it's such a god damn bad argument, I'm not even going to bring up the concept of geological time and strata and... well, all that stuff. You know, how things higher than other things usually came later, and how things that came at the same time tend to have bones at the same layer.
Think of all the world's legends about dragons. Look at those images. What were those folks seeing? They were clearly seeing dinosaurs. You can see them etched in cave drawings. You can see them in ancient literature. You can see them described in the Bible. You can see them in virtually every culture in every corner of the world.
Or it could mean that people were refering to really, really, really big lizards. Virtually every culture in the world has giants, and talking beasts. That doesn't make such things real.
Did the human race have a collective common nightmare? Or did these people actually see dragons? I believe they saw dragons – what we now call dinosaurs.
Orrrr... they all saw lizards and liked to tell ghost stories.
Furthermore, many of the dinosaur fossils discovered in various parts of the world were found right along human footprints and remains. How did that happen?
Erosion? Fraud? You tell me.
And what about the not-so-unusual sightings of contemporary sea monsters? Some of them have actually been captured.
Really? Which ones?
There are also countless contemporary sightings of what appear to be pterodactyls in Asia and Africa.
Really? Are there pictures? More to the point - does the fact that a species didn't go extinct disprove the entire theory of evolution? Nobody started screaming and crying when they found a coelacanth.
You know what I think? I think we've been sold a bill of goods about the dinosaurs. I don't believe they died off millions and millions of years ago. In fact, I'm not at all convinced they've died off completely.
Yay. Please get back to the topic at hand - why do you not believe in evolution? The one has nothing to do with the other.
Evolutionists have put the cart before the horse. They start out with a theory, then ignore all the facts that contradict the theory. Any observation that might call into question their assumptions is discounted, ridiculed and covered up. That's not science.
Pot, kettle, please give an example. A *relevant* one.
How could all the thousands of historical records of dragons and behemoths throughout mankind's time on earth be ignored? Let's admit it. At least some of these observations and records indicate dinosaurs were walking the earth fairly recently – if not still walking it today.
Offtopic. Give an actual example.
If I'm right about that – which I am – then the whole evolutionary house of cards comes tumbling down.
No, you're not right about that. And no, you're not right about your conclusion, either. Remember the coelacanth.
This is the evidence about which the evolutionists dare not speak.
Probably because it's stupid, and completely irrelevant.
Okay, new plan. Instead of bickering about teaching or not teaching evolution in the schools, we start teaching basic logic. I think we need that more. Much more.
Why I believe in Creation
I believe in creation every day. Obviously, people create buildings, and children, and works of art. Daily.
I was stunned the other day when I asked evolution-believing listeners to my nationally syndicated radio show to call in and tell me why they believed.
"Just give me one reason why you accept the theory," I said. "Just give me the strongest argument. You don't have to give me mountains of evidence. Just tell me why I should accept it."
Not one evolutionist called in.
This proves... what, exactly? That nobody who believes in evolution is likely to be listening to this show? That if you talk towards a certain audience, that's the audience you're going to get?
Meanwhile, the phone banks lit up with dozens of evolution skeptics.
Of course! That's because those people are the people who are listening to him! What a big surprise!
Go figure. For more than 40 years, evolution has been taught as fact in government schools to generations of children, yet there is still widespread skepticism, if not cynicism, about the theory across the country.
40 years is, what, two generations? Three? Not the huge number "generations of children" really implies. And all the skepticism means is that government schools suck at teaching evolution. What else is new?
But, because of political correctness and the fear of ostracism, most people are afraid to admit what they believe about our origins. That's why I wrote my last column – "I believe in Creation."
*laughs* What? Most people most assuredly are *not* afraid to admit what they believe about our origins. That's why we have idiotic cases all the time trying to put religion back into the schools in the guise of creationism/intelligent design.
The reaction to it has been unprecedented. While I expected mostly negative fallout, most letters have been quite positive.
Probably because you're preaching to the converted. That, or people who disagree are "afraid to admit what they believe about our origins" because of "the fear of ostracism".
So, I decided to take this issue a step further. Since the evolutionists don't want to tell me why they believe in their theory, I figured I would explain why I believe in mine.
Evolutionists have explained why we believe that. Repeatedly. And we've also explained the difference between a scientific theory and any old idea off the streets. Repeatedly.
The primary reason I believe, of course, is because the Bible tells me so. That's good enough for me, because I haven't found the Bible to be wrong about anything else.
Well, bully for you. Here's a hint - the Bible can't be taken as proof of anything scientific. The Bible, in several parts, has pi equal to three. The Bible, to many people, isn't a pillar of faith. They have other holy books, or no holy books. Try again.
But what about the worldly evidence?
The evolutionists insist the dinosaurs lived millions and millions of years ago and became extinct long before man walked the planet.
Straw man! Please explain how proving that dinosaurs didn't live millions and millions of years ago and didn't become extinct disproves evolution.
I don't believe that for a minute. I don't believe there is a shred of scientific evidence to suggest it. I am 100 percent certain man and dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time. In fact, I'm not at all sure dinosaurs are even extinct!
Still a straw man! You have yet to show how this applies to evolution and creationism. And because it's such a god damn bad argument, I'm not even going to bring up the concept of geological time and strata and... well, all that stuff. You know, how things higher than other things usually came later, and how things that came at the same time tend to have bones at the same layer.
Think of all the world's legends about dragons. Look at those images. What were those folks seeing? They were clearly seeing dinosaurs. You can see them etched in cave drawings. You can see them in ancient literature. You can see them described in the Bible. You can see them in virtually every culture in every corner of the world.
Or it could mean that people were refering to really, really, really big lizards. Virtually every culture in the world has giants, and talking beasts. That doesn't make such things real.
Did the human race have a collective common nightmare? Or did these people actually see dragons? I believe they saw dragons – what we now call dinosaurs.
Orrrr... they all saw lizards and liked to tell ghost stories.
Furthermore, many of the dinosaur fossils discovered in various parts of the world were found right along human footprints and remains. How did that happen?
Erosion? Fraud? You tell me.
And what about the not-so-unusual sightings of contemporary sea monsters? Some of them have actually been captured.
Really? Which ones?
There are also countless contemporary sightings of what appear to be pterodactyls in Asia and Africa.
Really? Are there pictures? More to the point - does the fact that a species didn't go extinct disprove the entire theory of evolution? Nobody started screaming and crying when they found a coelacanth.
You know what I think? I think we've been sold a bill of goods about the dinosaurs. I don't believe they died off millions and millions of years ago. In fact, I'm not at all convinced they've died off completely.
Yay. Please get back to the topic at hand - why do you not believe in evolution? The one has nothing to do with the other.
Evolutionists have put the cart before the horse. They start out with a theory, then ignore all the facts that contradict the theory. Any observation that might call into question their assumptions is discounted, ridiculed and covered up. That's not science.
Pot, kettle, please give an example. A *relevant* one.
How could all the thousands of historical records of dragons and behemoths throughout mankind's time on earth be ignored? Let's admit it. At least some of these observations and records indicate dinosaurs were walking the earth fairly recently – if not still walking it today.
Offtopic. Give an actual example.
If I'm right about that – which I am – then the whole evolutionary house of cards comes tumbling down.
No, you're not right about that. And no, you're not right about your conclusion, either. Remember the coelacanth.
This is the evidence about which the evolutionists dare not speak.
Probably because it's stupid, and completely irrelevant.
Okay, new plan. Instead of bickering about teaching or not teaching evolution in the schools, we start teaching basic logic. I think we need that more. Much more.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:20 pm (UTC)Y'know, there's this nifty little Home Experiment one can do, and lots and lots of people have done it. It's easy: say your kid gets an ear infection, and you go to the doctor, get some antibiotics - probably "the pink stuff", Amoxicillin. Well, the directions say, take all of it, but the stuff tastes nasty, your kid puts up a fuss about taking it, so... what the hey, once the kid seems better, you forget about the last couple days of medicine.
Uh-oh. Infection comes back, and this time the pink stuff doesn't work; instead you've got to get a different, more expensive, even nastier-tasting antibiotic. Why? One word:
Evolution.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 09:08 pm (UTC)It's a very, very personal issue to me--she basically says that my entire scholastic life is one big fat lie--so it gets to me, and I can't help it. Sigh.
But if you ever need lines of evidence on anything, let me know and I can surely dig something up. Unlike this woman, I actually consult primary sources, not mythology and the opinion of her audience.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-18 05:32 am (UTC)I'll give an example of logic in education. I can do some of my paperwork online, right? Except that I have no net access at work. No biggie, I'll take it home. They send me my login and password. Guess what they didn't send me? The LINK where you LOGIN. And it never did occur to them to do so. *sigh* Education logic. I think it's an oxymoron.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:20 pm (UTC)Y'know, there's this nifty little Home Experiment one can do, and lots and lots of people have done it. It's easy: say your kid gets an ear infection, and you go to the doctor, get some antibiotics - probably "the pink stuff", Amoxicillin. Well, the directions say, take all of it, but the stuff tastes nasty, your kid puts up a fuss about taking it, so... what the hey, once the kid seems better, you forget about the last couple days of medicine.
Uh-oh. Infection comes back, and this time the pink stuff doesn't work; instead you've got to get a different, more expensive, even nastier-tasting antibiotic. Why? One word:
Evolution.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 09:08 pm (UTC)It's a very, very personal issue to me--she basically says that my entire scholastic life is one big fat lie--so it gets to me, and I can't help it. Sigh.
But if you ever need lines of evidence on anything, let me know and I can surely dig something up. Unlike this woman, I actually consult primary sources, not mythology and the opinion of her audience.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-17 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-18 05:32 am (UTC)I'll give an example of logic in education. I can do some of my paperwork online, right? Except that I have no net access at work. No biggie, I'll take it home. They send me my login and password. Guess what they didn't send me? The LINK where you LOGIN. And it never did occur to them to do so. *sigh* Education logic. I think it's an oxymoron.