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CrazyHorse on 21 February 2010
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RockSmith372 said:
Sorcery said:
CrazyHorse said:
Sorcery said:

No, when I look at the world and see everything our world has to offer, I just have a hard time fathoming that the millions of different species of plant life and animal life all derived from evolution. When I look at something as simple as fruit, I know its purpose (using animals to spread its seeds), I just can't envision the point when fruit was first created. For me, it's similar to the chicken and the egg paradox. The way that life on planet earth has specialized in the way it has is unbelievable to me, and the fact that so many evolutionary steps are completely missing doesn't help me change my mind. It's hard to believe in macroevolution when intermediate points haven't been discovered.

 

Another reason I probably don't accept it is my theological background, you can call it willful disbelief if you like. For me, it's easier to believe in Intelligent Design than evolution, even though many aspects of the Theory of Evolution have been proven.

The thing I can't understand with this view point is that you (and others) have a hard time accepting that evolution is true due to its complexity, specialisation and fossil record gaps yet you are willing to accept that a Being for which there is absolutely no empirical evidence and would surely have to be even more complex than that which he created is does exist.

I don't mean to insult your view, I'm just asking a genuine question on what I personally see as very contridicting beliefs.

If you're not a theist and could never be one, then there's no way you can understand. Belief in a higher power doesn't come from empirical evidence, it comes from anecdotal evidence. When I pray, I feel different, I enter an altered state of consciousness, and I feel like there's another universe out there that is so complex I can only wish that I could understand it. It's even easier for me to believe in that since, despite all of our scientific progress, we still understand virtually nothing.

 

You can't apply logic to faith, and you can't expect others to follow your logic when you might not have experienced some things in life the way that they have. I know how I feel about it, and I can't expect any atheist to understand me either, I can only explain as best I can.

 

I should note, that although I do believe in a higher power, I don't necessarily believe it's a single being called "God", or that Christ is our savior, or that beings called Gods or Goddesses even exist. However, I still find it acceptable to pray to whichever God I choose, since it's the only tangible way I can direct my beliefs. I practice Christianity, but I know there's a very real probability that Christianity is completely and utterly wrong.

evolution has nothing to do with the existance of God. It just explains the diversity of life. You can still believe in a supernatural force(aka. God) and evolution. Why is this always the case that it has to be either the world was supernaturally created by a higher power or it is by "chance" without a God and with evolution by natural selection. I don't understand why you can't believe a high power can use natural selection to drive his/her/it's will to creating the diversity in life that exists today?

If that is directed at what I posted I'll try to clafiy what I was getting at. I didn't mean to suggest that you have to accept one or the other just that some people's views seem to contradict themselves.

For example the claim that 'there are gaps in the fossil record' and so evolution is unlikely seems an odd claim to make if that same person believs a God/supernatural Being exists when there is no empirical evidence at all. i.e. you apply a criticism to one thing but not another.

Also, largely aimed at Intelligent Design, the claim that 'evolution is too complex and specialised' and so life must have been created or even guided doesn't seem to be a problem for that person when it surely raises the issue that the creator or guider must also be complex and so in turn must have had a creator/guider Him/Its self.