My story:

I was raised Catholic. My father was a church going Catholic and my mother is an agnostic who never went to church. I think I was always one of those cafeteria Catholics that thought that whatever I believed could fit in with religion as long as I believed in the basics. After my father died (20 years ago) I stopped going to church except when I visited my extended relatives who were Catholic, and that was more to make them happy than myself. I actuallly never thought about religion or god at all otherwise.

My immediate family never really discussed religion after my father died. One sister remained Catholic, but I never asked my other sister or brother what they believed, I just assumed they were like me. They did not go to church either so I assumed that they also had just this vauge belief in god too. My thinking started to change the day I was watching TV with my neice. Something came on TV in passing about evolution and she said " that's not true, evolution is not real". I was totally shocked. I asked my brother why she said that. I then found out that he beilieves and teaches his family that the bible is a lteral account of history and that if it is not in the bible it did not happen. He believes the earth is 6000 years old and that we are literally descended from Adam and Eve.

I had always just assumed that the people who did not believe in evolution were the freaks you see on TV, not otherwise intellegent people. I had never questioned normal people would not believe in evolution or see that the bible was more metephorical than historical. After finding this out I started to read more about evoluton, religion, history and science. I came to the conclusion that I could not make sense of the concept of god. After reading the God Delusion I knew that I was an athiest. It fit perfectly with everthing I believed.

That is a long story but that's how I got here. My logical brain cannot deny the facts. Evoluton is real..god is not.

Hi... what the hell is an Evolutionist?

Gaah another intro speaking about logic, and reality on top of that...

*Philosopher shields her eyes from the barbarism*

Have fun

The God Delusion is wonderful stuff. Have you read Darwin's Dangerous Idea, by Dennett, or Darwin's Cathedral by Wilson? Both really good reading. I'm extremely new here, too. Nice to meet you.

Welcome, but I'm with Sae on this one, what the hell is an Evolutionist?

Evolution is the only logical explanation for the fossil record. The only thing that requires faith is creationism. I reccomend Darwin's newest book for your brother in law. It lays out the evidence for evolution. Also fundies seem to think that evolution = abiogenesis.

Gaaaaahhhh.... more with the misuse of logic...



It's hurting my brain...

Welcome Jem

Now I say this with nothing but love to Jem and Epimethean ...... GET AN AVATAR!!!!



Have fun.

(June 8, 2011 at 12:39 am)eric209 Wrote: Evolution is the only logical explanation for the fossil record. The only thing that requires faith is creationism. I reccomend Darwin's newest book for your brother in law. It lays out the evidence for evolution. Also fundies seem to think that evolution = abiogenesis.

Ergo there is no need to 'Believe in Evolution'

Evolution has existed for billions of years without the help of belief from hominids. I can only assume that this encounter with your niece has yet to settle...hence the evolution affirmation??

to the forums mate ... from Oz

Welcome to the forums

(June 8, 2011 at 12:39 am)eric209 Wrote: Evolution is the only logical explanation for the fossil record. The only thing that requires faith is creationism. I reccomend [sic] Darwin's newest book for your brother in law. It lays out the evidence for evolution. Also fundies seem to think that evolution = abiogenesis.

I would caution on that "only" bit; many times scientists have said "this is the only way" to be proved wrong later by other scientists. Hardly anyone espouses the spontaneous generation theory of biology anymore.

One might rephrase that to be: Evolution is the best logical explanation we have devised at present for the fossil record.

That -only logical explanation- bit might be interpreted as religion a thousand or fifty years from now.

And by the way, be thou welcome amongst the precepts of order and disorder around here. (Paraphrasing the Principia Discordia, Book of Uterus)

I am not a sock puppet. This is a recording