(February 9, 2009 at 8:45 am)LondonLoves Wrote: 1. I've never fully understood why theists are so afraid of evolution. Does it in some way conflict with any particular religion? I thought the 'intelligent design' argument was supposed to link God with science -- why are people still banging on about evolution?
They are afraid of it because it means we are not special. I used this as a powerful arguing point in my debate earlier this week. I said something like this:
Tiberius Wrote:Almost every religion today puts humanity in a special “chosen” position by their God. We have dominion over all the animals, simply because we have free will and are made in his image. This was all very well for people to believe hundreds of years ago, but the arrival of modern science changed this completely.
Through the fossil record, we have seen how millions of species died out, and that we are one of the many branches on the so-called “Tree of Life” that made it. So in some respect, we are “special”, as we are the result of a 4 billion year old struggle to survive. However, every single species of animal still alive today is a survivor too, and they are equally as special as we.
If Evolution is true (which it is) then there is no difference between myself and a common housefly (in terms of importance). This is what scares theists. Evolution can't possibly be true because there is no reason for a God to use the process given that it is the same for every species.
Quote:2. What was everyone taught at school? I had no idea that evolution was open to debate until I decided to learn more about it on Wikipedia and saw that there was a big furror about it. Wasn't everyone just taught "evolution is a fact and this is the scientific theory about why it happens, now on to Mitosis"?
I wasn't taught much about it, only that it was a theory about how we began. Of course I got more interested in the subject as I got older and now I have a few books on it.
Quote:3. When you were first taught about evolution (whether it be by parent, teacher etc.) didn't you just think "yup, that makes perfect sense -- bloomin' 'eck scientists are clever"?
No, I was confused at how we could know all this. I'm still confused in some aspects, but thanks to Donald Prothero's book, I am slowly realising the awesomeness of science
