Argument #1: Transitional Fossils

[DarkHorse]

Part of the problem is that you have been duped by some of the books you read. Time to wake up and smell the Truth.

WE have been duped?

At least I read books. By the looks of it, you don't. Except for one, which honestly doesn't count as something conducive to knowledge.

[Cyberman]

Rev has stumbled onto the conspiracy! I wouldn't want to be in his shoes now.

[Crossless2.0]

Rev has stumbled onto the conspiracy! I wouldn't want to be in his shoes now.

Wicker Man is in place. Repeat: Wicker Man is in place. Standing by for pure, simple-minded human sacrifice. Praise Darwin!

[Confused Ape]

Rev's blinkered mind is way too narrow even to consider the possibility that what's important is the validity of the words spoken, not the person speaking them. That's why he keeps hiding behind the skankily repellant child-mind-rapist Ken Ham - a self-aggrandised authority touting the god squad party line.

I looked Ken Ham up and discovered that he's a Bachelor of Applied Science, with an emphasis in Environmental Biology. I was very interested to see who is criticizing him.

Ken Ham Reception

Other Christians, old Earth creationists, and the scientific community at large have criticized Ham's statements and tactics. Answers in Creation, an old Earth creationist website, has called Ham willfully ignorant of evidence for an old Earth, and said that he "deliberately misleads" his audiences on matters of both science and theology.[39] Astronomer Hugh Ross, a progressive creationist, has debated Ham and other Answers In Genesis staff[40] regarding the compatibility of an old Earth with the Bible.[41] BioLogos has also responded to Ken Ham's criticisms of its viewpoint.[42]

I haven't checked the qualifications of people who believe in Old Earth Creation, or Progressive Creation so I only know about Hugh Ross from the wikipedia article. The BioLogos Foundation was started by Francis Collins who led the Human Genome Project - he believes that evolution is the way God did it.

Seeing as highly educated people can wear blinkers in order to hang onto their religious convictions I've come to accept that nothing is going to change Revelation777's mind. I am, however, curious as to why he's opted for Young Earth creation instead of Old Earth creation or Progressive Creation.

[Heywood]

When evolution occurs, the rate at which a form changes is not constant. Sometimes changes in the form occur very rapidly and sometimes they occur very slowly. Trilobites appeared when evolution "settled" on a particular form.

Who or what decides this? Is evolution some sort of supreme being that says - ok, you turn into this then stop and you are gonna be this?

Any being with sufficient intellect can design a "set it and forget it" evolutionary system to produce what ever that being wants. I did this thread which touched on that subject:

http://atheistforums.org/thread-24609.ht...ig+blunder


In evolution theory there is something called punctuated equilibrium which proposes most species will exhibit little change for most of their history. The crocodile is a good example. That beast hasn't changed much in the last 250 million years.

Some like to think about periods of punctuated equilibrium as plateaus. I like to think about them as high walled valleys in the evolutionary path that need a special mutation or parlay of mutations that give a species enough oomph to lift it out of the valley its settled in. Once out of the valley rapid changes can occur again until a species settles into another valley. An example of this is life going from unicellular to multicellular. For billions of years life on this planet was unicellular and didn't change a whole lot. Evolution was in a bit of a rut. Then came the mutation or parlay of mutations that gave evolution enough oomph to climb out of the rut onto a plain were rapid and diverse changes could happen. There was a an explosion of new species which appear...suddenly. Some of those suddenly appeared species were trilobites which then went on to settle into a new valley.

[pocaracas]

This is awesome, guys!
Rev and Heywood arguing evolution.
Keep it up!

[Confused Ape]

For Revelation777. I've found the Old Earth Ministries website and this is their Statement of Beliefs. Beliefs include -

That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are the supreme and final authority in faith and life.

There is one god, the Creator; eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The articles on this site point out flaws in the Young Earth Creationism outlook. You aren't going to accept any arguments from atheists but you might be interested in looking at different points of view presented by other Christians.

[Revelation777]

Humans are apes.

https://iho.asu.edu/

http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/nick.he.html

http://www.wilderdom.com/evolution/Human...ctures.htm

I'm hirsute and love bananas but not an ape.

[Anomalocaris]

Humans are apes.

https://iho.asu.edu/

http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/nick.he.html

http://www.wilderdom.com/evolution/Human...ctures.htm

I'm hirsute and love bananas but not an ape.

You are an ape, and striving to de-evolve into a mere bible howling monkey.

Better apes are embarrassed by association with you.

[Revelation777]

Rev, if you're interested in this subject, you might benefit from Don Prothero's Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters. You can pick up a used copy through Amazon for as little as $15.00. There are other good sources as well; all you have to do is look for them. But please spare us your AIG quote mining. Pond scum rates higher in these parts than Ken Ham and his fellow frauds.

There. You want to be taken seriously? You've just been given a huge, unmistakable hint of how to go about it. You have no further excuse.

Thank you for your recommendation. Make ya a deal, I'll read that and you read the Bible?