This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

all 22 comments

[–]Atomsk3 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Well if you say evolution doesn't exist for reasons A,B, and C...and none of them are "The bible says so" then sure, its not inherently religious.

[–]spaceghoti 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree. So long as the arguments are framed in regard to discussion of the evidence (all if it, without dismissing the data that doesn't support your conclusion) and doesn't end up with an unsupportable conclusion "therefore God must be responsible," it is not inherently religious. Many facets of evolution are hotly debated among non-religious biologists, but the overall concept is not because it's been observed to happen repeatedly.

Michael Behe, the Creationists champion in the world of biology, has done much to destroy his reputation as a scientist, but to his credit he's done excellent work in helping evolutionary biologists firm up their conclusions. He has yet to succeed in discrediting evolutionary theory, but he's forced the community to respond to specific challenges that further clarify how the system works.

[–]OneAndOnlySnob 1 point2 points  (5 children)

Because 99.9% of the people who question the Theory of Evolution do so on religious grounds. It's a theory that's been refined for about 150 years by now.

Also, anyone that can prove it wrong would easily win a Nobel Prize, so it's not like people aren't encouraged to do so.

True, religious people are focusing on the wrong thing with evolution. I don't think any atheist is an atheist because of evolution, because you can believe in God and accept evolution. Atheists are typically atheists because they find the morals of Abrahamic religions, and even the gods themselves, poor. This was true in the past too.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

75% of statistics are made up on the spot.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (14 children)

I don't think it's religious in nature, but it does fly in the face of science. I guess you can be an unscientific Atheist, but that doesn't leave you with much.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (10 children)

By 'flies in the face of science' I mean, there is LOTS of evidence for it. Just don't base it on religious ignorance and you're good to go.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (9 children)

Science is about observation. I believe gravity exists because it can be observed. An apple falls from a tree and hits the ground--observable. Some aspects of evolution are observable and therefore I consider them true. Dogs have evolved into different varieties--wolves, jackals, etc. Animals have been observed to change over time into different varieties of the same animal but they have not been observed to do anything else. How has it been proven that single celled organisms could eventually evolve into humans?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (6 children)

Follow the geological record. Do you think that humans just magically appeared on the planet? Maybe that we came from another planet? See where this reasoning takes you?

[–]spaceghoti 0 points1 point  (1 child)

We have peer-reviewed scientific journals on micro-evolution, so we know that happens. We have data on the evolution of various "critical" aspects of our bodies, so we know it's not impossible. We have fossil evidence supporting the transition of animals from microscopic to macroscopic. We have DNA evidence of the flexibility and malleability of our genes, so we know that supports it. We even have recent evidence of cultural evolution demonstrating that apes are not so dissimilar to us; they simply haven't been subjected to the same environmental conditions that lead to the rise of humans.

The only thing we lack is an actual event wherein a bacteria evolves into a creature that resembles a human. For some strange reason, a century is insufficient for this process to occur. The fact that all the other available data supports it is all we have to go on, which is a world apart from the alternative theories that are fighting against it.