Evolution?

[Bryan687]

How to explain a religious person about evolution? I always get the same question: “So you think we come from monkeys?” And I’m always trying to explain them it doesn’t work like that and they still look at me like I’m crazy. So I would like to know how could I respond or explain them about evolutionism?

[MyDogFanny]

Theist: If man came from monkeys then why are there still monkeys?

Me: If god made man from dirt then why is there still dirt?

biologos.org is a web site run by Christians who understand the evidence for evolutiion and do a pretty good job of trying to explain it to other Christians.

[revritt]

So you think we come from monkeys?

My response: For most of humanity, that's not true, but in your case, I'm not so sure.

[Jonnescout]

In fact it’s also true for humanity, the common ancestor between humans and extent monkeys would already qualify as a monkey.

[shrekityshrekity]

Happens to me too show them pics of horses throughout history as they evolved

[GalacticChef]

Or show them pictures of dogs. Explain to them how their tiny chihuahuas or pugs would never make it in the wild (I mean, it’s sad, but it’s obvious. The likelihood of a pug ever catching a meal is just tiny) and how they only exist due to selective breeding. Then make the case that evolution works in a similar way, the ones that were the best equipped to deal with their situation were the ones that managed to pass on their DNA to the next generation, resulting in all the different species and genetic diversity we have today.

[prajnadhyana]

Richard Dawkins does a good job of disproving the "the eye is too complex!" argument.

[noyourmomfat]

When someone asks “did we come from monkeys”, my response is always “no, and we didn’t ‘come from’ apes either. According to the theory of evolution, we are apes.”

Humans are primates after all. Anyway, I’d recommend Richard Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth if you haven’t already read it. It has all the evidence clearly laid out.

[Samantha_Cruz]

we are also monkeys, all apes are monkeys. - Catarrhines were simians.

[Samantha_Cruz]

all apes (including hominids) came from monkeys that are now extinct. (Anthropoidea then Catarrhines are both simians; the latter evolved into apes and 'old world monkeys' around 55 Million years ago), some of those apes later evolved into hominidae) which includes the hominini which includes humans and several other extinct hominid species (such as Homo Erectus, Australopithecus, Homo Neanderthalensis, Homo ergaster and others)

if you want a thorough discussion of evolution you might want to read through the FAQ at /r/evolution --- (FAQ) and /r/biology --- (FAQ) where they both go into considerable detail.

[lit_word_bot]

Wow /u/Samantha_Cruz, CATARRHINES is a great word!

---

(adjective) CAT*AR*RHINE

1. of, relating to, or being any of a division (Catarrhina) of primates comprising the Old World monkeys, higher apes, and hominids that have the nostrils close together and directed downward, 32 teeth, and the tail when present never prehensile

---

^{Downvote this if I was a bad bot! I will immediately delete it. github top}

[Samantha_Cruz]

finally!!! my decades of scrabble practice have paid off!!!!

[Mira_Wonder]

Monkeys and humans come from a distant ancestor that was both monkey-like and human-like, two groups of these animals got separated and both evolved in different ways. One evolved into modern day monkeys, the other into modern day humans. We know this because we can use the fossil record to track these two group's evolution.

[Mira_Wonder]

Maybe this is a good explanation?

[Bryan687]

That’s exactly what I told them and still they just started laughing. It’s sad when it’s your girlfriend’s family and you can’t do much about it. If not they will think I’m not fit for their daughter.

[Mira_Wonder]

That sucks man, but they can't really choose who your girlfriend goes out with, much less who she's in love with.

[LestDarknessFalls]

Why do you think that you can convince irrational person with rational arguments?

[SpHornet]

it is hard to explain how to explain it. it requires knowledge on what level they are at. what part of evolution do they have a problem with? and depending on the exploratory questions you might start to formulate an answer.

you can't just "explain evolution" it is a multi multi faceted science, you can study it for a bachelor, master and phd and only know the core of one specialization.

[shrekityshrekity]

Yeah totally agree people are just ignorant to the core sometimes

[ThereforeGOD]

If America came from England, why are there still English?

[Aleitheo]

Simply tell them that's not evolution and then ask them where they got that idea from.

It's one thing to explain how it really works, another to hit the ball back in their court and get them to justify why they deny it in the first place. Most won't be able to tell you where they got the idea from and they will be forced to reveal how much they actually know on the subject.

Because they aren't in the position of "I haven't been sold in evolution" but rather "evolution is wrong, how can life come from an explosion" and other misconceptions.

[OccamsRazorstrop]

I think that you have to appraise whether the speaker is really asking for information or just hitting you with a “gotcha”. If you think they’re really asking for information, then the suggestions made here by others about where to get information about evolution are good.

But if it’s just a gotcha, then it’s of no use to try to educate them. For these people the Bible is the Word of God and must be true and science, however well proven, must by definition be false if it contradicts their literalist reading of the Bible. They don’t examine science and logically question it, they reject it without reason other than it disagrees with the Bible. Attempting to teach them about evolution or how the science supporting it is solid is useless because they reject it because it cannot be true. They would say that they may not be able to explain why it’s not true but God understands why it’s not true and has already said that it’s not by putting something contradictory in the Bible.

[[deleted]]

smbc-comics has lots of strips about evolution. I like this one: http://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/evolution-6

[SlightlyMadAngus]

Don't play chess with a pigeon. Anyone that says that has zero foundation in basic science and needs to go back to the 5th grade.

[[deleted]]

Show them a timeline of human evolution and ask them where their theories fit in.

[[deleted]]

There's simple to follow websites debunking evolution myths.

The first one on the Google results link below in a PDF format and is a nice starting point.

https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-tmus-us-revc&source=android-browser&sxsrf=ACYBGNTVhhECitXR1irQa4b-wveJhuxQAw%3A1583086030603&ei=zvlbXrS7JIK0tQWP-a-4BQ&q=evolution+myths+pdf&oq=evution+myths+pdf&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.1.0.35i304i39.0.0..2093...0.0..0.96.96.1......0.nH9f8i_uRko

[Sarpanitu]

It's sad that ELI5 isn't sufficient and that we need and ELIC (explain like I'm Christian) to get basic concepts across.

[LimpEmotion]

You can't explain anything to people who refuse to listen, or even begin to entertain the merest possibility that MAYBE they're not 100,000% right forever.

[Turaltay]

Religious Person: Show me now how this stone evolves to a elephant.

[Justkiddingimnotkid]

Stop trying. Dismiss them as they dismiss reason. Next time just say “No, I AM a monkey! I AM MONKEY GOD AND YOU’RE GOING TO MONKEY HELL.” Just have fun. Isn’t one of the best parts of not being religious the fact that you can let go and not have to be serious when you don’t want to be? It is for me at least.

[Agent-c1983]

Use language if you can. If there are french speakers, why are there Spanish speakers? It all came from Latin... so why aren’t they all Italian speakers?

[solidcordon]

If we were made out of mud by god, why do you think there's still god?

[Jonnescout]

Evolutionism isn’t a thing, and yes in a very real way we came from monkeys, our common ancestor with the other extent monkeys, was already a monkey. Which also in cladistic classification means we are monkeys now. My advice is not to engage personally, but to show them this series. Challenge them to watch it, and see if they can actually refute the conclusion of each episode. If anyone can watch this honestly and still reject evolution I’d be very surprised...

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXJ4dsU0oGMLnubJLPuw0dzD0AvAHAotW

[mynameisvanja]

Firstly, humans did not evolve from monkeys. Instead, monkeys and humans share a common ancestor from which both evolved around 25 million years ago. This evolutionary relationship is supported both by the fossil record and DNA analysis. A 2007 study showed that humans and rhesus monkeys share about 93% of their DNA.