Creationism.

[MikeH]

The aliens told us about all that when they visited but had to put it in terms we'd understand.

[Bereta_Eder]

is that supposed to be a counterargument?
I didnt mention aliens but the very interesting similarities of myths and dogmas to modern scientific finds about creation of the universe and the evolution of the earth

[MikeH]

I actually agree with that, I was joking (kinda) it would explain it though wouldn't it. Much more advanced aliens came in and told us the history of the universe in terms we'd understand.

[Bereta_Eder]

or maybe somehow people could figure these things out by themselves back then. only vagely but suprisingly accurately enough considering their means at the time... and they made myths or religious dogmas to recite them through more or less obvious symbolisms. quite interesting

[MikeH]

Possible, some of the discoveries made by, for instance, the Greeks and the Egyptians were quite startling.

[Drake Tungsten]

and let's not get into the ancient greek myths the symbolisms there are breathtaking, what with the battle of the titans (teutonic movement early in the earth's history

How exactly was the movement of Germans symbolized in Greek myths?

[MikeH]

How good's your greek?

[Drake Tungsten]

How good's your greek?

Not too good, I must admit. It sounds so similar to Turkish that I get confused.

[Kropotkin]

If I may step into the thread for a moment and adress the original point of problem child; For me creationism -and with it religious beliefs overall- is not so much an answer but a reason. In other words, people seek a reason for existance, not so much an answer. In this context creationism is the logic answer to the emergence of more or less rational theories that give or seek answers but not any meaning. Big bang gives an answer to pretty much everything (if it's true) but gives no meaning, no reason to be. For many people that belive in God, this is something they cannot accept. God gives with its mere existance meaning.

The problem however, as I see it, is that there's no meaning for God. Except for those that belive. The scientific way for a creationist would be to question the reasons for and meaning of Gods existance, but that's not gonna happen.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Kropotkin
In this context creationism is the logic answer to the emergence of more or less rational theories that give or seek answers but not any meaning.

Not surprising. Meaning does not exist in nature. It is purely a human construct. [Maybe dolphins have it too, but until we find out ]

Originally posted by Kropotkin
God gives with its mere existance meaning.

I don't understand. To me it just moves everything back one square. How does the existence of God give meaning to anything? Suppose He made us. Then what? So we can be good? What for? To go to Heaven? What then?

On the other hand, if the meaning is to make this world a better place, now that's something.

[Kropotkin]

Yes, that's exacly my point. It's just one square back for me as well. However, people that are looking for meaning turn a blind eye to this simple fact. This is one reason why creationism cannot be threated as a serious theory about the origins of anything. It's a "biased" theory.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Rogan Josh
You should be careful with your terminology. If you really mean 'evolution' in the above then I agree with your parallel - all three are observed phenomena, so they (in all but definition) do exist. But I supest that you mean 'evolution by natural selection', in which case they are not the same. Evolution by natural selection is a theory (despite what you said earlier) of how evolution comes about, in the same way that Newton's laws or general relativity are theories of gravity. So you would be better to compare to, for example, general relativity.

There's a pretty specific meaning of what "evolution" is, and it is not just "natural selection acting on random mutations" either. To put it broadly, evolution refers to the change in the frequencies of allele, as there are other forces such as genetic drift at work.

Anyway, evolution is a fact because it has been observed. Not just the raise of multiple resistant strains of microbes either. There have been instances of speciation of macroscopic organisms. So yes, evolution is mostly likely to be a fact.

[Bereta_Eder]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten

How good's your greek?

Not too good, I must admit. It sounds so similar to Turkish that I get confused.

turkish doesnt sound like greek at all but i see you are again dismayed by greek history.

now suck it down your throat like your boyfriend's **** and relax

[Bereta_Eder]

or should I say osama's

[Verto]

Originally posted by MikeH
Do people really still believe in literal 7 day creation story or do they just pretend to so that they can annoy people on internet forums?

I believe God created the Earth in 6 days (rested on the 7th). However, our reckoning of time is not the same as His. One day in God's reckoning is equal to a thousand years in ours. Therefore it took him 6,000 years to create the Earth, according to our reckoning.