OMG, Stairway to heaven is Satanic, Proof, Listen and read the lyrics

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Son of David
I have read and studied 'The Origin of Species' by Darwin and I intend to study 'Descent of Man' at some later time. But here's what I essentially gleamed from Darwin which is relevant to this discussion: either you believe in God, and a special purpose for human beings, or you believe that millions of years hence no humans will be left, no records of our existence left, and a constant cycle of dominant-species being replaced as the Earth goes through periods of extreme climate and geographical change.

I have no idea where you got that from. I am not aware that Darwin wrote anything like it in The Origins of Species.

[Flip McWho]

Okay, Flip, what exactly are you using as your definition of "superstition" here?

Aye, I must let myself be corrected here, I suppose I'm showing my bias in thinking faith in gods existence is an irrational belief. If you have that faith I correct myself and say it ain't superstitious.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Flip McWho
Aye, I must let myself be corrected here, I suppose I'm showing my bias in thinking faith in gods existence is an irrational belief.

But it is. A belief in a god/supreme creator is not fundamentally different from a belief in ghosts, elves, and evil spirits.

[Flip McWho]

Traianvs

Best reply ever to a religious fundies spoutings


SoD,

You should really take a step back from your own subjective view of the world and seriously try to empathize with a view of the world thats not your own.

[Flip McWho]

UR -

I agree, hence the "i'm showing my bias" bit.

If you don't think the belief in God is irrational then everything following won't be superstitious just as if you believe in any religious system nothing that follows from it will be irrational.

[Son of David]

Atheism is a religion

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


I have no idea where you got that from. I am not aware that Darwin wrote anything like it in The Origins of Species [OoS].

From Darwin's OoS, the chapter entitled 'Recapitulation and Conclusion', page 455 of my 1979 Random House/Gramercy Books edition:

'I should infer from analogy that probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from one primordial form, into which life was first breathed.'

What is the present state of science on that point? Life was simply miraculously breathed by freak of nature into ONE life form, which subsequently multiplied over billions of years into all life we see before us today, and all extinct forms of life leading up to what we see today?

Gosh, belief in something like that requires quite a lot of faith!

Page 459:

'Judging from the past, we may safely infer that not one living species will transmit its unaltered likeness to a distant futurity ... we may look with some confidence to a secure future of equally appreciable [billions of years] length. And as natural selection works solely by and for the good of each being, all corporeal and mental endowments will tend to progress towards perfection.'

In other words, the world will go on endlessly producing ever more perfect, ever higher beings. This is probably where Nietzsche got his idea of the 'superman' from.

But for Darwin, the part in the quote above which I have made bold, and in many other places in the chapter and the book, the human race is likely to be replaced altogether with more 'perfect' beings. Angels, for example? Or sons of God maybe?

[DaShi]

Or robots

[Vince278]

Nanites.

[Impaler[WrG]]

Boy this is an amusing threadjack

In response to SoD's original rantings I would like to point out that Britney Spears's music is plenty slutty already when played FORWARD.

Also I would like SoD to offer some evidence to support his claim that Athiests as a whole are in anyway imoral by Christian standards. None of this "Well so and so Dictator/ Serial Killer/ Rapist/ Philosopher was an Athiest". Is their any statistical sound evidence that Athiests comit more crime or "sin" that can be weighed against the well supported findings that Religions people are doing most of the "sinin".

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Son of David
No evolutionist has ever shown how, going from apes and primitive beasts, a being could arise that be so highly conscious of itself and things around it...[snipped]

Ahem, I missed this pearl of wisdom.

You are absolutely right about that, SoD -- because humans didn't descend from the Great Apes. Humans and the Great Apes both descended from a common ancestor, which have been shown for merely several gajillion times all over the world and in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Now if you could just go back and brush up on evolution a bit more...

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Atheism is a religion

Originally posted by Son of David
Page 459:

'Judging from the past, we may safely infer that not one living species will transmit its unaltered likeness to a distant futurity

/me laughs at SoD until blue in the face.

He was saying species will evolve over time.

Okay, next question please.