Sharpshooter Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Stockholm Syndrome is apropos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fathoms Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Stockholm Syndrome is apropos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Bill Nye 'The Science Guy' Talks Creationism Critique, Religion, Education What's the best scientific argument against creationism? Unlike science, creationism cannot predict anything, and it cannot provide satisfactory answers about the past. The examples would be nearly limitless. Why does radioactive dating indicate that the world is 4.54 billion years old, if radioactivity is not a feature of nature? Should teaching creationism be against the law? Teaching creationism in science class as an alternative to evolution is inappropriate. Tax dollars intended for science education must not be used to teach creationism as any sort of real explanation of nature, because any observation or process of inference about our origin and the nature of the universe disproves creationism in every respect. Creationism provides no insight whatsoever into nature. Creationism might be taught in a philosophy, psychology, or history of science class, for example. Is religion inconsistent with science? If your religion is inconsistent with science, consider tempering your beliefs. For me, the claims of creationism are completely unreasonable. Judge Jones in Dover, Pennsylvania, used the expression "breathtaking inanity," meaning so empty, so silly that it took his breath away. The age of the Earth is very close to 4.54 billion years rather than a millionth of that time. The idea that fossils were buried in the Earth by some hidden deity to test ones faith is completely unsatisfactory. We can observe the processes of evolution, physics and especially geology everywhere every day. To deny what I see around me is unacceptable to me. Science is the acceptance of what you observe and seeking the natural laws that cause these effects. How can science-minded people make it "safe" for believers to acknowledge that evolution is real? The bible that is often cited as a guide to natural law has been translated from other ancient languages. There must be countless subtleties and nuances that are literally lost in translation. I got into good bit of controversy, when I showed an audience in Waco, Texas, USA that the bible, as translated into English, claims that the Sun lights the day, and the Moon lights the night. I pointed out that this translation is unsettling. To my ear, it doesn't seem as though the author realized that the Moon's light is reflected sunlight. It seems to me that many ancient people may have realized that the Moon casts reflected light, but it's lost in translation. This being but one example. Will anything good be lost if creationism disappears? Because of the robustness of our historical records, creationism will probably never disappear as such; instead, creationism can be used in classrooms and conversations to illustrate the process of science. To wit, people once accepted an idea that the Earth was built in a week. In recent centuries, we have discovered the actual nature of nature. The process of science debunked and disproved the old idea, so it was cast aside for a better idea. Did you ever believe in creationism? If so, what changed your mind? The biblical stories were presented to me, but they never seemed reasonable. I remember asking about Noah's ark. Did he look after the invertebrates: the bees, for example? What about the yellow-jackets? And, the black wasps that stung me a few times? All those ants? There's no mention of the most numerous organisms in my world. As a kid, I remember imagining a series of barges full of soil to be pulled like trailers behind this big boat. Grownups explained that it was just a story (whatever that meant). I remember asking, what was the point of the story? What was this guy's idea to get animals two-by-two? What did he hope to accomplish, if all the bees, worms, oak trees, and rosebushes were gone? Let alone the question: why did he let the poison ivy come back? He missed a huge opportunity, etc. It was never satisfying to my mind. If you could speak directly to the children of creationists, what would you say? Hang in there. There is another amazing, exciting, inspiring way to know the world, one that will fill you with joy and reverence. Pick your battles with grownups. These creation ideas are important to the grownups in your life right now. Accept that. Do your views place your personal safety in jeopardy? We'll see. You don't get shot down, if you're not flying. We are at a turning point, a crossroads in human history. Climate change or an asteroid impact can only be addressed with science. Shooting the messenger is not going to make creationism able to explain anything in the natural world. It still will be completely unsatisfactory and useless to anyone trying to solve an engineering problem in the real world. No science; no asteroid deflection. Do you have any superstitions? None that I know of. I change my socks often, because I had bad bouts of athelete's foot fungus infections as a kid. I may be able to change socks less frequently and not get the fungus. But, I'd rather not run the test to determine just how infrequently I could change socks. I don't feel superstitious about it. Who is your favorite scientist? Don't make me pick. Michael Faraday was amazing. He clearly realized that his discovery of a means to generate electricity, would change the world. I have great admiration for my physics teacher George Lang and my old professor Carl Sagan; he changed the world. My dad was no slouch, either. My older brother Darby continually showed me wonderful scientific principles. The big step comes when you can convince yourself of the truth of a natural law. It changes the way you think of everything around you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajusta Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 So Bill Nye is the poster boy for Atheists now? How have you fallen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tearloch7 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 So Bill Nye is the poster boy for Atheists now? How have you fallen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Mind Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 What's with all the Bill Nye stuff? I don't think he's going to convince anyone, at least he won't if he continues to talk down to people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 So Bill Nye is the poster boy for Atheists now? How have you fallen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 What's with all the Bill Nye stuff? I don't think he's going to convince anyone, at least he won't if he continues to talk down to people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Mind Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Are you 100% sure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Nope. But it would surprise me if that changed people's views. If he wasn't talking down to the audience, then it would be a much better video. One that is more thought provoking than telling people: don't teach your kids what you believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajusta Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Are you 100% sure he was talking down to someone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLASSJAW Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 haha sharpshooter the intellectual 30 years old, condescending to teenagers on the internet a true thinker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unknown33429 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I know one way to prove religion... I say we force all Christians to make monuments to Egyptian gods and see if God brings back the plagues....who's with me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajusta Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I know one way to prove religion... I say we force all Christians to make monuments to Egyptian gods and see if God brings back the plagues....who's with me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Not sure if you're being sarcastic. Did you see the video or just copy/paste that snippet? BTW - I guess I don't need to inform an intellectual like you why all this "creationism" talk is coming out so conveniently around the presidential election. Just sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Mind Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Are you 100% sure he was talking down to someone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unknown33429 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 First of all it's such a misnomer to think religion = God Science can prove religion. My eyes can see a church and I can record for you a church service. Man made systems of worship is religion, not God. What a dumb thing to say.. that science cannot prove religion. What it means to say, is that science cannot prove God. Well duh. A 6 year old child can tell you that. You can't measure God with a ruler. You can't reproduce God over and over again by any human means. You can't conjure up God like rubbing a little bottle. Is this so new? If Atheist solely put their doubt in a lack of empirical evidence, then that is truly ignorant. Almost like declaring your wife doesn't love you because she doesn't buy you LCD TVs every anniversary. You need empirical evidence for everything? Silly Atheists. Extraodinary claims need extraordinary evidence? It isn't extraordinary to claim that God exists. It's in fact more reasonable to think matter and all things of existence required a maker rather than thinking we are all here by chance. The decaying universe points to one source. A God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajusta Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Nope, not being sarcastic at all. I saw the video of his that I posted previously and I read his Q&A before posting it, as a follow-up to the video. I don't see the connection between Bill Nye, creationism and the presidential elections. Obviously i'm not as enlightened as you in the connect-the -crazy-dots milieu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajusta Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Name one other thing besides religion when empirical evidence is considered completely useless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 First of all it's such a misnomer to think religion = God Science can prove religion. My eyes can see a church and I can record for you a church service. Man made systems of worship is religion, not God. What a dumb thing to say.. that science cannot prove religion. What it means to say, is that science cannot prove God. Well duh. A 6 year old child can tell you that. You can't measure God with a ruler. You can't reproduce God over and over again by any human means. You can't conjure up God like rubbing a little bottle. Is this so new? If Atheist solely put their doubt in a lack of empirical evidence, then that is truly ignorant. Almost like declaring your wife doesn't love you because she doesn't buy you LCD TVs every anniversary. You need empirical evidence for everything? Silly Atheists. Extraodinary claims need extraordinary evidence? It isn't extraordinary to claim that God exists. It's in fact more reasonable to think matter and all things of existence required a maker rather than thinking we are all here by chance. The decaying universe points to one source. A God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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