Darwin's attempt to find the origin of man was never about disproving the existence of God.


He grew up a devout member of the Church of England.As time passed his faith in Christianity dwindled,this can be narrowed down to 2 reasons.1) the question of Evil,which has plagued many a man.and 2) the death of a daughter.


Though these things made him question his faith (and late in life he declared,

"I never gave up Christianity until I was forty years of age."

he never denied the existence of God.In fact,at the time of writing On the Origin of Species he believed God was the First Cause.


In his book,The Descent of Man,he sees religion as being an important evolved human social characteristic.He says;

"There is no evidence that man was aboriginally endowed with the ennobling belief in the existence of an Omnipotent God.On the contrary there is ample evidence,derived not from hasty travellers,but from men who have long resided with savages,that numerous races have existed,and still exist,who have no idea of one or more gods,and who have no words in their languages to express such an idea.The question is of course wholly distinct from that higher one,whether there exists a Creator and Ruler of the universe;and this has been answered in the affirmative by some of the highest intellects that have ever existed."

He also believed that a man can be an ardent Theist and an evolutionist at the same time,and in his lifetime he gave no support to those who used his theory against religion.



So,if the creator of the evolution theory did not use it as a weapon against religion,is it right that others do so??

If he believed that evolution was real and a Creator existed too,is it not the duty of all Darwinists to share this information with people,less they become like some ignorant religious believers who pick and choose parts of their faith??



In regard to the Bible origin story.
Just because God created all does that make evolution impossible??
Are we to believe that nothing changes over 1000s and 1000s of years??
(take into account how humans have changed)
Is it possible that the beginning of Genesis is just a story and God sowed the seeds of life and let nature take its course??
Is it possible stories/events have been mixed up and the Flood happened before Adam & Eve??
Imagine;God is angry at how life has gone,he floods the planet and starts again,but this time he creates rather than just sowing the seeds........

atheists have, but they are only half to blame, there are many of my fellow christians who regard evolution as an affront to our religion.

both parties couldnt be more wrong, evolution is brilliant and beautiful, and most of all, highly effective.

remember, my atheist and christian friends, the book of genesis is not a scientific text.

Actually it's the creationist movement that seemed to have proclaimed evolution to be atheistic. Kind of like "you are either with us or against us": Propoganda designed to blur the line between religion and science so they could try get it into schools.

Ten years ago an "evolutionist" believing in god really wasn't a big deal.. now it's akin to renouncing god to some fundies.

Your claim couldn't be further from the truth . . .

Atheists believe in rational thinking and the scientific process. Therefore, they believe in evolution. Atheists don't claim that evolution dissproves God. However, they do reason that because of evolution and MANY other scientific truths that a fundamentalist view of Genesis is wrong. The data proves that.

However, as others have pointed out . . . evangelicals and the like have turned evolution into an atheist issue. It's not . . . anymore than gravity or quantum mechanics or virology or metallugy.

Atheism has nothing whatsoever to do with science.

That's like saying squirrels have hijacked the NFL. It makes no sense.

A better question would be:
Are there Christians who dismiss the biblical interpretation of Creationism and accept the theory of evolution?

The answer to that would be yes.

feydrautha.

atheists have, but they are only half to blame, there are many of my fellow christians who regard evolution as an affront to our religion.

True.
Which,ironically,makes it a more effective weapon.




riley.

Ten years ago an "evolutionist" believing in god really wasn't a big deal.. now it's akin to renouncing god to some fundies.

As i said in the OP,Darwin didn't support atheists who used his theory in his lifetime,which shows that todays arguments are nothing new.




solomons path.

Your claim couldn't be further from the truth . . .

Just looking at the threads and discussions on this site shows that i'm not.
I may be guilty of lumping all atheists together,for which i apologize,but there are many who use evolution as the ultimate proof that God does not exist and that the Bible is false.

Atheists believe in rational thinking and the scientific process.

Not all atheists are scientists,some don't know the first thing about it.
As for rational thinking,again,not all of 'em.
You're now guilty of generalizing









[edit on 3-10-2008 by jakyll]

Posting in total agreeance with Fuzzy Wabbit:

This is a mencing of issues. Atheism makes no mention to any regards of science. None whatsoever. It is merely a counter to theistic ideology. Sure, most atheistic thinkers use naturalistic ideas to compose their worldview, and that is due, often times, to scientific understanding in direct opposition to what they have been taught about god. I find it funny that the OP credits Darwinism to atheism and in the same breath says "maybe Genesis is just a story."
This is laughable and, in my opinion, it is about time that the rest of the creationists step in line with the Catholic Church! haha.

My personal opinion is that atheism is fundamentally flawed in the EXACT SAME WAY theism is flawed, but that is another issue.

Again . . . so off base it's mind numbing. Funny . . . ask a non-religious person (whether they believe in God or not . . . just not "religious") and they'll probably say that religion is, in fact, the greatest perpetrator of genecide, civil liberty violations, bigoty, hatred, war, etc . . . But, to a religious person, atheism (in all it's historical power) is responsible or tied to these atrocities . . . well . . . at least I know which way your propaganda pole leans!

As for Atheists that use evolution as proof God doesn't exist . . . they do a huge disservice to Atheism and evolution.

There is NO way to prove God doesn't exist . . . just as there is NO way to prove that fairies or leprechans don't exist. However, the burden of proof is on the claimant! Which is the usual Atheist position, I see here (and elsewhere). However, that always gets turned into your position that they do, through a battle of egos. at least that's my opinion

EDIT - First part was in regards to ClearSkies comments

[edit on 3-10-2008 by solomons path]

Originally posted by Clearskies
If you believe in Christianity, you believe what Jesus taught from the Tenach about creation.

i must have missed the verses where the christ taught creationism, care to refresh our memories with an example?

In reply to your request to stop posting, I shall after this one.

In response to your claims of my dishonesty, I'll clarify.
There was a reason I used the term "darwinism"... I'll paraphrase your comment and if you choose to chase me, I'll post again, against YOUR wishes. "Charles Darwin was a theist and ATHEISTS use his observations to argue against HIS worldview."

Like I said, you implied a link between the law of natural selection and atheists.
In the SAME POST, you stated (and I believe i can QUOTE this one without going back): What if Genesis is just a story.
Reread MY post AFTER your initial post and get back to me, if you'd like.

Edti: Remove philosophy, add observations

[edit on 3-10-2008 by Jay-in-AR]