"I don't like even being around them"

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Justadude

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Ok, so i don't deny microevolution like the beaks on Darwins finches
My skepticism is with common ancestry and macroevolution, natural selection through random mutation
Do you believe microevolution stops at some point? Like say if a species has been "microevolving" for 10 million years, would it know to stop before it got to a point where it "macroevolved"?

With the cell, for me, falsifiable evidence would be to show how one cell can spawn another cell, a different new cell. Cos there are heaps of different types of cells that make up an animal, right.
Then, when there are heaps of different cells how did they arrange themselves to create all the organs, bones and the countless other parts of an animal.
And then how would of those body parts come together to create an animal.

From one cell to the animal is such a massive leap.
What is the falsifiable evidence for it? An observable lab exercise or maths would be ideal.

Then we get multiple animals and plants from this common ancestor by natural selection through random mutation.
So basically you're asking me to explain the entire evolutionary history of multicellular organisms....that's all. ;)

We have seen unicellular organisms evolve into multi-cellular organisms in lab experiments. Some of the cells even became specialized, like you mentioned. I can give you a paper in a scientific journal to read on that if you'd like.

But if you're looking for a 100% complete narrative of evolutionary history from the first cells all the way through animals like we have today, that's not going to happen. Keep in mind, life has been evolving on earth for ~4 billion years with the majority of that time being solely devoted to cellular evolution (so that cells are complex is hardly surprising).

Ok, so they know the genome of animals like flies, mice and such, right. And they've been at work trying to create a mutation that is superior in some way to the original.
So from an engineers perspective i would like to see something like a fly with un upgrade in its propulsion system, maybe bigger wings so its faster or something, u know.
We see mutations that improve an organism all the time. We even fight it when we have to keep developing increasingly powerful antibiotics because the bacteria keep acquiring mutations that improve their ability to resist them.

Remember, mutations happen with every reproduction event. You and I have between 70 and 100 mutations (depending on how you count). So beneficial mutations are inevitable. They're also well documented and studied.

News Feature: Genetic mutations you want

But even that would only demonstrate microevolution. To demonstrate macro evolution then we would need to do several mutations in order to show the fly evolve into something else like a wasp. And that evolve into a different type of species all together (phyla is it) like a fish or mammal
It looks like you should brush up on your taxonomy. Been a while since school, eh? ;)

Remember the classification system?

Animals-groups-organisms-succession-general-particular.jpg


To use your examples, "fly" and "wasp" are both different Orders (Diptera and Hymenoptera), which means they are as far apart taxonomically as an aardvark and a whale. So to expect one order to evolve into another right before our eyes is kinda silly. It's certainly not how evolution works.

Evolution proceeds via the production of new species. So a species of vinegar flies (genus drosophila) would give rise to a new species of....vinegar flies (still in the genus drosophila). Eventually one of those species (either the new one or its ancestor) would give rise to another new species of vinegar fly. But at no point does a fly give birth to something in a completely different family or order. That would actually be something other than evolution.

Of course there's a lot more to this, but I really don't have the time or ambition to go over it all.

From what I understand every mutation has resulted in a deficient creature
Without testable or mathematical evidence its hard for me to believe it.
Well, you can believe it. :)

Im guessing u will talk about fossils.
How can u tell if its a transitional species or a different species?
Do fossils show us how plants and animals diverged?
What are the best fossil evidence for transition of species? Is it that archaeopteryx still?
It might be evidence, but it might not be as well
Is there an adequate explanation for the Cambrian explosion of new life forms?
Are fossils falsifiable? How? They can be interpreted differently by different people
That's a lot of questions that are probably best put aside for now. We can come back to them later, but let's make sure we have the basics right first.

One thing i find as being deceitful are the clay sculptures and illustrations of apes that look like men. Lucy is our best example right.
"Lucy" is one specimen of Australopithecus afarensis. We actually have lots of fossils of them. Australopithecus afarensis

From memory it is said that the final evolutionary development for man was the ability to walk on two legs. If that was the case then why doesn't Lucy look like a human, why does she still look like an ape in these clay sculptures?
Actually it's looking like bigger brains came after bipedalism. And Lucy is depicted as "ape like" because A. afarensis is very much an organism with a mixture of human and primitive ape characteristics (see link above).

But the my biggest skepticism comes from the fact that so very few bones were even found. No feet bones. So the hypothesis that she walked on two legs comes down to speculation again, i think the hips or something. There is such a massive difference between our feet and that of an apes which is more like a hand.
Again, see the link above. Just for A. afarensis there are over 300 specimens, including feet. One is even named "little foot"

Would that have evolved in the one mutation or several? And the hips and legs?
Several.

Another thing that makes me suspect is the motive, the war between creationists and Darwinist's has been going on since day one. Hoaxes have been presented like piltdown man.
Hoaxes and frauds exist in just about every human institution, including Christianity. Certainly we don't evaluate the validity of an entire concept based solely on the existence of a few hoaxes over the course of hundreds of years.

Characters like Richard Dawkins always made me scratch my head. Here we have a biologist that never talks about biology. Instead he talks about the one thing that shouldn't be spoken about in science, religion. There is a clear motive there

It all makes me question the motivation.
We must follow the facts but they create a hypothesis and then look for evidence to support it while ignoring anything that contradicts it, there is a term for this method of inquiry and im not a fan of it.
Dawkins is both a scientist and an atheist activist. He's most famous for his atheism though, and IMO he sometimes inappropriate mixes the two.

Are you aware of prominent Christian evolutionary scientists like Dr. Francis Collins? Have you ever heard of Biologos, an organization that works to show how science and religion can be compatible? Or the Clergy Letter Project?

Just because Dawkins gets a lot of media attention doesn't mean that evolution equals atheism.

The way that Darwinism is presented appears to be ideologically driven as well. I see it as they best hypothesis science has atm. But it's presented as unquestionable fact.
I guess that depends on what you mean by "Darwinism".

Their some of the points that im skeptical about anyway
Sorry for writing a book, i hope its not boring and makes sense
No worries. :)
 

Pearl

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I'll again point out how circular that is. In order for the belief to make sense, I have to first believe it (i.e., believe in a "holy spirit" that magically interacts with people), then it will make enough sense for me to believe it.
The main difference between an atheist and an agnostic is that the atheist does not believe God exists but the agnostic is not sure either way because they think the existence of God cannot be proven to their satisfaction.

You claim to be agnostic rather than atheist so I assumed you would be interested in finding out for certain if God really does exist. Suggesting you ask the Holy Spirit is not 'circular' as even if you don't believe in him he will hear you and start to open your eyes if that is what you want. But I don't think it is; I think you are quite happy in your entrenched position so really that make you an atheist rather than an agnostic who might be open to finding out why we believe.

A few years ago I spoke to my friend about God and what I believed as a Christian. Even though she went to church she had never before heard the Gospel but was unconvinced. That is until one night in a crisis she said to God, "God if you are real like Pearl says then please here my prayer and reveal yourself to me." And he did. And lots of people have a similar story.
 
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Rita

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A few years ago I spoke to my friend about God and what I believed as a Christian. Even though she went to church she had never before heard the Gospel but was unconvinced. That is until one night in a crisis she said to God, "God if you are real like Pearl says then please here my prayer and reveal yourself to me." And he did. And lots of people have a similar story.
Something stood out in the above part of your post Pearl ‘ she was in crisis ‘, often as not something drives us to want to seek God.
For me it was God that laid it upon my heart to go to church, I knew nothing of Jesus ( other than the knowledge that he was born and died on a cross ). I never classed myself as a ‘ sinner ‘ , thought that was reserved for thieves, murderers ect. I didn’t have a clue about the Holy Spirit ..still didn’t when I kept getting the inclination to go to church. So, in my case , it was God who instigated things, I was quite happy at the time. ( I would just add that circumstances had led me to take my children to a Christian playgroup - the members of the church were praying for all the mums. So , I guess my ‘leading ‘ was answer to their prayers )
When I looked back all kinds of things had led to me going to that particular playgroup..God was working long before I had any incline to consider anything spiritual.

Rita
 
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Pearl

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Something stood out in the above part of your post Pearl ‘ she was in crisis ‘, often as not something drives us to want to seek God.
For me it was God that laid it upon my heart to go to church, I knew nothing of Jesus ( other than the knowledge that he was born and died on a cross ). I never classed myself as a ‘ sinner ‘ , thought that was reserved for thieves, murderers ect. I didn’t have a clue about the Holy Spirit ..still didn’t when I kept getting the inclination to go to church. So, in my case , it was God who instigated things, I was quite happy at the time. ( I would just add that circumstances had led me to take my children to a Christian playgroup - the members of the church were praying for all the mums. So , I guess my ‘leading ‘ was answer to their prayers )
When I looked back all kinds of things had led to me going to that particular playgroup..God was working long before I had any incline to consider anything spiritual.

Rita

It's often the way Rita, in times of crisis even people who don't believe in God will cry out to him. Perhaps one day Justadude will do the same and discover that he is very real and very loving.
 

amadeus

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@amadeus it's pretty clear that you and I are quite different people with very different ways of looking at things. Of course that's perfectly okay, it just sometimes creates communication problems, which can become larger problems if we're not careful.
It's always been my instinct to question what people tell me, so much so that I oftentimes lose sight of what I'm doing and how it can be perceived. Clearly you were just sharing your beliefs with me and not expecting to be grilled like you were in court. So I apologize.
If you don't mind, I'll go ahead and respond to your last post with more self-awareness.

I try as best I can to maintain a balance between being open-minded but not so much so that I become susceptible to being duped or believing in something simply because I want it to be true.
I'm truly sorry if I did that. When somebody says something to me that reminds me of something I've heard before, I tend to share that previous experience with the person I'm talking with, mostly because I find that sort of thing interesting when it occurs. So when some of the things you said reminded me of past experiences I've had, I shared that. But I didn't mean to imply "you're all the same" or anything like that.
Again, sorry 'bout that. I wasn't trying to argue.

I wish you the best. :)

Apology certainly accepted. Your response here was closer to what I had expected from you. Yes, communication is often a problem for me as well and likely all of us. I also tend sometimes to draw conclusions based on previous experiences with other people. I wish you the best as well.
 

Justadude

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The main difference between an atheist and an agnostic is that the atheist does not believe God exists but the agnostic is not sure either way because they think the existence of God cannot be proven to their satisfaction.
Or as in my case, because "god" isn't defined in a meaningful way, the question of whether any exist is meaningless.

You claim to be agnostic rather than atheist so I assumed you would be interested in finding out for certain if God really does exist.
Shouldn't we first make sure we have a good definition for "god"?

Suggesting you ask the Holy Spirit is not 'circular' as even if you don't believe in him he will hear you and start to open your eyes if that is what you want.
Why would I ask the "Holy Spirit"? Why not ask Allah? Or Vishnu? By specifying my efforts to Christianity's entities haven't I already pre-decided that no other gods exist? Also, what makes you think I haven't already done that?

But I don't think it is; I think you are quite happy in your entrenched position so really that make you an atheist rather than an agnostic who might be open to finding out why we believe.
LOL..."entrenched"...nice framing. ;) Aren't we all "entrenched" to some degree? Are you "entrenched" in your disbelief in the existence of Hindu gods?

A few years ago I spoke to my friend about God and what I believed as a Christian. Even though she went to church she had never before heard the Gospel but was unconvinced. That is until one night in a crisis she said to God, "God if you are real like Pearl says then please here my prayer and reveal yourself to me." And he did. And lots of people have a similar story.
For sure, and that includes similar stories from all sorts of religions and all sorts of gods. You ever talk with a devout Hindu and hear all their stories about kids being born with clear and accurate memories of previous lives? Ever talk with a Muslim and hear their stories of how Allah saved them from a life of despair?

Given all that, do you have a specific reason why I should limit my appeals and efforts to just the Christian God?
 

Pearl

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Or as in my case, because "god" isn't defined in a meaningful way, the question of whether any exist is meaningless.


Shouldn't we first make sure we have a good definition for "god"?


Why would I ask the "Holy Spirit"? Why not ask Allah? Or Vishnu? By specifying my efforts to Christianity's entities haven't I already pre-decided that no other gods exist? Also, what makes you think I haven't already done that?


LOL..."entrenched"...nice framing. ;) Aren't we all "entrenched" to some degree? Are you "entrenched" in your disbelief in the existence of Hindu gods?


For sure, and that includes similar stories from all sorts of religions and all sorts of gods. You ever talk with a devout Hindu and hear all their stories about kids being born with clear and accurate memories of previous lives? Ever talk with a Muslim and hear their stories of how Allah saved them from a life of despair?

Given all that, do you have a specific reason why I should limit my appeals and efforts to just the Christian God?
There are many other gods but there is only one true God, the Holy One of Israel, the Father of Jesus. And the only way to this wonderful loving God is through his son Jesus. None of us could understand this or even accept it until we asked him into our lives and it is surprising that we all have a similar testimony which to those who don't believe is foolishness. But like many non-Christians on these sites it seems as if you aren't really seeking the truth about our God just people to argue with.
 
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Justadude

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There are many other gods but there is only one true God, the Holy One of Israel, the Father of Jesus. And the only way to this wonderful loving God is through his son Jesus.
That's what Christians believe, sure. Muslims believe there is no god but Allah and Mohammed was his prophet. Hindus have their beliefs about their gods, Mormons have their beliefs about Joseph Smith being a prophet, and so on.

Simply stating your beliefs is no different than a Muslim, Hindu, or Mormon stating theirs.

None of us could understand this or even accept it until we asked him into our lives and it is surprising that we all have a similar testimony which to those who don't believe is foolishness. But like many non-Christians on these sites it seems as if you aren't really seeking the truth about our God just people to argue with.
What would indicate to you that I was "really seeking the truth"?

No other God will answer you.
Are you sure? The believers in other gods are just as confident and sure as you are.
 

Willie T

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And I hope you never have to take a life (or resist being killed yourself). But both of those aspects of that madness sure focus you in on the reality of a Creator...…… and it lasts for your entire life.
 

Justadude

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And I hope you never have to take a life (or resist being killed yourself). But both of those aspects of that madness sure focus you in on the reality of a Creator...…… and it lasts for your entire life.
I can only imagine.
 

Justadude

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But, other things can have almost the same effect on your life and belief. (If you don't just insist on denying them.)
If you mean traumatic events, I've experienced those. I understand the instinct to reach out to anything, gods included, when one is faced with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. That's why scammers and con artists oftentimes specifically target people who are in desperate circumstances. That's when we're at our most vulnerable.
 
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Willie T

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If you mean traumatic events, I've experienced those. I understand the instinct to reach out to anything, gods included, when one is faced with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. That's why scammers and con artists oftentimes specifically target people who are in desperate circumstances. That's when we're at our most vulnerable.
No, not so much the "natural instinct" to reach out to "anything", but the awareness (humbleness?) to be able to accept recognizing an answer when it comes...… in matters both large and small.
 

Justadude

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No, not so much the "natural instinct" to reach out to "anything", but the awareness (humbleness?) to be able to accept recognizing an answer when it comes...… in matters both large and small.
Maybe that's the big difference here. I've never had anything like a revelation, spiritual experience, vision, or even an answered prayer. When I was young, my parents would tell me "pray about it" or "ask God for guidance" when I would come to them with problems. For a while I tried that. But it didn't take too long before I concluded that it was a waste of time, because nothing happened. I can still recall a time in my room where I said out loud to myself, "I'm just talking to a wall."

I also remember telling that to our youth leader at church and she basically told me I just didn't have enough faith and my habit of questioning everything and "overthinking" was getting in the way. I honestly found that very revealing. It indicated something very crucial to me that I've never forgotten.
 

Pearl

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That's what Christians believe, sure. Muslims believe there is no god but Allah and Mohammed was his prophet. Hindus have their beliefs about their gods, Mormons have their beliefs about Joseph Smith being a prophet, and so on.
People can believe in what they want but it doesn't make it true. I know that the Holy one of Israel is true because he answers me and speaks to me. No other man-made God will do that. And even Muslims and Hindus and all those who believe in other gods will be accepted by the Father of Jesus is they ask. Anybody can turn to him, even you when you're read Jad.
 

Justadude

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People can believe in what they want but it doesn't make it true. I know that the Holy one of Israel is true because he answers me and speaks to me.
Sure, that makes sense. I'm curious though, what do you think about people from other religions who say their gods answer them and speak to them? And what do you think about people like me who've never had any gods answer or speak to them?
 

Pearl

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Simply stating your beliefs is no different than a Muslim, Hindu, or Mormon stating theirs.
So you might believe, but the Christian God is different. There is only one way to the Father and that is through his son Jesus. But if you don't believe what the bible says you won't want to believe that. You can try to prove our God doesn't exist but you would be wasting your time because we all have a very personal relationship with him so we know he is real. But if you took the trouble to find out instead of sticking to your own views than you would see him for yourself and have a similar life-changing experience that we have had.

Our God reached down to us and came to live amongst us but the gods of other religions require their followers to reach up to them.
 
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