Is behavioral evolution against God?

[DuckieLady]

There's an online course I want to go through on behavioral evolution and I don't know *exactly* what it is about but I've been avoiding it because I'm worried it might be anti-God.

So far reading over it, it sounds like it's more related to external stimuli changing our behavior, which to me sounds like how social media changes our brain through reward systems, as an example. But I might be wrong.

I haven't dipped my toe in the water just yet. I wanted to check here and see what you guys thought... just incase it's actually acid.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

Sounds like 'behavioral modification'. And it's only anti-God if the thing being used to modify behavior is anti-God and if the behavior being sought is anti-God. God himself uses behavioral modification. He seeks to conform our behavior to that of Christ's through knowledge.

...the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:10

...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:13​

Assuming I'm right about it being a behavioral modification study, you might find the class interesting and useful in seeing how God is successful at modifying our behavior to that of Christ's. But be aware, the world is all about 're-education', especially during this time. The class itself is probably going to be aimed at changing your behaviors and attitudes about current social and political issues, and certainly not towards God's view of those things.

 

[Hidden In Him]

There's an online course I want to go through on behavioral evolution and I don't know *exactly* what it is about but I've been avoiding it because I'm worried it might be anti-God.

So far reading over it, it sounds like it's more related to external stimuli changing our behavior, which to me sounds like how social media changes our brain through reward systems, as an example. But I might be wrong.

I haven't dipped my toe in the water just yet. I wanted to check here and see what you guys thought... just incase it's actually acid.

My honest response would be "Ick!"

This guy here seems to be the preeminent lecturer on the subject, and not only is he out there quite a long ways, but the entire theory rests upon acceptance of evolution as a fact, and continually reinforces that thought with every supposition he makes.
Behavioral Evolution

Personally, I'd run from it like the plague, but that's just me. If I were taking college courses that dealt with evolution, I'd instead look into upper level courses on Paleontology. At least then you would have a chance to maybe cover what's actually IN the fossil record, rather than listen to someone theorize all day long on matters that for the most part aren't based on observable facts.

 

[101G]

Ephesians 4:23 - 32

PICJAG
101G The "Spiritual Saboteur"

 

[pittsburghjoe]

Consider what it would mean if the soul of man didn't enter this fallen place until original sin. Would that render the evolution excuse pointless?

 

[Enoch111]

There's an online course I want to go through on behavioral evolution and I don't know *exactly* what it is about but I've been avoiding it because I'm worried it might be anti-God.

Anything being presented today which is not clearly based on the Bible is anti-God. The theory of evolution itself is anti-God, since it eliminates God completely from His creation. Why would you even be considering something like this in the first place?

 

[DuckieLady]

Anything being presented today which is not clearly based on the Bible is anti-God. The theory of evolution itself is anti-God, since it eliminates God completely from His creation. Why would you even be considering something like this in the first place?

I think human behavior is interesting. If it is external stimuli that modifies human behavior that's not the same as people coming from apes. I haven't checked it out entirely.

I just woke up and I don't know how to explain things just yet.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

If it is external stimuli that modifies human behavior that's not the same as people coming from apes.

I only did a quick scan of the Robert Sapolsky website that Hidden In Him posted a link to but I did not see that this is about evolution. It looks like a study into the flesh, how it operates. From that we can see how common it's traits are to both animal and human. Which is kind of timely for me because I'm always thinking, and lately I've been observing how my animals aren't much different than me and my fellow human beings—our appetites and what flesh creatures seek to do, by nature, to satisfy them. I've observed that fallen flesh is really quite predicable. So what value is that, someone may ask? This: The more you recognize the workings of the flesh we've been bound over to through the fall the more you'll renounce them and deal with them through the knowledge of God and the Holy Spirit.

 

[DuckieLady]

I only did a quick scan of the Robert Sapolsky website that Hidden In Him posted a link to but I did not see that this is about evolution. It looks like a study into the flesh, how it operates. From that we can see how common it's traits are to both animal and human. Which is kind of timely for me because I'm always thinking, and lately I've been observing how my animals aren't much different than me and my fellow human beings—our appetites and what flesh creatures seek to do, by nature, to satisfy them. I've observed that fallen flesh is really quite predicable. So what value is that, someone may ask? This: The more you recognize the workings of the flesh we've been bound over to through the fall the more you'll renounce them and deal with them through the knowledge of God and the Holy Spirit.

Yes! Those are my thoughts, too. I've already watched a couple of his lectures but never went to that side yet.

My view on it is that we have normal biological traits and we're automatically born into the flesh, as a result to being born in a fallen world. We make mistakes, we need food, we drink water, we get sick, we die, we have normal human instincts that help us with survival. The difference is we are not merely animals. We are at the top of the food chain because we are also spiritual beings- and we can overcome the flesh and death by the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ.

It gets more interesting if you can look at it from a Biblical aspect and see how these things sort of go hand in hand. God designed science. Studying science is studying God's work. God's craftmanship is incredible and there's no reason to separate the two.