Different Strains of Creationism and Evolution
In a battle between Intelligence Design and Evolution there seems to be only 2 camps. There are many camps between actually.
For example, from pure Creationism to pure evolution, we can have the following strains.
1. Intelligence Design. God created every species from scratch.
2. Incompetent Design. God created every species. However, he’s not so powerful that he got it right the first time. So he created a lot of target practices and then copies the blueprint for those target practices for better masterpieces. These “Gods” maybe genetic engineers from Alien species rather than a Christian God. At least for some species, namely the genetically modified food, we know it’s true.
3. Guided evolution. God doesn’t create new species. He just guides evolution. So species show up by it self, and then God says, “Ah ha… I don’t like the Canaanites, so I help the Israelites to slaughter them all.” Perhaps latter He said, “Ah ha, I don’t like the nephilim, here comes the flood.” After a while, the species that survive in the gene pool are the one that God prefer.
4. Pure evolution. There was never a God. Life happened by it self.
You know what; from all 4 I don’t know what’s right. The option 3 is particularly danger. Imagine if your brother got murdered. The murderer can argue that it happens because God does not like your brother and prefer the murderer to survive in the gene pool.
Attributing atrocities to God rather than aspects we can control, such as lack of punishment toward murderers can leads to extreme situation.
Politically savvy murderers can then murder a lot of people avoiding the natural political costs. That’ll set precedence that’ll eventually make us kill each other.
Guess what, people do use that technique all over the world.
After Muhammad killed a lot of Jews (Banu Nadir), for example, he argued that God told him that the Jews plotted to kill him.
Given lack of evidence against the Jews besides those supernatural claims, many people believe Muhammad anyway.
Of course, to be fair to the Muslim, I must say that the same “trick” is used by so many other religions/atheists too. My Mom, for example, told me that the slaughtering of Canaanites is justified because God said so. The Genghis Khan argued that God granted him a mission to subdue those who refused to submit to him (with the exception of Mamelukes, I guess). Christians witch hunter also used religions to justify killing witches, pagans, and Jews. The Jews themselves had their share of genocide when they’re winning war.
It seems that humans like to kill each other. We just need a good justification for that and religions provide good hard to check justification.
This is the same reason, why many countries are secular. Secular countries protect innocents from unverifiable accusations and hence can more properly align their people’s interests to prosperity. Hence, secular countries, nowadays, tend to be stronger and richer.
Finally, vestigial DNA and vestigial organ shows that at least one possibility is impossible. Number 1. As I explained in http://genetips.com/2007/08/19/is-life-created/archive.htm.
4 Responses to “Different Strains of Creationism and Evolution”
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TW
Said this at 2:27pm:Bringing “God” into the argument is not required.
If creationism is science then it should be able to stand us as science - the fact is it doesn’t.
In your list, “Pure Evolution” should simply read “Life came into being by itself.” It has nothing to do with the existence or otherwise of a supernatural being, and life didn’t “create itself.”
Mike Haubrich, FCD
Said this at 5:23pm:Jim, I am not sure why but when you commented on my site, Akismet marked it as “Spam.” Feel free to try again when ever you see something that you wish to remark upon.
Mike
Behruz Himo
Said this at 9:37am:You state: “Secular countries protect innocents from unverifiable accusations and hence can more properly align their people’s interests to prosperity”
Well, Hitler’s Germany & Stalin’s Soviet Union were secular states which murdered tens of millions of innocents. Not to mention massacres of colonial powers, such France in Algeria, or Saddam’s genocide of Kurds & Shiites, etc, etc, etc… Add up all victims of religious wars from creation/(or whatever you call it) to the current times and they will be outnumbered by victims of secular regimes by N’folds!
You said: “Hence, secular countries, nowadays, tend to be stronger and richer”
Simply compare Gulf oil-exporting countries with Egypt or Tunisia; Saudi Arabia vs. Nigeria or Venezuella; even USA vs. rest of the world!
“Muhammad killed a lot of Jews (Banu Nadir)” - this was not antisemtism per se and it has been proved ages ago. Think simpler, if Islam & Muhammad (pbuh) was judophobe:
- Ottoman Empire wouldn’t offer home to thousands of Jews expelled by the Catholic Church from Spain;
- No Jewish minorities in Muslim countries would have remained after 1400 years of Islam. There are Jews still living in Iran (you may say they are 2nd class citizens and all Jewish minorities have been 2nd class citizens in Muslim countries, cause they paid special taxes, but their responsibilities before the state were also fewer than those of Muslims, they didn’t serve in the army, lived according to their laws, their property & temples were protected, Muslims were responsible before Allah for a minority under their protection, etc. Quite a lot of Jews & Christian used to be Ministers & advisors of Muslim Sultans. Compare to Europe of just 55 years ago, who is responsible for pogroms & the Holocaust? Palestinians?);
- One of the wife of the blessed Prophet was a Jewish;
- Antisemitism is a European “invention”.
Peace & blessings be with you.
webmaster
Said this at 9:53am:What’s really problematic for me is not religions or muslim in particular. What’s problematic for me is governments’ forceful intervention against freedom of speech and thought. Religions make it easier for that.
Some secular countries can be pretty fucked up too. However, we can count atheism and communism as some form of religion too. I mean it’s taught dogmatically and forcefully by the state. Religions tend to make it worse.
As for whether Muhamad was an anti Antisemit I don’t know and I don’t care. The fact remains that he killed innocents unarmed civilians.
Compared that to 3000 Muslims prisoner killed by Richard the lionheart or mass murders done by Romans, Mongols, Pagans, Jews, Christians against each other, at that time. Perhaps mass murders were standard. He could be a "relatively" humane political leader at that time. Even then I doubt that. A holy man? C’mon?
As for Muslims being nice to the Jews. I think it depends a lot on "which" muslims. Ottoman empire were pretty nice. Till now Israel and Turki relationship is pretty good. Samaritan branch of judaism is pretty much wiped out under muslim rules though.
Second class citizen status under muslim rules should also be judged on context. At that time it may be relatively "fair" compared to Europeans where non Christians often have harder time living. However, compared to europeans total freedom of religion now?
Also first major genocide in 20th century is done by Turky against Christian Armenian.
I wouldn’t blame muslim religion for those genocide. That’s the point. I am not against religion.
People often have various secular "normal" reasons to promote unfairness and bigotry. Envy for relative success of others, for example. Religions doesn’t cause those motives. Those motives are there anyway with or without religions. However, religions make it easier for bigots to hide their motives and justify their oppressions.
Can’t get the chicks you want? Use religions to justify criminalization of sex outside marriage. It’s easier to justify lies with unverifiable claim.
One of Muhammad’s wife is a Jew. I’ve heard she’s actually the wife of that Banu Nadir’s leader that he killed. I’ve heard that one possible cause of Muhammad’s death is poisoning by that Jew. Well, what would you do to the guy that killed your husband and your whole family and force you to be sex slave? If genocide is "fair game" so is that.
According to wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banu_Nadir Muhammad claimed that God told him about Banu Nadir’s plan to assassinate him with rocks. A claim that cannot, of course, be verified. Imagine someone accuse you in court for attempted murder with sole proof that he think God told him so.
Hell, it may be true (though of course I don’t think so because I am not a Muslim)… The problem is, can it be wrong? I could make the same claim. My enemies could make the same claim. If enough people believe superstitions they would believe it. You see the problem?