I could go either of those. Far less judgmental than whatever I would have come up with. This is where atheism is a problem...we can't get the Atheist Pope to declare Raelism a heresy, and boot them to a different DIR...
*sighs*
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Do all atheists believe in evolution?
- Thread starter IsmailaGodHasHeard
- Start date
I could go either of those. Far less judgmental than whatever I would have come up with. This is where atheism is a problem...we can't get the Atheist Pope to declare Raelism a heresy, and boot them to a different DIR...
*sighs*
Why is that? When did this become the only conceivable alternative?
Simurgh
Atheist Triple Goddess
you have another scientific theory that could supplant evolution? or another religious belief that can be substituted for creationism?
There is panspermy, for one.
That would be an alternative to abiogenesis & creationism.
But evolution is another matter entirely.
Alceste
Vagabond
Yes, nicely said indeed.
Thanks guys. If you're interested, it was a pretty good book.
Aliens Adored: Rael's UFO Religion - Susan J. Palmer - Google Books
Who says we have to think of something? If evolution were proven false, it would only mean we don't know yet. It wouldn't mean biblical creationism was right.
Simurgh
Atheist Triple Goddess
If we don't want to or cannot think of an alternative then, it seems to me, there isn't anything out there that would either stand up to the demands creating a new scientific theory makes on our intellectual abilities, or that would be able to replace creationism in its numerous incarnations.
Rejecting both without offering an alternative is taking the easy way out for those who don't or can't think of something more plausible but still want to seem as if they were willing and able to offer acceptable options.
For me, though, it's not completely about choosing between evolution and creation. I see it more as taking the most proven scientific explanation we have today. Which would be evolution. But it's more scientific method that I 'believe' in. The outcome of applying that method is the theory of evolution. Some day, an alternative theory might come up which begins to look more credible. Or, perhaps more likely, the theory of evolution might get a few tweaks, or even split into competing theories which had the same starting point (kinda like apes and humans...lol)
Anyways, the whole point is, science is not THE ANSWER...it's the process. And that process will result in our most plausible theory. So whilst I might subscribe to the theory of evolution today, I couldn't be 100% certain that will be the case in the future.
Alceste
Vagabond
^ this.
darkendless
Guardian of Asgaard
Whilst I agree i'm uncomfortable using the word belief in there at all.
Belief can be misconstrued to suggest that you have faith in a methodology and don't actually understand (which i'm not suggesting, just saying it can be considered that way).
jmn
Member
A cult belief system based on ET and UFO'S, and cloning which is pointless. Emotion, behavior, attitude etc. can not be cloned. Identical twins don't have the same personalities.
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:yes:
I completely agree. It's why I whacked believe in single quotes.
'believe' rather than just believe.
Me Myself
Back to my username
I assume some very uneducated people in general may not knnow about it, which would include some atheists maybe?
Simurgh
Atheist Triple Goddess
At this point it seems that the problem we are having is not based on evolutionary theory and/or creationism in whatever guise they present themselves. We seem to be honing in on the term belief.
Evolution is not part of my belief system any more than the rising and setting of the sun are part of it. Those things are simply observable phenomena; I look at the body of knowledge and accept it as having proven its point. It is the best explanation we have now and, true to its nature, can be augmented and modified as new evidence is discovered and integrated. There is no need to worship, prostrate, mouth incantations of magical nature and believe against all rational thought something that I cannot see, hear, touch, or otherwise experience (without the help of drugs or otherwise altered states of consciousness).
There is no need to build some arcane belief system around the facts since they are in evidence. Evolution is a scientific theory with the date that makes it such. And yes, I believe that this is a theory based on existing data, but I need not believe that I n the same sense as I would have to believe that some deity exists that has, in a moment of boredom, decided that it would be fun to mess around on one planet andjust because he/she/it was in need of self-affirmation and an ego boostcreated living organisms. Or maybe there were a few such beings out there that wanted to compete with each other and did pretty much the same thing for their amusement and such.
That kind of thinking needs people with the ability to believe that such a scenario makes sense, the results of a rigorous application of scientific methodology and careful analysis does not.
Are we then arguing about the term believe as stated in the original post as if evolution were just another religious tradition and therefore need acolytes who simply treat science as yet one more of such traditions?
Evolution is not part of my belief system any more than the rising and setting of the sun are part of it. Those things are simply observable phenomena; I look at the body of knowledge and accept it as having proven its point. It is the best explanation we have now and, true to its nature, can be augmented and modified as new evidence is discovered and integrated. There is no need to worship, prostrate, mouth incantations of magical nature and believe against all rational thought something that I cannot see, hear, touch, or otherwise experience (without the help of drugs or otherwise altered states of consciousness).
There is no need to build some arcane belief system around the facts since they are in evidence. Evolution is a scientific theory with the date that makes it such. And yes, I believe that this is a theory based on existing data, but I need not believe that I n the same sense as I would have to believe that some deity exists that has, in a moment of boredom, decided that it would be fun to mess around on one planet andjust because he/she/it was in need of self-affirmation and an ego boostcreated living organisms. Or maybe there were a few such beings out there that wanted to compete with each other and did pretty much the same thing for their amusement and such.
That kind of thinking needs people with the ability to believe that such a scenario makes sense, the results of a rigorous application of scientific methodology and careful analysis does not.
Are we then arguing about the term believe as stated in the original post as if evolution were just another religious tradition and therefore need acolytes who simply treat science as yet one more of such traditions?
Aletheia Athanatos
Member
Most Christians and Atheists accept the modern synthesis theory of how all living species on earth evolved from earlier shared ancestral species. "accept", not as in "are 100% certain it is true" but as in "it is a simple but powerful theory that has not yet been disproven despite exhaustive searches for counter-examples, that it is rational to place a high degree of reliance upon remaining accurate."
It isn't something that requires belief - it has a vast amount of supporting evidence from making successful predictions in multiple fields (not just archaeology, but also genetics, geography, and many more).
I know there are some denominations of Protestant Christianity in certain countries (eg America) that deny it, but they are a tiny minority compared to the total global population.