Before you vote, please read the first paragraph at least.
First of all, I was only able to find very little discussion on this topic, and only one somewhat lengthy thread devoted to it. And since that thread was quite old and didn't really cover the issue from the perspective that I would like to, I created a new thread. Also considering this is pretty much the single most important issue we as humans could ever discuss, I feel it is worthy of more attention. The poll options are pretty much self-explanatory. If you have an option not listed, just provide it in your post. Also, the option (Agnostic or atheist and does NOT believe in evoltion) was added so I could see if anyone actually fit this catergory. My assumptions would be that almost noone would...because if not evolution or a god...then what? Also, I did not intend this thread to be heavily based upon individual religions, but rather the broader concept of evolution and creation in general. While discussions of a specific religion are fine, I'd rather it not be the focus of this thread.
To be specific about my own beliefs: I am a creationist leaning heavily toward christianity and believing the bible is 100% accurate as written. I do believe the Earth is roughly 6,000 years old and God made it in 6 literal days. I believe in that which can be observed, studied, and tested but realize that certain concepts are beyond human understanding as not all can be explained in the natural world. I believe in science, and that most things do have a logical explanation behind them. I do not believe in any form of 'magic'. I do not believe in superstitions. I do not believe in fortune telling, ghosts (in the haunted house sense), astrology, or any of that nonsense. So if you feel the urge to laugh after reading this last paragraph, please do post your objections and why you believe my ideas are scientifically innacurate.
And when I say evolution, I am referring to the creation of all the matter in the universe from nothing (big bang). I am referring to the creation of all of the elements from essentially nothing but hydrogen. I am referring to the appearance of all celestial bodies by pure random chance from these chemicals (or lack thereof). I am then referring to the evolution of the Earth itself, from a hot magma-covered crust, to the planet we see today. I am referring to the evolution of living oranisms from non-living chemicals by pure random chance. And finally, I am referring to macroevolution: the process by which 'primitive' organisms accumulate 'beneficial mutations' and evolve into more complex ones over millions of years, and finally into humans. Note that I am NOT referring to microevolution: the divergence of one kind of animal into many different kinds by means of natural selection resulting in a decline in genetic complexity, as this is a proven scientific fact and one that is actually required in order for certain religious texts to make logical sense (how roughly 16,000 animals on Noah's ark could repopulate the world and give rise to the millions of varieties we see today for instance).
Alright, so to begin, I had been an evolutionist for about a decade until recently. I was taught in school, all the way up to college, that evolution was a proven fact and that creationism was just a "feel good, illogical, supersticious, and unscientific" concept that had been proven wrong by 'science'. However, after studying the issue lately, I have come to the conclusion that it is actually very much the opposite. That there is almost never such a thing as conclusive evidence or facts that indicate a particular theory, and only that theory, is true. All observable data is open to interpretation, and it is our preconceived belief system that determines how we view that data. That being said, what exactly is this "overwhelming evidence" in favour of evolution we are being bombarded with constantly? Why is evolution considered science, and creationism a religion? How exactly is evolution not equally religious in nature as creationism? Where is this massive evidence for evolution? Does not all of the evidence from geology, paleontology, genetics, homology, chemistry, astronomy, anatomy, etc., commonly used in support of evolution equally support ( if not make far more sense from) a creationist perspective?
That is what I would generally like to discuss in this thread from a more scientific and factual perspective. And please, don't flame. If you have an objection, please state it in a pleasant manner. I realize this is a touchy subject, but let's keep it civil.
First of all, I was only able to find very little discussion on this topic, and only one somewhat lengthy thread devoted to it. And since that thread was quite old and didn't really cover the issue from the perspective that I would like to, I created a new thread. Also considering this is pretty much the single most important issue we as humans could ever discuss, I feel it is worthy of more attention. The poll options are pretty much self-explanatory. If you have an option not listed, just provide it in your post. Also, the option (Agnostic or atheist and does NOT believe in evoltion) was added so I could see if anyone actually fit this catergory. My assumptions would be that almost noone would...because if not evolution or a god...then what? Also, I did not intend this thread to be heavily based upon individual religions, but rather the broader concept of evolution and creation in general. While discussions of a specific religion are fine, I'd rather it not be the focus of this thread.
To be specific about my own beliefs: I am a creationist leaning heavily toward christianity and believing the bible is 100% accurate as written. I do believe the Earth is roughly 6,000 years old and God made it in 6 literal days. I believe in that which can be observed, studied, and tested but realize that certain concepts are beyond human understanding as not all can be explained in the natural world. I believe in science, and that most things do have a logical explanation behind them. I do not believe in any form of 'magic'. I do not believe in superstitions. I do not believe in fortune telling, ghosts (in the haunted house sense), astrology, or any of that nonsense. So if you feel the urge to laugh after reading this last paragraph, please do post your objections and why you believe my ideas are scientifically innacurate.
And when I say evolution, I am referring to the creation of all the matter in the universe from nothing (big bang). I am referring to the creation of all of the elements from essentially nothing but hydrogen. I am referring to the appearance of all celestial bodies by pure random chance from these chemicals (or lack thereof). I am then referring to the evolution of the Earth itself, from a hot magma-covered crust, to the planet we see today. I am referring to the evolution of living oranisms from non-living chemicals by pure random chance. And finally, I am referring to macroevolution: the process by which 'primitive' organisms accumulate 'beneficial mutations' and evolve into more complex ones over millions of years, and finally into humans. Note that I am NOT referring to microevolution: the divergence of one kind of animal into many different kinds by means of natural selection resulting in a decline in genetic complexity, as this is a proven scientific fact and one that is actually required in order for certain religious texts to make logical sense (how roughly 16,000 animals on Noah's ark could repopulate the world and give rise to the millions of varieties we see today for instance).
Alright, so to begin, I had been an evolutionist for about a decade until recently. I was taught in school, all the way up to college, that evolution was a proven fact and that creationism was just a "feel good, illogical, supersticious, and unscientific" concept that had been proven wrong by 'science'. However, after studying the issue lately, I have come to the conclusion that it is actually very much the opposite. That there is almost never such a thing as conclusive evidence or facts that indicate a particular theory, and only that theory, is true. All observable data is open to interpretation, and it is our preconceived belief system that determines how we view that data. That being said, what exactly is this "overwhelming evidence" in favour of evolution we are being bombarded with constantly? Why is evolution considered science, and creationism a religion? How exactly is evolution not equally religious in nature as creationism? Where is this massive evidence for evolution? Does not all of the evidence from geology, paleontology, genetics, homology, chemistry, astronomy, anatomy, etc., commonly used in support of evolution equally support ( if not make far more sense from) a creationist perspective?
That is what I would generally like to discuss in this thread from a more scientific and factual perspective. And please, don't flame. If you have an objection, please state it in a pleasant manner. I realize this is a touchy subject, but let's keep it civil.