Family Forum / Marriage / Divorce / May 2007

First of all... this is really off topic.  Maybe you ought to find a
more appropriate group for it.

But, since you're here, I think I'll make a response... mainly because
you apparently have no real idea what the vast majority of Christians
actually think about such topics as the relationship between Genesis
and Darwinian evolution.  

Actually, I'd say that the majority of us consider it to be pretty
much a non-issue.  It's actually only a small (but very vocal) group
of "Christians" of the fundamentalist variety who seem to have
convinced the general public that "evolution" *is* an issue to
Christians... when in fact it's an issue only to soi-disant
"Christians" of their own ilk.  And oddly enough, the fundys have been
aided in this deception by an equally small and also very vocal group
of fundamentalist atheists.  Dawkins probably it the most notorious
example.  

Since you're a Brit of some sort, then maybe you ought to find out
what some of the more mainline British Christians have to say about
such subjects.  Rowan Williams has made public statements on the
matter:

http://tinyurl.com/fmlaf

Also, you might try reading some of Alister McGrath's popular stuff.
Personally, I think that his dissections of Dawkins are entertaining
as well as illuminating...

Cheers!

rj

I really don't care what your thoughts are regarding deity; and I won't
discuss my deity vs. your beliefs for reasons that are apparently beyond
your comprehension.

Besides, this isn't the appropriate forum for that topic.

Many people don't realize that diarrhea is hereditary. That's right;
it runs in your jeans.

Evolution is pretty much a given. A lot of the details are not known.
If people believe Methusalah lived 969 years, and Noah collected all
the animals that were alive in his boat, their is no reasoning with
them about evolution. Even many Christians who are not fundamentalists
attempt to "explain" how something like the flood could occur or
creation could occur, rather than seeing it as superstition like we
nonbelievers. Heck, people can just make up stuff, but since most
Christians feel the bible, at least the NT, is sacred and inspired
(whatever that means), they don't accept that the stories are simply
myths with a historical basis like a historical novel (in some cases),
except the footnotes by the author explaining what is history and what
is creative writing are missing. They see it all as one factual
history on some level. Matthew points this out very well. It starts
with a history of Joseph, Jesus' adoptive father and gives the
generations from Abraham to Joseph. Exactly why we need to know Joseph
is related to Abraham escapes me, since Joseph is not supposed to be
Jesus' biological father. Anyway, that is a kind of history. Accurate?
I have no idea, but it could be, kind of, sort of. THEN in the next
sentence with no transition, Matthew talks about Jesus as the son of
God. To Christians it's all one continuous factual history. The rest
of us read this and say, Whoa, run that last sentence by me again!

I have lots of religious friends and family. I just don't talk about
religion with them at all. The subject of the oldest living person
came up the other day and of course a relative said it was Methuselah.
All I said was, I think the longest living person in modern times was
122 years. It would just create friction to say it is impossible for
people to live 900 years, or perhaps there was an error in the
translation or perhaps they figured years differently, or perhaps it
is an exageration, but that doesn't go over very well with the bible
thumpers. Just let them believe what they like so long as they don't
hurt you or yours. People have a perfect right to be mistaken. dkw