Okay. It appears that both sides are being argued quite well. This I like.
I must point out a couple of things though. For example, while the creation of many species from one over time is completely reasonable to most people, the sticking point for some people is the creation of ALL species from one. (This is one thing I'm holding in "suspension".)
There IS a mechanism to increase genetic information. You have to be careful when arguing anything about "the second law of thermodynamics" or "entropy". Not only is information NOT energy, but also the earth is not a closed system. Energy is constantly added by the sun, and lost by heat radiation. The earth has the ability to keep some of that energy, which means the earth is anti-entropic. Yes, the universe is total is entropic, but you can still have anti-entropic "pockets".
And, believe it or not, information can come from non-information. This was demonstrated 30 years ago as part of chaos theory. Unless you've seen it in action, it's hard to believe, but it is true. In the midst of a very chaotic system, order can appear spontaneously. All that's required is sufficient amounts of energy.
While it's possible that all primates derived from one primate, there are some very "suspicious" things in the human genome, which make it unlikely (but still possible) that we evolved from apes unaided.
The age of the earth is pretty much undetermined. However, since there are 11000 years of history in the Ulduvai gorge alone, it's hard for me to swallow 6000 as the age of the earth. If we are to believe the Sumerian record, earth is hundreds of thousand of years old (at least). Also, the remnants of the last ice age (12000 years ago) are pretty hard to ignore.
Now when you start talking billions of years, the science is much more sketchy. There's no way to know for sure if those dating methods are valid -- it's all theory. It's certainly possible, but it's not FACT.
And if you tie your religious beliefs to a certain scientific interpretation, you are bound to be disappointed. We know in part, and we understand in part.
Do you know why we had "jungle gyms" in elementary school? Something called "social Darwinism". Since kids are evolved from monkeys, they must be something like monkeys -- the child goes from monkey to human as he grows up. We all know this is pretty much bunk (and jungle gyms over concrete are stupid), but you see how dangerous and insidious a belief system can be. What if we found out tomorrow that tater tots caused cancer -- could we all sue the school lunch program?
I must point out a couple of things though. For example, while the creation of many species from one over time is completely reasonable to most people, the sticking point for some people is the creation of ALL species from one. (This is one thing I'm holding in "suspension".)
There IS a mechanism to increase genetic information. You have to be careful when arguing anything about "the second law of thermodynamics" or "entropy". Not only is information NOT energy, but also the earth is not a closed system. Energy is constantly added by the sun, and lost by heat radiation. The earth has the ability to keep some of that energy, which means the earth is anti-entropic. Yes, the universe is total is entropic, but you can still have anti-entropic "pockets".
And, believe it or not, information can come from non-information. This was demonstrated 30 years ago as part of chaos theory. Unless you've seen it in action, it's hard to believe, but it is true. In the midst of a very chaotic system, order can appear spontaneously. All that's required is sufficient amounts of energy.
While it's possible that all primates derived from one primate, there are some very "suspicious" things in the human genome, which make it unlikely (but still possible) that we evolved from apes unaided.
The age of the earth is pretty much undetermined. However, since there are 11000 years of history in the Ulduvai gorge alone, it's hard for me to swallow 6000 as the age of the earth. If we are to believe the Sumerian record, earth is hundreds of thousand of years old (at least). Also, the remnants of the last ice age (12000 years ago) are pretty hard to ignore.
Now when you start talking billions of years, the science is much more sketchy. There's no way to know for sure if those dating methods are valid -- it's all theory. It's certainly possible, but it's not FACT.
And if you tie your religious beliefs to a certain scientific interpretation, you are bound to be disappointed. We know in part, and we understand in part.
Do you know why we had "jungle gyms" in elementary school? Something called "social Darwinism". Since kids are evolved from monkeys, they must be something like monkeys -- the child goes from monkey to human as he grows up. We all know this is pretty much bunk (and jungle gyms over concrete are stupid), but you see how dangerous and insidious a belief system can be. What if we found out tomorrow that tater tots caused cancer -- could we all sue the school lunch program?
"Bad news, bad news came to me where I sleep / Turn turn turn again" - Bob Dylan