# Tag Archives: creationism

## God and Science

Reverently Burgled from I Am your God

## Truly Intelligently Designed

Click on the image to biggify.

Thanks  Jeff.

## Discovery Institutes Rethink

Strange as it may seem there are people who doubt the possibility that Charles Darwin stumbled on a truth as he voyaged on the Beagle. That different surroundings cause different survival traits to come to the fore and that eventually, enough differences create new species.

The doubters say, amongst a number of other comments, “Where is the Missing Link”.

It may just have been found.

A discovery which will institute much rethinking in both those who accept the Theory of Evolution and in those who believe it is a load of bunkum.

Click on the image to biggify

Scientists in New York unveiled the skeleton of what they said could be the common ancestor to humans, apes and other primates. The tiny creature, officially known as Darwinius masillae, but dubbed Ida, lived 47 million years ago and is unusually well preserved, missing only five per cent of its skeleton.

The finding was displayed at a press conference at New York’s Natural History Museum overnight. Organisers said that scientists led by Norway’s fossil expert Professor Jorn Hurum worked for two years on Ida, first discovered in 1983 by private collectors who failed to understand her importance. The monkey-like creature was preserved through the ages in Germany’s Messel Pit, a crater rich in Eocene Epoch fossils.

Although bearing a long tail, she had several human characteristics, including an opposable thumb, short arms and legs, and forward facing eyes. “This is the first link to all humans – truly a fossil that links world heritage,” Professor Hurum said in a statement.

David Attenborough, the renowned British naturalist and broadcaster, said the “little creature is going to show us our connection with all the rest of the mammals.”  “The link they would have said until now is missing … it is no longer missing,” he said.

## God and Honesty, Intelligence and Creationism

Burgled from I Am Your God

## Creation, God and Jeffery

Creationists constantly attack established scientific theories and methods like evolution and carbon dating. Let’s take a closer look at their brilliant theory.

Then we will go off on a little bit of a tangent. And talk about sex.

I am sailing close to the wind yet again. This is so wrong on so many different levels.

But hey, if some intelligent designer did create us, why would he/she/it give us a sense of humour if we are not supposed to use it?

One of the best lines I have ever heard is right there near the end

“Well I guess you shouldn’t have gave them those other holes cause they’re doing it wrong…”

## Closed Minds, Open Minds

Just a thought for the day.

Not that it will affect me.

My mind is made up and completely closed.

I have been told so.

Burgled from unreasonable faith

## Pi-Day and the Ides of March

So, we have reached the 14th of March.

3.14 in the USA.

Pi day.

That most wonderful of magic numbers. The number that defines a circle. The number which puts the final nail in the coffin of all those who believe that every word in the Bible is correct.

I posted this once before but it is worth posting again.

I Kings 7:23-26

He made the Sea of cast metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty cubits to measure around it. Below the rim, gourds encircled it – ten to a cubit. The gourds were cast in two rows in one piece with the Sea. The Sea stood on twelve bulls, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea rested on top of them, and their hindquarters were toward the center. It was a handbreadth in thickness, and its rim was like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. It held two thousand baths. (NIV)

The Bible is the word of God, yes? Anyone who claims otherwise is a heretic bastard.

Well look at this grave, grave offence to your beliefs.

Pi. π. $\pi$.

The value for pi used in calculators is 3.141592654. But if we look at the word of God, it states that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter is 30:10 cubits. In other words:

3

Also known as 3.00 or 3.0. But here we have these self important mathematicians who believe they can improve on the word of God! What an effrontery. Biblical literalists, you are faced, as with evolution, with an important dilemma if you wish to continue your peace of mind.

You can either accept that the word of God is fallible and men have improved upon it, therefore casting into doubt your claims of Creation.

Or you could hold steadfast to your God-given beliefs. Stand by in the face of scientific persecution and shout loud to the heavens that PI, goddammit, is equal to 3.0 because God said so.

And tomorrow is that wonderful day in both history and literature.

15th March.

A day which the shade of Julius Caesar and every school-child who has been sentenced to study Shakespeare will remember.

The Ides of March!

Those of us who are older will also remember the phrase, “I told him, Julie, don’t go!”

Part the first, from Wayne and Schuster

Part the twoth

Part the last

## An Evolving God and Evolutionary Genetics

I have been having a discussion with Cliff Burns from Beautiful Desolation about the evolution of God and the role of God in human society.

Cliff is a very intelligent man, and a fellow curmudgeon, so I knew that a discussion with him would force me to think deeply on the subject. We approach God from two different directions.

He from a position of belief and I from a position of disbelief.

I attempted to comment on his suggestion that “By having a sense of greater power all around us, humans are humbled…and believe me, as a species, we need a lot of humbling. When we dispense with God, you’re right, we get Mao, we get Pol Pot, Stalin (I just posted an essay that brushes on this). Without God, we’re lost…”

My reply became convoluted yet I felt there were valid points which maybe needed expansion and so here is a new posting on the subject of evolution and rulership, God and genetics. It is based around my reply to the above. I apologise for any duplication of thoughts.

Cliff, I agree that we, as a species, have a social habit of following a leader, corporeal or incorporeal. As you say, our arts and customs are based on this habit. Could it be that in order to have a civilisation, or even a small grouping of people, it was better to have a few leaders and many followers, These genetic traits could have been concentrated in successful societies.

A successful tribe in the hunter-gatherer days of mankind needed a strong and successful leader. A failure in leadership would lead to either a change of leader or the demise of the tribe. As mankind settled and developed agriculture and pastoralism, leadership was again required, both to deal with the feeding of the embryonic civilisation and to help protect it from marauding animals and acquisitive neighbours. Good leaders need followers and those who would not follow had been weeded out back in the tribal days. As villages grew into cities the leader became much more of a ruler.

It was known that there was a realm of magic which decreed the seasons and the Ruler was close to this realm. His pronouncements and decisions were for the over-all good, even if it meant some individuals had to be sacrificed. Figuratively or literally! The magic realm slowly developed into a supernatural realm.

A recent news story I found suggested that it seems that radical and conservative politics attract different genetic types. Could it be that there is also a “Leadership” gene and a “Follower” gene which could be traced back to the original tribal organisation in pre-village life. Having that leadership in the hands of a human individual or, in the hands of a representative of whichever Deity the society condones, doesn’t seem to matter.

Rulers tended to breed within their own group. A Ruler would marry a neighbouring Ruler’s daughter. Over generations, if there is a “Ruling gene” then it became concentrated within certain family groupings. Leaving the rest of the population to follow. For if you did not follow, you were either dealt with or became a ruler yourself. Rulers do have a habit of spreading their genes around. Many individuals, such as the illegitemate son of Rollo and “the Tanner’s daughter” who grew up to become William the Conqueror, would be given half a set of ruling genes at birth. Excellent foremen and sergeants. And occasionally, successful rebels.

So successful societies were led by successful leaders. The long lasting civilisations had, as history shows, not only a human leader, but important supernatural support. A priestly class, probably well endowed with “ruler genes” was a way to carry the wisdom of a successful style of rulership across generations. Where there was not a strong God-belief in a tribe or civilisation, as with Ghengis Khan or Atilla the Hun and other one generational conquerors the civilisation and the tribe died with its ruler or was absorbed into a new culture.

Whether human or divine, it is the fact of leadership within a population grouping which is important. Sometimes it seems that a divine leadership is safer for the general population because there are not generational leadership contests. Too often a human God can go mad as happened with Stalin, Pol Pot and now Mugabe. A God can evolve within a stable community but to change a God requires a macro-shift in exterior conditions. A major drought, food disease, global climate change or innovative change any one of which could lead to population or influence movement where one group wins and another loses.

To a good follower class, and as explained above, every successful society needs good followers, it matters little from where leadership originates. God and the King are almost inseparable. In ancient Egypt and in Rome, the Pharaohs and Caesers were God and there were Priestly dynasties to ensure intergenerational continuity of the God-ship.

In our modern world we have seen Hitler (Godwin preserve me), Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and now Mugabe remove the “old” religion and take on their own shoulders the mantle of divine abilities. Their kingdoms are doomed. There is no continuing supernatural presence within those cultures. The possible exception in this group is China where Rulership is codified in a Committee which could become immortal.
While such leader/follower dynamics are necessary for a successful and relatively stable civilisation, often it is the free-thinkers or atheists who create the conditions for progress as opposed to simple change.

The new theory on the genetics of radical and conservative politics is not proven, yet there is some data which indicates that it may be a viable theory. Could it be that millenia of civilisation has also created a “Belief” gene pool? Separate from, but similar to the postulated political gene.That civilisation has grown to need a God. Not that I am being specific here because it is obvious that there are a number of successful civilisations around the world which each have their own God. The similarity is that they HAVE a God.

PZ Myers has written on his blog that he believes the New Atheist should aim at the destruction of all religious belief. While I admire his aim, I fear for the result.

As civilised men and women we, or most of us, have had bred into our genes a belief in the supernatural. A belief in magic and superstition. It is the major glue which holds our civilisation together. It doesn’t matter whether there is a supernatural realm or not. The belief is what matters and is what enables us, as a group, to live together. Mostly. And that group over there in the next valley or on the next continent is a danger to us and our belief.

Despite being on the same side of the belief fence as PZ I find I agree with Cliff and disagree with PZ. We need religion.

As an atheist, I see my role as looking outside the square. Finding new ways of doing or looking at things. Developing new thinking systems because those who believe are followers and those who rule are natural conservatives.
It is from my actions that God evolves.

## Strange World #5; Ram Rules!

 Hindu activists say the canal project will damage Lord Rama’s bridge

This could never happen in an advanced nation.

Could it?

The Indian government has withdrawn a controversial report submitted in court earlier this week which questioned the existence of the Hindu god Ram.

The report was presented to the Supreme Court on Wednesday in connection with a case against a proposed shipping canal project between India and Sri Lanka.

Hindu hardliners say the project will destroy what they say is a bridge built by Ram and his army of monkeys. Scientists and archaeologists say the Ram Setu (Lord Ram’s bridge) – or Adam’s Bridge as it is sometimes called – is a natural formation of sand and stones.

No evidence

In their report submitted to the court, the government and the Archaeological Survey of India questioned the belief, saying it was solely based on the Hindu mythological epic Ramayana. They said there was no scientific evidence to prove that the events described in Ramayana ever took place or that the characters depicted in the epic were real.

Hindu activists say the bridge was built by Lord Ram’s monkey army to travel to Sri Lanka and has religious significance.

In the last two days, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a scathing attack on the government for questioning the “faith of the million”. Worried about the adverse reaction from the majority Hindu population of the country, the Congress Party-led government has now done a U-turn and withdrawn the statement submitted in court.

The government asked the court for three months to try and sort out the issue. Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, appearing on behalf of the government, said they would set up a mechanism to hear concerns expressed by those opposed to the canal project. The court adjourned the matter for three months saying they would take up the case again in January.

In the meantime, the court has said that dredging work for the canal could continue, but Ram’s Bridge should not be touched

On Wednesday, Hindu hard-line organisations blocked roads across India to protest against the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project. Commuters in the capital, Delhi, were stuck in traffic jams for hours as Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and Bajrang Dal blocked roads at various places. Road blocks were also held in Bhopal, the capital of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, on the Delhi-Agra highway and on the Jaipur-Agra highway. Train services were disrupted in many places across northern India.

The canal project proposes to link the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by dredging a canal through the shallow sea. This is expected to provide a continuous navigable sea route around the Indian peninsula. Once complete, the canal will reduce the travel time for ships by hundreds of miles and is expected to boost the economic and industrial development of the region.

## Thoughts on the Evolution of God

“Gene frequencies in a population change over time in response to environmental pressures”

A very fine description and explanation of speciel evolution.

Ideas also change over time according to environmental pressures.

There are no ideas in a vacuum. They are influenced by the past and they are influenced by the present surrounding thoughts and conclusions. Ideas which do not fit into the current intellectual environment eventually disappear, being replaced by ideas which are acceptable within the constraints of the time.

Phlogiston and the flat earth are examples of scientific ideas which disappeared with a change in the prevailing intellectual landscape.

It is interesting to follow the growth of religious thought through the millennia. How some religions grew and then faded. How others succeeded until their followers were defeated in a battle.

Baal was defeated by Jehovah, Hera was married (defeated) by Zeus and in each case kingdoms rose and fell.

In what became the Grecian sphere of influence, the Gods and Goddesses remained recognisably human in their attitudes and habits. Jealous and promiscuous with a fair measure of random nastiness to fit in with observed extreme natural events. Over a thousand years of intercity warfare the Gods and Goddesses waxed and waned, yet they survived in the stories of the region. They spread as far as India under Alexander but returned to their own lands in time to be adopted by the Romans.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the pantheon of their Gods was joined by one who was so powerful his priests decreed that His name could never be spoken. Worshipped by a small and quite insignificant nomadic tribe, this God was able to lead His tribe into a number of victories and so they were able to gain a land of their own. Despite defeats by newer invaders who had larger, better supplied armies and exile from their land their God continued to be worshipped and every time those worshippers found themselves in charge, they attempted to destroy all other Gods.

Then, as happens in most historical events, there was a rather unusual set of circumstances. As a consequence of these events, an offshoot of this small religion was adopted by the Romans and so spread throughout Europe and nearby regions. Finally this God was strong enough to squash all other religions in His sphere of influence.

Now it is the dominant religion in the Western World.

But is this still the same God which first appeared in the Middle East some three or four thousand years ago?

Many modern-day believers will automatically reply in the affirmative. Yet let us look at the over-all habits of this ancient Middle Eastern God. He was no lover of any who opposed him. He was rigid in His  expectations of his followers. He had no difficulties in ordering His people to commit genocide, either to take their land or to remove all trace of another God.

Compare this with the God of Love who is worshipped today.

He has evolved as philosophy and ethics and knowledge have evolved. He has not been existing in a vacuum. His attributes have developed as society has developed. He has developed an omnipresence and he has developed “omniknowledge”. He did not know all while he was in the desert. Otherwise He would not have tested Job at the request of a fallen angel. Come to think of it, the Devil and God no longer communicate in the modern world. Another evolution of ideas. Anyway, He would not have tested Job for He would have already known the future.

His present day worshippers will consider that any changes in God are due to our increased knowledge of Him and His attributes. So much so that it has been necessary to create numerous versions (species) of worshippers. Just as the followers of Al’lah have formed a number of species within the worship of Mohammed’s God and the followers of the original incarnation of this God have a number of species. In fact there is a case for arguing that “The People of the Book”, the genera of Jews, Christians and Muslims, all belong to a specific religious Family with its roots found four thousand years ago in Mesopotamia. There are still in existence, some small groups which are possibly descended from the same Order which led to the Family of “People of the Book”. The Zoroastrians of Persia are an example of this. Other species within today’s pantheon such as the Hindu, Voodoo and the pantheism of Africa have different ancestors and may even have arisen from other Orders or even Classes.

The important thing is that each of these religious species has adapted to its philosophical environment and so has succeeded. As that environment changes, with new ideas and ideals, then each will change. Some will be wiped out by invasion, some will lose their relevance. Most, like the ancient Egyptian and Greek Gods, are now extinct.

I guess that what I am trying to say is that I began with a quote about evolution; “Gene frequencies in a population change over time in response to environmental pressures”. I have come to see that it also applies to civilisations and religions.

Mores and Memes in a population change over time in response to ideological pressures.

(Written on a Saturday evening without reference to  my library so some small parts of the above may be refutable. However, I was exploring a general idea from a layman’s POV.)

## Godwinning the Creationists

Stupid people who support an indefensible position sometimes go completely overboard. Not that I am saying that all those who believe in Creationism are stupid.

But those who do the misleading range from compulsive controllers to the completely out of controllers.

I thank Baby Jebus for bringing this out of controller to my attention.

A trailer for the movie “Darwin’s Deadly Legacy” which shows how Darwin and the Evolutionists created Hitler and caused the Columbine School shootings.

I hereby invoke Godwin’s Law on Creationists.

They lose!

## The Truth (a meme)

Given that;

A) Wilco, the band, is on a par with Trent and his NIN’s and so quite inconsequential

B) Men and Women may be equal but they are certainly different

C) Gin IS better than Whisky

D) The unmentioned Gravity does, indeed suck!

E) Cricket is more enjoyable than Baseball.

I believe this to be the TRUTH.

Found through, and with thanks to, dorid

## Unintelligent ID’ers

Back near the beginning of August I wrote about some new discoveries in palaeontology and the probable reaction from certain quarters. The soon to-to-come braying from the Intelligent Designers.

There was quite a response and I thought that was that.

Other than I read Robyn Williams’ lightweight but enlightening “Unintelligent Design” which asks the question, “Shouldn’t we sue God for sinus blockages, hernias, appendix flare-ups and piles, not to mention bad backs?”  Those are some really great Intelligent Designs.

This evening I wandered over to Pharyngula and found that PZ Myers has written of the actual fallout. The braying has been even worse that I expected. From the rather strange “TownHall“.

One of the milder quotes used by PZ was contained in the following paragraph.

“a commenter who demands transitional hominins on an article where the creationist author is babbling about the discovery of Homo erectus and Homo habilis specimens—one guy waving a skull around claiming “these transitional fossils prove evolution false!” while the other is ranting “the absence of transitional fossils prove evolution false!” Come on, people, get your story straight.”

One of the stronger and more offensive was, “Darwin’s theory is racist. The truth is Darwin was a seething racist. The ‘theory’ of evolution wasn’t created to explain any facts about man’s origin. It was to provide a ‘scientific basis’ for Darwin’s life- long preaching that ‘niggers are apes and descended from apes’.”

Oh dear. What a pity he didn’t check a few facts first.

As an educator, I found a picture saves a thousand words. As a slow, two-fingered typist let me guide you to this rather neat little item. Just be aware that it may be rated PG.

I’m off to swing through a few trees.

## Darwin Award Entrant

Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s goldfields region, 2:00am AWST. Police are chasing a car.

Remember that this is 2 AM; it is dark!

The driver, in his attempt to escape, veers off the road into bushland.

The man jumps out of his car and tries to hide from police by lying on the ground. Quite understandable as there are no trees to hide behind or to imitate.

Excepting that a little bush-bashing is kinda fun out there. Everyone does it. Even the Police, in hot pursuit.

Yes, the obvious happens. In the dark, looking for a vertical human, a horizontal log in their path is ignored. More than that, it is driven over!

That sucker ain’t never gonna try to run away from the cops again!

The funeral will be sometime soon and the gene pool has been improved just a little!

Darwin wins again.