bob_the_rambler said:
although im defiantly not an expert on the issue of evolution/creationism
i would just like to point out that experts have said for years that a certian dinosaur (the name of wich i don't remeber) started evolving into a bird starting out with stubby winged feathers and then progressing to full flight, after wich he took to the skys, now the point im tyring to make here is, that this dino wich is now a bird is no longer a "dino", and in fact the dinosaur ceased completely to be a dinosaur after it evolved.
the same theory dose in my mind apply the the theory of "evolution", that if indeed we "evolved" from apes how come there are still apes in existence? did you not just say that we evolved from that point?
Well Bob, good thing I'm here. Cause I happen to be an expert on the topics of Anthropholgy, Evolution, History, and many many more things!
To start off, the reason there are still monkeys and gorillas and such is because humans and apes evolved from a common ancestor. I'll try and dumb this down as much as possible. Australopithecus Afarensis is probably the most widely known common ancestor of ours. It was one of the first bipedal primates, and it had an opposable thumb. Since Australopithecus, several different species have evolved. This happens because different groups of primates procreated amongst themselves in there own groups for a long, long time, passing down their dominant genes, and random mutations would occur, which further afforded specific groups of primates advantages. Eventually, after a VERY long time, a clearly visible difference could be seen between the different groups, which had evolved into seperate species. Humans, gorillas, bonobos, chimps, etc., all evolved from these common, bipedal, primate ancestors. This has been scientifically proven.
On the topic of if Christianity impedes progress, I'm going to have to make revisions. It's not Christianity that impedes progress, but ALL religion in general. Without religion, the cause for countless wars wouldn't have existed, and neither would have the wars. The Middle Ages were a time when Christianity was the prevailing force in the world. Instead of progressing as a race, people were kept dumb, the only educated being the clergy and the royalty. People weren't supposed to progress. They were supposed to pray for salvation. Thusly, nothing ever progressed. It wasn't until the Renaissance that any progress actually took place. People began to look back to the Ancient Greek and Roman way of thinking, specifically the Humanist outlook on life. The Humanist view placed all confidence in the Capability of the Individual. Religion played no part in the Renaissance. In fact, people began to challenge religion because of the ideals that were being established. A more secular view also began to emerge in the Renaissance. However, the Renaissance only affected a comparitvely TINY upper class. It didn't really have any affect on the lower classes.
However, all the progress that was made in the Renaissance was put on hold with the Reformation. The Reformation brought religion back to the forefront in Europe, and sparked more war. Protestants vs. Catholics, blah blah blah. You know the story.
If it wasn't for the Humanist ideals the Martin Luther employed (yes, he consciously was inspired by the Humanist movement of the Renaissance, its well documented), we might have been put into the dark ages again. A good thing about this religious conflict, though, was that it greatly weaked the Roman Catholic Church(RCC). This allowed local rulers to take a lot of power. The weakening of the RCC was the foundation for the idea of central national governments in states. After the Reformation, secularism spread like wildfire. The Age of Enlightenment was an amazing time for the world. Devoid of any religious influence, science, math, cultures, EVERYTHING grew and progressed, and improved. The world was moving toward a better place. The Mercantile Revolution, the establishment of Capitalism, the establishment of liberal gov'ts(gov'ts that are created to protect the natural right of its citizens, ie. constitutional govt's), all this came during times when religion was not an issue. I contend that religion is still not an issue, nor does it impede progress. Saying that Christianity is impeding progress because Bush is a Christian, and is opposed to stem cell research is ignorant, among other things(like gay marriage) is ignorant (much like Bush is). Bush has certain morals, whether they're based in Christianity or not, and he won't swerve from those morals. If Bush wasn't in office (he shouldn't be) this wouldn't even be an issue. Al Gore (also a Christian) would be in office, and stem cell research would be funded by the government. So its not really Christianity that's impeding progress, it's George Queerbo W Bush that is impeding progess (queerbo, haha that's my new phrase). Religion is fine and dandy, and it has stayed out of government and the like for a long time now. It has taken a back seat in the world. The majority of people turn to religion for their own personal needs (an ideal established during the Reformation, in fact, personal religious practice was one of the main ideas of the reformation, but thats another topic, one we can discuss if you want). They don't use religion as a tool to dictate life for everyone else. Well, Bush does, and he's a QUEERBO for doing so. So, in this long rant, I have established two things.
1.) George W Bush is a Queerbo, and
2.) Relgion isn't impeding progress anymore, nor has it been since the Reformation. George W Bush is impeding progress (at least in America and on the topic of stem cell research).
), but that's all but true, Jebus. History (and you ARE a history student, aren't you?) tells us the exact opposite. Think about the Crusaders. And do you know what happened to the American Indians when the Spanish arrived there? They did that for God, my friend. Ever heard of the Inquisition? Yep. Oh, that's too OLD, you'll say. I know. Guess what? Second world war? Hitler and the Pope? Yep. Even nowadays, it would probably amaze us all if we would know how many influence the church still has when it comes to politics, warfare and such.
