Funny, your mind didn't seem very 'open' in this thread.
Just an observation.
As for myself, all things are points to consider, being that I'm not so smart and all.
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Church of England apologises to Charles Darwin
- Thread starter Blackleaf
- Start date
Funny, your mind didn't seem very 'open' in this thread.
Just an observation.
As for myself, all things are points to consider, being that I'm not so smart and all.
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No he didn't, that story's just a bit of popular mythology the creationists like to toss around.
Dexter, that is a favorite pastime with Fundamentalists; they always claim that every Atheist has a deathbed conversion (and note that they supposedly always have convert to Fundamentalist Christianity, never to Islam, Buddhism etc.)
They said the same thing about Carl Sagan, they claimed (wishful thinking really) that he had a deathbed conversion; he renounced all of his life’s work and became a Fundamentalist Christian just before he died.
Indeed, his wife had to issue a public denial. She said that there was no death bed conversion, contrary to fond wishes of Fundamentalists.
Asimov was familiar with this tactic by religious right, he preempted them. In his last ever piece (he knew by then that he was going to die shortly), he boldly proclaimed ‘I am an Atheist, so death holds no terror for me.’
I think that squelched any possible rumor mongering by Fundamentalists about Asimov becoming a Fundamentalist on his deathbed (of course, he wouldn’t revert to Judaism on his deathbed, that is unthinkable, he has to convert to Fundamentalism).
I think this naturally follows from the mindset of an extremist. An extremist is so convinced that he is right, that he just cannot understand how anybody could possibly disagree with him. So even if somebody like Asimov, Sagan or Darwin has spent most of his life opposing the religious ignorance, the extremist automatically assumes that at least on his deathbed he will see reason, he will become a Fundamentalist.
The saying that there are no Atheists in fox holes displays the same kind of extremism. I am sure there are plenty of Atheists in foxholes, if somebody has been an Atheist all his life, I see no reason why he is going to renounce all he stood for in a fox hole and embrace a mean, nasty, extremist philosophy like Fundamentalism.
The canard about deathbed conversion of most Atheists belongs in the same league; it shows the supreme, endless optimism of an extremist.
Dexter, that is a favorite pastime with Fundamentalists; they always claim that every Atheist has a deathbed conversion (and note that they supposedly always have convert to Fundamentalist Christianity, never to Islam, Buddhism etc.)
They said the same thing about Carl Sagan, they claimed (wishful thinking really) that he had a deathbed conversion; he renounced all of his life’s work and became a Fundamentalist Christian just before he died.
Indeed, his wife had to issue a public denial. She said that there was no death bed conversion, contrary to fond wishes of Fundamentalists.
Asimov was familiar with this tactic by religious right, he preempted them. In his last ever piece (he knew by then that he was going to die shortly), he boldly proclaimed ‘I am an Atheist, so death holds no terror for me.’
I think that squelched any possible rumor mongering by Fundamentalists about Asimov becoming a Fundamentalist on his deathbed (of course, he wouldn’t revert to Judaism on his deathbed, that is unthinkable, he has to convert to Fundamentalism).
I think this naturally follows from the mindset of an extremist. An extremist is so convinced that he is right, that he just cannot understand how anybody could possibly disagree with him. So even if somebody like Asimov, Sagan or Darwin has spent most of his life opposing the religious ignorance, the extremist automatically assumes that at least on his deathbed he will see reason, he will become a Fundamentalist.
The saying that there are no Atheists in fox holes displays the same kind of extremism. I am sure there are plenty of Atheists in foxholes, if somebody has been an Atheist all his life, I see no reason why he is going to renounce all he stood for in a fox hole and embrace a mean, nasty, extremist philosophy like Fundamentalism.
The canard about deathbed conversion of most Atheists belongs in the same league; it shows the supreme, endless optimism of an extremist.
Evolution is one thing that can NOT be proven conclusively.
Said1, you may be right, evolution cannot prove anything conclusively. However, it does a very good job of explaining how life evolved on earth, it is accepted by an overwhelming number of biologists as THE valid theory explaining evolution of life on earth, and that is good enough for me.
Besides, there is no alternative. Intelligent Design is not a scientific theory. As somebody rightly observed, it is the Biblical account of creation, the Book of Genesis camouflaged in scientific sounding mumbo jumbo.
The Fundamentalists tried to mandate the teaching of Book of Genesis in public schools. When they failed (by a 7 to 2 vote, Supreme Court ruled that Book of genesis cannot be taught in public schools as science), they came up with the scam of Intelligent Design.
If you listen to some of the programs on Christian radio, there they openly say that Intelligent Design is the first step towards teaching Book of Genesis in classrooms.
So there is no alternative to evolution. The proper scientific position is, either you believe in evolution, or say that you don’t know how life on earth evolved. Claiming that life was created by an Intelligent (presumably an anthropomorphic) Creator, is not science, it is religion.
Said1, you may be right, evolution cannot prove anything conclusively. However, it does a very good job of explaining how life evolved on earth, it is accepted by an overwhelming number of biologists as THE valid theory explaining evolution of life on earth, and that is good enough for me.
Besides, there is no alternative. Intelligent Design is not a scientific theory. As somebody rightly observed, it is the Biblical account of creation, the Book of Genesis camouflaged in scientific sounding mumbo jumbo.
The Fundamentalists tried to mandate the teaching of Book of Genesis in public schools. When they failed (by a 7 to 2 vote, Supreme Court ruled that Book of genesis cannot be taught in public schools as science), they came up with the scam of Intelligent Design.
If you listen to some of the programs on Christian radio, there they openly say that Intelligent Design is the first step towards teaching Book of Genesis in classrooms.
So there is no alternative to evolution. The proper scientific position is, either you believe in evolution, or say that you don’t know how life on earth evolved. Claiming that life was created by an Intelligent (presumably an anthropomorphic) Creator, is not science, it is religion.
LOL... you obviously have NO idea what I "believe" and what I don't. Neither do you have any idea whether my mind is "open" or not.
Oh pulease. You have NO idea about me either, Mr. Made-a-few-assumptions-in-this-thread. :lol:
:munky2:+:munky2:+ time = :naka:
And, also = :tard: (when you live under high tension wires)
or do a lot of drugs.
:read2:
And, also = :tard: (when you live under high tension wires)
or do a lot of drugs.
:read2:
What I said was 'didn't seem open minded' which is what you might like to call 'inconclusive'.
Sorry. I have troubles. I think I'm one of the stupid ones b you refered to earlier. :-(
Not everybody makes it to their deathbed. Still that particular angel is covered also just so the dead have as much of a shot at salvation as the living. SJP you might realize one day that the Bible is always going to be a few steps ahead of you and your posts. You don't really expect God would let death stand in the way of a person's right to qualify for salvation do you?
1Pe:4:6:
For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead,
that they might be judged according to men in the flesh,
but live according to God in the spirit.
Isn't it your duty as a good Christian to encourage them in so you can teach them the error of their ways and lead them to salvation?
Fiesty militant christians will be pa troll ing the streets and red light districts of heaven where Darwin lives now, with his monkey family.:smile: