The 15% might also include some Christians who simply don't think God had a hand in evolution. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive.
Don't they kind of have to be mutually exclusive? If evolution is purely random, that goes against the basic premise of Christianity (and most other religions) that humans are, in some way, unique and intended.
That was my point. Statistics can show something is probable but can't serve as evidence, i.e. Statistically, it's extremely likely there is life elsewhere in the universe. We have not found any scientific evidence from which we can conclude that there is. Feel free to call it semantics or nitpicking, but the whole idea of "statistical evidence" is a little self-contradictory.
Totally agree with you. This is what is referred to as "God of the Gaps" argument. There was one point in time where most believers would not accept the concept that early man did not look like anything like us. As more evidence were provided, it was then accepted then the rhetoric went from evolution is not true to god had a hand in evolution. Not to derail the thread, but the same thing is being applied to the cosmological concept of the Big Bang. Went from the biblical explanation of how the world was created (6 days) to - god was responsible for the big bang. Even though they have accepted that evidence shows that the bible was wrong regarding "god created man in his own image", somehow, the apologists will find a way to insert god into the scientific evidence without having to provide any data for this claim.
How is alien life and religion comparable? Pick which aliens are out there. You can only pick one: 1. Things from Independence Day 2. War of the Worlds aliens 3. Klingons 4. Species ladythings 5. "I come in peace" drug dealers
I'm sure there are some Christians that believe that evolution exists and God did not necessarily play a role in it, don't you? See Robbie's post.
You can't say that for sure...if there is one thing I've realized on this board is that a lot of Christians' views and beliefs can vary...there is nothing for sure that can tell a Christian he is or isn't one...they just have to believe they're one regardless of whatever any other 'real' Christian thinks.
I understand the sentiment, but it could just be developing a new understanding of the Bible. Just as science evolves and we learn that previous things we believed were not true and change how we interpret thinggs, the Bible can be interpreted in many ways, and as people learn new information, it can change how they read the text.
If this is true, then humans are by definition purely random creations. I don't see how it's possible to believe that and simultaneously believe anything that Christianity (or most other religions) are based on. This is certainly true of secondary pieces of a faith (how would Jesus view gay marriage). But if you don't believe the basic essence of the faith, I don't see how this holds.
You don't believe God could've put the elements of life on Earth and humans (and other forms of life) formed through processes He did not create? What secondary pieces of faith are you refering to? Are you taking the bible literally or figuratively in all cases when it comes to 'properly' following it and acquiring this basic essense of faith? How do you think people should believe, or what they should base their faith on? If all Christians followed genesis then none of them would believe in evolution, period (literal approach), ....but as you can see in this thread alone there are many christians that believe in evolution...is it a stretch to understand how some of them may believe in God and that he did not have a hand in evolution? I don't know how they would begin to rationalize it, or what their reasons are, maybe you should ask them?
He certainly could have. But that's not what Christianity and other faiths are based on - they are based on the idea that humans are unique and unlike other creatures on Earth. That's an underlying basis of most religions. Primary piece of Christianity: Jesus is God's son, came to Earth, and died for your sins. Secondary piece of Christianity: God does not approve of gay marriage. You can disagree with secondary things and be Christian. It's not really possible with primary things. If you don't believe humans are distinct and intended by God, nothing in Christianity or most other faiths makes any sense.
What I'm trying to understand is how the number of people who believe that God created humans in our current form (the really light, yellow-green line) went up 6%?
How can humans not be distinct? It's pretty clear that we're the most dominant, intelligent animals on the planet...how is that not more distinct than any other animal on Earth? How could Jesus still not come to Earth and die for sins...because God did not guide the evolution of our species? How does that interfere with the premise? Not sure what you're saying...it's still all possible depending on how you want to believe it. Hell, you're trying to reason with me when there are Christians that will tell you God put dinosaur bones in the ground to test our faith and believe what the bible reads regardless of what proof there is to the otherwise. Cmon man...
The big difference between the 2 is that Science is dictated by evidence and completely abandon a concept (if incorrect) and move on. On the contrary, religion will take an evidence and if it does not fit the original belief, it will add another layer of mysticism into the conversation. They have the freedom of ad-lib without providing anything.
