tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410615559824660051.post4614946692388365512..comments2023-10-18T05:31:21.249-07:00Comments on Peregrinations: Response to E____Rick Gerhardthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10478878021692544533noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410615559824660051.post-10345149369184975722011-10-01T09:41:26.702-07:002011-10-01T09:41:26.702-07:00Hi Mark:
Well, since (as a biologist who have stu...Hi Mark:<br /><br />Well, since (as a biologist who have studied these issues and evidence for, well, all my life) I see no evidence for neo-Darwinism, the burden of proof seems to be clearly on your friend. I'd start by asking him for names of even one of those transitional forms from the fossil record. There are none.<br /><br />I would have available quotes by the leading paleontologists of our day (Stephen Gould, Niles Eldredge, Stephen Stanley) that make it clear that there are no such transitional forms, and that the fossil record demonstrates every species springing into the record without transitions, fully-formed (and fully adapted to their ecology and time on Earth), and then staying the same throughout their tenure on Earth.<br /><br />The whole point of Dawkins' book (of which I still have your copy) was to offer the evidence for evolution. It failed miserably, of course, offering outdated evidence that has been refuted and/or abandoned even by those who still are committed to finding some naturalistic explanation for the diversity of life. In regard to the transitional forms Dawkins offers (in the main evidential chapter), I would be prepared to point out the many problems (temporal paradoxes, geographical difficulties, statistical fallacies, and philosophical naivete, among others).<br /><br />But more than anything, I would ask questions, making it clear to him that he hasn't offered any evidence (and that statements like "there are hundreds and thousands of transitional forms in the fossil record" are unsupported dogma, not evidence).<br /><br />I'd recommend to him that he take my class the next time it's offered.<br /><br />And I'd ask whether he's even open to finding truth on this issue, or whether he's more interested in appearing sophisticated in a culture that has largely lost the ability to think critically. <br /><br />Good luck.Rick Gerhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10478878021692544533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6410615559824660051.post-76300046977502828242011-09-26T19:50:46.415-07:002011-09-26T19:50:46.415-07:00That get's to the point pretty well Rick.A gre...That get's to the point pretty well Rick.A great read!<br /><br /> I had a similar discussion just last week on world views myself.<br /><br />I recently went around and around with a friend, a christian, who is convinced that Darwinian evolution is a viable world view and compatible with Christianity.He is so convinced that there is hundreds and thousands of transitional/intermediate examples in the fossil record.He also stated that evolution is a FACT and not a theory anymore. I tried to have a civil discussion with him and it went pretty well.I said that the Bible is pretty clear about how animals and man came to be. He argued that maybe evolution was the way God created man and animals. He said " The Bible doesn't say how long it took it just says God made them"<br /><br /> I asked him to explain the Cambrian explosion, he had a little trouble with that. I asked him to explain the mass extinctions of the various time periods(Cretaceous, Jurasic,Triassic etc)and he had trouble with that as well but stuck to his guns.He wiggled around and recited some tired evolutionary textbook mumbo jumbo. <br /><br />I felt I had some pretty good ammo and I made him think about some things. I just felt I needed something else in this situation. <br /><br />What would you say to someone who takes this position? I know it's God's job to reveal the truth to him ultimately, I just want some ideas of how to maybe be a small part of helping him see that truth. <br /><br />ThanksMarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01209636408690216673noreply@blogger.com