Okay... I'm only going to say this once... JEWS, as I am One, have gone the past 4 THOUSAND YEARS with a culture that favours intelligence, skill, and wisdom above blind faith. If you honestly don't believe in evolution, then you are obviously blind. Evolution doesn't obey the laws of thermal dynamics for one simple reason. There's this thing, it's called DNA. It's not bound by the laws of thermal dynamics because it's a mathematical formula that combines within a limited region of possibilities to create an entity of some form that performs a task. And, just as that task changes over time, so does the entity. Evolution states that it is not the strongest or the smartest of the species that survives but the one most receptive to CHANGE.
Now, let's read that again. It's not the strongest or the smartest, the one that is most responsive to change. Evolution, therefore, states that, as the world throws things at an entity, the ones that survive what has been thrown at them live long enough to procreate. And as those offspring are thrown new things over time, they too are weeded out like their ancestors. Proof from Darwin himself is the various specialized birds and lizards on the Galapagos Islands. The vast majority of them are essentially the exact same as their counterparts, but exhibit certain specializations that allow them to most efficiently live in the place they've made their home. If you were to take one from each of the groups and transplant them in a group of one of the others, you would see very quickly that they are unable to handle that new niche in the world, and don't survive long enough to procreate with those who are able to live in that environment.
Now, let's view the belief of the blindly faithful. There's an invisible man, living in the sky, he made the world in 6 days, and has influenced all of our decisions from the day our parents slept together to the day we die. We cannot escape him, we cannot be with him, we cannot understand him, and if we were to try we would be... Idaknow, I've never understood that part myself... Oh, and he's got these ten rules, and if you break them he's going to send you to a place of fire and brimstone and pain and suffering for all of eternity, from which there is no escape of any sort... but... He LOVES You... So... Believe what we tell you to believe because we know him better than you...
...Yep... Gee... Those blind faithful sure sound like scholars, don't they? I can see why the theory that the universe naturally created us as a process of gradual shaping into a specialized function of the ecosystem around us would trouble them... It makes them feel small and insignificant compared to "It only took 6 thousand years to magically make us happen the way we are today"...
Y'know what? I would gladly take the reality of evolution and the big bang over religion any day. Because as a person who is faithful personally, I can see that the book is just a book. It's trying to inspire all of us to go out into the world and improve it, not destroy it. Since we're a part of a much larger system of unending change. To which our curiosity breeds us to find out more about it. And the more we know, the more we can understand about how "God" created us... And the first step in THAT process is simple: Just because the facts all point to the book not being right, doesn't mean your faith is invalid. It just means it's a metaphor. So what if "God created the world in 6 days" is a metaphor for the human need to understand the infinite cosmos that created us, no matter how long ago it happened. So what if the result of this is that the unknown scientific process that started everything is fueled by our ingrown curiosity being constantly stimulated. Can we not simply call "God" a real, physical, biological process within the HUMAN RACE to understand the unknowable? Can we not just, as a species, seek our creator as a science with the same fire and determination that is shown in the prophets and figures within our sacred scriptures? Where in all of this does it preclude that, because facts can be proven, faith shouldn't exist?
I'm Jewish. Y'know what I believe? I believe "God" is the unknown process that created the universe. And we're a part of the universe that was created. It started billions of years ago, not 6 thousand, and it still essentially says that "Something", which could metaphorically be called "God" despite it being science, had an effect and then all the universe resulted from that effect. Therefore, "God" is just a word. It means "I, as a Human, am unable to understand everything in the universe at this moment. But given time and evolution, my prodigy stand a better chance of understanding more of that infinite quest than I can. And 'God' is just a metaphor for that constant ongoing quest. After all, every religious text does say that God is omnipotent, and it is impossible to truly understand the infinite magnificence of God. It means the same thing."
Simcha is only being Jewish. There are a lot of variations, and the search for wisdom and truth often takes the journey into places that "Tradition" doesn't go. If you're so afraid of him finding these facts, then you never truly believed anything before. If your faith is so easily shaken, maybe it never had a real foundation. If nothing else, this man is stirring up religion and Archeology so that the common person can have a look at their faith and decide for themselves what they believe. Whether it be the old traditions or the scientific, knowing the facts can only strengthen true faith. If it weakens or shakes it, you don't believe your own truth. That's the nature of why it's called FAITH.
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zanthur
17 years ago
Wow, I love me a good debate... Try this on for size, y'all....
Before the big bang, you could think of the universe of a massive (in terms of the amount of mass it contained) "Black hole" Because everything was so compact that not even light escaped. This is way over-simplifying, of course. How long was it this way? forever, and never, because time also was all wrapped up in this massive, yet non dimensive, "universe." Then, for some unknown reason, everything exploded outward in all directions. Now, the fastest moving thing in the universe, as far as we know, is light, which would spread out from this explosion ahead of everything else...
So, what's my point?
Well, Let's say you built something huge, a skyscraper or a pyramid, or whatever. Something that took years to build. And let's also say that you documented every moment of the building of it. You wouldn't document it from the inside of the building, you'd document it from some arbitrary vantage point that allowed you to see the construction. Let's further say that you wanted to show someone how it got built. Would you show them the years of footage, or would you condense it, do a little time lapse? Of course you'd show it as a time lapse.
Now, what would this documentation look like if someone were shown the "construction" or "birth" of the universe, AKA the Big Bang? Well, the viewer would most likely believe that their vantage point was somewhere on earth, however, they would not be able to see anything, as there would be no light of any kind. So everything would appear shapeless, and infinite, because there would be no reference points to show how large or small space was.
Then, the BANG!!! (only it wouldn't be sound, only light) And everything would be lit up....
And over billions of years, changes in the universe would take place, the planet earth would take shape, its seas, landmasses and atmosphere would form, life would take hold and then thrive, and mankind would eventually enter the picture. Each of these stages would have its own significance in the formation of planet earth.
Now, if you were shown this, and wrote it out for all of mankind to read, and were raised in a society that was faith- instead of science-based, it would probably read something like this....
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was void, and without form, and Darkness was upon the face of the deep.
Seem familiar? And the 6 days of creation were like parts of a condensed "time lapse miniseries documentary" similar to what the aforementioned pyramid buider would have shown.
At least that's MY take on it
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