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November 20th, 2009
09:08 AM ET
Kirk Cameron attempts to debunk Darwin
Former teen idol Kirk Cameron is on a crusade to debunk evolution. He's a born-again Christian and part of a group that wrote a new 50-page intro to Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" to mark its 150th anniversary.
Cameron and his group are handing out thousands of copies of the book on universities across the country. CNN's Carol Costello reports.
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Hmmm....
Looks like mommy and daddy didn't bother to raise you in a home with christian values like tolerance and respect for others opinions.
Why all the hostility towards poor Kirk? Does his belief system really matter to all? I think not...
2000 years ago, the Christian disciples went into hostile territory (a place where their view was unheard of and/or ridiculed) with a proclamation that challenged the status quo and conventional wisdom of both the Jewish and Greek communities. Just because the message is difficult, does not make it any less true. Criticizing the messenger is intellectually small, because what if the message is, in fact, true? If true, your deeds and life will one day we judged. Are your ready for that for that inevitability today?
The most interesting thing about this story was that Cameron would not answer questions on camera. Darwing thought so strongly about his ideas and theory that he wrote a book about them and subjected them to the critiques and reviews of his professional peers as well as the public. The least this guy could do is answer a couple of questions from a reporter.
Over and over again Scientists have found "the missing links" in evolution only to be proven to be a hoax. The structure of our Solar System is similar to that of an atom. A center, the Sun like the protons of atoms with planets orbiting it like electrons orbiting the proton. Everything in our world has strick structure and exacting design and purpose. Scientists know this and yet feel the origin of life was a specific set of strickly random acts. The Theory of evolution goes againist all of that. Explain to me why the DNA of a mustard plat is more complex than that of a Human, Explain to me how scales developed into feathers, when under an electron microscope there are no similarities. The science is totally lacking in the Theory of evolution. It takes a more vivid imagination to accept Darwin than to except Creationism.
There are those who side with evolution as there are those who side with creation. The common ground would be evolution within a biblical creation but each side firm in their perceptions which causes narrow mindedness and parameters of acceptance they cannot break through yet.
Good Monday morning reader and the AM crew. A jump into tomorrow..China has taken over responsibilities in Afghanistan and working towards Iraq. The troops are finally coming home but the war at home grows as the economic collapse is felt throughout the nation.
Government, Industry, Finance, Academic, Military, Media, Religion(spirituality+ethics) and the Peoples= ingredients for a successful society under proper management which currently is not the case. To attack those structures in order to collapse global economies easy when one knows the ingredients.
Right. I should listen to a has-been child actor (who was never that good to begin with) tell me about the origin of humankind? Next you'll want me to go to Tom Cruise for psychiatric help!
Are we to go back to the dark ages? That was a time when Galileo was locked in home for daring to espouse the theory for a heliocentric solar system. Why? Because according the the Catholic Church the scriptures told us that the Earth was at the center of creation, surrounded by heavenly spheres within which the stars and planets moved...and they meant that literally. Now, centuries later the arguments of Kirk Cameron, the intelligent design folks and the creationists are EXACTLY the same argument. "You are wrong because the Bible says you are!!!" In other words they have no argument at all, because scripture isn't science. Galileo was proven correct, a fact finally and recently acknowledged by the church and Darwin's theory has stood the test of time and rigourous scientific inquiry for over a century. It is true and no wishing it away will change that,
Because we cannot answer all the tiny details in evolution the whole theory is wrong?
Can anyone answer all questions about "god's will"? No. So by their own backward logic god does not exist.
Evolution is real. We have a fossil record to support it.
I don't believe in Evolution because I think it is an insult to the apes who are constantly being compared humans. I have much more faith in the apes than I do in people. I must admit, just for completeness, that a lot of people I have met are actually sub-animal in both physical and intellectual terms.
No, man did not evolve from the apes, but I sure hope humans evolve into apes, which in my experience, would be a step-up in the food chain of live.
Believing in "god" is just as silly as believing in Roman mythology.
It's easy "not" to believe in God. That way you can live a life without consequence. There are rules to follow for believers of God. So if you are too weak to believe and to weak to follow rules then don't believe and stop hurling insults at the rest of us. BTW, If we evolved from apes then why are there still apes?
Kirk's career in family sitcoms is proof for Darwin's theory: it's yet another evolutionary dead end.
its funny how the religious nowadays use words like design and intelligent. i miss the good old days when they use to debate us with concepts like the burning bush or jonah's great fish.
like everything false intelligent design will die in a whimper not a bang. just wait it out..
the world is round!
What Kirk is doing is called a "free expression of ideas" – supposedly an important aspect of a free country. Get over it.
It takes greater faith to believe that the universe and life sprung from nothing than to believe that a perfect, all powerful being created it.
The mathematical probability of a SINGLE CELL coming about by chance is 1/10340,000,000, the fraction 1 divided by 1 followed by 340 million zeros!
Still think Kirk's an idiot?
Amazing how many people posting here can't spell or write for toffee:
John Billings: it's 'assassination'
rrock: it's 'here'
Tim: Darwin 'was', not 'is' brilliant. He died some time ago.
An Educated Christian: really? it's 'religion'.
Benton: neither 'obscurantist' nor 'absolutist' are proper words
Jamin: "a very high view"? from smoking what?
David Shink: 'creationism' is not a proper noun
TPaine18: it's not "naturalistic "evolution"", it's 'evolution'
Tom, San Jose CA: random capitals simply don't belong, or lend weight
Bryan Hupperts: it's 'absurd'
Ken in MT: it's 'Darwinism/Darwinist', 'matter', and 'atheist'
There are lots of other errors, but the point I am trying to make is that the believers in evolution seem to spell and write better, just my two cents. BTW I believe there is a soul, and that Darwin was right – chew on that.
Nobody has observed evolution taking place, and nobody observed God creating the earth in six days. Both have to be taken by faith. Just because Kirk Cameron chooses to believe in creation does not make him ignorant or stupid. I believe the earth was created by God...it is easier for me to believe that than to believe it happened by accident.
It seems that there is correlation between scientific literacy and acceptance of the scientific fact (as scientists define the word) of evolution. The evidence for biological evolution comes from a multitude of scientific fields and is no longer a matter of debate. However, as a former fundamentalist I am quite familiar with the psychological obstacles that prevent the victims of religious indoctrination from assimilating knowledge that contradicts their preconceived and prepackaged 1st century world view of reality. Such a tragic waste of human effort Mr. Cameron.
I'm still waiting for the explanation from the Creationists on how they feel about the explanation that light and dark are the product of the earth's rotations, even though God created light and dark before he created the earth and the heavens. If you reject evolution based on biblical writings, don't you have to also reject the earth's rotation for the explanation for night and day?
It amuses me when I hear of evolutionists accusing creationists of "cherry picking" out of the Bible. Yet, when it comes to their own belief in Darwin, they ignore the full title of his famous book: "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle of Life"
So if they believe in evolution, do they also believe in racism as well???
The real issue here is that the article claimed Kirk Cameron is an actor
Is anyone else disgusted by the pretension of validity these people are trying to evoke by including their own work with those of the concepts they are attacking?
The whole strategy has the air of a con artist, of a shell game. I have to question the character of people who have so little strength in their own convictions that they hide them under the name of the very person they are trying to discredit.
Repugnant.
Seems to me that Kirk Cameron and Pat Robertson both have a lot in common with their slanted opinions. Don't get me wrong, I belive in Creation and a divine plan to place all of us here in the world we live in. I also believe in evolution, not to the extent that society blew it out of proportion (Humans from Apes). Evolution is not about that. It never was about us coming from Apes. Darwin only alluded to the possibility, as an EXAMPLE to the idiot reporters doing the interview! Evolution is evident in ALL things living. Such as Cameron and his group of highly over rated zealots. They "seem" to evolve, from fairly insane to outlandishly stupid. LOL. What needs to happen here, in my opinion, people need to get over their fear of what they THINK was spoken about a "THEORY" and what actually happened. Earth and all in it evolves, constantly. If we were to stop evolving, we would all end up as early Man, dragging our mates behind us by the hair, clubbing each other, as opposed to the more accepted way, shooting or abusing them. For those religious fanatics waiting in the sidelines to attack anyone that opposes their opinion, be forewarned. Folks like us HAVE evolved enough to educate ourselves and arm our wits enough to counter your pathetic arguments.
That is all.
Peace, FROM the Middle East (Kabul, Afghanistan: Deployed Civilian Contractor)
Even the Catholic Church says Evolution is a fact, What does that say of Creationism? A few hundred years ago, They had a word for It and there was a PC game in 90's that used the word, What was It?
Heretic, Heresy also applies quite possibly, We even know what the Earliest ancestor of the Horse(Hyracotherium) looked like
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_the_horse)
and It has 4 toes on each foot and was about the size of a German Shepard Dog, That is evolution, Theory is an idea that is fluid and is not static and unyielding, At one time people and the Church and I think the Bible said the Earth is the center of all creation, We know now that The Earth orbits the Sun and that Sun does not orbit the Earth and that the planet Earth is just one planet among many.
I'd rather be Catholic than somebody like Kirk Cameron... As the Catholic Church has experts in Its ranks, Kirk and Company? Rank Amateurs or Lay people.
where are the monkey-fish??
I find it very interesting that people get so very upset at the idea of God, Creationism, and Christianity. Such anger and vehemence one doesn't see addressed towards any other religion or belief. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists. Their beliefs are met with tolerance and are even forced down the collective throats of American children every day. When an actor or "intellectual" gives comment to a world without God, a world based on evolution or atheists views, he or she is not met with the violence of thought that we Christians are. We most often shake our heads sadly at this person. But, oh the anger and outrage when we dare to speak from our places of belief and thought. Why are you so angry at us brothers and sisters? As one old gentleman said, "If you are right, then none of us have anything thing to worry about. In the end, you will be proven right and we will all be dust...of course, if I'm right...well...then..." I'm not angry at any of you, at the moment. I just feel deep sadness and pity. If we are such a bunch of sad sacks why do you feel any more than that? But, please, remember, we Christians/Creationists do only have two cheeks to turn and even Jesus got angry after a bit. Allow us our right to believe what we want. We afford you that right. Keep in mind that many a Christian is getting frustrated with the attack on us and back off. At the moment, we are not in the mind set of the Muslims. We have no jihad. Be grateful and leave us alone to our "fantasy."
People who "believe" in evolution need just as much faith as people who believe in creation. I have yet to read the writings of anyone who says evolution is a fact that can explain where the original matter came from that started everything. In order to believe in evolutionary science, you have to disregard a scientific FACT, that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. At least not by natural means.
Most people do not understand that in the realm of science, a scientific "theory" is essentially a fact. This is because scientists (unlike religous zealots) understand that their findings can someday be refuted. Something such as evolution, which has occurred since the beginning of life, cannot be "proven" as in say mathematics.
To support the theory of evolution however, biologists have studied model organisms (which reproduce much faster than humans) and through classical experiments, have showed that natural selection and evolution do in fact occur in populations of organisms. To anyone who actually works in the field of biology and witnesses the wonders of the natural world, they cannot deny that evolution does in fact occur.
If man did not descend from apes, then why do we have a tail bone? Why do we have an appendix, which is a nonfunctional organ that functions in animals such as cows? Why do we have hair on our bodies? Or how do Christian fundamentalists explain the existence of diseases such as Cancer or Diabetes? Through the lens of evolution, all of these can be explained but creationism fails to explain any of them.
Former mindless blobs? 65% of americans are obese or overweight, and 50 million americans read at a 4th grade level.
"I would rather be a creation of God than a monkey's uncle, or a former blob, and there are scientists, then and now, much more brilliant than Darwin (assuming he is brilliant) who believe they were creations of God, not former mindless blobs floating around in space or something."
Lending validity to the cause of "Intelligent Design" by way of coverage of this issue does us all a disservice.
Evolution is no more a Theory than gravity is.
Its becoming clearer that the evolution of Homo Erectus in the Great Rift Valley was due to constantly changing environmental conditions in the space of 500-1k year periods, thus forcing our early ancestors brains to evolve highly plastic behavior patterns in order to survive. Often you see creationists asking "Where is evolution in todays world?"
And the answer is all around us.
Modern Humans multiple languages , racial characteristics, and cultural values are all indicative of an ever-changing biology. A great deal of Human Evolution takes place in the confines of the brain as we adapt to modern life's demands and stresses. The current large numbers of Autism cases in children in western societies is evidence of possible brain plasticity adaptations.
I am a semi-religious person in that I acknowledge the existence of "God" (or Gods) but perhaps the Founding Fathers would have served us better by allowing America freedom FROM religion instead of freedom OF religion.
and btw cb, A theory is not a "guess" as you would like to believe. A Theory is our best way of explaining a fact that we observe in nature.
Elaine, No one believes that people evolved from apes. Scientists have found that Humans and Apes share a common ancestor...
I'm a christian, and I have a lot of Born-again relatives. A lot of Born-Again Christians have a bad habit of simply ignoring the real world.
They've created a parallel 'Christian' universe with their own versions of everything from Rap and Rock to theme parks. They have their own slogan T-shirts (Do the Jew instead of Do the Dew). They use special filter boxes to remove swearing and questionable content from their TV and movies. If something doesn't fit their version of the world they just pretend it doesn't exist (In this world Jesus never drank wine).
There is no room for question or debate. If it's not in the Bible, it's simply wrong. Trying to reason with them is a waste of time.
Kirk Cameron is living proof that God has a sense of humor.
"evolution is science" is an interesting statement. Does the existing evidence support evolution so undeniably that believing in Creationism is just crazy? I don't think so, in fact, I have never the evidence that would lead one conclude that all life must have evolved from other forms of life! The fossil record does not conclude this, though it has been portrayed to seem like it does. Evolutionary theory is nothing more than a possible conclusion, and it cannot be based on the scientific method because mankind has never observed* the evolution of one species to another, and no possible way of producing such a dramatic change has ever been verified. Is this truly "science", or just popular opinion? But I am "'obviously'" a biased, right wing, crazy, uneducated, Christian fundamentalist because I don't support evolution 110%
The sad fact is that evolutionary theory has had to reinvent itself every few years as their theories are constantly being disproven, such as the prior comment about evolution occurring in abrupt, bursts. This has only been postulated, not proven as asserted by Dave Wilson. This theory called, punctuated evolution, was first proposed by Stephen Gould. Here, the best evidence for evolution is that there's no evidence, hence the punctuated evolution.
DInosaurs and man lived together as evidenced by the numerous cave drawings of dinosaurs. If they hadn't lived together, how did these people know what they looked like?
Evolution will always remain only a "theory".
If you feel science threatens your belief in God, then that belief must not be very strong. Anyone who would question someone's beliefs because of their understanding of evolution should first ask themselves if their beliefs are truly secure.
The bottom line here is that Fundies like Kirk worship the Bible, not their creator. This makes them not only silly, but idolaters.
Who stands to benefit from Bible worship? Well, mostly all religious leaders who were too lazy or stupid or egotistical to ever make it in the study of the sciences. Like L Ron Hubbard, and apparently Mr. Cameron, they see where easy money/attention/respect can be garnered.
2000 years of scam, man.
Go read Genesis and check out what the first job was that God gave Adam. Then realize that, even according to your own book, Scientists are the real theologians, the people laboring in the fields in search of truth and (by your lights) learning about their creator through his creation.
If there was a creator, then creation is the only way to learn about him/her/it.
You need absolutes you can hold in your hand? Words you can tilt to your satisfaction? You are afraid of the uncertainties, of searching for answers on your hands and knees, of years of study over a microscope or in a library? How pitiful.
Creationists are busy squeezing their own god into some sort of snazzy magician, pulling rabbits, and everything else, out of a hat. "Ali Kazam" and there is light. That's for childrens' parties.
A much more respectful and adult metaphor would be that of a pottery maker, someone who carefully mixes his own clay, tempering the ingredients over years, slowly and carefully laboring to produce something beautiful with his own hands. He learns as he goes, making many vessels, breaking some along the way.
But, by all means hold onto your book of mythologized history, the oral tradition of a nomadic people suffering from low self-esteem who managed to invent a bigger god than everybody else. (Bugs the hell out of ya that they were Jews and got the patent on the concept of "chosen", don't it?)
Only, for crying out loud, quit trying to cram your beliefs down everybody else's throats! Get over this whole proselytizing thing and just live your faith over there in Delusion Land. If that's not enough to bring in more believers, then your faith doesn't deserve the name.
If everybody not believing like you do brings down god's wrath upon the world, well, that's what you want anyway. So what's your problem here?
Let the rest of the world progress into a mature future using the brains you say god gave us. We won't even laugh (too much) as you continue to benefit from the vast achievements that scientific method provides via the hard won labors of Scientists – god bless 'em.
As a devout person of faith, I have to say he is an idiot. You do not have to throw away or ignore science to have a strong belief. that the mystery of the world is enriched by the wonder of evolution, and the beauty of the variety, each specialized to it's particular use and need, if that is not Gods will, then I don't know what is.
These same folks can forget that the Bible says the world is flat and that the Sun circles the world, but can't give up that the world was created in a week, we call that a Biblical Parable created to convey a "bigger picture" than they understanding they had of science at the time.
Shame on CNN if they didn't have a strong rebuttal of the quack & his "theories"
The scientific theory of evolution is fact... it has held up since 1859 and despite crazy religious people trying to disprove it... it holds. Gravity is a theory too, do you not believe in it? Any one who has a basic understanding of Biology understands that evolution is fact. Does it prove there is no Creator... almost... does it prove that Creationism is absolutely false... it sure does.
The Theory of Evolution is accepted as fact in the same way as other well established theories like the Theory of Gravity.
It is sad to see so many people choose to believe in gods, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena, but won't accept established scientific facts.
To Elaine and all the other crazy creationists here... even most respected theologians don't take literally most of the Bible. There is actually evidence for evolution... none for Creationism. How hard is it to admit you are wrong and that religion has duped you for years?
cb,
"When did the "Theory" of Evolution become "fact"?"
About the same time the "theory" of gravity and the "theory" of thermodynamics did.
Seriously, this is not that hard. A scientific theory is not the same as "oh I have a theory about something, let's see if it works."
A scientifc theory is a general model with the purpose of explaining a given set of phenomena or identifying the nature of reality. Testable hypotheses can be derived from theories.
Scientific theories are built by facts and supported by facts. The facts unambiguously support evolution.
Therefore, evolution is.......you guessed it, fact.
Cannot prove evolution–have not really seen any species "evolve" into another gradually or otherwise. It is just a question of semantics and how scientists choose to classify animals and plants. In my book animals are of the same species if they can interbreed. Creationists use the word "kind" to differentiate between lines of species. Under their definition of species lions and tigers are of the same species because they can interbreed, but are different kinds. Wolves and dogs can inter breed so they are of the same species but different "kinds". Creationists are more in tune with genetic differences. Humans could not be "related to apes" because we cannot interbreed with them–they have a different number of chromosomes– and that is what convinces me human and apes are not related and did not have a common ancestor. Evolution is bogus!
Well – what a sad lot most of you have proved to be. Your assault on Cameron is showing your 'religious' enthusiasm for your 'belief' in evolution, not a scientific refutation of what you say Cameron stands for. I believe it was Lord Attenborough, the guy who narrates so many evolution programs, who said, "The reason we scientists believe in evolution is not because we see it in the fossil record, but because the alternative of special creation is truly incredible." Do a little search and discover the problems that even evolutionists agree are insurmountable problems in their system... I hope you find the Lord!
It's quite obvious from their standpoint that their god is no where near powerful enough to have created the big bang or reality.
Their belief that if science is real their god doesn't exist is truly bizarre.
reply to elaine..
No one ever suggested humans evolved from apes.
Just because Kirk Cameron did not evolve does not mean that the rest of us haven't.
The sad part is people like Kirk Cameron getting any air time at all. CNN, is this a slow news day? Do you have an interview with a famous person who believes in evolution to show us? The fact is that would probably be every other person in Hollywood and beyond. These naysayers are such a minority....why do we even have to hear about them? They need to quit telling us that the scientists have to prove evolution.....try proving the existence of God to me!
Leave the belief up to the person, the problem with most religions is they feel that they are required to convince others that their version is correct and the only one to follow. I think all religions should preach to their own members, not go on a crusade to convince others they are right.
I think the self enlightened that feel compelled to ridicule anyone that does not agree with their position need to do their own research to be able to contribute something factual. There's a movie titled "Expelled – No Intelligence Allowed" that shows the hypocrisy of "Science" on this subject. Since when did making fun of someone and someone's beliefs constitute valid debate. Evolution is not a fact and evolutionists still cannot say where life first began that they claim has since evolved. The fact that you don't like the message doesn't make it wrong.
People who believe that we descended from apes are wrong, wrong and WRONG! Humans are apes, we just like to think that we are better.
Great for Kirk Cameron. He is out there telling the truth and getting vilified for it. Liars always get a pass from the general population and the media. If the people of the world didnt love lies and fantasy so much Hollywood would have died out long ago. By the way even the stars you see in the sky at night are not even real. They are spirit. They are mechanical.
Why can't people reconcile both? I don't understand why there couldn't be a creator who, in His intelligence, set evolution in motion. I'm a firm believer in evolution, but I also believe in God. Seems to me that, in His wisdom, He put things like evolution and stem cells there for us to discover and put to use.
The idea of creationism is not scientific, not logical and is just a quaint bedtime story from the fictional bible book. All religions are cults and Kirk could have just as easily joined the Moonies. I feel sorry for him, but as long as he is not harming anybody...
It's the same thing with Republicans – another ignorant cult of crazies.
The organized religious fanatics around the world including the catholics, the taliban, republicans, radical islamics and jews have been the root cause of most of the evil in this world.
What if everything always was some where. No one knows.
Only religious people must have a creation or a beginning to justify their fantasies of gods.
Scientists on the other hand have some concept of infinity which I think runs in all directions. Scientists can give us a valid understanding of various processes which take place on this planet and even a few in the surrounding observable universe but what of those uncounted (and presumably uncountable) other points in the ether?
Preachers preach what they've been taught to preach much of it incomprehensible gobbledygook about prayer, angels, saints, virgin births, ressurections, heaven, hell, serpents that speak, generations of people who must have come from incestial relationships since god reportedly gave us only one male and one female. Lots of hanky panky going on it that garden, boats which carry two of every animal, (Don't you wish Noah had forgotten mosquitos rather than unicorns.)
'll take observation over belief. I believe nothiing; know very little but I think a lot.
It is sad that this typically american pseudo-debate (creationism vs evolution) is a matter of worldwide jokes. Obscurantism seems so widely spread. Foreigners have difficulties to understand this unique mixture of born again christians-antievolution-antiscience-right wing GOP-Palin-so and so. The Bible is a sacred text but it is not a textbook.
god IS theory. Not real, but only an opinion.
Science quotes new concepts as "theory" so others will check the results or perform their own tests and prove or disprove the theory. To argue against a theory without studies or testing is opinion not fact.
No one learns from quoting others opinions. You only learn from finding fact and showing it to others. You can talk all day using opinion having never said anything new.
Religion = Opinion
Science = Learning
Stop quoting the opinions of closed scared minds of old and learn something new in your lifetime. Religion is a guild designed to control the minds of children and the lives of women. The "men" who push these religious systems upon our society are always shallow narrow minded control freaks. They are afraid of change, afraid to learn new concepts, and mostly afraid of not being in control of the minds of their own family members. To those free of the mental inbreeding of religion, life is open and free of hatred of race or gender. I see people as people not as types or colors. My mind lets me learn new things from everyone I meet so I can move forward in my evolution.
The Theory of Evolution doesn't state that man descended from apes. It says that at one point man and apes had a common ancestor.
Wackos from both ends of the spectrum. Far right Christians – why wouldn't God use evolution as a tool in his Intelleigent Design? Far left Atheists – there are too many steps in the process unexplained by Darwin's theory.
such putrified responses from those that think Darwin knew it all – same people that believe da vinci no doubt
FYI cb:
The scientific method: First, hypothesis, you start with an idea, use experiments or observations, once it supports the hypothesis, it becomes a "theory". If the hypothesis is not proven, then the hypothesis cannot be considered a theory. Second, a theory is "an explanation of a set of related observations or events based upon proven hypotheses and verified multiple times by detached groups of researchers. One scientist cannot create a theory; he can only create a hypothesis." Finally, a scientific law is a statement of fact. It does not need a proof because it is accepted as fact based upon years and years of studying and observations. Scientific law is simple, true, universal and absolute. (http://wilstar.com/theories.htm)
All in all, a theory is much closer to a scientific law than a hypothesis. The only reason evolution is a "theory" is because it has only been written about and "discovered" within the past 150 years, scientific laws are based upon observations that have been studied for 500 years.
Also, Darwin takes all the heat from creationists, but Darwin had to push his publication date earlier than planned because another scientist made the same observations and Darwin wanted his to be the first.
Before the Protestant reformation, religious scholars believed in evolution, along with interpretation of the Bible; it wasn't until the printing press and Martin Luther did people actually read the Bible, and people uneducated in religion decided to tell other people their own view about the Bible.
cb, and other creationists: PAY ATTENTION IN HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY AND HISTORY!
At least get the name of Darwin's monumental work right: "On Origin Of Species". NO "the". But then again, creationist got everything elses wrong...
What most people who wish to "debate" evolution fail to realize is that it DOES NOT ADDRESS the creation of life at all. It makes no attempt to explain creation in any way, shape or form. It only addresses how life forms adapt to change over time, in some cases leading to new species.
Comparing creation to evolution is like comparing a bicycle to a manatee.
"HIS" NAME IS, 'I AM WHO I AM'! LOOK IT UP IN THE OLD TESTEMENT. THOSE OF WHOM AREN'T 'BORN-AGAIN' CAN'T UNDERSTAND 'FAITH'....AND THE WEBSTER DEFINITION OF 'RELIGION' IS; PRACTICE....I'LL PRAY FOR ALL OF YOU WHO KNOW "HIM"...AND ALL THOSE WHO WILL; EVENTUALLY. MAY GOD BLESS ALL OF US. WE ALL NEED IT NOW MORE THAN EVER... (SINCE THE BEGINNING OF HUMANITY). THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME SPEAK MY PEACE.
where are the transitional forms that are supposed to "prove" evolution? why are mutations usually degenerative and not evolutionary? Other than calling people who question the theory of evolution idiots, there doesn't seem to be any scientific support for the proposition that human life evolved from single cell organisims. And, btw, how did the first life form come to be?
What if he's right?
Those people who do believe in God and Adam and Eve, are going to not believe that we evolved from apes, as this is so much easier for them to believe... how pathetic
Fundamentalisim is the product of a mind that can perceive at a basic level of development. It is healthy at certain ages as it helps a person navigate their world in tangible, concrete ways.
But to have an infantile belief about God and religion past a certain age can be quite unhealthy as it does not allow for abstracts and a more mature way of perceiving reality.
The level of development that takes religious stories literally is important but certainly not mature. This happens all over the world in many religions, not just Christianity.
There is a higher state of Christianity that should not be dismissed just because a group of people with a shouting mob mentality have a voice.
Rational thought and the scientific viewpoint is just another viewpoint as well. Although it is more well developed, it is still limited.
Religion is important beyond science. There are states of consciousness that transcend both fundamentalism and rational science.This important fact should not be thrown out or dismissed.
Final note. CNN is simply using this story to cause a rukus of debate and fuel their own interests among readers and viewers. It's a hot topic and CNN knows how to play it at just the right level to serve its own means, like throwing raw chicken to a bunch of alligators.
That's part of the game, too.
The loser in this debate is true spirituality and its expression through many forms of religion. There is a very real place for it. CNN, don't blow it in your haste to get ratings.
Kirk Cameron has only uncovered the tip of the iceberg. Darwinism is not the only false belief of the heathen. What about that Satanic theory of gravity falsely invented by that communist Galileo. Things fall down indeed! What if God wants them to fall up? No, the heathen never tell you about things that fall up instead of down do they?
Why do ballistic missiles sometimes miss their targets? Because they are using Galileo's pinko gravity concepts to find their target. The military should start using prayer instead of calculations. Just launch the missile and pray that it hits the target!
And don't get me started on the earth is round thing! What a crock that is!
Elaine M Brousseau: science is "easier" than accepting fairy tales? Wow.
Science based evolution created the living being we call human over
a time frame of billions of years. God created an abstract thinking human about ten or twelve thousand years ago.The Bible and
Genesis are correct. The world was created in a very short time from the standpoint of the new thinking being. Thus both Science and God
are real and part of a super set. Science is one of the best parts of the work of God.
...and the universe was created in seven days, 6000 years ago. Forget what the facts say, right Kirk?
The only sense in which evolution is still just a "theory" is in the particulars of descent, the paths it actually took. The mechanisms of evolution are virtually fact to anyone with more than half an operating brain!
I am constantly amazed at the number of people who are willing to eschew the wisdom of a brilliant man (Darwin) in favor of the rambling screeds of centuries-dead desert lunatics!
I've read many of the comments posted here regarding this story. It's not entirely surprising how this issue continues to polarize humans. There are intelligent arguments on both sides. And neither side has all of the answers. We still have a lot to learn. The difference between the two theories is that while proving its own merits, Evolution does not attempt to disprove the presence of God. On the other hand, Creationism at its heart is used to explain how incredibly cataclysmic events have taken place over the course of history in the blink of an eye, without the presence of Science. I do believe it possible for God and Science to coexist. (History shows many of our greatest scientific minds believed in God, and in fact continued to search for answers despite their religious beliefs.) Scientists can prove to a degree how the Big Bang formed the Universe, but we have not yet traveled beyond that epic moment to determine what was there before. Scientists will continue to search for answers to our most important questions and I hope I am alive to see when we find those answers.
Keeping within the context of human evolution, I would say that there is sufficient evidence to support the theory that hominids are evolved from a common ancestor as are the apes. The recent paleontological evidence concerning similar forms of "bipedal" and cranial forms indicates as such. It's true that episodic, sudden events may drastically alter what was normally a slower, less dynamic progression, but the evidence is clear to me. As to the God issue, I think that human behavior mandates the "creation" of such a concept; life is difficult and there are unexplained events which require some solace from it all. I think that the ancients knew this and so, developed these mechanisms for psychic survival. I would love to believe that my departed loved ones still exist somewhere, but I'll have to settle for my heart alone.
Everyone is wrong. We are decendants of a lost race of Sea Sponges from the planet BaBaBooey.
God put is on this earth to help one another and to allow ourselves to be helped when we need it. When we DON'T help one another when we can and are able, and DON'T allow others to help us when we need it the most, that's pride and anger and a true act of hostility.
And for the Darwinists.. why bother helping anyone? that's not a part of the survival of the fittest credo? When there is a tragedy, who do you see helping? Christian groups.. not usually Muslim, buddist, hindu groups, but Christian groups.. Where are the self proclaimed atheist groups out there? that help when and where it's needed the most? just wondering
Fate, Chance, Circumstance are those instances where God chooses be Anonymous.
Here's a thought to those of you that do NOT believe in a CREATOR, God, & believe in Darwinism.. why bother playing by the rules? why bother helping a sick family member,if a loved one has cancer, why bother it's survival of the fittest right? why bother allowing the sick, elderly to even LIVE? Isn't the basis of Darwinism "survival of the fittest"? If there is NO God, and Darwinism is correct, Why bother working for a living, why bother trying to better yourself, why bother trying to keep healthy? Why bother following the laws? or even being a DECENT person? thats NOT part of Darwinism, neither is EMOTION, LOVE, CARING, or SYMPATHY. There is a GOD, and you people that blame God for EVERY bad thing that happens.. remember this, in this FALLEN, Desensitised, twisted, what is right is wrong , what is wrong is right, topsy turvy world, GOD will ALLOW anything to happen to get YOUR attention. Obedience to God (following the rules with the choices you make, NOT blind disobedience, God doesn't want robots) brings blessing, disobedience brings discipline. God gives JOY and BLESSINGS, (whether people see it or not, now thats a HUMANISTIC issue) but happiness is up to US. God bless everyone.. GOOGLE pascals wager if you want to compare the odds there is a God, to the odds that there is NOT.
Hey, this IS America, and he has the right to believe and share (what he believes) with others. Remember? Freedom OF religion? Good for him – beats the heck out of a bunch of stuff other folks are spewing each day.
Isn't it about time we let factual evidence and champions of such get headlines instead of people like Cameron? Is this really how we want America to be remembered? If so, I'm moving to Crete.
I once believed in the theory of evolution, but then I once even believed the people giving out the Nobel Peace Prize were intelligent.
Why on earth would we listen to a Christian fundametalist on important matters having to do with science and archaeology? Religious zealots like Kirk Cameron are wholly unqualified to speak about anything other than their own faith-based mythology (and, in the case of Cameron, given his short career as a second-tier actor, maybe some observations about his life on the B List.).
Lol...I love these creationists. There's no proof of creation except the book of Genesis, which also states that God pretty much lined up all the animals in the Earth for Adam for inspection and offered them as mates.
So by that logic if Adam had decided instead of not liking any of them, that he was cool with dogs then we would all be dog-people.
Evidence of Evolution is everywhere. You have to be a complete moron not to see evolution in animals and evolution in people. Just because we evolved doesn't mean God didn't have a hand in it.
God is like a clock-maker. He just makes the clock, winds it up and lets it go.
When did a 1,500-year-old book of fairy tales become "fact"? Where are the skeletal remains of Adam and Eve? How did their kids breed an entire planet's population by incest? How did people of other races – negro, asian, pacific islander, caucasian – come to be, if Adam and Eve's kids were all one race? Was it evolution? Where did Cain's wife come from?
Has science ever witnessed a mutation that led to the addition of information (and the code to interpret that information) to the genome? According to Richard Dawkins it has not. It's a pre-requisite for evolution and yet no trace of any such mutation exists. All mutations –even those that prove beneficial to the organism - result in the loss of information to the genome. Period.
Intelligent Design advocates do not have a problem with evolution, they have a problem with Human evolution, they don't care about evolution of bacteria, flys or viruses, they don't question the evolution of single celled animals, yeast or simple invertebrates, they only get worked up about humans. They don't like to think that humans are the result of evolution, every thing else, who cares, that is why they are more like children in their thought, big ideas, bad, I'm not a monkey, good.
Also, why don't they advocate the idea of intelligent design in the study of astronomy, or chemistry, why just biology? Because, they are like little children...I'm special.
THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY IS A BELIEF IN GOD, A BELIEF HE CREATED EVERYTHING. THIS DOESN'T RUN COUNTER TO MY LIFE EXPERIENCE. I FULLY ACCEPT THAT EVERYTHING I SEE AND USE HAVE A DESIGNER AND BUILDER.
THE FOUNDATION OF EVOLUTION IS A BELEIF THAT NO ONE CREATED OR DESIGNED THE UNIVERSE. AND WHEN NO ONE DID HIS WORK HE USED NOTHING TO DO IT ALL. THEN 1 LIVING THING BECAME MANY. THIS RUNS AGAINST COMMON SENSE AND LIFE EXPERIENCE AND REQUIRES WAY TOO MUCH FAITH. IF I SAID THIS IN COURT AND USED IT A DEFENSE IT WOULD BE REDICULOUS. NO SINGLE LIVING THING WHETHER MAN , ANIMAL OR PLANT COULD LIVE WITH OUT EATING OTHER LIVING THINGS HOW COULD 1 LIVING THING BE ALONE AND BE THE SOURCE OF ALL LIVING THINGS. IT-WOULD-HAVE -TO -BE-A-GOD.
Why people would try to discredit a sturdy body of factual scientic evidence regarding the nuanaces and beauty of evolution is beyond belief. Why people also feel the need to slam evolutionists as non believers in God is ignorance. Clearly, evolution is a fact and in my scientific brain, clearly God also exists. The two compliment not cancel each other out.
Go Kirk!! If the media and education systems would just look at the issue in a truly "unbiased" way....they would find that Darwin was debunked years ago!
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THIS.
EVOLUTION IS A RELIGION THAT CAN'T BE PROVEN BUT MUST BE ACCEPTED BY FAITH. IT BUILDS ITS FOUNDATION UPON WORDS OF FAITH LIKE SCIENTIST THINK, OR SCIENTIST BELEIVE. THE STORY OF EVOLUTION CONTAINS THE WORDS BELEIVE AS MUCH AS MOST BOOKS OF FAITH. TRUE SCIENCE SHOULD NOT BUILD ITS FOUNDATION UPON WORDS OF FAITH AS RELIGONS DO. THEN AFTER STARTING WITH A STATEMENT OF FAITH USE THIS AS A FOUNDATION TO BUILD THERE HOUSE THEN CALL IT SCIENCE. I DON'T HAVE FAITH IN EVOLUTION NOR DO I CARE IF THEY TEACH IT BUT TO TEACH SOMETHING THAT REQUIRES SO MUCH FAITH THEN CALL IT SCIENCE IS WRONG. IF GOD DOESN'T EXIST WHY DOESN'T SCIENCE PROVE IT OR STOP IMPLYING SOMETHING IS A FACT WITHOUT INDISPUTABLE PROOF.
This is the funniest thing I have ever heard. To the gentleman or Lady that produced the 'dumbing down of America by pushing Creationism in schools' argument should be given a Nobel.
You brainwashed, coward, Cristian, Sheep! Don't waste one more second of civilization on your pathetic concept. I will not give you tithes, stay away from my pocket. Your God never existed, you fell for the same power trick–2000 years later, shame on you–that the Federal Government, with these media slimeballs as henchman, are pulling over on the world right now.
Did you know that Jesus was as popular a name as Michael is today back then? Did you know that Mohammed is the most popular name on the planet now? I don't know who to hate more, the old, established, stick-up artist, church, or the newer, bearded, self- martyring, sheep/coward, over-mediacized, Church.
Quit wasting my time, Kirk.
Get your Gods out of the way of truth; do a little research, take a practical look at what's out there, and what makes sense to you as an organism–that will get out of bed, regardless of if there is an afterlife to live for or not–and due something truly legendary. You can start today.
Message for George:
Not every person who says "I am a Christian" is a Christian.
Read God's Word and you will discover this.
Especially the part about "Having a form of godliness and denying the power thereof!:
That is so typical of these people to start an ad hominem falacious attack on Darwin. Even if Darwin was a racist and a sexist, that somehow makes him wrong about the unrelated topic of evolution? If he was a racist and a sexist and he said 2+2=4, then he would be wrong. Am I correct in this argument?
Why is it so difficult for conservative Christians to believe that God is capable of designing a beautiful, complex, and adaptive system of life? Personally, I'd give Him more credit. I also don't think that God would expect us to ignore the clues and evidence He has left for us to discover. Evolution, as a concept, is not a theory. It's details and mysteries continue to unravel before us everyday. "Creationism", however, is unsupported by anything other than blind faith.
I would bet that all the harsh criticism of Mr Cameron are by those that have not actually listened to his points that question the theory (and that is all that it is – a theory of evolution. You don't have to change your faith to listen to and consider other viewpoints that question the very flawed evolution theory.
I would also bet that none of them have read and studied the Bible either. I was critical of people who would give reasons from the bible for answers to many questions and issues. But when I finally decided to read the bible to try to prove them wrong, I found that the bible was overwhelmingly consistent and accurate.
Don't cast judgements of others, do your own research. Listen to what others say, then research for yourselves on whether what they say stands up. You might be surprised.
As a die hard creationist I know that the science of creationism is backed by the well known fact that storks bring life to make a family and that that is their purpose as set out by the creator.
People who say evolution is "just a theory" don't understand what a scientific theory is. To give one example, Einstein's theory of relativity in some cases gives different results than Newton's laws of motion. There have been several opportunities to test these – the orbit of the the planet Mercury is one example.
Every time they've tested them, guess what happens? Einstein's "Theory" is correct and Newton's "Laws" are incorrect.
This is not a knock against Newton – his laws of motion are good enough to send spacecraft to other planets
Oh yeah sure I can believe that man came from two people created from dirt (with the woman supposedly having been created with the help of a rib from the man so that right there is....ew), and who had only sons.
All is a mystery to the small mind of man. How can one comprehend the magnificence of all creation on earth and in the heavens? Quit drinking milk of children and focus on what is truly important. Like where you are going in eternity. Will all due respect to Kirk, his focus should be on the more important aspects and needs of humanity. All people should humble themselves before the Creator and have faith that he has the answers.