I made a post on the Tea House about the Royal Society lecture, the resulting thread made me stop and think.
Philosophical Taoism is about taking careful notice of the world and trying to live as much harmony with it as possible, you can’t allow sacred cows to get in the way. What matters is harmony with the Tao in your situation or peace.
It’s similar with Science, Scientists have to take careful account of reality and attempt to explain it as accurately as possible. Science is a powerful tool for Taoists and one I think we should be taking full advantage of.
I’ve seen the view that we should be tolerant of other beliefs, and I have no problem with that. But what if those beliefs clash with observed reality, if they’re plain wrong, and all the available evidence points against them? Creationism is a belief that so strongly contradicts the available evidence that it’s not even a bad joke, many proponents have used deceit and trickery to promote it, in the UK one millionaire is sneaking it into schools he sponsors via the back door. When questioned in the commons, Tony Blair attempted to distract attention by referring to the overall record of the schools. Even the Prime Minister can’t defend it!
So, if a belief can’t stand up to scrutiny, can’t be promoted on it’s own merits and has to be sneaked in with dirty tricks, what does that say about it? That it’s just plain wrong, and the sooner it’s left behind the better!
The trouble starts when you realise that Science is not without its’ dogmatism, skewed facts and fabricated evidence itself. In Science, the effect of having to publish, to constantly have to search for funding and then show that you’ve ‘got results’ – these are not conditions that always lead to disinterested scientific investigation.
I know, no system is without it’s flaws, I always take comfort in the fact that at least Science is fairly self-correcting. If only dogmatic religions had that quality.
I appologize if I sound at all rude, but anybody who thinks that there is more scientific evidence for evolution is a highly ignorant and misinformed individual. Before making claims that “Creationism is a belief that so strongly contradicts the available evidence that it’s not even a bad joke, many proponents have used deceit and trickery to promote it…” do some research. You will find that you have made an ass of yourself by complaining about beliefs that clash with reality, and then giving your oppinion, which completely and utterly clashed with reality. Do some digging. You will find that there is far more evidence against evolution than for it. From a scientific point of view, all the evidence points to something (I don’t care if it is any sort of god or whatever) having created everything we see on a day-to-day basis. So, learn about what you plan to talk about before you make statements that are blatantly untrue and cause educated people to laugh at the sheer lack of applied knowledge.
I appologize if I sound at all rude, but anybody who thinks that there is more scientific evidence for evolution is a highly ignorant and misinformed individual. Before making claims that “Creationism is a belief that so strongly contradicts the available evidence that it’s not even a bad joke, many proponents have used deceit and trickery to promote it…” do some research. You will find that you have made an ass of yourself by complaining about beliefs that clash with reality, and then giving your oppinion, which completely and utterly clashed with reality. Do some digging. You will find that there is far more evidence against evolution than for it. From a scientific point of view, all the evidence points to something (I don’t care if it is any sort of god or whatever) having created everything we see on a day-to-day basis. So, learn about what you plan to talk about before you make statements that are blatantly untrue and cause educated people to laugh at the sheer lack of applied knowledge.
Hi scynne, thanks for responding, that may sound like a wierd thing to say, but I believe that one of the best ways we can develop ourselves both spiritually and intellectually is through not agreeing. I try to make my comments in as detached a manner as possible, so please don’t take my comments personally, they’re certainly not meant that way, though I’ll be the first to admit I’m not perfect.
“anybody who thinks that there is more scientific evidence for evolution is a highly ignorant and misinformed individual.”
I’m afraid that would include an awful lot of scientists, a sizeable chunk of the UK population and the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, which both accept it.
Speaking personally, I’ve never come across ANY evidence that convinced me of the truth of Creationism, and I have looked into the subject. Everytime I read one of those arguments lists I find something that doesn’t ring true. For my money, Evolution is the best supported theory.
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You will find that there is far more evidence against evolution than for it.
My research suggests you’ll find plenty of evidence in support of Evolution, a quick search on Google (also Talk Origins) will give you plenty of reading. Further to this, the list of gaps in the evidence grows smaller with time, this would seem to point to only one eventual conclusion.
I have seen plenty of refutations of the counter arguments to Evolution. And the point about deceit and trickery, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to refer you to “Paluxy River“. Another look at the validity of Creationism can be found here.
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From a scientific point of view, all the evidence points to something (I don’t care if it is any sort of god or whatever) having created everything we see on a day-to-day basis.
Oh, there’s no argument that *something* created it, but I see no evidence of a creator and some good logical arguments against one: Dear Theologian, for example. The Big Bang is looking like the best current model for the universe.