: : IMHO, this may be one of the reasons why some of the less enlightened strains of Christianity oppose Darwinian evolution so strongly, because it is so fundamentally sexual. At least that's my suspicion.
: : -Floyd: Interesting point. Did you know that the Catholic Church has accepted the Darwinian theory of evolution?
Yes, sort of. This is well described in Pope John-Paul II's Address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, dated 22 October, 1996. However, Pius XII, in his Encyclical Humani generis (1950) had made similar statements several decades earlier. The general approach seems to be that the church is interested in humans as spiritual beings, and is not directly concerned with their biology, but with their souls.
Even in the Protestant traditions, a majority of the faithful are not opposed to evolution. There is no necessary ontological contradiction between religious faith and evolution, as W. K. VonRoeschlaub explains in this page. Some Christians, accepting the indisputable nature of evolution as a fact, have adopted a tradition commonly called "theistic evolution," in which God takes an active part in biological change. The fact is, if this were happening, as I've tried to point out, it would appear as though it is not happening. As a result, we have only Ockham's Razor to suggest that evolution proceeds in an undirected manner. Myself, I am unconcerned, because whether evolution is directed or not, my research is unaffected since the material, observable outcome is the same, and that's all I work with. I'm quite happy leaving to theologians and philosophers any discussions that have no empirical basis.
:I knew Genisis was an allegory the first time I read it, I mean the earth's not flat and the stars arent hung from some celestial ceiling, creationists talk a severe bit of nonsense, I think it's because the allegorious nature of that story makes it easier to combat their religious terrorism EG conform to our norms or burn in hell.
Good point. Fortunately, most of the anti-evolutionists who take Genesis I and II as their inspiration are not particularly powerful thinkers, and emotionalism and the bullying threats you mention are their only weapons in this argument. Unfortunately, at least here in the states, they are very noisy children, and their frothing-at-the-mouth diatribes have caught the ears of politicians while the more sober majority is left unheard, so we are again seeing ridiculous legislation banning science from public schoolrooms and promoting religion in its place. It's tragic, really, since, as I've repeatedly tried to tell Gotch, evolution doesn't even study the beginnings of life, which is what Genesis discusses, so there isn't any contradiction to begin with, IMHO, and the apparent conflict between evolution and the bible is promoted exclusively by people who understand neither of the two! C'est la guerre.
Best;
-Floyd
None.
