"You know that's impossible right?" Explaining to kids the comments of creationists.

[Anonymous]

To the earnest and polite PP who detailed her thought process:

I appreciated your story, and I wanted to share something with you that might make you feel better.

There is no contradiction between faith and reason, because there cannot be. God is Truth itself. He authored science, and rationality, and logic. Anything that is true is from God, wherever truth may be found.

Read Fides et Ratio, or Faith and Reason, an encyclical about this issue. You don't need to turn your brain off to have faith. Faith completes your reason.

As to this specific issue, literalist creationists are few and far between in ANY faith. Actual creationists serve as a convenient straw man for those who choose, of their own free will, to discount uncomfortable questions about a Creator.

Most people of faith know that creation stories are meant to convey fundamental truths about our Creator, such as that there is order and purpose to all of creation, that humans are capable of knowing right from wrong (which is how we are made in His image--God does not LOOK like us, we are LIKE Him in that we have free will and can choose to love), and that there was a beginning to creation, whereas God is I AM, no beginning and no end. Creation stories are not scientific treatises.

This conflict between faith and science was created by a certain strain of intellectuals during the 18th century. Some of the greatest scientists the world has ever known have been people of great faith who drew closer to God by trying to understand His creation better. The ongoing knee-jerk assumption that faith and science must conflict is simply unfounded, but culturally accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 11 pages and maybe 5 people actually answered the question.

Why do you assume the OP was really looking for an answer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. 11 pages and maybe 5 people actually answered the question.

Why do you assume the OP was really looking for an answer?

I too wondered if OP really wanted an answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes we can find the beliefs of others nonsensical, even as we accept their right to believe it. I'm sure you think the ladies who practice wicca and buy their crystals at the new-agey shop up the street from me are out-of-their-f-ing-minds. But we shrug it off and move on. For some of us, it's the same when the nonsensical beliefs are Christian. It's just as absurd to some of us. That doesn't mean that we hate Christians. For the most part I don't care what they believe as long as they don't try to indoctrinate me or my kid. I'm sure if the Wiccan ladies loudly mouthed off in front of your kid about how God really created the world in HER cauldron or something you would be offended and wonder how to protect your child from having to hear such crazy things.

But your religion is the only true religion, right?

I am a Unitarian. So we accept ALL comers. "All gods are one god". Personally I am agnostic and I am still welcome as a Unitarian. I have hope, not conviction.

[Anonymous]

Wow-two seven year olds could have worked this one out in three pages and with much less mishegoss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow-two seven year olds could have worked this one out in three pages and with much less mishegoss.

Please tell us what you, I mean those 7 YOs, conclude based on the preceeding discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I've been pretty good at not bashing anyone personally, but what's it gonna take to get it through your thick skull that I'm not the "horrible way of life poster" to which you keep referring?!? You are aware that there are more than two people on DCUM, right? But way to make assumptions...

Yeah, we totally believe that you're a mature person who would never engage in ad hominem attacks.... You are, however, the poster who uses ellipses incorrectly.

NP here. ASSHOLE, will you stop ganging up on the Reform Jew poster? On any given thread, once a "voice" has been identified, all the dcum bullies start ganging up on them. First, one of you tried to call her some atheist poster from the past. You were wrong. Then you kept attributing posts that didn't belong to the Reform Jew to him or her. Again wrong. Stop being a bully, it's tiresome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To the earnest and polite PP who detailed her thought process:

I appreciated your story, and I wanted to share something with you that might make you feel better.

omg! Do you think this forum is your audience?



There is no contradiction between faith and reason, because there cannot be. God is Truth itself. He authored science, and rationality, and logic. Anything that is true is from God, wherever truth may be found.

Read Fides et Ratio, or Faith and Reason, an encyclical about this issue. You don't need to turn your brain off to have faith. Faith completes your reason.

As to this specific issue, literalist creationists are few and far between in ANY faith. Actual creationists serve as a convenient straw man for those who choose, of their own free will, to discount uncomfortable questions about a Creator.

Most people of faith know that creation stories are meant to convey fundamental truths about our Creator, such as that there is order and purpose to all of creation, that humans are capable of knowing right from wrong (which is how we are made in His image--God does not LOOK like us, we are LIKE Him in that we have free will and can choose to love), and that there was a beginning to creation, whereas God is I AM, no beginning and no end. Creation stories are not scientific treatises.

This conflict between faith and science was created by a certain strain of intellectuals during the 18th century. Some of the greatest scientists the world has ever known have been people of great faith who drew closer to God by trying to understand His creation better. The ongoing knee-jerk assumption that faith and science must conflict is simply unfounded, but culturally accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

omg! Do you think this forum is your audience?

Have you never seen that poster before? It seems to be all Catholic writings, philosophers and the perfection of god....and very little back and forth.

[Anonymous]

If there are one or more deities, and they created both this world and us, why should I worship something with such low skills? Geez....

[Anonymous]

Honestly, as a child when we saw people who spoke in tongues, or cult members/moonies, etc my mum always told us they were crazy. As children you can see that for yourself.

I agree expressing it is an option/lets all do our own research and believe what we want/etc lends the craziness validity. I'd just bluntly say to my kids 'some people don't believe in science, they believe in fables and interpret them literallly'.

To put it bluntly, If you see a smoker, and your children ask about it do you offer it as an option 'oh it's something people like to do... it's relaxing...' or do you say 'addiction is a stupid thing to get started on. It's bad for you- don't do it'

[Anonymous]

I havent read through every post, but many religious people (including myself) believe in both creation and evolution.

1. Just bc it says god created the world in 7 days doesnt mean that 1 "biblical god day" equal the 24 hrs we currently know as a day.

2. Its entirely possible that G-d created the world as if it was millions of years old at the time it was created - i.e. he put actual trees on earth and not seeds (trees not the best example bc they are not millions of years old, but I hope you get it).

3. The flood in Noah's time could have aged the earth significantly and is what is know in history as the melting of the ice caps and shifting of the plates, etc.

Its entirely possible to believe in both. Although, personally, I believe that man was created in human form and did not descend from apes, I do believe that apes were created first and recognized that DNA is common.

[Anonymous]

Oh hell no. We would tell our kids (who are older though) that she was wrong, why she's wrong, and that sadly, the world is filled with a lot of stupid people just like her. Its the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh hell no. We would tell our kids (who are older though) that she was wrong, why she's wrong, and that sadly, the world is filled with a lot of stupid people just like her. Its the truth.

Looks like, in your hypothetical scenario, that she inherited her stupidity from you....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

NP here. ASSHOLE, will you stop ganging up on the Reform Jew poster? On any given thread, once a "voice" has been identified, all the dcum bullies start ganging up on them. First, one of you tried to call her some atheist poster from the past. You were wrong. Then you kept attributing posts that didn't belong to the Reform Jew to him or her. Again wrong. Stop being a bully, it's tiresome.

Let me get this straight: it's not OK to gang up on a Reform Jew for behaving badly, but it's perfectly fair to gang up on the Catholic poster (I'm not her) with her sentimental posts, and it would be fun if we all bully her together. Do I have that right? Thanks for clearing that up!