The frequently made assertion that modern biology and the assumptions of the Judaeo-Christian tradition are fully compatible is false

Joe G said...

In other words, religion is compatible with modern evolutionary biology (and indeed all of modern science) if the religion is effectively indistinguishable from atheism.1

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The frequently made assertion that modern biology and the assumptions of the Judaeo-Christian tradition are fully compatible is false.2

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Evolution is the greatest engine of atheism ever invented.

Naturalistic evolution has clear consequences that Charles Darwin understood perfectly. 1) No gods worth having exist; 2) no life after death exists; 3) no ultimate foundation for ethics exists; 4) no ultimate meaning in life exists; and 5) human free will is nonexistent.3



As the creationists claim, belief in modern evolution makes atheists of people. One can have a religious view that is compatible with evolution only if the religious view is indistinguishable from atheism.4


‘Let me summarize my views on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear … There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life, and no free will for humans, either.’ 5

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1- Academe January 1987 pp.51-52 †

2-Evolutionary Progress (1988) p. 65 †

3- “Evolution: Free will and punishment and meaning in life” 1998 Darwin Day Keynote Address 1 2 †

4- No Free Will (1999) p.123

5- Provine, W.B., Origins Research 16(1), p.9, 1994.

Do You “Believe” In “Evolution”?

Yet again, we have this utterly meaningless question asked of an electoral candidate during a debate, in an attempt to discredit her. My response, had I been asked this question, would have been as follows:

Does evolution mean that living things have changed over time? Does evolution mean universal common ancestry? Does evolution mean that random errors filtered by natural selection explain all of biology, including the origin of the functionally specified information encoded in the base-four digital code of the DNA molecule, along with the information-processing machinery that translates it, performs error detection and repair, and much more?

If your definition of “evolution” is the latter, can you supply us with adequate evidence that the probabilistic resources have existed to make this hypothesis a reasonable inference?

Had the debate host, who asked the question in the title of my post, been presented with such a challenge, I can guarantee what his answer would have been:

Huh?

ADVICE TO #GOP CANDIDATES: AVOID ADJECTIVES, NOUNS ARE GOOD ENOUGH

There is no need, this year, to load up negative ads with adjectives painting your opponents as evil, big spenders in the thrall of the DC establishment. The simple facts of your opponents’ voting records are enough to defeat them. Just the facts, ma’am.

Republican negative ad writers always delight in describing the Stimulus package as bloated, wasteful, government-growing, and useless. The adjectives get in the way. The polling we’ve done indicates that the simple words “stimulus package” convey all that and more.

There is no need to call Obama’s health care legislation “a government attempt to take over our health care” or a bill to “slash medical care for the elderly” or an “attempt to force rationing of care.” The simple word Obamacare conveys the same meanings.

Why describe cap and trade as “job killing” or “driving jobs overseas” when the words cap and trade say these same things to voters?

Ads are effective for the response they elicit from the viewers. The more they catalyze a response inside the mind of the voter, the more effective they are. Ads that are heavy on adjectives and have the look and feel of an attack ad run into credibility problems with the average voter. One rebels against a heavy handed attack and you find yourself fighting against the ad, even if you basically believe it to be true. The more even handed and credible the ad is, the more it will be believed.

Leftwing Media Bashing Each Other: Rick Sanchez Calls Jon Stewart “A Bigot”; Says CNN Is Run By Jews

I’m telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart, and a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart, and to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish, are an oppressed minority? Yeah. - Rick Sanchez

Why CNN totally blew the Rick Sanchez Firing

But the focus of my ire is not on Rick Sanchez, all dopes ultimately do themselves in. I am really angry at CNN. Here is CNN's official statement about Rick departure. “Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company. We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well.“
NO! NO! NO! This is a classic example as to why CNN is failing and other media outlets are doing so much better. CNN, let me be crystal clear; Grab a sack, and take a stand. Here is what your statement should have said.
"In light of Rick Sanchez's radio interview, we have fired him. Sanchez's views, which in our view, are clearly anti-Semitic, demand an immediate response, and our response is this, we have asked him to leave CNN immediately. We object strongly to Sanchez's statement that Jon Stewart is a bigot. We also object to Sanchez's statement that the Jewish management at CNN would not advance his career. CNN's management is not characterized by race nor religion. The company that Rick Sanchez described is not our company. We believe in freedom of expression, and we do not care if opinions expressed on our airwaves are not politically correct. We do object when our own employees simply misstate the facts, and allow their own egos to cloud their thinking."
Additionally, CNN should air their own dirty laundry on CNN. This is the perfect topic for Larry King and Joy Behar and all the other talk show hosts. My guess, however, is that, huge mistake number two, CNN probably won't talk about this on the air at all.
Sometimes giant mistakes provide giant opportunities. CNN completely blew that chance here.

Link

VID: Jon Stewart a Bigot - Rick Sanchez