Creationism question...

[john70t]

Couldn't God create evolution?

We humans are certainly busy destroying most of Gods creations of life diversity, and have created global political structures with other humans speaking exclusively for [him].

Multiple universes, DNA, matter/energy transitions weren't mentioned either, but that doesn't mean The Bible or religeon in general isn't an applicable lifeguide.

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
May not make them right, but having 2000 members in Orange County consisting of your average local families, neighbors, doctors, accountants, middle of the road working people does make the church "mainstream," by definition, IMO.

I can't confirm this but I have been told Islam is the fastest growing religion... would you consider them "mainstream"?

[Mulhollanddose]

Originally posted by scottmandue
I can't confirm this but I have been told Islam is the fastest growing religion... would you consider them "mainstream"?

That is myth...Christianity is the largest and fastest growing religion. We are in deep doo-doo if Islam is.

[Don Plumley]

Originally posted by Mulhollanddose
That is myth...Christianity is the largest and fastest growing religion. We are in deep doo-doo if Islam is.

From CNN:

<...>
The second-largest religion in the world after Christianity, Islam is also the fastest-growing religion. In the United States, for example, nearly 80 percent of the more than 1,200 mosques have been built in the past 12 years.

Some scholars see an emerging Muslim renaissance as Islam takes root in many traditionally Christian communities.

Islam has drawn converts from all walks of life, most notably African-Americans. Former NAACP President Benjamin Chavis, who joined the Nation of Islam recently, personifies the trend.

"In societies where you have minorities that are discriminated against, I think they may find an appeal in Islam," said Waleed Kazziha of American University in Cairo.

Many moderate Islamic countries such as Turkey and Egypt are becoming more conservative.

Two decades ago, few middle-class Egyptian women wore scarves or veils on their heads. Now they crowd into special emporiums that advertise Islamic clothing.

The shift toward Islamic fundamentalism worries many in the secular world, a fear underscored when splinter groups target Westerners with violent attacks.

Islam vs. the West

But most scholars argue that the extremists are a very small minority and that most Muslims adhere to principles in the Koran that teach peace and tolerance.

"The Islamic world is like any other society we have known in history," said Kazziha. "You might say it has the good, the bad and the ugly."

Founded in 622 A.D., Islam is among the newer major religions. But to the non-Muslim world, it sometimes appears inflexible. Clashes between Islamic tradition and Western influence are sweeping the globe.

In Islam, contrary to Western beliefs, the rights of the community are considered more important than the rights of the individual. Women are seen primarily as caretakers of the home, and religion strongly influences schools, government and courts.

Many Muslims today are trying to find a balance between being members of a global society and maintaining ties to a religion that calls for strict adherence to the Koran.

You should also check out the birth rates for major Christian countries (i.e. Italy) versus ROW.

[Mulhollanddose]

I don't trust CNN's analysis. I am not saying they are wrong, but I think their philosophical biases infect every aspect of their news reporting. These are the same folk that concealed the horrors of the Saddam Hussein regime for access to him, pre-invasion.

[stuartj]

Originally posted by Mulhollanddose
I don't trust CNN's analysis. I am not saying they are wrong, but I think their philosophical biases infect every aspect of their news reporting. These are the same folk that concealed the horrors of the Saddam Hussein regime for access to him, pre-invasion.

So you make a claim, utterly unsubstantiated, and uncited. "Christianity is fastest growing religion in the world."

Another poster provides and cites evidence to refute this, and you immeadiately dismiss the source as unreliable.

Is there no end to your faith based reasoning, Mul?

[Don Plumley]

So I did some more searching. Some claim that Scientology, Mormon, Wicca, et al are the fastest growing religions. As a marketing guy, I can segment data sufficiently to prove most any point. The fastest growing religion might be "none".

There's lots of Islam PR sites that subscribe to the Islam fastest growing stance. And lots of sites that refute this claim. But so far, I've not come across an independent scholarly study to cite.

Growth Rate is the statement. I believe the average births per Islam following household is something like 4+, where for Christian households, it's like 1.x. Throw in conversion and it's not out of the question that the rate of growth (not absolute growth) is faster.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of extremes of anything. For me, Timothy McVeigh is no less a terrorist than Mohamed Atta.

Back on point - Years and years ago I tried to rationalize Genesis with Science. Was a day a 100 million years and all that. In the end, Science tries to explain; Faith requires no explanation, just belief.

I honestly don't know. But I do know that most religions try to teach their follower's to be good people - do unto others, et al. In their quest to convince people to be good, a really bad alternative is often explored.

Candidly, I think blind belief that a being created everthing with one wave of his noodle is easy. Trying to challenge that belief while adhering to the "be good people" principles takes courage and intellect.

[stuartj]

Originally posted by Don Plumley


Candidly, I think blind belief that a being created everthing with one wave of his noodle is easy. Trying to challenge that belief while adhering to the "be good people" principles takes courage and intellect.

Right fella, knock it off. One wave of his noodle, eh? I know where youre coming from and I dont much like it.

Yours in FSM

[Dixie]

I for one think it’s possible to reconcile theology and scientific theory.
Why, just the other night I experienced a big bang, and the wife kept hollering "oh god", the entire time.

[Rob Channell]

Originally posted by masraum

I also remember that one of the teachers once said that the Bible says that God had other followers somewhere else (implying 'another planet'). ..............

I'd love to see the reference that the teacher was talking about when she made that statement.

Here's a couple of verses for more context:
John 10:14-16
"14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. "

My opinion:
Yes, I believe the Bible is God's word, inspired by God and recorded by men. Do I believe it? You betcha! Do I understand it all? Nope. I look forward to a tour and explanation in the future. Hey Lord, can you tell me again how you did that big bang thing?

Should you believe it? I think so, but I will not force it on you. You must make your own decision which is an important part of God's Word in the Bible that sometimes gets overlooked. I won't ever claim to be perfect, or better than you, just forgiven.

I am not personally sure that we are capable of understanding Him in His frame of reference.

A joke for an example:
-----------------
Me: Lord, you are on such a grand scale compared to us, I hear that a million years are but a second to you and a billion dollars would be but a penny.

Lord: Yes, that is true.

Me: Lord, can I have a billion dollars?

Lord: My child, I love you and would love to give you all things. I would love to give you a billion dollars. Just a second.....
-------------------

[K.B.]

Originally posted by stuartj
Can God create a rock so heavy He cannot lift it?

Yes, he did that. Since he couldn't lift it he dropped it. It was soooo big, it started sucking in everything around it. It soon became a black hole. Protons neutrons elecrons all compacted together so tight that it turned to pure energy, then it finally blew up, E became emcee squared, the big bang.

[Nathans_Dad]

Actually Stuart, if you really want to talk about the fastest growing religion, wouldn't that be a very very small one? Example: Lets say Islam has 1000 theorhetical members total. They add two members every week, that is a .2% growth rate that week.

Now Rickology only has 2 members, but they also add 2 members per week which means they have a 100% growth rate that week.

Which is "faster growing"?? I would say the religion that is doubling every week is faster growing, no? Sort of like in the stock market...the smaller companies grow much faster than the established ones. So I would actually find it difficult to believe that Islam is the fastest growing religion since it is also the second largest. CNN probably left out all the smaller religions.

This really has nothing to do with the real world, but it is an interesting discussion just for argument's sake.

[Nathans_Dad]

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/519219/

At the big bang, theory says, all the matter and energy in the universe was compressed into a space about a trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a meter across. The laws of physics don't allow measurements smaller than that. As soon as it came into being, it exploded, at first releasing a field of undirected energy filled with massive particles dubbed "inflatons" that carry a sort of negative gravity, propelling everything outward. By the end of the first trillionth of a second, the inflatons had decayed into a seething plasma of elementary particles and energy in the form of photons.

Genesis 1:
1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Man, that little tiny particle of all matter which suddenly exploded as soon as it came into being sure sounds a lot like Genesis 2-3.

"The beginning of real time, would have been a singularity, at which the laws of physics would have broken down. "
-- Stephen Hawking

"1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God."
-- John 1, 1-2.

Coincidence??

[Porsche-O-Phile]

The utter hilarity of listening to people trying to rationalize the validity of creationism is better than Comedy Central. . .

Not quite as good as when they had Chapelle's Show, but close.

[cashflyer]

Question 1: Did God create EVERYTHING...

From a Biblical point of view, God created everything.

One down, another to go.....

Does God have a purpose for all of his creations?

I didn't see anyone address this. I would say yes.
If indeed there is a God that creates things, then I would say God has a purpose behind his creations.

Yes? No?

This stuff has been discussed here before.... but of course, no real answer at the end of the day

Nor will it this time either. I'm just trying to explore my own theory a bit.

[Rick Lee]

I happened to be watching an episode of Cosmos just last night - yes really. Sagan was talking about the possibility of one universe vs. oscillating universes, by which it all contracts back to a singularity and then there's another big bang and the process repeats itself over tens of billions of years. So far, we all know the universe is still expanding. The question is whether there is enough mass out there for gravity to reverse the expansion and contract it all back down. If this is how it works, then there is an endless cycle of big bangs and big crunches. I wonder if God meant for that to happen or just created physics (the only truly uniform set of laws that apply to everyone, everything, everywhere) and then stepped back.

[Jim Richards]

I always wondered where the material that makes up the universe came from?

[Rick Lee]

Reminds me of the Stephen Wright story where he was hitchiking and picked up by a guy who had spent his entire career studying who had built the Egyptian Pyramids. He said he was pretty sure it was a guy named Eddie.

Point being, does it (or is it) really matter?

[Jim Richards]

naahh, but when the mind is idle, things like this pop into it.

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
The utter hilarity of listening to people trying to rationalize the validity of creationism is better than Comedy Central. . .

Not quite as good as when they had Chapelle's Show, but close.

Have you taken a good look at string theory lately?