Evolution, Creationism and Intelligent Design: Equal Theories?
Creationists say humans were created in the image of “God Almighty.” How do they know that? Do they have a photograph of God? They claim they know this is true because God, “clearly states (it) in His written Word (Bible).” Unfortunately, they fail to specify which of the hundreds of different and often conflicting Bibles they claim God wrote, and sadly, there is no original to compare any of them to for accuracy. They also do not mention why they believe God wrote “The Bible.” Nobody yet has been able to quote anything from that tome that only a God could write or inspire. Not one word.
Creationists claim, “Many scientists fall on both sides of the evolution/creation debate,” but fail to tell us why they think this is true. The evidence for evolution is overwhelming as is its support by the worldwide scientific community and it is not up for debate. On the other hand, there is zero evidence that any “god” created anything. Creationism, also known as “Intelligent Design,” is not a “competitive theory” as its proponents insist—it is an unfounded belief based solely on wishful fantasy and idle speculation. It is not supported by credible evidence. As for the existence of a “god,” the scientific evidence is clear, as Richard Dawkins explains, “Nothing we know of requires the existence of a god to be explained.” There doesn’t appear to be any need for such an entity, nor is there a definition that makes any sense (For example, the contradictory attributes of the Judea-Christian-Islamic God render His existence impossible).
But as the saying goes, “Absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence.” My mother was a devout evangelical Christian. Her parents, brothers and sisters were Bible-banging, Hellfire-preaching, born-again Christians, praise Jesus! Yet she accepted evolution as an indisputable scientific fact. So did her church and her family. None of them saw any conflict with their deeply held Christian belief.
Creationists might want to give this some thought: I don’t believe in any “god” only because I’ve seen no rational reason to do so. Although I think it highly unlikely, there could be a god of some sort, but certainly not any of the gods described thus far by religions. So let’s say some kind of a God exists and that it created everything. If that is so, and since evolution is a solid, unwavering, scientific fact, then evolution must be the way this god chose to create living things. That’s what my mother believed. In fact, that’s what the very institution responsible for Christianity—the Catholic Church—believes.
Anti-evolutionists recommend reading the Bible to learn of our “true origin,” Many also claim “There are also several other scientific works written by creation scientists,” but the Bible is not a scientific work and “creation science” is an oxymoron. Creationism and ID are not scientific theories, they are nonsense. True, there are a few people who claim to be scientists who promote creationism, but they are on the extreme fringes of the scientific community, have no credibility and can be easily dismissed as crackpots or scam artists.
We are asked by Creationists to keep an open mind. I ask them to do the same, and to consider the fact that, like my mother, many millions of devout Christians have accepted the coexistence of evolution and the Bible. The Bible claims a day to God is like a thousand years to man. A thousand years to the ignorant, primitive nomadic goat herders who made up the tales that became the Bible may have seemed like an infinite period of time. I don’t know if they even had a word for “billions” or “millions,” but perhaps the Bible’s six days of creation actually meant 4.5 billion years (the age we KNOW the earth is). Did God form Adam from the dust of the earth? I don’t think so, but for the sake of this discussion, maybe. There is evidence the first protocells formed in clay.
Evolution should not frighten Christians and other believers. We know it is a fact, so if God exists, evolution must be God’s way. Creationists, I suggest you and your brother Muslims thank Him for it.
Are Jews, Christians and Muslims Lunatics?
Belief in a "god" may comfort some people, but it is irrational in that there is absolutely no supportive evidence. Such belief is strictly emotional in nature, but it is not to be easily dismissed because we are emotional creatures with real emotional needs.
As Carl Jung pointed out, the harsh realities of life, and of our world and universe are simply too frightening for many people without the comforting reassurance of a protective, parental "god" who fills the role parents played when they were infants. The fear of life and adult responsibility is at the heart of all religious belief.
The Difference Between Delusion and Faith
Delusion is when I have no rational reason to believe I have ever owned a car, have never seen a car, have never driven or parked a car, and there is no evidence whatsoever that cars actually exist, but am 100% certain an unseen car is right around the corner waiting for me to jump in and drive it away.
Does the Fear of Death Make You Afraid to Live?
James had Simpson the chauffeur bring the limo around and drive him to the market. Barely enough time to reach the market had passed when the wealthy man heard his limo zoom into the driveway and its brakes screech as it slid to a stop. James barged in through the front door, his eyes big and his sweat-covered face white with fear.
"What's the matter, James?" His employer asked. "Wheres the truffles and caviar?"
"Oh, please," James gasped out of breath. "Please let Simpson use the limo to drive me to Mudwater Flats, Arkansas. I've got to get out of Beverly Hills right away!"
"I don't understand," the wealthy man said. "Why are you in such a panic to leave?"
"When I walked into the market, I saw Death standing inside dressed in his black hood and holding his scythe. He lunged at me when he spotted me, but I got away and returned here as quickly as possible. Please let me go, boss, please."
James' employer shook his head sadly. "I can understand your panic now. Yes, go tell Simpson to drive you to Mudwater Flats." He handed James a large roll of $100 bills. "Here's some cash to tide you over. Let me know your address when you get to Mudwater flats and i'll send you more." James thanked his boss and quickly departed in the limo with Simpson.
The wealthy man paced the floor for a few minutes after James left. He was angry. James had been a wonderful butler and a good friend. He hated to see him go and he was damned angry at Death for frightening his man away. He decided to go to the market himself and give Death a piece of his mind.
Death was right where James said he had been when he saw him. The wealthy man walked up to Death. "I'm quite angry with you," he said.
"Why?" death asked.
"Because when my butler James entered this store about thirty minutes ago, you lunged at him and tried to take him. It frightened him so, he has run away!"
Oh, I didn't lunge at him," Death explained. "I jumped in surprise to see him here because I have an appointment with him tomorrow at Mudwater flats, Arkansas."
Do you avoid doing things you want to do because you are afraid of dying? Many people won't fly in an airplane because they fear crashing in it. But even if you think you're safe from death by staying at home and doing the things you would like to do (if it were not for that fear) death will eventually find you. How do YOU deal with that fact?
THE ALL-VOLUNTEER MILITARY IS UN-AMERICAN
I prefer a draft over the all-volunteer military, especially if there are NO DEFERMENTS--except for serious physical or mental disability. Why? The middle and upper classes are not as keen on enriching the military-industrial complex by getting their kids killed in unnecessary, illegal and immoral wars as the 1% ruling class is on using lower class urban and rural children from dead-end towns and farming communities as cannon fodder.
Most in the middle and upper classes don't personally know anyone KIA or wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, so the wars never touch them. Start sending THEIR kids to your war and you better have a damned good reason if you want to keep waging it.
Without cowardly Cheney-like deferments and Bush-like corruption and favoritism, the draft can also provide a better racial and cultural cross-section and people with greater intellectual abilities and talents. Meanwhile, an all-volunteer military attracts mostly poor people whose only hope for a decent future is to join the military--and sociopaths who want to kill other human beings.
Due to difficulty getting enough people to sign-up, the all-volunteer military must lower its standards (it has) and accept older people than desired as well as people with criminal histories (witness the U.S. gang graffiti now found all over Iraq and Afghanistan), poor educational attainment, and questionable mental health.
The corrupt Republican, Blue Dog Democrat and neo-con cowards, and their masters in the 1% ruling class who suck the blood of our soldiers and the victims of our wars oppose the draft. They do so because they know once ALL of America must fight, bleed and die in the wars they dream up, their rule will be overthrown.
FOUR FACTS ABOUT THE "GROUND ZERO MOSQUE" YOU SHOULD KNOW:
1. NOBODY has planned to build a mosque on “Ground Zero,” not ever. There are no plans for a new mosque in the neighborhood because a mosque already exists there as it has for MANY YEARS.
2. The group falsely accused of planning to build a mosque on “Ground Zero” are actually planning to renovate an old coat factory about half a mile away and turn it into a COMMUNITY CENTER for ALL the New York City religious communities as well as a basketball court.
3. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf heads the group. He has a long history of standing against al Qaeda as do his fellow Sufi Muslims. He teaches young Muslims to support other faiths and freedom of religion in their efforts to build a strong America.
4. Intelligence organizations such as the CIA say that the LIES of the media and opportunistic Republican politicians and other fools screaming with rage about the non-existent plans to build a mosque on “Ground Zero” exacerbated by crackpot Christian groups who want to burn the Quran, are actually HELPING AL QAEDA.
THE PROBLEM WITH ARIZONA
Tea Bag Party Members Busy Tea-Bagging America's 1% Ruling Class
I don't know who originally wrote this, but I thought it worth sharing with you:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE TEA PARTY: SO NOW YOU'RE MAD?
We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, but now you get mad! You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed George Dubya Bush President. You didn’t get mad whenCheney allowed energy company officials to dictate energy policy. You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got ousted by traitors. You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn’t get mad when the cowardly Dickless "Five Deferments" Cheney and the gutless DESERTER George W. Bush illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us. You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion dollars (and counting) on that illegal war. You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq. You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans. You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden. You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions our military heroes suffered from at Walter Reed. You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city drown. You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion dollar tax break to the rich. You didn’t get mad when, using reconciliation; a trillion dollars of our tax dollars were given away to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage which costs over 20 percent more for basically the same services that Medicare provides.
You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark.
You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserve the right to see a doctor if they are sick. And, because most people who support the Tea Party "movement" are racists, you got mad because a half-white/half-black man was elected president of the United States.
Yes, illegal wars, lies, treason, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer are all okay with you, but helping your fellow American citizens… oh hell, no.
The Tea Party is NO "movement." It is a fake Astro-Turf scam organized and financed by Republican pigs under direction of the 1% of our population that rules the United States. The ignorant fools who participate in the Tea Party are manipulated by their masters to work against their own interests. Tea Party members would stupidly fight to the death to allow the ruling class to continue to rape them and their families. Meanwhile scam artists like Sarah Palin and the Republican Party are cashing in big time, making themselves rich by taking advantage of your appalling ignorance, childish emotionalism and stupidity. You are tea-bagging the ruling class. Suck it up, suckers!
Good News About the Tea Party Tea-Baggers: Less than one percent of Americans support those idiots. Most Tea Party participants are old, unhealthy and obese and, thankfully, will be dead in just a few years.
Real revolutions are made by people in their 20's and 30's. The real revolution is coming, folks, and that's when we will say good-bye forever to the capitalist pigs who destroyed the United States of America.
The Collection Agency Industry is UN-American
Why should creditors have the right to hire a third party comprised mostly of thugs to threaten and harrass debtors--often in illegal ways--instead of openly, honestly and morally pursuing their claims through the established civil court system in the manner set forth by law pursuant to the Constitution of the United States?
When a creditor hires the "services" of a collection agency, the creditor is admitting three things:
1. The creditor has no respect for U.S. civil law.
2. The creditor does not honestly believe he or she has a valid claim against the debtor (otherwise why not pursue the claim openly, morally and legally in civil court?). Many creditors make the irritating squealing capitalist pig whine that they cannot afford to bring legal action against each person who fails to pay them. If that is true, then why are the creditors selling their products and services to so many people who cannot or will not pay?
Is the creditor really that stupid, or, as most capitalist pigs do, is he or she using high-pressure sales tactics, advertising misrepresentation and consumer fraud to entice as many people as possible to buy regardless of their ability or willingness to pay? And why don't people pay? Is it because they have realized they were lied to and defrauded by the creditor in some way? Is it because they cannot pay because capitalist pigs committed widespread fraud that crippled the U.S. and world economy, costing the debtor his or her job? Studies show that very few people skip out on their bills only because they want to cheat the creditors and get something for nothing.
3. By giving away half (or more) of the total amount claimed to the collection agency, the creditor admits to committing criminal fraud because the goods or services sold were actually worth only half (or less) as much as the creditor (mis)represented to the debtor during the original transaction.
People who own collection agencies are traitors. People who work for collection agencies are UN-American scum. What kind of person will whore his or herself out to capitalist pig creditors to harass, threaten and intimidate fellow American citizens who have lost their employment because of the actions of greedy and corrupt capitalist pigs? Only a U.S.-hating sociopath would accept such a job.
Here's two excellent Internet sites loaded with info on how to protect yourself from collection agencies and other capitalist pig sociopathic scum:
