I'm starting to doubt God's existence. Atheists, what led you to stop believing in God?
I was raised by a mother who had strong beliefs.. She was the kindest person I ever knew. She helped the homeless, gave emotional support to the weary hearted and she was forgiving to people who did her wrong... And with all I witnessed her do, I still heard the self-righteous, petty, interfering church goers trash her. These were people who had high standing in the church because they tithed the most. The way I began to see it...If it's cash donations that give parishioners clout, esteem and respect, and not a person's deeds....then I really have no need for that kind of community. As I've gotten older, I've taken a good look at churches and those who deem themselves as godly, I've noticed that many people put their own spin on how the scriptures should be interpreted, and how 'the word of God' can be twisted to benefit their own causes. Now... I have been exposed to more information, I have seen history rewritten to keep stories PC, I have watched scientific discoveries uncover many facts and mysteries, and I've seen religious leaders cover-up information and have many of their transgressions be exposed, and yet they still point their fingers at 'the unworthy'??? From everything I've seen in my life I can only come to one conclusion...Religon has been used as a tool to keep certain people in power...it isn't the path to godliness. And whenever new ideas/facts are discovered, it is those who preach about God, who are the first to discredit them. I believe in knowledge, openess and progress... if believing in a higher power means you have to dutifully follow the words of a preacher and not rely on your own intelligence and common sense.... then I reject theology and religion, because they leave no room for progress. And, I know what you mean...if there was a "God", why would he/she allow good people to suffer while those with nonredeemable characters seem to excel in a world that revolves around money, power and deceit? The truth of the matter is...you can only rely on yourself mainly.. the occasional good person, sometimes, and chance, once in awhile, plays it's part too.
Doesn't Evolution allude to a definite source of life?
Now, you're kind of recycling the tired argument of Aristotle/Aquinas, the Prime Mover. "Evolution assumes a parent organism, simple or not," Probably, and probably simple. "(since science proves life cannot derive from non-life). " What? Where was this proven? Actually computer models have shown how self-replicating protein chains could have arisen out of the primordial soup. "Some scientists, for lack of a better answer, explain that organisms from one dimension are the effect of a phenomina in an alternate dimension. " Huh? Really? I've never heard this as an explanation of life on earth (except maybe at UFO conventions.) This sounds like some fringe theory. "One could presume there are infinite dimensions" Why? What is the basis for this assumption? You make this assumption, put it into the mouths of scientists and then discredit it. This is a retorical technique and logical fallacy called the "Straw Man". If you want to attack scientist (and this is a long a noble pursuit and an integral part of the scientific process) then stick to what they say, not what you imagin they say. And don't cherry pick what a few fringe scientist say and put them into the mouth of every scientist. Perhaps you've been getting some of your facts from the Creationism Cult. They love to misrepresent and distort what scientists say. Sometimes they outright lie. It always amazes me how dishonest christians will allow themselves to be when they are trying to proove themselve right. If your god is so great, why does he need people to lie to defend him? It always anazes me. Throughout history, the people who protest their purity the loudest are always the ones with the most to hide. A similar sentiment was given by the judge in the recent Pennsylvania evolution trial. And he descibes himself as a devout christian. You can be a christian and still be rational. Science is not a threat to your faith.
Evolutionists, has the evolution scientific community been able to explain of of these yet?
They have ALL been addressed (and dismissed) by people who actually use their brain to think rather than as a sponge for some dogmatic nonsense a man in a dress tells them... 1. Consider a piece of crab-grass growing in a crack in the concrete on a highway. It is the perfect shape for the crack! The odds of it being the perfect shape for that crack are billions to one! So therefore God must have designed it to fit the crack, right? (See how ludicrous that sounds?) 2. It is NONSENSE to say that "The statistical probability that organic structures would be generated is zero", the Miller-Urey experiment (which you can reproduce yourself if you go to a school with a half-decent chemistry department) clearly demonstrates that you can make amino acids out of a few simple early gases plus fake lightning in about two weeks... 3. "Irreducible complexity" is also a nonsensical argument on the order of "If you find a pile of bricks with a riverstone on top, while it MIGHT be possible for the bricks to have arisen naturally (LOL!) because they are so simple, the pebble MUST have been made by God, because to accurately describe all its curves would require calculus" I'm bored now... You are a very silly goose!
Do you think these scientists are raising reasonable alarm, or are "alarmists"?
Dr. James McCarthy is a professor of biological oceanography at Harvard. Dr. Lisa Graumlich is the dean of the College of the Environment at the University of Washington. Dr. Chris Field is the director of the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution for Science. Dr. James Hurrell is a senior scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. These four scientists testified at a recent House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming hearing, “The Foundation of Climate Science.” They also wrote an article published in Politico. Some excerpts: "Today, a large body of evidence has been collected to support the broad scientific understanding that global climate warming, as evident these last few decades, is unprecedented for the past 1000 years — and this change is due to human activities. This conclusion is based on decades of rigorous research by thousands of scientists and endorsed by all of the world’s major national science academies. The urgent need to act cannot be overstated. Climate change caused by humans is already affecting our lives and livelihoods — with extreme storms, unusual floods and droughts, intense heat waves, rising seas and many changes in biological systems — as climate scientists have projected. Although uncertainties remain, they concern issues like the rate of melting of major ice sheets rather than the broader topic of whether the climate is changing. The biggest question is what choices we and our children should make about energy use. The more dependent we are on carbon-emitting energy sources, the more our climate will change." http://www.politico.com/news/stories/071... What do you think - are these "alarmist" statements, or do they raise reasonable, substantiated alarm?
If evolution is not true, why does the entire scientific community believe in it?
It has only been about eighty years that you/they have been conned! In the 1930s atheists challenged Christians on their big bang "theory" VS ALL the History in the Bible confirmed by records of Israel's neighboring countrieS. Over 10,000 carved in stone, over 23,000 baked into brick. Plus in 1947 caves were found in Israel with ALL of the Bible in them and the oldest of these books, and lots of others books confirming the history. Plus lots of places in the Bible have been found, all built to the same measurements as the Bible has stated! Look at Noah's Ark on top of a mountain in Turkey. Same measurements,... even photoed inside, outside and from a satellite in space! You can see lots of these on "Time/Life's Lost Civilizations, Mesopotamia". It also reports that They ended up at the Supreme Court and GOD/Christians WON! Because ours is ALL Fact! Your "theory" has NO proof to it. No science to back it up. The reason your false theory is so common in public schools today is because the newspapers back in the 1930s wrote it up as if the "theory" had won. Look for yourself. This is also why tons of families are keeping their children home and teaching them truth! Do you know where the first atom ever came from? How it split into two, four, eight,.. into your big bang "theory" (never proved possible),.. into all the planets, stars, moons,... into out earth with everything from water to mable, fish to bugs, birds to eggs(which came first?), plants to seeds and fruits, mammals to reptiles,... into us with all of us, from farming to music to computers to Love?... Where did your first atom come from? How come places are being found all over the Earth, lots in Texas, of fossils with man's and dinosaur's footprints together made most likely the same day, no more then a few days apart? There is 90 min.s of Noah Ark on "The Incredible Discovery Of Noah's Ark". About eighty 80% percent of the predictions in the Bible have already happened and 100 accurate! How do you explain this? Why don't you go to www.grizzlyadams.com and buy some of there factual reports/DVDs where you can see all these and tons more? Some you may even find free over the Internet. "The Lazarus Phenomenon" (free on Internet also) "Encounters With The Unexplained, Biblical End Times",....
What are some GOOD scientifically based arguments AGAINST evolution?
Egad...you don't know the first thing about evolution, physics, biology, or chemistry do you? There isn't a group of people called "evolutionists" the way you have creationists. It's nothing more special than the multiplication table. Evolution only covers the period AFTER life began on earth. It traces the development of life forms, not their formation. That would fall under abiogenesis, another topic entirely. Let's take it from the top...evolution and abiogenesis don't cover the formation of the universe. No, chemicals were not around forever. The evidence you listed above has been known for about 20-30 years, since the time of Edwin Hubble. What we have found recently is that the structure of reality might not even be consistent. Don't jump so quickly to "supernatural." "If we can't explain it, it must be supernatural!" Well can you explain how a computer screen works? If not, it must be supernatural! There IS such a thing as not knowing...yet. And sometimes you have to be fine with that. Yes there are plenty of failed dials. Mars, Venus, Mercury, and every planet besides earth. Enough debunking. Time for some answers. Big bang started off the universe with extreme expansion. Initial energy density meant atoms couldn't even condense. Think of steam. After a few billion, stars began to form. We know this because light travels slowly enough for some of these events to just reach us now. After few more billion, planet earth formed. Water everywhere, mud, land, etc. Ahh too much to write and too tired. Google it.