Fed up of non believers

[mjw47]

You do understand what a scientific theory is, don't you?

 

Yes but I obviously wasn't referring to a scientific theory was I? I was using it as it is more generally used in normal conversation. An opinion.

 

Theory in the scientific sense is proved by research and generally accepted by all scientists, but not necessarily the religious community.

 

As I stated in the last line of my post at 251 I'm mainly on the side of science but don't believe it has all the answers as yet.

[janie48]

Yes but I obviously wasn't referring to a scientific theory was I? I was using it as it is more generally used in normal conversation. An opinion.

 

Theory in the scientific sense is proved by research and generally accepted by all scientists,but not necessarily the religious community.

 

As I stated in the last line of my post at 251 I'm mainly on the side of science but don't believe it has all the answers as yet.

Since they're are so many, I don't think you can generalise.

[SnailyBoy]

You don't have to be a science buff to understand that scientific theories have to be challenged.

If they hadn't been we would be still have a nation of smokers everywhere believing it wasn't harmful, or patients being prescribed antibiotics for a cold virus.

And it isn't only medical science I'm thinking of, I'm sure they're are other scientific theories that will have been disproven after further research.

 

But returning to the subject of evolution, I haven't seen anyone on here say they don't accept its validity, if so I must have missed something.

 

"A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. If enough evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, it moves to the next step—known as a theory—in the scientific method and becomes accepted as a valid explanation of a phenomenon."

 

There are scientific theories that have been disproved over time. these include

 

The Earth being flat

 

A mother's thoughts causing birth defects

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superseded_scientific_theories

[janie48]

"A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. If enough evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, it moves to the next step—known as a theory—in the scientific method and becomes accepted as a valid explanation of a phenomenon."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superseded_scientific_theories

How patronising! I don't need to look on wiki, for that information.

[mjw47]

Since they're are so many, I don't think you can generalise.

 

Which is why I said necessarily, the Catholic church for instance has come a long way since Galileo.

 

As I pointed out earlier the physicist who came up with the Big Bang theory was a Catholic priest.

[SnailyBoy]

How patronising! I don't need to look on wiki, for that information.

 

Really? Considering your example of smoking not being considered harmful as a reason to challenge a scientific theory, I thought you were way off the mark.

[Ryedo40]

Which is why I said necessarily, the Catholic church for instance has come a long way since Galileo.

 

As I pointed out earlier the physicist who came up with the Big Bang theory was a Catholic priest.

 

The physicist wasn't doing catholicism when he came up with the big bang: he was doing science.

[mjw47]

The fact the first organisms photosynthesised is enough to show that to be the case.

 

What I find the most difficult thing to comprehend about the idea that all life on Earth stems from a primordial liquid, is the incredible variety of species which are claimed to have evolved from this- presumably- identical chemical mixture.

 

It is estimated that there are anything up to 10 million Species of insects alone. When you start to consider all the rest of the species in the world and the incredible differences between them it is hard to accept.

 

Giraffes, Elephants, Swallows, Sharks and Humans all started off as the same mixture?

 

In fairness, although I no longer adhere to any religion you can understand how believers come to the conclusion that there is a creator involved.

It all seems so unbelievable convenient doesn't it? An ecosystem which maintains itself and is interdependent.

 

There is obviously order amongst the chaos, and some people have difficulty in accepting that it all came about as a pure fluke.

[Obelix]

What I find the most difficult thing to comprehend about the idea that all life on Earth stems from a primordial liquid, is the incredible variety of species which are claimed to have evolved from this- presumably- identical chemical mixture.

 

It is estimated that there are anything up to 10 million Species of insects alone. When you start to consider all the rest of the species in the world and the incredible differences between them it is hard to accept.

 

Giraffes, Elephants, Swallows, Sharks and Humans all started off as the same mixture?

 

Over 50% of the genes in a human are also present in a cabbage. Don't just consider the animals in that...

 

There may be considerable differences between humans and giraffes, but both are bilateral veterbrates, with quite similar skeletons (giraffes have seven vertebrae in the neck, just like humans) and similar nerves for example (the inferior laryngeal nevre goes down the neck of a huma, round the aorta and back up to the larynx - just like the giraffe although the detour in a giraffe is longer thana human). Indeed you can trace that nerve back as far as sharks and thence back to fish and see how the fish evolved - eventually into land dwellers and thence into mammals...

 

But the strongest indication yet that we are all linked is in DNA - there are many systems that you could use for encoding information, but every single lifeform from sulphur metabolishing bacteria through mushrooms, mosses, plan ts, ferns, redwood trees, the common cabbage, and sharks, fish, salamanders, reptiles, birds and mammals all use DNA to encode hereditable information. About the only thing that doesnt are viruses, and these use RNA instead, and the evolutionary leap from RNA to DNA is an easy one to visualise.

 

some people have difficulty in accepting that it all came about as a pure fluke.

 

The original creation of a self replicating peptide would have been just that - it would have taken a lot of luck to have them assemble in the correct sequence. But with a pool full of many different organic molecules it wouldnt have taken that long before one did arrive, and then it would have very quickly outcompeted everything else. After that when the first mutuationj came along that was more successful it in it's turn would get outcompeted, and so on it went....

[mjw47]

The physicist wasn't doing catholicism when he came up with the big bang: he was doing science.

 

I was raised a Catholic and left the church in my late teens after much thought. The church has- rightly - received bad press over the last few years, however, I have known many truly impressive,genuinely honourable priests and their failure to convince me is probably my loss.

 

I can assure you that at no time did Professor Lemaitre see any conflict between his faith and science.

 

As far as he was concerned the Big Bang happened because God willed it so.