photo taken from swarthmore.edu
Does the theory of evolution promote atheism?
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Yea it does. I was born and raised a Catholic, and after researching more about evolution, I started seeing a change in my thinking patterns towards my religion. However, I'm not really concerned though, because even if evolution is true, who created the world, and all the animals on it? That's where religions will always flourish.
Nonsense. It is certainly possible that the types of scientific or rational thought to understand and study evolutionary theory are incompatible with much religious thought. But the fact that most major religions have endorsed Darwinian evolution and instead focused on a limited sphere, such as the development of the human "soul" as the preeminent importance of mankind should speak to a lack of conflict between the two. Religion and faith are not a devices for organising and explaining the nature of the world around us. It is inherently about a metaphysical world that science cannot penetrate or observe.
Not necessarily. There have been many scientists who have set out to prove that God does not exist and that everything in the universe is just a happenstance, only to prove the exact opposite – and again if you do not believe me, then google it, I did.
I refer you to my earlier comments to an earlier post about wether or not Darwinism should be taught in schools.
Just my not-so-humble opinion.
Darwinian evolution does not at all indicate that the formation of life is "happenstance". Neither does physics, chemistry, biology, geology….. A scientist does not seek to prove that life is disorganised chaos in the manner of "happenstance" but to understand the underlying orders and principles upon which the natural world operates. So for a scientist to set out to prove that this basis of study is unsound to begin with is to reject the utility of scientific endeavour. You're far more likely to find a philosopher or a theologian exercising that form of dialectic than a trained scientist.
Understanding the evidence that supports evolution also exposes just how ridiculous many of the passages of the 'holy' books are. As a former believer, now Atheist, I believe that it does. It doesn't matter if a religion endorses evolution. If they have to say that parts of their scripture are made up in order to do so, then their religious values and traditions are going to quickly disappear, and the only way that they might survive is by abdicating almost all social and cultural relevancy.
What on Earth are you talking about Sun Tzu? You saying that God created little bits of bacteria to grow thoughout the years?
No. You can still have faith in a higher being and accept the theory of evolution. As we learn more and more about the world around us religions adapt but still serve same purpose. We see evidence of adapting religious bodies throughout human history (i.e. the Roman Catholic church accepting Earth was not the center of the universe). No doubt that the religions of today will also adapt to be compatible with scientific knowledge. It was hard for many people to accept that the geocentric universe was false as it is hard today for people to accept evolution. I think the difficulty lies with change, changing one's long held belief in something without basis and fear that that change will result in chaos or a godless world. However, the existence or non-existence of God will never be proven by science.
No. That's not at all what I said. I said most religions' provincial intellectual space is the metaphysical or the supernatural. There is no inconsistency between religion and the study of evolution as a result because science doesn't bother addressing metaphysical questions. Nor should it. They're sort of boring.
Is that because science is when you look at things through a microscope and God is not under a microscope?