A friend on holiday in Iceland has just met up with a ‘creationist’
The wiki definition of this bizarre belief system follows
Creationism is the religious belief that life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being.
As science developed during the 18th century and forward, various views aimed at reconciling the Abrahamic and Genesis creation narratives with science developed in Western societies. Those holding that species had been created separately (such as Philip Gosse in 1847) were generally called “advocates of creation” but were also called “creationists”, as in private correspondence between Charles Darwin and his friends. As the creation–evolution controversy developed over time, the term “anti-evolutionists” became common. In 1929 in the United States, the term “creationism” first became associated with Christian fundamentalists, specifically with their rejection of human evolution and belief in a young Earth—although this usage was contested by other groups, such as old Earth creationists and evolutionary creationists, who hold different concepts of creation
Young-Earth creationism fosters the belief that God created the Earth within the last ten thousand years, literally as described in the Genesis creation narrative, within the approximate time-frame of biblical genealogies (detailed for example in the Ussher chronology). Most Young-Earth creationists believe that the Universe has a similar age as the Earth. A few assign a much older age to the Universe than to Earth. Some creationist thinkers attempt with Creationist cosmologies to give the universe an age consistent with the Ussher chronology and other Young-Earth time frames. Other Young-Earth creationists believe that the Earth and the universe were created with the appearance of age, so that the world appears to be much older than it is, and that this appearance is what gives the geological findings and other methods of dating the earth and the universe their much longer timelines. However, this view has theological implications – an intentional appearance of age is form of false evidence and so a form of deception.
So to sum up it, as science grew it became apparent that the Adam & Eve story was arrant nonsense. So this idea grew up to try and keep the fantasy of a supreme being alive. Key to this is that he knocked-up the earth (and presumably the solar system) some 6,000 – 10,000 years back.
Obviously, since carbon dating can with a fair degree of accuracy take us a lot further back than that it is insupportable, yet there are still a huge number of people who in some way think this is The Truth. Echoes of the Burma Spitfire beliefs.
As the other religious discussion has proved even-tempered and interesting I thought I would chuck this one in for people’s opinion.
So. Complete fruitloops, or in some way I have missed, explicable?
Moggy
By: Sideslip - 1st January 2014 at 13:10
The word theory has two definitions. 1 = A mere notion, idea, or speculation. Yes you could dream those up all day long, but you couldn’t dream up a theory belonging to the second definition, or scientific theory, which is –
a hypothesis that has been confirmed or established by observation or experiment , and is propounded or accepted as accounting for the known facts; a statement of what are held to be the general laws, principles, or causes of something known or observed. *
* The Greatest Show on Earth – Richard Dawkins
Evolution firmly belongs in the second definition.
By: John Green - 1st January 2014 at 12:55
Bruggen 130
The ‘Big Bang’ origin remains a convenient theory just like evolution – that is why it is called a theory – man made global warming theory and ‘man emerged from bogs in Africa’ theory.
I can dream up theories all day long!
By: charliehunt - 1st January 2014 at 12:30
If they were cosmologically identical – big if – then they would both die as their sun died unless one or the other destroyed itself by “human” means.
Rather difficult to answer because the hypothesis is so unlikely.
By: trumper - 1st January 2014 at 11:26
If we had two identical planets,
Planet A inhabited by religious people,
Planet B inhabited by scientists ,biologists and non believers ,
I wonder which planet would thrive or die.Would they both die off along with the inhabitants?
By: charliehunt - 1st January 2014 at 11:19
I took great comfort from Livingstone’s “Nuclear Free Zone” many years ago but was never sure if the Soviets had been informed.
By: Moggy C - 1st January 2014 at 10:04
Of course they won’t. Those who choose to believe in myths will only ever give credence to any information that supports their belief, and have the capacity to ignore any inconvenient evidence that refutes them.
Forgetting my first example, look at the chemtrails nonsense. The adherents never address the basic issue that whatever ‘they’ are supposed to be spraying would fall equally on ‘them’.
Moggy
By: charliehunt - 1st January 2014 at 08:09
Bruggen – I don’t think Young Earth Creationists will be interested in any if that, do you??
By: Sideslip - 1st January 2014 at 07:24
Unfortunately some peoples desire to believe is greater than their desire to know. There is no evidence against either an old earth or evolution, there is only religion motivated denial of it.
By: Bruggen 130 - 31st December 2013 at 21:43
[QUOTE=RpR;2100613]LOL—- yeah baby, man’s ability to say what happened billions of years before he existed is SO exact.
If it makes you feel happy, believe as you wish.
Happy year 5,000,000,001[/QUOTE
I know this wont make sense to you but at least I tried:eagerness:
Age of the Earth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the scientific age of the Earth
The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years (4.54 × 109 years ± 1%).[1][2][3] This age is based on evidence from radiometric age dating of meteorite material and is consistent with the ages of the oldest-known terrestrial and lunar samples. Following the scientific revolution and the development of radiometric age dating, measurements of lead in uranium-rich minerals showed that some were in excess of a billion years old.[4]
The oldest such minerals analyzed to date – small crystals of zircon from the Jack Hills of Western Australia – are at least 4.404 billion years old.[5][6][7] Comparing the mass and luminosity of the Sun to those of other stars, it appears that the solar system cannot be much older than those rocks. Calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions – the oldest known solid constituents within meteorites that are formed within the solar system – are 4.567 billion years old,[8][9] giving an age for the solar system and an upper limit for the age of Earth.
It is hypothesised that the accretion of Earth began soon after the formation of the Ca-Al-rich inclusions and the meteorites. Because the exact amount of time this accretion process took is not yet known, and the predictions from different accretion models range from a few millions up to about 100 million years, the exact age of Earth is difficult to determine. It is also difficult to determine the exact age of the oldest rocks on Earth, exposed at the surface, as they are aggregates of minerals of possibly different ages
By: Bruggen 130 - 31st December 2013 at 21:37
I’m not disputing that the earth is old, but find it amusing when scientists predict with certainty that something is millions or billions of years old. Both scientists and creationists are off their chumps to some degree. My monies still on the scientists.
Just google it, because it would take me all night to type it out:rolleyes:
By: RpR - 31st December 2013 at 21:37
The proof is there, your just to lazy to read it.
and who says it’s older? your god or did it come in a vision, even the catholic church accepts the big bang model of the universe.
LOL—- yeah baby, man’s ability to say what happened billions of years before he existed is SO exact.
If it makes you feel happy, believe as you wish.
Happy year 5,000,000,001
By: hampden98 - 31st December 2013 at 21:27
I’m not disputing that the earth is old, but find it amusing when scientists predict with certainty that something is millions or billions of years old. Both scientists and creationists are off their chumps to some degree. My monies still on the scientists.
By: Bruggen 130 - 31st December 2013 at 21:27
Really — give indisputable proof.
It may be a LOT older.
The proof is there, your just to lazy to read it.
and who says it’s older? your god or did it come in a vision, even the catholic church accepts the big bang model of the universe.
By: RpR - 31st December 2013 at 21:07
Yes we do know how old this Planet is, it’s nearly 5 billion years old and that IS a Fact.
Really — give indisputable proof.
It may be a LOT older.
By: Bruggen 130 - 31st December 2013 at 20:32
Simple fact we have no idea of how old this rock is while some Christians believe that Adam being placed on the earth was God’s final redo of putting persons here after earlier occurrences became a such a cluster-f God said wipe them out and start again, more than once.
Yes we do know how old this Planet is, it’s nearly 5 billion years old and that IS a Fact.
By: ZRX61 - 31st December 2013 at 20:22
As with most religious ideas, it’s ludicrous. But, if it eases a few people short passage in this world, and doesn’t harm others, then fair play to them. 🙂
Unfortunately it does harm others. In Texas recently the creationist lunatics tried to get it taught in science classes as an alternative to evolution/geology/palentology etc. They even tried to stop evolution being taught in schools altogether.
By: RpR - 31st December 2013 at 20:19
It simply comes down the words “In the beginning”
It does not say the beginning of what but some like to ignore what the rest of the Bible indicates for time lines and put man as the center of the universe; therefore when man was created so was the planet he walks on.
The number of people who cling to that dogma is dwindling but some will always be around.
Simple fact we have no idea of how old this rock is while some Christians believe that Adam being placed on the earth was God’s final redo of putting persons here after earlier occurrences became a such a cluster-f God said wipe them out and start again, more than once.
By: charliehunt - 31st December 2013 at 17:15
I haven’t packed for a long trip!
By: hampden98 - 31st December 2013 at 17:06
In some way I hope religion is right and I’m wrong otherwise it’s going to be a very short trip!
By: charliehunt - 31st December 2013 at 13:02
No, John? How could I not have seen that connection?:D Maybe because fairy tales, scotch mist and suchlike are selectively perceived….
The Odin stories are wonderful, but I don’t recall coming across the Yggdrasil connection. Some Nordic reading for New Year I think….
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December 31, 2013 at 10:50 am