How can anyone believe that the world is 6,000 years old?

Page 1 of 7 [ 97 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 7  Next

timeisdead
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 895
Location: Nowhere

24 May 2009, 3:44 am

These fundies are actually under the impression that human beings and dinosaurs coexisted.



timeisdead
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 895
Location: Nowhere

24 May 2009, 3:49 am

They believe that evolution is bunk when you can see its evidence surrounds us. For example, many insects become more desensitized to repellents and bacterial infections become more antibiotic resistant.



BadPuddle
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 11 May 2009
Age: 53
Gender: Female
Posts: 57
Location: North West England

24 May 2009, 3:52 am

I know. It has always baffled me, as a lifelong fossil enthusiast how people actually believe that, when all the scientific evidence contradicts it. I really do try to respect other people's beliefs, but struggle a bit when the facts fly in the face of the belief. it's fascinating I suppose, how the human mind works. Doesn't mean I'll ever understand it though!



timeisdead
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 895
Location: Nowhere

24 May 2009, 4:00 am

BadPuddle wrote:
I know. It has always baffled me, as a lifelong fossil enthusiast how people actually believe that, when all the scientific evidence contradicts it. I really do try to respect other people's beliefs, but struggle a bit when the facts fly in the face of the belief. it's fascinating I suppose, how the human mind works. Doesn't mean I'll ever understand it though!

I think they may do this in attempts to validate their beliefs. People will go through great lengths to explain the absurd in order to rationalize themselves. It is an attempt to protect themselves against the loss of security and the prospect of uncertainty. It may also be an attempt to protect one's ego.



Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 98
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

24 May 2009, 4:04 am

Perhaps this has some relevance .

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... n-a-map-47



LostInEmulation
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Feb 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,047
Location: Ireland, dreaming of Germany

24 May 2009, 4:17 am

This link gives a 404!


_________________
I am not a native speaker. Please contact me if I made grammatical mistakes in the posting above.

Penguins cannot fly because what cannot fly cannot crash!


Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 98
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

DentArthurDent
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jul 2008
Age: 59
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,884
Location: Victoria, Australia

24 May 2009, 4:33 am

I was under the impression that fundies believe dinosaur bones were put into place by god to test our faith


_________________
"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance anyday"
Douglas Adams

"Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand" Karl Marx


BadPuddle
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 11 May 2009
Age: 53
Gender: Female
Posts: 57
Location: North West England

24 May 2009, 4:37 am

timeisdead wrote:
BadPuddle wrote:
I know. It has always baffled me, as a lifelong fossil enthusiast how people actually believe that, when all the scientific evidence contradicts it. I really do try to respect other people's beliefs, but struggle a bit when the facts fly in the face of the belief. it's fascinating I suppose, how the human mind works. Doesn't mean I'll ever understand it though!

I think they may do this in attempts to validate their beliefs. People will go through great lengths to explain the absurd in order to rationalize themselves. It is an attempt to protect themselves against the loss of security and the prospect of uncertainty. It may also be an attempt to protect one's ego.


I think you might have hit the nail on the head with the bit about 'protecting one's ego.'
I imagine someone with such beliefs, or any for that matter would have to do an awful lot of work, mentally and emotionally to change their mind. It's still quite scary though, the lengths they will go to to protect the status quo in their own minds. And even scarier is the amount of power these people wield.
I don't imagine this species can progress with these characteristics, sadly.



Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 98
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

24 May 2009, 4:43 am

BadPuddle wrote:
timeisdead wrote:
BadPuddle wrote:
I know. It has always baffled me, as a lifelong fossil enthusiast how people actually believe that, when all the scientific evidence contradicts it. I really do try to respect other people's beliefs, but struggle a bit when the facts fly in the face of the belief. it's fascinating I suppose, how the human mind works. Doesn't mean I'll ever understand it though!

I think they may do this in attempts to validate their beliefs. People will go through great lengths to explain the absurd in order to rationalize themselves. It is an attempt to protect themselves against the loss of security and the prospect of uncertainty. It may also be an attempt to protect one's ego.


I think you might have hit the nail on the head with the bit about 'protecting one's ego.'
I imagine someone with such beliefs, or any for that matter would have to do an awful lot of work, mentally and emotionally to change their mind. It's still quite scary though, the lengths they will go to to protect the status quo in their own minds. And even scarier is the amount of power these people wield.
I don't imagine this species can progress with these characteristics, sadly.


But they sure make a good market for idiotic products and overcharged medical services and silly films and lousy music and totally dumb TV. Isn't that the idea?



timeisdead
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 14 Oct 2008
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 895
Location: Nowhere

24 May 2009, 4:49 am

BadPuddle wrote:
timeisdead wrote:
BadPuddle wrote:
I know. It has always baffled me, as a lifelong fossil enthusiast how people actually believe that, when all the scientific evidence contradicts it. I really do try to respect other people's beliefs, but struggle a bit when the facts fly in the face of the belief. it's fascinating I suppose, how the human mind works. Doesn't mean I'll ever understand it though!

I think they may do this in attempts to validate their beliefs. People will go through great lengths to explain the absurd in order to rationalize themselves. It is an attempt to protect themselves against the loss of security and the prospect of uncertainty. It may also be an attempt to protect one's ego.


I think you might have hit the nail on the head with the bit about 'protecting one's ego.'
I imagine someone with such beliefs, or any for that matter would have to do an awful lot of work, mentally and emotionally to change their mind. It's still quite scary though, the lengths they will go to to protect the status quo in their own minds. And even scarier is the amount of power these people wield.
I don't imagine this species can progress with these characteristics, sadly.


They are very emotionally invested in such beliefs and often dedicate their lives to defending their worldviews. It would be an enormous blow to the ego if that person were to realize the absurdity of his beliefs. Imagine how it would feel if you were to learn you've dedicated much of your life to defending a series of lies..... Imagine the waste of time and energy........ Just imagine the waste the of emotional investment, the waste of potential......



z0rp
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Jan 2008
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Posts: 747
Location: New York, USA

24 May 2009, 7:08 am

Poor dinosaurs forgot to board the ark.


_________________
Ignorance is surely not bliss, because if you are ignorant, you will ignore the bliss around you.


Sand
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Age: 98
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,484
Location: Finland

24 May 2009, 8:20 am

z0rp wrote:
Poor dinosaurs forgot to board the ark.


AFLOAT

Cold, I am, and bloody tired
To shovel shi t and hay and fruit
That these seasick beasts may be inspired
To live and multiply, to graze and root
In the world when dried.
Many came. Many died.

It was Shem who lost the unicorns.
They were so shy. They lived exclusively on grapes.
He is imperious, like most first borns.
And he must have his wines. And then there were the apes.
Those neanderthals - we thought of them as beasts;
They were not circumcised. They made good leopard feasts.

The dragons simply were too huge.
Their weight had caused the boat to list.
And with that wind and this deluge
We tossed them overboard. They won’t be missed.
Japheth did in the flying pigs. They were treyf.
Noah’s screams were loud enough to make me deaf.

The dinosaurs bent the bars on their cages.
They ate a lot, and how they stank!
Growling, roaring, they’d bite each other in their rages.
They were too much trouble , to be frank.
Rattling their chains, breaking leg irons,
We gave up and fed them to the lions.

And there were those frightful things from outer space.
They almost seemed intelligent, they spoke,
But not Aramaic, just gabble. Their dispatch was no disgrace.
And, also, we lost the elves, fairies, gnomes - all little folk.
I just barely saved the dodo, and the passenger pigeon.
We all prayed, but there are limits to religion.

Finally, that’s the way it goes. The work is lighter.
The rain drums on. The wives are bored to tears.
Noah keeps us in line. Discipline is tighter.
He sings funny songs, quiets down our fears,
Assures us all it will be over soon.
I miss the Sun and yearn to see the Moon.



anna-banana
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 30 Aug 2008
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,682
Location: Europe

24 May 2009, 9:37 am

Quote:
50 Reasons I Reject Evolution:

1.) Because I don’t like the idea that we came from apes… despite that humans are categorically defined and classified as apes.

2.) Because I’m too stupid and/or lazy to open a f*****g science book or turn on the Discovery Science Channel.

3.) Because if I can’t immediately understand how something works, then it must be BS.

4.) Because I don’t care that literally 99.9% of all biologists accept evolution as the unifying theory of biology.

5.) Because I prefer the idea that a (insert god of choice) went ALLA-KADABRA-ZAM MOTHAH-FUCK-AAHS!! !

6.) Because I can’t get it through my thick logic-proof skull that evolution refers ONLY to the diversity of living organisms which reproduce with genetic variation, not to abiogenesis, or planet formation, or big bang cosmology, or whether God exists, or where they buried Jimmy Hoffa, or why the sky is blue, or how many licks it takes to get to the center of a f*****g Tootsie Pop.

7.) Because the fossil record doesn’t comprise the remains of every single living thing that ever existed on this 4.5 billion year old planet, even though fossilization is a rare process that only occurs under very specific circumstances.

8.) Because science has yet to produce any transitional species… except for the magnitudinous numbers of them found in the fossil record which don’t count because… I uh, OOH LOOK! A SHINY OBJECT!! ! *runs away*

9.) Because I know nothing about Darwin except that he had a funny beard.

10.) Because the theory of evolution (which, according to scientists, perfectly explains the richness and diversity of life on Earth) contradicts biblical literalism… ya know, flat Earth with a firmament that keeps out the water, talking snakes, people rising from the dead, bats are birds, flamey talking bushes, virgin births, food appearing out of nowhere, massive bodies of water turning into blood… etc etc.

11.) Because I think the word “theory” actually means: “random stabs in the dark” when it really means: "an explanation of certain phenomena that is well-supported by a large body of facts and often unifies similarly well-supported hypotheses" i.e. atomic theory, gravitational theory, germ theory, cell theory, some-people-are-dumb-motherfuckers-theory, etc.

12.) Because the fact that science is self-correcting annoys me. Most of my other beliefs are rigidly fixed and uncorrectable.

13.) Because I am under the severely mistaken impression that evolution implies someone in my very recent ancestry was a chimp.

14.) Because everything appears designed to my mind which was expertly tuned by nature to perceive design, probably as a survival mechanism.

15.) Because some secretly fabulous closet-dwelling televangelist (who unironically preaches hate towards gays) told me that evolution is Satan’s way of leading me away from God.

16.) Because that same guy (who was also caught snorting blow off a male hooker’s shiny naked ass) told me that God planted those fossils to test my faith.

17.) Because I’m 100% correct about everything 100% of the time and there is 0% chance that some snooty Oxford educated scientist with numerous honorary doctorates could possibly know something that I don’t.

18.) Because I don’t know that fossils are found in sedimentary strata corresponding to their age as one would expect if evolution were true.

19.) Because I don’t understand why, if we share common ancestry with chimps, there are still chimps. And when someone with more than three brain cells in their head inevitably replies: “for the same reason Americans share common ancestry with Brits but there are still Brits, I can’t follow the logic. It’s just too big a leap. Who am I, Evil Knievel?

20.) Because my mom dropped me on my head when I was a baby.

21.) Multiple times.

22.) On purpose.

23.) Because the idea that life evolved naturally over billions of years is infinitely less believable than the idea that an 800 year old man crammed two of every species into a giant wooden boat when the entire planet flooded, an event for which there is absolutely no geological evidence whatsoever and also makes no f*****g sense at all.

24.) Because Jesus totally rode around on a f*****g t-rex. He’s just that badassed. And also, did you know that t-rexes were vegetarians? Ken Ham says so and I believe it.

25.) Because I don’t realize that saying “microevolution is possible but macroevolution isn’t” is as stupid as saying “I can pick my nose for one second but I cannot pick it for 10 seconds.”

26.) Because the education system failed me miserably.

27.) …and then took a big wet dump on my face.

28.) Because I think that knowing how nature works magically obliterates all of its beauty.

29.) Because I didn’t know that evolution has been tested and observed in laboratories.

30.) Because when confronted with that, I refuse to believe it. It’s obviously a scientific conspiracy aimed at turning everyone on the planet into atheists... even though evolution says nothing about god's nature nor whether he, she, it, or they exist.

31.) Because I’m too stupid to realize that Social Darwinism has nothing to do with evolution and is actually a pseudo-scientific bastardization that real science largely rejects.

32.) Because the planet and all the life on it was designed for humans… kinda like how the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY was designed specifically for the dust-bunnies that may accumulate on the floors.

33.) Because I don’t realize that if we actually found croco-ducks in the fossil record, it would falsify evolution.

34.) Because plenty of respectable people like Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee (who are not scientists) don’t accept evolution, and that somehow validates my opinion.

35.) Because my mother didn’t know not to drink while she was pregnant. She also didn’t know not to repeatedly throw herself down a flight of stairs in an attempt to undo the accident of screwing someone who voted for Bush both times.

36.) Because I don’t know that “irreducible complexity” has been debunked a frazillion times by a frazillion different people and is no more credible an argument than “NEEN-er NEEN-er NEEN-er, I’m right and you’re wrong.”

37.) Because I have never seen a duck evolve into a cat over night, despite the fact that such a thing would be contrary to all known scientific disciplines.

38.) Because I have no imagination, learning is too much effort, I don’t like proven facts, change scares me, and I think deoxyribonucleic acid is something I’m supposed to clean my bathroom floors with.

39.) Because evolution means that I absolutely MUST reject everything else I know, abandon all my beliefs, and start aping around my house like a f*****g monkey. OOOh-ooohh-ooohohh -OOOOOOHHHHHH!! !! !

40.) Because I haven’t put my cave on the market and moved into the 21st century yet. I’m waiting for the cave market to rebound from the recent financial meltdown.

41.) Because I don’t know what an atavism is and if you told me, I still wouldn't believe it. Too weird.

42.) Because I don’t know that evolution explains methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and also provides the answer in preventing it from turning into a superbug and killing massive numbers of people.

43.) Because I don’t know that evolution is routinely used in medicine to diagnose and treat certain illnesses such as genetic ailments, bacterial infections, and viral infections.

44.) Because I believe there is a strong comparison between designed inanimate objects such as buildings, paintings, and watches (which we know were pieced together from identifiable components by human beings) and living organisms (which reproduce with genetic variation under the effects of environmental attrition).

45.) Because I see no significant similarities between humans and apes. *scratches my ass-crack then smells my fingers*

46.) Because I think I’m too special to have been crafted by any natural process and the entire planet, solar system, galaxy, and universe were created with me especially in mind.

47.) Because I unquestioningly swallow the ignorant anti-science BS spewed directly from the fraudulent stupid asses of people like Ken Ham, Ted Haggard, Fred Phelps, and Kent Hovind.

48.) Because I’m a freethinker and freethinking really means ignoring anything that contradicts what I already believe.

49.) Because I don’t know what confirmation bias is.

50.) Because despite the fact that in all my years of life, I have never seen any magic, I still believe magic is the answer to anything I don’t immediately comprehend.

:lol:



source


_________________
not a bug - a feature.


ruveyn
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Age: 87
Gender: Male
Posts: 31,502
Location: New Jersey

24 May 2009, 9:54 am

Two issues are being conflated.

Issue 1: We are descended biologically from more primitive species of animals through a process which Darwin called Descent with Modification

Issue 2: The Biblical version of Creation is literally and factually true.

It is entirely possible to deny both.

As a matter of observed fact, the Biblical Version of the World is a book of tales and myths containing occasional factual nuggets but on the whole not to be taken literally. It is essentially a book of stories, some of which have a point or moral.

Most thinking people believe #1 and deny #2.

ruveyn



JoJerome
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 18 Dec 2008
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 261
Location: Lake Powell/Page AZ

24 May 2009, 10:54 am

How can anyone believe that the world is 6,000 years old? A few ways:

- Belief in X is required to fit in with your family/peer group/chosen social structure. Fear of alienation is so strong that we will convince ourselves X is true despite every other way we measure truths telling us it is false. This is a subconscious survival mechanism; do what the herd tells you to do so you don't separate from the herd and get eaten by the lion.

- Unwillingness to be 'wrong.' If X is a belief you have been taught from birth and thusly adopted yourself, then to say "X is wrong" is equal to saying, "My parents are wrong, people I respect and look up to are wrong, moreover, I was wrong and went around preaching a wrong belief and insisting other people must adopt it." Our egos can't handle the admission, so the only way out is to convince ourselves that X is indeed right.

As to how one goes about convincing themselves X is right despite all evidence and common sense to the contrary - avoid asking the hard questions, avoid measuring one's own beliefs. If I tell you, "The Wizard of Oz is not real, he's just a man behind that curtain over there with fancy machinery. Go look for yourself." You can avoid the risk of 'being wrong' by not looking behind the curtain - and preventing anyone else from doing so, either at the point of a sword or by passing laws as such.