Another Shackmanese topic!
And my, by now familiar, response. Why “Or”? Why not “And”?
In my ancient land, the majority of people practice what has, for historical reasons, been called Hinduism. Historical because, When people from the West first came to this land where the river Sindhu flowed, the residents were called Hindus. Hinduism does not qualify as a religion as it does not have any central authority, book or organisation and it does not proselytise. Each Hindu can do what he wants, or not do anything and nobody will criticise him for the latter. Under the umbrella of Hinduism, there are atheists, theists, monists, deists and any other ists that you can come up with.
It is a totally chaotic system of anarchy. Thoroughly confusing to people who have not been exposed to this from childhood.
For us, both creationism and evolution are valid beliefs and one is not better or worse than the other. It is all a matter of accepting that someone is of a particular frame of mind/development and the other is of a different level.
The Indian theory of creation is complex but does exist as a valid system and for those interested here is a link to a remarkable treatise on it.
Indian mythology of the Dasavatara is considered to be reflective of Darwinism.
My personal belief is that wo/man is the last stage of evolution of life as we understand it and the next stage in the progression is to reach Creation itself. This is the theory of Karma‘s ultimate end. So, I can be called an Evolutionist of a kind that Darwin did not think of.
Shackman has suggested this topic for the weekly LBC blog posts. You can see what the other writers of the LBC have to say in their respective blogs. Maria, Pravin, Ashok and Shackman.
Except one is a belief and the other a fact backed up by overwhelming scientific evidence. In my book, people are welcome to have what ever religious belief system they want (as long as they don’t expect me to believe it) but science is what should be taught in schools.
Secret Agent Woman recently posted..A run of odd things.
Agreed. They can make up their minds when they are grown up.
in my country i live in a part of it called ‘the bible belt.’
they take the ‘good book’ literally here. to them 7 days of creation means 7 literal days.
i do not understand how the dinosaur age and the ice age and all the other ‘ages’ of proven science is overlooked by them. but overlooked it is!
it seems to me that it would be hard to overlook literal BONES and huge ones at that!
i see no problem with and/or!
and i think if everyone practiced or non-practiced hinduism as it were…
the world might be a better and/or more accepting and peaceful place!
tammy j recently posted..moving on old bean
Thank you. It is a pity that the Hindus don’t proselytise!
I must say that this old atheist likes the sound of it, and that’s saying something.
It is indeed Big John and thank you.
I live in the same general area as Tammy and literal is an understatement. I am definitely an evolutionist – things – including me – are really old – LOL I am the resident jackass from California – the land of fruits and nuts to the locals.
Chuck McConvey recently posted..Creationism vs evolution.
Modesty is not becoming of you Chuck!
I think we humans take ourselves way too seriously. We’re the most evolved species? Give me a break. Yes, we’ve been so successful we’re overrunning the planet and may be changing the environment so much that it can’t sustain our current numbers. We may end up surviving as long as the dinosaurs did (they were on earth for about 165 million years, the dominant lifeforms for 135 million years), but there is no guarantee. If I had to bet I would bet on the cockroaches — very hearty and adaptable and have been around for at least 300 million years.
Cheerful Monk recently posted..Heartwarming Letter
We may well end up surviving but not in the configurations that currently exist. Too many destructive things are happening in many parts of the world that will have severe impacts on populations causing migrations. You and I of course will not be around to see those developments.
No one is stopping the teaching of creationism in Sunday school and the like, so why do creationists want the teaching of evolutionary theory to be stopped in schools? Let people decide on their own. I always thought that the concept of mankind being the acme of life on Earth, and everything being created for our benefit was largely a semitic theory, not a part of more ancient belief systems. Here is one of the latest:
https://youtu.be/JVetFwXnuow
I could not agree more.
As Agent says, one is a belief and the other a science-backed fact. What I object to is the idea that creationism should be promoted in schools to the exclusion of other possibilities like evolution, or other religious viewpoints. It’s like insisting babies are found under gooseberry bushes and pregnancy is a left-wing myth.
nick recently posted..Six of the best
The point I make is to leave the believers to their own devices but teach evolution in schools and leave the children to decide for themselves when they are adults.
I share your view that creationism and evolution are not necessarily an either or situation. As for the rest, though I’ve thought about it periodically throughout my life, I don’t think there are definitive answers. Creationism by itself is misleading and does not belong being taught in our public schools within the context of studying science as we know it. There are positive and negatives associated with religions. Often the basic tenets are quite simple and true but wo/man’s interpretations alter them along the way through the generations as the culture evolves. I don’t think anyone knows what happens after our life energy leaves our body. Even if others are able to successfully determine the answer to that question, I don’t think it will alter the fact that what matters is how I live my life while I’m alive as we know it.
Joared recently posted..THOUGHT…….QUESTIONS…….JUSTICE
When it comes to Science and Religion, I have found it best to be live and let live. That way I avoid unpleasantness.