It's one of those debates. We all get into these heated arguments, which, if we're tipsy, lead to all-out raging stormers (with, perhaps, a bit of punch throwing). Obviously, as a scientist, I understand the justification for the theory of evolution; I've seen the evidence, such as it exists, and I admit to being pretty much convinced of its validity.
However, as a religious person (one who believes in, at the very least, the Torah), the whole concept goes against my beliefs. We're supposed to assert that God made all things with a single word in each direction. He talked for six days and He was done. He made the plants, and then the animals and then humankind. That fits with the phylogenic tree of life (for the uninitiated, that's the "family tree" of all living creatures, from amoebae upwards). However, there are a number of problems with the standard interpretation of creation theory.
1) There is so much diversity in the world, surely it must've taken Him more than 24 hours to think up and create every living thing on this earth?
2) The Bible itself says that, to God, "a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day" (okay, that quote comes from the New Testament, so I don't technically take it at face value, preferring the Jewish interpretation of things. However, Christians are the main people who spend time arguing about this and thus should take it at face value). Is it possible that God spent a few thousand years dreaming up things and bringing them into being.
"Intelligent design" has been proposed as a theory. It's not a very convincing one, and it's made up so that people like me can salve our God-believing consciences while we believe in evolution. Personally, I think it's probably the most sensible: God had ideas and made creatures to match. It must've been fun, sitting up in Heaven deciding how to change each plant and animal to make it fit its environment better. I know I'm going to get into trouble for saying this, but I think God sat up in Heaven redesigning things. After all, no scientist can explain the origin of wings (they would have taken too long to evolve for them to have been beneficial enough for the gene to propagate). I think one day, God looked at insects and thought, "I'll give them wings". So, it's official: I think God was the first being to play Spore.
However, as a religious person (one who believes in, at the very least, the Torah), the whole concept goes against my beliefs. We're supposed to assert that God made all things with a single word in each direction. He talked for six days and He was done. He made the plants, and then the animals and then humankind. That fits with the phylogenic tree of life (for the uninitiated, that's the "family tree" of all living creatures, from amoebae upwards). However, there are a number of problems with the standard interpretation of creation theory.
1) There is so much diversity in the world, surely it must've taken Him more than 24 hours to think up and create every living thing on this earth?
2) The Bible itself says that, to God, "a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day" (okay, that quote comes from the New Testament, so I don't technically take it at face value, preferring the Jewish interpretation of things. However, Christians are the main people who spend time arguing about this and thus should take it at face value). Is it possible that God spent a few thousand years dreaming up things and bringing them into being.
"Intelligent design" has been proposed as a theory. It's not a very convincing one, and it's made up so that people like me can salve our God-believing consciences while we believe in evolution. Personally, I think it's probably the most sensible: God had ideas and made creatures to match. It must've been fun, sitting up in Heaven deciding how to change each plant and animal to make it fit its environment better. I know I'm going to get into trouble for saying this, but I think God sat up in Heaven redesigning things. After all, no scientist can explain the origin of wings (they would have taken too long to evolve for them to have been beneficial enough for the gene to propagate). I think one day, God looked at insects and thought, "I'll give them wings". So, it's official: I think God was the first being to play Spore.
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