Slashdot Mirror
Britons Unconvinced on Evolution
pryonic writes "The BBC is reporting that more than half of Britons do not believe in evolution, with a further 40% advocating that creationism or intelligent design should be taught in school science classes. I'm a Brit myself, and I thought most people over here thought these views were outdated and lacked substance. None of my close friends give any credit to creationism or ID, but we're all well educated athiests so I guess that's to be expected. Maybe I've been blind to the views of the majority in this proudly secular country?"
I see the state of evolution education in the UK seems to parallel their state of dental hygiene. :)
we're all well educated athiests
So the obvious implication is that if you're "well educated" then you cannot believe in God and must be an atheist. I think many "well educated" people would disagree.
BTW, does being "well educated" include misspelling atheist?
infested with jello like fishes no melotron wishes
have you seen or heard of a bug that evoloved into an animal? or worse a human?
All species that evolove are bateria or viruses. and they "change" into another type of bacteria or virus. Never have we heard about a bacteria or a virus that evoloved into a monkey or a lion or a human except in darwin's head.
So the London bombings were carried out by moderate agnostics?
one important thing (in my experience) the UK doesn't have so much of is militant fundamentalism.
. tube/
Well, let's be careful there.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/07/07/london
"LONDON, England (CNN) -- As Friday dawns in London, investigators are picking through the carnage created by a coordinated bomb attack on three of the city's Underground trains and a double-decker bus."
Oh wait, are you talking about the 'stupid, ignorant, fat, lazy, white-trash' Christian militant fundamentalists that we can all make fun of, or the 'we dare not say anything bad about them because it would be politically incorrect despite the fact that their morality seems stuck in the friggin eighth century AD' Islamic militant fundamentalists?
-Styopa
It is interesting to see these responses that show Evolutionists being just as dogmatic about their theory as Creationists are about their religion.
Personally, I believe that YOU are the idiot. The theory of evolution comprises more than natural selection. I don't believe that there exists any empirical evidence for the origin of everything. It's great that we can see some propogation of beneficial traits, but where did it all begin? With a "big bang"? Really?!
If you are a scientist, you must acknowledge the law of conservation of matter. From where did matter come? What is its origin?
Additionally, it's interesting that you mention other areas of science, which are soundly proven. The fact is that evolution flies in the face of the second law of thermodynamics, which makes it very much unlike any other accepted area of science.
I don't believe that some evidence for natural selection precludes the possibility of an uncaused first cause, or a creator. And, who is to say that an intelligent designer could not include a process like natural selection in the design?
"If men will not be governed by God, they will be ruled by tyrants." - William Penn
In a country where 28% percent of BBC radio listeners voted for Karl Marx as "Greatest Philosopher" (see here for the data), you don't need to make statistics up. You can just use the real numbers and then stare in disbelief.
> I think you forgot the first adjective: "smug".
Also arrogant, bigoted, intolerant and a host of other similar words. The submitter exemplifies everything wrong with the godless left in exactly the same way Pat Robertson represents the worst aspects of the religious right.
Personally I'm an agnostic, but if I were going to be marooned on a desert island with a dozen of either faction I'd probably take the fundies. Equally misguided views on philosophy but generally better people to be around since the leftists are generally nasty and rather unstable, having been educated beyond their native intelligence.
One of the biggest problems with the heathen left being they tend to be more likely to violate what I call Freedom 0: The Right to be Wrong. Sure the fundies are probably wrong on Evolution. But I'm willing to let them BE wrong until such a time as they can be convinced otherwise. The average leftie wants nothing to do with that notion, they are the Chosen, the Elite; Thus they are Right and hellbent on imposing their Correct views on the "ignorant" by force. The fundies in Kansas don't want their kids taught Evolution, but they aren't campaigning to force Boston's public schools to teach from the Book of Genesis.
Democrat delenda est
Sorry to say that if you believe in gods, santa claus, tooth fairies etc, you are not well educated. Logic and critical thinking is proably not part of your education.
If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
Believing in God isn't that bad a thing.
My page.
I often avoid posting on this subject because the pseudo-scientific crowd are many times more rabid than the Creationists, at least on Slashdot. Both sides refuse to accept anything that might challenge their interpretation of the universe.
Coding Blog
> Life has always existed and thus has no beginning.
Although the theory of panspermia may suggest life did not originate on Earth, but on some other planet much early in universal history. Large asteroid collisions may knock intact bacteria or other complex chemicals (amino acids, protiens, DNA, whatever) out into space where they are preserved and travel for millions of years or more, before crash-landing on some other planet, and life takes off again.
Of course, how the initial planet (assuming it was a planet) got the first life is another question. Mercifully, evolution suggests a solution to that, too.
Of course, if scientists create life in a lab, the religious will be up in arms that Man is treading where it was not meant to be, and this was all guided by intelligence -- of the scientists -- so it doesn't count.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Indeed. No intellectual has ever been responsible for more human suffering. Poverty, squalor, repression and death walk hand in hand with Marx, everywhere his repellent ideas go.
-ccm
Too much Law; not enough Order.