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Venus's Surface May Be 1 Billion Years Old
dptalia writes, "For a while scientists have believed that Venus's surface is fairly young, having recently been covered by lava 1 to 3 kilometers deep. However, more study into photos sent back by Magellan seems to show that the cataclysmic volcano theory is wrong. Now scientists are postulating that Venus's surface may be a billion years old and could be probed to determine the history of the planet."
There are lots of Christians who have no problem reconciling evolution with creation. If you understand even the basic concepts surrouding an omnipotent creator, you understand that one could easily have created a world that evolves.
Unfortunately, this teensy bit of elementary school logic is lost on the more frothy-mouthed "supporters" of my faith. God help them!
I make a habit of mentioning this because I'm tired of fundamentalist wackos getting all the attention in this debate, and I do not take your lampooning of them as any kind of insult to me as a Christian.
Time to keep making the consciousness donuts!
Slashdot? Oh, I just read it for the articles.
"So... your omnipotent God. Either an omnipotent God created everything and lets the innocent suffer and everything rot without giving a damn, or a silly little species among countless others evolved and had to struggle with its fears so it invented Gods for comfort."
The point of Christianity is that there are no innocents. God is perfect and holy, and because of our sin, God is justified in letting everyone of us suffer. He is not obligated to any of us, and it's His Grace that allows us to be saved from eternal damnation.
Terrahertz, I appreciate your considered reply. I want to let you know that I read the references you cited.
:o)
..." And we ... kill those people. Ha ha, "Shut him up. We have a lot invested in this ride. Shut him up. Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account and my family. This just has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. Jesus murdered; Martin Luther King murdered; Malcolm X murdered; Gandhi murdered; John Lennon murdered; Reagan ... wounded. But it doesn't matter because: It's just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love.
At best, a religion can give a person a philosophy for facing tough times. A positive attitude helps people survive prolonged exposure to doctors and in general makes things seem easier to endure.
Unfortunately, so do insanity and dementia. So the challenge for the Faithful is to prove that they're not insane or demented.
When I see religious zealots condemning scientific research and killing people in the name of Tribe, Scripture, and Kalashnikov, I have to say that these zealots have by their actions classified themselves.
Bill Hicks seems likable. But the holographic explanation and the Christian Trinity are complicated theories for the world in which we live.
Six billion monkeys who only needed cunning, aggressiveness, and a small measure of sociability to survive explains it all much more simply.
Yes, it even explains the Pope.
That the philosophy of Jesus has been distorted, twisted, and flat-out ignored by others who merely label themselves "Christians" (eg how can you truly obey the command to "turn the other cheek" while participating in a military organization that requires you to kill?) is a tragedy more or less unmatched in recorded human history. I readily admit and accept that the name of Christ has been abused by some of the most repulsive and frightening people to walk this Earth. Perhaps it is such an inviting target for deceivers because of its proven and considerable power to affect people?
The Bible outside the Gospels is worth reading for context, but I don't base my core beliefs on those texts. The Gospels themselves are enough for me to live on. If I had to "speak for God" I'd say that it cares less about what "holy" book we bury our noses in and what building we spend our time in over the weekend and more about how we treat all of our fellow humans.
If you want a more modern crystallization of what I believe, the closest I have found is this Bill Hicks bit:
"The world is like a ride at an amusement park. It goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: Is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, "Hey, don't worry, don't be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride
The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace. Thank you very much, you've been great."
The only good things that religion can do are 1) move people away from dogma, selfishness and tribalism, and 2) teach people to care for this planet.
Any religion that
Rich And Stupid is not so bad as Working For Rich And Stupid.