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fiveeagles

Joined: 19 May 2005 Location: Vancouver
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:02 am Post subject: Why this scientist believes in God |
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Editor's note: Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. His most recent book is "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief." |
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/03/collins.commentary/index.html |
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freethought
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 2:36 am Post subject: |
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what? should I now post 100 million links to every scientist who doesn't believe in your fictional deity? |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:45 am Post subject: |
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And this physicist finds good reasons NOT to believe in god.
Why can't you fundies just believe? Why do you obsess on proof to back your faith? *spit*
And of course you'll notice your scientist doesn't subscribe to your literal interpretation of genesis. In fact, the arguments he likely uses from his science to find god is the science you would argue blue in the face is false because it is the foundation of evolutionary science.
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Yes, evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true. If there was any lingering doubt about the evidence from the fossil record, the study of DNA provides the strongest possible proof of our relatedness to all other living things. |
Do you agree with him?
Last edited by mindmetoo on Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:57 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Rteacher

Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:54 am Post subject: |
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A link to an article by a prominent scientist that intelligently presents a world view which allows for faith and revelation has much more positive value than than many links to articles by so-called scientists foolishly deriding the existence of God...
Here's an excerpt from "fiveeagles'" link:
ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- I am a scientist and a believer, and I find no conflict between those world views.
As the director of the Human Genome Project, I have led a consortium of scientists to read out the 3.1 billion letters of the human genome, our own DNA instruction book. As a believer, I see DNA, the information molecule of all living things, as God's language, and the elegance and complexity of our own bodies and the rest of nature as a reflection of God's plan.
I did not always embrace these perspectives. As a graduate student in physical chemistry in the 1970s, I was an atheist, finding no reason to postulate the existence of any truths outside of mathematics, physics and chemistry. But then I went to medical school, and encountered life and death issues at the bedsides of my patients. Challenged by one of those patients, who asked "What do you believe, doctor?", I began searching for answers.
I had to admit that the science I loved so much was powerless to answer questions such as "What is the meaning of life?" "Why am I here?" "Why does mathematics work, anyway?" "If the universe had a beginning, who created it?" "Why are the physical constants in the universe so finely tuned to allow the possibility of complex life forms?" "Why do humans have a moral sense?" "What happens after we die?" (Watch Francis Collins discuss how he came to believe in God )
I had always assumed that faith was based on purely emotional and irrational arguments, and was astounded to discover, initially in the writings of the Oxford scholar C.S. Lewis and subsequently from many other sources, that one could build a very strong case for the plausibility of the existence of God on purely rational grounds. My earlier atheist's assertion that "I know there is no God" emerged as the least defensible. As the British writer G.K. Chesterton famously remarked, "Atheism is the most daring of all dogmas, for it is the assertion of a universal negative."
But reason alone cannot prove the existence of God. Faith is reason plus revelation, and the revelation part requires one to think with the spirit as well as with the mind. You have to hear the music, not just read the notes on the page. Ultimately, a leap of faith is required...
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/03/collins.commentary/index.html |
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ED209
Joined: 17 Oct 2006
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:37 am Post subject: |
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What? A scientist who used to be an atheist now believes in a god! Say it ain't so.
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I had to admit that the science I loved so much was powerless to answer questions such as "What is the meaning of life?" "Why am I here?" "Why does mathematics work, anyway?" "If the universe had a beginning, who created it?" "Why are the physical constants in the universe so finely tuned to allow the possibility of complex life forms?" "Why do humans have a moral sense?" "What happens after we die?" |
Same old retarded answer 'God did it'. I'm sure mindmetoo could feast on those fallacies all week.
As heathens we do demand evidence not 'there must be a God'. All this emotional crap makes him look like a bad scientist. I don't mind scientists who do or don't have a religion I respect many scientists who have a religious belief. |
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mnhnhyouh

Joined: 21 Nov 2006 Location: The Middle Kingdom
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 5:42 am Post subject: |
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I dont have a problem with a scientist believing in god. However any attempt to "prove" the existence of god is going to fail. In science you cannot prove anything to be true. that includes the existence of god.
h |
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crusher_of_heads
Joined: 23 Feb 2007 Location: kimbop and kimchi for kimberly!!!!
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 8:43 am Post subject: |
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freethought wrote: |
what? should I now post 100 million links to every scientist who doesn't believe in your fictional deity? |
Yes, as that would be a more productive use of your time. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:03 am Post subject: |
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mindmetoo wrote: |
Why can't you fundies just believe? Why do you obsess on proof to back your faith? *spit* |
Are you a fan of Richard Dawkins? Or is it just that you are annoyed by FiveEagles and others who promote the idea of God on chatboards?
[Edited to fix url link] |
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twg

Joined: 02 Nov 2006 Location: Getting some fresh air...
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:49 am Post subject: |
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Trying to prove a god shows a lack of faith. |
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caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Location: All over the map
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 10:17 am Post subject: |
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twg wrote: |
Trying to prove a god shows a lack of faith. |
Is your avatar the devil? Anyway, I love what he's done with this forum. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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Kuros wrote: |
mindmetoo wrote: |
Why can't you fundies just believe? Why do you obsess on proof to back your faith? *spit* |
Are you a fan of Richard Dawkins? Or is it just that you are annoyed by FiveEagles and others who promote the idea of God on chatboards?
[Edited to fix url link] |
I like Dawkins science. I think Dawkins as of late has been going outside of his field of knowledge and entering the religious debate. If religion has testable claims, fine. Lay them on the table and let's test them. But I don't think one should or can use science to enter the debate about the existence or non-existence of some kind of god. The god of fiveeagles, the literal god of genesis, is a very testable claim, and is not supported by the evidence. But if you want to believe on faith of a god of the ultimate gap, the cause of the big bang, I'm not going to argue with you.
Atheism comes in two flavors:
1) You know there is no god. You take it on faith.
2) You don't believe in that which has not been proven. I don't believe in Santa. I don't believe in god.
Obviously I'm a Mark II Atheist.
I just find it funny fiveeagles is jumping up and down ballyhooing a scientist who believes in god partially based on evolutionary science that contradicts in full fiveeagles's Harry Potter genesis god. |
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Gopher

Joined: 04 Jun 2005
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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mindmetoo wrote: |
2) You don't believe in that which has not been proven. I don't believe in Santa. I don't believe in god.
Obviously I'm a Mark II Atheist.
I just find it funny fiveeagles is jumping up and down ballyhooing a scientist who believes in god partially based on evolutionary science that contradicts in full fiveeagles's Harry Potter genesis god. |
Actually you are more than this, are you not?
You have little tolerance for those who do believe in God and especially for those who do not accept science as if it were the word of God.
That must be the Mark III, I suppose... |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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Gopher wrote: |
mindmetoo wrote: |
2) You don't believe in that which has not been proven. I don't believe in Santa. I don't believe in god.
Obviously I'm a Mark II Atheist.
I just find it funny fiveeagles is jumping up and down ballyhooing a scientist who believes in god partially based on evolutionary science that contradicts in full fiveeagles's Harry Potter genesis god. |
Actually you are more than this, are you not?
You have little tolerance for those who do believe in God and especially for those who do not accept science as if it were the word of God.
That must be the Mark III, I suppose... |
Strawman. |
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fiveeagles

Joined: 19 May 2005 Location: Vancouver
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Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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mindmetoo wrote: |
Why can't you fundies just believe? Why do you obsess on proof to back your faith? *spit* |
If you are a fundy and you know it clap your hands....AMEN!
If you are a fundy and you know it clap your hands....AMEN!
If you are a fundy and you know and your REALLY wanna show it,
If you are a fundy and you know it clap your hands....HORRAH!
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 1:08 am Post subject: |
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fiveeagles wrote: |
mindmetoo wrote: |
Why can't you fundies just believe? Why do you obsess on proof to back your faith? *spit* |
If you are a fundy and you know it clap your hands....AMEN!
If you are a fundy and you know it clap your hands....AMEN!
If you are a fundy and you know and your REALLY wanna show it,
If you are a fundy and you know it clap your hands....HORRAH!
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You didn't answer the second question. Is his statement on evolution a true statement? If you don't believe then you may as well be citing a guy who believes homosexuality is a proof of the resurrection of Jesus. |
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