Paul2

i registered. as an ex-catholic, maybe i can help shed some light on the subject for them.

MysteryProf

Hm... the evolution and atheism threads combined might compel me to register...

Urvogel Reverie

Such good fun! I could scarcely help but register and join in. I'm on there (rather obviously) as Vindex Urvogel.

Urvogel Reverie

Oolon Colluphid

Sorry folks, I've been busy this morning over there, and I'm now afraid I might have killed that thread...

Urvogel Reverie

Way to go, Oolon...all that work I did on condemning that Melchior character or whoever it was and no response at all!

Urvogel Reverie

Heathen Dawn

It looks like monogenism is rampant among them. I mean, even those who accept evolution tend to still hold that all humans are descended from one man and one woman. Is such a belief tenable?

Duck!

Speaking of which, I know we have some scientists with degrees and what-have-you in biological fields, can they confirm or deny the existence of a "Law of Biology" or "Law of Biogenesis" which supposedly states that life can only come from life? It sounds totally bogus and made up.

Duck!

Bracer

Tenable? No. Surprisingly common? Oddly enough, yes.

I have a brother-in-law who thinks this, because (paraphrasing), “No way I’m gonna believe I descended from a monkey!�? (And yes, I pointed out that we didn’t evolve from monkeys, but in fact descended from ape-like creatures, and yes, I brought up the idea that being created from dirt certainly seemed rather more insulting -- didn’t make a dent.) FWIW, my sister thinks he’s incredibly silly for believing in every aspect of evolution except when it comes to humans (full eye-roll the first time he brought it up), and at various times he’s even admitted it’s a silly belief to have, but there you go…

Ah, behold the power of The Argument from "Ewww!"

Peez

The problem with biological systems is that they are so damn complex. This means that simple statements of "law" like that are generally impossible. The only "laws" in bilogy that I know of off hand are the Law of Independent Assortment and the Law of Segregation. However, the "Law of Biogenesis" is at least based on a principle that Pasteur helped to establish: that mould and other life does not spontaneously form in organic materials such as bread sitting on a counter. This is quite different from the original formation of simple replicators that later evolved into truely living organisms, something Pasteur never made any attempt (to my knowledge) to address.

Peez

Peez

I would disagree with your statement regarding "one man and one woman." There is no evidence to suggest "that all humans are descended from one man and one woman." I think that the problem is that many people misunderstand "mitochondrial Eve" and "Y-chromosome Adam." Look at it this way: You have probably inherited all of your mitochondrial DNA from your maternal grandmother, does this mean that you did not inherit any DNA from your paternal grandmother?

Peez