lpetrich

Scigirl had focused on our species, but there is a lot of interesting sex-category ambiguity throughout the Earth's biota.

Some species are hermaphrodites; they have organs of both sexes.

Earthworms
Land snails
Many plants (flowers usually have both pistls and stamens)

Some species, like certain wrasses and groupers (marine fish) are even "serial hermaphrodites" or sex changers.

Many protists and fungi have lookalike sexes ("isogamy"); some of them have a large number of sexes or "mating types". Some ciliates have ~50 sexes and some basidiomycete fungi have thousands of sexes. Whose only differences are often in only a few genes.

MrDarwin

Not to mention those lizard species that exist entirely as populations of females that reproduce by cloning themselves (although I believe it sometimes takes mounting by another female of the species to induce embryo development).

Ain't biology grand?

scigirl

I'm talking about the people who are born with abnormalities - through no fault of their own, or their immediate parents (most of these defects appear to be random - not the result of some "sin").

Yes and we still fix them anyway.

A vast majority of birth defects and diseases do NOT in fact appear to be because of some action. They are just there.

Yes I realize that, but my original post was more directed at the more 'black and white thinking'christian who tends to predominate in our society. You know, the ones who hold signs at gay funerals that say "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." Because, well, God DID create AdamEves and, well Pats (to use the Saturday night live name).
Another tenet of Christianity I will never understand. Why on earth a God who IS capable of creating this vast diverse universe would give a whit what some hairless primates think of Him is beyond me. You seem to revel in the fact that you can't understand or relate to your deity - I guess I just can't worship a God that I can't understand in any way, shape, or form. But I digress.

Or simply the result of evolutionary processes gone awry.

Ahh, and here lies the crux of the issue. The suffering that God created on this earth is only sufferable if there is some other world to be rewarded in.

scigirl

lpetrich

Yes, older ones become "pseudomales" that mate with gravid ones, giving them a bite in the neck, which makes the bitten ones release their eggs. Check on species like Cnemidophorus uniparens (southwestern US).

This is most likely a vestigial feature left over from sexually-reproducing ancestors; one wonders why a god who dislikes homosexuality would create a species that reproduces with the help of homosexual sex.

Aphids, however, do not need to practice that expedient in order to reproduce; for most of their active season, they reproduce by parthenogenesis -- virgin birth. However, at the end of that season, they produce winged sexual reproducers, whose eggs then overwinter.

Another interesting freakout is in plants. They have two distinct multicellular phases, the diploid "sporophyte", which typically releases spores, and the haploid "gametophyte", which releases gametes. In mosses, the gametophyte is the prominent one, with the sporophyte growing on top of it. But in ferns, the sporophyte is the most prominent one, while among seed plants, most of the plant is the sporophyte. Seed-plant sporophytes entirely skip spore production; the gametophytes only exist inside their reproductive organs, often being only a few cells.

lpetrich

Albert Cipriani:
God is interested in our struggle, our free will choice of Him over ourselves.

scigirl:
Another tenet of Christianity I will never understand. Why on earth a God who IS capable of creating this vast diverse universe would give a whit what some hairless primates think of Him is beyond me. ...

Or, more precisely, It. That seems very conceited and self-centered. I'm reminded of this skewering of someone's religious narcissism. Pop singer Natalie Cole claims that angels had rescued her from such fates as:

Walking outside of a window when a drug trip convinced her that she could fly (the angels were her fellow stoners).

Dying of a heroin overdose (the angels were some people who injected her with salt water).

Being arrested for being a "lure" for prostitutes (the angel was a sympathetic cop who told to get the hell out of there).

Being stuck in jail after being busted for drugs (the angels were her band members who scrounged up some bail money).

Being arrested when the cops busted a cocaine "store" in Compton (an angel must be involved, since she escaped that fate by leaving just seconds before).

Dying when her car flipped over as she was driving under the influence of beer and Quaaludes (an angel here also, of course).

Now why in the world could she possibly be cosmically important???

Albert Cipriani:
Sexual dysfunction is just another opportunity whereby He can have us exercise our free will to do His will instead of our own.

scigirl:
Or simply the result of evolutionary processes gone awry.

When I look at Mr. Cipriani's viewpoint, I see gross self-abnegation. Something like St. Augustine's moaning and groaning about what a terrible sinner he had been -- for stealing some pears when he was a little boy.

For me, at least, it's far less painful to believe that such misfortunes are not the result of any intention, because only a sadist would do such things intentionally.

Albert Cipriani:
how much more life He's got in store for us on the other side of the grave.

scigirl:
Ahh, and here lies the crux of the issue. The suffering that God created on this earth is only sufferable if there is some other world to be rewarded in.

But where are those who are convinced enough of the next world's reality to make their last words "See you in Heaven"? If one believes that that's where one's going, then that would be a logical thing to say.

Nostalgic Pushhead

I think that male and female are obviously the same- just influenced by hormones & chromosones.
VERY interesting news about a finch they created who is split 50/50 down the middle- male/female.

If male and female were that different, I don't think it could have survived.

I don't see what the debate is. There's male, female, and lots of stuff inbetween. Deal.

Albert Cipriani

Dear Mr. Darwin,
You ask,
I’m not suggesting it, I’m emphatically telling you it is so. The Magisterium is what is infallible. It consists of the Ordinary Magisterium and the Extraordinary Magisterium.

The Ordinary version of it is defined as any and all teachings that have been everywhere and at all times taught by the bishops. The Extraordinary Magisterium has two flavors. It is defined as:
1) ecumenical gatherings of the world’s bishops who in concert with the pope define matters of faith and morals.
2) The words of the pope when he speaks ex cathedra (explicated above)

Now we can be sure that all the readers of this post are fast asleep. Good Night, Albert the Traditional Catholic

cricket

Hi Albert; I think scigirl was referring to fertilized embryos rather than "also swams"... maybe you did realize that but still I'm curious. Aren't these considered babies by your church; don't they have souls?

Why do you think God designed the system in this way, that so many would perish before they ever saw the light of day?

scigirl

That is correct - I was referring to fertilized embryos. 1/3 to 1/2 of fertilized embryos die. That is - they are sponaneously aborted.

scigirl

ps418

Cool! Thanks for posting that link.

Patrick