lpetrich

This makes me wonder if it might be possible to demonstrate evolution by natural selection from the Bible. This may require absurdly out-of-context quotes, but I think that it could be done.

B. H. Manners

I do not know about the Bible, but I had a Muslim professor who talked a lot about Islam, stating it was opposed to evolution. Yet there was a passage in the Koran which stated God turned some evil folks into apes! I can just hear it now: Muslim clerics arguing that the reason apes/monkeys can understand our language, use tools, as well as read simple pictographs is because it is a proof of their former humanity. Allah be praised the Koran is proven inspired! If only old "Spent" Kent Hovind had it so good!

Sojourner553

Of course the world "evolution" does not appear in the Bible, because the concept was unknown then.

But yes, there were religious leaders who interpreted the Bible in a way to allow evolution:

The Anglican theologian Charles Kingsley (who was a contemporary of Charles Darwin) wrote how he believed evolution proved that God was even MORE powerful than originally thought because this meant God must have ALSO CREATED the mechanism by which life generates new life:

"We know of old that God was so wise that he could make all things;
but behold, he is so much wiser even than that, that he can make
all things make themselves."

___________________________________________

Liberal religious groups (Christians, Muslims, etc) generally have no issue with evolution -- only conservative fundamentalist groups. This would include fundamentlist ATHEISTS:

Stalinist communists rejected evolution because their ideology does not accept that human behavior has a biological origin.

The battle for and against evolution is often depicted as theism vs atheism. This has unfairly depicted ALL Christians as being opposed to science and by implication progress -- a reputation which is not warranted by the above facts.


Sojourner

[ March 30, 2002: Message edited by: Sojourner553 ]</p>