"Scientists have never said anything else!
Has it never occurred to you that if you read a few books about evolutionary biology you would not make such a stunning display of utter ignorance?
But then you fear education because it threatens your faith."
[in response to the above quote by a vertbrate paleaontologist after drf333 claimed that "evolutionists" say that pterodactyls were dinosaurs]
That was what they taught in my days at school. Then that is true about those who believe in evolution, change the story every other decade. The articles I read on evolution and some of the articles that you and others have provide has strengthen my faith. You do realise that you need faith to believe in evolution?
37 comments
You do realise that you need faith to believe in evolution?
Only as much faith as I required to make this post. Am I the only one who's picked up on the fact that theists embrace science when it comes to getting their message out, but they vilify science as soon as it casts doubt on their faith?
That was what they taught in my days at school. Then that is true about those who believe in evolution, change the story every other decade.
No no, that's called "updating the facts we have due to new data being discovered."
Oh man. I read more of the thread; this guy's arguments keep getting completely destroyed, and yet he keeps on posting. His semi-literate yet very odd style of writing is reminiscent of a certain person well known on FSTDT...
This guy is the British version of LoneWolf1984.
"Scientists are always changing their opinions! Facts must be established!"
Sadly, the facts are not handed to mankind on a silver platter, we mostly have to go digging for them. Sometimes we fuck stuff up in the process, then we correct ourselves.
Here's some fun ways to apply your "Good shit shouldn't have to change" logic:
"Why doesn't DOS work on my brand new computer?"
"This milk was good 4 weeks ago, it MUST be good now!"
"My computer worked fine yesterday!"
[Well, now it doesn't]
"But it worked yesterday!"
[Yeah? And?]
"BAWWWWWWWW!"
"I smelled fine 5 days ago when I showered!"
Well times change. Scientists find out stuff and correct themselves, computer advance, milk spoils, and so does your deodorant.
Pterosaurs have NEVER been dinosaurs, iirc. Sure, popular culture sort of lumped them in with dinosaurs at some point (along with marine reptiles and the occasional Dimetrodon, which are even further from being dinosaurs!), but that's not really the same thing...
No you fucking don't. That's such an incalculably stupid response that I never know what to say when I see it.
Funny that the only thing you fuckwits can do is equate evolution with faith. For all your high minded opining, that says a lot about how you see faith.
Asshats. Get a new fucking fallacy already. This one is dead.
@SurfinSeaOtter: simply pointing out that evolutionists do not say pterodactyls are dinosaurs...
To respond to drf333: yes, as more information is learned, what is known is updated and science class changes. The brontosaurus is a good example.
Faith is not needed for accepting evolution. A good dictionary and an up to date biology book come in handy. The bible requires faith because its about 4000 years out of touch.
Damn. I bet I'm older than you and I knew that Pterodactyls were Pterosaurs when I was about 5.
@ myheadhurts - You don't need/ faith to believe in evolution - if you have the aformentioned up to date science book and can understand it. You do need faith to believe it if you have no idea what the Theory of Evolution means and what the evidence for it is, you're just taking other people's word for it in that case. I'm guessing that's why the fundies assume it is a religion as they haven;t got the faintest idea what the theory of evolution means, know nothing about the evidence for it or the scientific method used to form and validate the theory, therefore they assume everyone else is just accepting it on faith.
"Then that is true about those who believe in evolution, change the story every other decade."
So near yet so far. That's how science works. Unlike faith that is stagnant, science is dynamic. Theories change as new and better evidence is discovered, that is the strength of science. Unlike religion that never changes and cannot adapt to new and better understanding of the world.
"Am I the only one who's picked up on the fact that theists embrace science when it comes to getting their message out, but they vilify science as soon as it casts doubt on their faith?"
No. They also claim that puny mortal logic doesn't apply to God, but only when they run out of logical arguments.
When my daughter was five , she made up the following rhyme:
"They don't have flippers,
And they don't have wings,
Dinosaurs are great big
Stompy things!
(Except the little ones.)"
The last line was added after I showed her some pictures of small dinosaurs.
So congratulations, drf333, you are not smarter than a 5 year-old.
"pterodactyls were dinosaurs...
That was what they taught in my days at school. Then that is true about those who believe in evolution, change the story every other decade."
Evolution theory has little to do with taxonomy, which I think you are thinking of when you say they changed their minds about the Pterosaurs.
If you put an animal into the "wrong category", it doesn't mean it didn't evolve.
"That was what they taught in my days at school."
When I was in first grade, I had a teacher who said all birds fly south for the winter and went out of her way to tell us to always remember this. I knew this was wrong and wanted to correct her, but she refused to call on me when I had my hand raised. But had I believed her and later grown up to learn about winter birds then would I think the science changed? No, I'd realize she was stupidly repeating a common misconception just like someone did for you in your school days.
Then that is true about those who believe in evolution, change the story every other decade.
These are just arguments about naming. If you have a box of marbles in various shades of gray and you ask people to divide them into "light gray" and "dark gray", different people will draw the line in different places. It doesn't change the color of the marbles, though. Pterodactyls may well be dinosaurs. Right now, they're excluded, but we haven't actually finally decided yet - we don't have any early enough fossils.
What your teacher in school said does not always equal reality/what scentists actually understand or say. In fact one of the first things you are told when you do any A-level or degree science course is to basically forget what you learnt in school as it's wrong.
If you'd been through further education, or bothered learning anything after you eft school, you would know this.
So..umm..are you saying we helped boost your faith in evolution? Or are you saying that since evolution is a faith, then faith is bad?
Sounds to me like you are so confussed you cant get your context correct, much less make a coherent sentence.
wow, a teacher fucked up ( or you mis-learned) that's never happened before
Everything that lived at the time of the dinosaurs is grouped under the title to avoid confusion, too much for little minds to grasp
TBF, I'm pretty sure I had books as a kid, which pretty much said the same.
As I've grown older I've learnt that those childrens books left a fuckton of stuff out.
"Has it never occurred to you that if you read a few books about evolutionary biology you would not make such a stunning display of utter ignorance?"
And one book of fairytales - with atalking snake - makes the likes of you superior to Professors of Biology/Biochemistry, eh?! [/hyper-sarcasm]
"You do realise that you need faith to believe in evolution?"
'Faith'?:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli_long-term_evolution_experiment
We don't need no steenkeeng Faith ! [/"Treasure of the Sierra Madre"]
Remember: we have the evidence : Proof. Science; aaaand... what do you base your 'Faith' on? Therefore we win .
Just ask the scientists still debating to this day, on keeping Smallpox - existing only in culture flasks for continued viromedical research, or to destroy these last remnants & make an antire species of virus extinct ? Science - 1. God - 0. We win II.
When you can use 'Faith' to do the same with the antibiotic-beating MRSA (thus proving the existence of Evolution, as does the Nylon-eating Flavobacterium; and the man -made Nylon didn't exist until the 20th Century), let us know, derp(IQ)3.33
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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