>> ^Blocky:
The Bible was written by God
Because God wrote the Bible it is infallible.
If you question the infallibility of the Bible you are a heretic and not worth hearing


don't forget the bible (the various writings that were later collected by religious leaders mind you, some accepted, some not accepted) was never collected in written form for at least 2 generations

for 2 generations, the stories making up the bible were passed down PREDOMINANTLY through story telling, with no written version existing... and we are expected to believe those are the actual words according to God

hmmm, ever played that childhood game where you sit in a circle and whisper in the person's ear next to you a sentence... and get a kick of how it changes by the time it makes it around the circle 1x???

>> ^Quboid:
Great ending, I was worried the title was flame bait.
A couple of points:
1) I don't think it's established that it's a snake. Pretty sure it's a talking animal so this is a technicality, but that it's a snake is a myth. I think QI covered this and they are actually are beyond question.
2) I don't believe in evolution. OK, I agree in general, but does it explain what it aims to accurately and completely? I very much doubt it. In fact I'd be amazed if the original work wasn't mostly discredited by now, just like much of Newton's work, Einstein's work and so on. Darwin's work was certainly a big step in the evolution of knowledge
If you think about it, it's arrogant to the point of ludicrous to presume this generation has all the big stuff figured it. I'm sure as hell not a Christian or Creationist, I just think science is a work in progress and we're at a pretty early stage. I hope so! I quit Christianity when I grew out of invisible friends, but I didn't become an atheist just to join other zealots. Science is our friend, but keep questioning.

Pun / Ironic choice of phrase intentional.


2) evolution doesn't have a design it works toward... there is no intelligent design inherent in it... when something evolves, the whole species doesn't just all take the same path... multiple mutations usually occur and those most suited for survival (those that are most beneficial) usually proliferate through breeding... there is no one right answer per se for mutation... multiple mutated strains may develop and evolve away from each other... or 1 mutation may be the most beneficial and while incoroporating other mutations will seem dominant...

the thing about science and theory is that it usually works like this... a huge generalization is made... this is then either proven or disproven to be true (reproduceable and the generalization holds true with a high degree of repetition).... if disprove... there was something QUITE wrong with the generalization in the first place... if proven, that doesn't mean that this generalization has everything right... it just means that it holds true for the vast majority of cases... this does leave room for further refinement and understanding... but it is very rare (though it has happened) that a false generalization holds true long enough for refinements to occur to the point where they realize the generalization was wrong...

the thing is, that science will not cling to a generalization simply because it is what has been assumed for some time... if there is proof either way... either refinements or complete rethinkings occur

see the motion of the planets/solar system and the theories involved for this overall concept

thats the problem i have with religions... the faith is supposed to be blind, but the religion shouldn't blind those that follow it... truth isn't limited to religion... that being said I'm obviously aware that there is the same range of closed mindedness on either side of the discussion... just as there is open mindedness

but if a person can hands-down believe in a talking serpent because a single book said so, you'd think they wouldn't limit themselves to being so ignorant of something like evolution when THOUSANDS of books, journals, and scientific magazines explain it