OK, so a question has been legitimately asked, and the following is a theory I developed based on actual facts and more accurate translations:
"If evolution began at the beginning of Creation, then it seems Man was created through evolution, and not some God"...
To answer that, we need to fist step back and check on what the Scriptures - the original, Hebrew Scriptures - actually say on the subject of Genesis and Creation.
While the King James Version of the Bible - as with many translations - claims the world was created in six days, that is not what the Scriptures actually say. King James took a lot of liberties with his translation. The Hebrew Scriptures state the world was created in six "yom". In ancient Hebrew, the word yom was used to denote any period of time - it could be a day, a month, or even an eon. So it would be more accurate if KJV had simply said "...in six times..."
Now it could be a safe bet to assume each of those "yom" was a time span long enough to coincide with what science claims. The Earth and Sky could have been created over 4 billion years ago (the first "yom") while Man could have been created one million years ago (or whatever science eventually determines it to be), and that would be the 6th yom. From there, Man would have, by nature, evolved, to adapt as necessary
If this is the case, then both religion and science are in agreement - as they should be. But now comes the sticky little point about the Creation of Adam as detailed in Genesis.
Genesis states that Man was created in the 6th time, and then goes on to say that God rested during the 7th. And then Genesis says that God looked around and saw that what He did was good - but it was missing something. He needed something smart enough to care for what He created. A caretaker of the Earth, as it were. Lord knows Neanderthal was not up to the task, from an intellectual standpoint. It was only then that He created "The Adam". He had created early Man previously, but those dudes simply did not cut the mustard - they were going nowhere. It took them 40,000 just to learn how to make fire! By contrast, modern Man (descendants of The Adam) has walked the moon and created the internet and smart phones in just a few thousand years.
But how did He create The Adam? That's not hard to figure - even with our very limited abilities today, we can do genetic engineering. God could have taken the DNA of early Man and fiddled with it. We already do that. As for Eve - we also know how to clone, don't we? I'm sure that any God could out-do us on all counts.
Science knows that there were many species of Man, such as Neanderthal. And science knows they preceded modern Homo Sapiens, and they shared the Earth together. If we look at Genesis for what it actually says, Mankind was created in the 6th time, but such creatures were not intelligent enough to be the Caretakers. And that is when God decided to create "The Adam" - a version of Man that was intelligent enough to be caretaker.
This would also answer another puzzling question - Genesis says Cain went to "the land of Nod, where he took a wife." If Adam and Eve were the first, and therefore the only people Created, where did Cain's wife come from? If we accept the premise here, then the people in the land of Nod - and Cain's wife - was another, earlier species of Mankind. [NOTE: science has already determined that at least 8% of people living today carry some Neanderthal DNA)
Once we understand that the word "day" was not used in Genesis, everything begins to make sense, and in a way that both science and religion can live in harmony. And both Creation and evolution can share the same stage, and take equal billing.
As a side note: Many people disbelieve the Bible because it says so-and-so lived 900 years or so. However, since the original Scriptures never use the word "year", and uses "yom", and if we assume that in the case of Noah "yom" meant one lunar cycle (month, the normal period of time used back then), then Noah's 950 years becomes 79 years. Isn't that easier to swallow?
Now you have a scenario in which both Creation and evolution, and religion and science fit like pieces of a truly beautiful and miraculous puzzle.
Always be skeptical of a translation - exact translations are rarely possible.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
The Life of a Blueberry - Food For Thought...
Yes, I realize the title is kinda dumb, but there really is a point to this post.
The blueberry grows in a wilderness meadow. By mid-June they begin to ripen, and both birds and mammals, such as bears and deer, come to the meadow to feed on the delicious berries.
Later, those birds and mammals leave their excrement throughout their range. Within their "scat" and droppings will be the seeds of the blueberries they consumed because most of the seeds do not get digested due to their hard shells. So here you have a perfect planting of new blueberry bushes - the seeds are in manure, which fertilizes them and also keeps other critters from feeding on the seed.
There is a long line of "coincidences" that provide for the continued propagation of blueberry bushes. So many perfect coincidences, in fact, that it would almost be nonsense to believe that it was not designed that way.
Sometimes, the line of "coincidences" is longer, as it is with blackberries.
Blackberries grow in border areas - strips of land between woodland and meadow. They thrive under the branches of fir trees along the edges of the fields. They do not do as well in the deep woods, or in direct sun.
And here is how they propagate and spread: Birds prefer meadows and border areas. Birds eat the berries. Birds cannot digest blackberry seeds at all. Later, they rest on a pine branch along the woodland border and leave droppings, complete with blackberry seeds, under the protective branches of the fir tree.
Now, some would say that these coincidences can be explained as a product of evolution. However, evolution is something that only occurs within a specie, as when the horses toes evolved into a hoof. In order for evolution to explain inter-species actions, there would need to be some coordination between the various needs of the species. For example, for berries to develop seeds that could not be digested, they would have to be aware of a need to do so.
So here is the point of this post - anyone who has spent a great deal of time in nature, where civilization has not tainted that which is real and natural - that person would, if observant, notice virtually millions of such coincidences that create life cycles and provide for the propagation of species. That virtually everything in nature is connected in a fabric of life and death. Critter poops and fertilizes the ground where seeds can grow plants. Plants provide more seeds. The rat eats the seed. The cat eats the rat. The coyote eats the cat. The coyote poops and fertilizes the earth so more seeds can grow.
Experiencing nature that is raw and untainted, a person may begin to understand that it simply must be by design. It is far too complex and widespread to be an "accident". And if it involves multiple species working in a coordinated way, it cannot be explained by evolution. And that is precisely why every civilization that grew out of the wilderness and had been dependent upon nature have all known that there is an intelligence of some sort that is behind it all.
Having spent much of my own 72 years in nature, it was natural to see, and realize, that an intelligence must be behind it all. Call it what you will. But do not be so naive as to attribute it all to evolution.
Don't get me wrong - I do believe in evolution. But being a reasonably intelligent person with a much higher than normal I.Q. I also must believe in creation. The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact - and this IS a scientific, proveable fact - something must exist BEFORE it can evolve. And another proven scientific fact - inert, inanimate objects such as rocks cannot be explained by evolution, either. Only living things can evolve. And even if you could trace everything in Creation back to one singularity - just one thing from which everything sprang - then where did the "one thing" come from?
Yes, the first living thing may have evolved over time, but first, it had to come into being. As for all the non-living things, there really is no alternative but to believe in Creation. Certainly, to many it would seem foolish to believe some invisible, all-powerful sky person created everything. But is that any more foolish than to believe NOTHING did?
/
The blueberry grows in a wilderness meadow. By mid-June they begin to ripen, and both birds and mammals, such as bears and deer, come to the meadow to feed on the delicious berries.
Later, those birds and mammals leave their excrement throughout their range. Within their "scat" and droppings will be the seeds of the blueberries they consumed because most of the seeds do not get digested due to their hard shells. So here you have a perfect planting of new blueberry bushes - the seeds are in manure, which fertilizes them and also keeps other critters from feeding on the seed.
There is a long line of "coincidences" that provide for the continued propagation of blueberry bushes. So many perfect coincidences, in fact, that it would almost be nonsense to believe that it was not designed that way.
Sometimes, the line of "coincidences" is longer, as it is with blackberries.
Blackberries grow in border areas - strips of land between woodland and meadow. They thrive under the branches of fir trees along the edges of the fields. They do not do as well in the deep woods, or in direct sun.
And here is how they propagate and spread: Birds prefer meadows and border areas. Birds eat the berries. Birds cannot digest blackberry seeds at all. Later, they rest on a pine branch along the woodland border and leave droppings, complete with blackberry seeds, under the protective branches of the fir tree.
- Coincidence #1 - blackberries thrive under fir branches in border areas
- Coincidence #2 -birds prefer the same areas that blackberries thrive in
- Coincidence #3 - birds love blackberries but cannot digest blackberry seeds
- Coincidence #4 - birds normally rest - and poop - from branches of trees in border areas
- Coincidence #5 - seeds are deposited with the perfect fertilizer (bird poop), in a perfect area to thrive in
- Coincidence #6 - critters that feed on blackberry seeds are repelled by the poop, keeping seeds safe
Now, some would say that these coincidences can be explained as a product of evolution. However, evolution is something that only occurs within a specie, as when the horses toes evolved into a hoof. In order for evolution to explain inter-species actions, there would need to be some coordination between the various needs of the species. For example, for berries to develop seeds that could not be digested, they would have to be aware of a need to do so.
So here is the point of this post - anyone who has spent a great deal of time in nature, where civilization has not tainted that which is real and natural - that person would, if observant, notice virtually millions of such coincidences that create life cycles and provide for the propagation of species. That virtually everything in nature is connected in a fabric of life and death. Critter poops and fertilizes the ground where seeds can grow plants. Plants provide more seeds. The rat eats the seed. The cat eats the rat. The coyote eats the cat. The coyote poops and fertilizes the earth so more seeds can grow.
Experiencing nature that is raw and untainted, a person may begin to understand that it simply must be by design. It is far too complex and widespread to be an "accident". And if it involves multiple species working in a coordinated way, it cannot be explained by evolution. And that is precisely why every civilization that grew out of the wilderness and had been dependent upon nature have all known that there is an intelligence of some sort that is behind it all.
Having spent much of my own 72 years in nature, it was natural to see, and realize, that an intelligence must be behind it all. Call it what you will. But do not be so naive as to attribute it all to evolution.
Don't get me wrong - I do believe in evolution. But being a reasonably intelligent person with a much higher than normal I.Q. I also must believe in creation. The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact - and this IS a scientific, proveable fact - something must exist BEFORE it can evolve. And another proven scientific fact - inert, inanimate objects such as rocks cannot be explained by evolution, either. Only living things can evolve. And even if you could trace everything in Creation back to one singularity - just one thing from which everything sprang - then where did the "one thing" come from?
Yes, the first living thing may have evolved over time, but first, it had to come into being. As for all the non-living things, there really is no alternative but to believe in Creation. Certainly, to many it would seem foolish to believe some invisible, all-powerful sky person created everything. But is that any more foolish than to believe NOTHING did?
/
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Gun Laws - Not Designed To Protect Us From Crime
The title of this post is absolutely accurate - laws, no matter how well intentioned, and no matter the hype that surrounds them, will rarely have more than an inconsequential effect on criminal activity.
There are laws against rape - but rapists still rape. There are laws against murder - but killers still kill. And despite the law, bank robbers still rob banks, and tax cheats still cheat.
Gun control laws are no different. If a crimnal or unstable mind decides to kill, no gun control on Earth will thwart him or her. After all, if they do not fear execution for a mass killing, does anyone really believe they will fear 1-5 years for violating some gun law?
Laws do not prevent crime - they merely punish those who are caught violatng them. Laws do not protect the innocent, but they do manage to fool them into thinking they do. And the only people who are punished and suffer from gun controls are the honest, law-abiding innocent gun owners who lose their Constitutional Right to self-defense, or defending family. The criminal who violates gun laws and goes out and kills will be punished for killing - but NOT for violating the gun laws. After all, does anyone believe the courts would sentence a mass murderer to execution PLUS 5 years in prison?
Gun laws do not protect anyone from crime. All they do is punish those who violate them, often making criminals of honest, peaceful citizens who only want to feel secure with the ability to protect themselves.
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