I hope you are not so narrow minded as to assume I am ignorant of science? At a west coast University, I studied electrical engineering. So I have a good knowledge of math, physics and chemistry. I also enjoyed reading good books before I was a Christian. Many of those books were science related but not specifically on evolution. So please do not assume I am as ignorant as a stone aged house wife.
Well, Dan, that one blew up in my face. My apologies. I was not meaning to come across as insulting.
This started with my phrase: I do find that creationists very often have a poor understanding of evolution and very often their heads are stuffed full of misinformation. You employed a technique I sometimes use myself and took the subject of the sentence and replaced it with another word: atheists. So far, so good. I replied:
“Have you read Dawkins'
The God Delusion? Trust me, when it comes to Christianity he is not well informed. If you want to understand why Dawkins is an atheist read his book. He will tell you why he thinks everyone should be an atheist, but his understanding of Christianity is disappointing. I wouldn't trust what he has to say.”
In writing this I was meaning to show that I agreed with your altered statement. Atheists, in their books, often do misunderstand or are ignorant in their biblical comprehension. I was trying to say that
The God Delusion is a poor source for anyone wanting to understand the Bible.
God is not Great, by Christopher Hitchens, is another such book. While I read and enjoyed both their expertise is not the Bible. Dawkins, in particular, does not understand (or doesn’t seem to understand) that his arguments are meaningless to most Christians.
My intent then, was to turn your argument, which I agreed with, and show that similarly those who attack evolution in their books (or in their on-line web sites) were not good sources for learning about evolution. So I wrote:
“This is why I argue that if you want to learn about evolution you shouldn't go to those whose intent it is to undermine its validity. You see, they actually leave out all the reasons you should believe in evolution and their critiques are ill-informed. Go to the scientists whose job it is to know something about the subject.”
I was not meaning to insult. Though I wrote the word “you” I was really meaning anyone who wished to learn about evolution. I do recall that you had stated earlier you personally were not particularly interested in the evolution debate. It wasn’t really you that I had in mind. In fact it was mostly not you.
danschance said:
I have not read the god delusion as it is trash, IMHO. I just don't wish to waste my time on atheist propaganda.
Understood, and I hope you realize now I was not recommending the book.
danschance said:
I have come to experience God in ways you have not and can not understand.
I have made the point frequently that my own lack of experience in this realm may largely be the reason I have ended up intellectually where I am. Once again I agree with you.
danschance said:
My faith in God is not based on superstition, a need for comfort, need for a crutch, intellectual snobbery, mental illness (as some atheists contend), inferior genes (as some atheists contend) or "misinformation".
Dan, you wrote that you studied electrical engineering and “have a good knowledge of math, physics and chemistry.” I don’t question you at all. A friend of mine from high-school who worked at NASA before going on to teach courses on mathematics at UWO (now called simply Western University) had always claimed to be an agnostic but has since embraced Judaism. Michael Shirmer, a science historian and editor of Skeptic magazine, reported one study showing that of all academics who believed in God mathematicians topped the list. Your training, I think, would place you into the same camp. This friend of mine is one of the smartest people I know. Nor would I say he believes in God for any of the reasons you list here. You are in good company.
My misinformation charge was not levelled at those who believe in God, but at those whose understanding, specifically of evolution, was misinformed.