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I never quite understood why many religious people have a problem with Evolution. If God created everything, surely he could create Evolution as well.

nealeratzlaff 7y ago
From a lot of otherwise science-accepting people I grew up with, the issue isn't that penguins or insects adapted to their environment in unique ways. The issue lies in humans coming from monkeys. People I've known have a hard time with us not being created as special companions for the creator.
- galaxyLogic 7y ago
  I think this ideology is partly because being a God's special companion means you can rule over others. So it's a convenient patriarchal fiction for many who want to rule over others, with God on Their Side.
djokkataja 7y ago
I think it's about the sense of personal meaning and importance one gets: if God personally crafted you down to the tips of your toes, that makes you feel more important and like your life is more meaningful than if God created some system (evolution) which just happened to eventually result in you at the current point in time.
- galaxyLogic 7y ago
  Good point. At the same time it is pretty clear by observing how babies are born and grow up, and if you believe God created human race, that you do believe he "created some system" by which we grow from sperm and eggs, to be the way we are :-) I think the way cells "evolve" to become mammals is actually much more wonderous than one species evolving into another.
tuesdayrain 7y ago
I consider myself deeply religious and I never had an issue with this or any other aspect of science. To me, the goal of science is understanding how God's universe works.
jcranmer 7y ago
I think the tendency arises from two critical components, which aren't present in most religious traditions (and hence why most religious problems don't have a problem squaring evolution with religion). The first is a belief that the way to salvation is a narrow path and that those who seek to follow it are constantly buffeted by forces that would have them fall off. The second is a strident belief in the literal, inerrant truth of religious texts. Altogether, this ends up in a worldview of "If I question anything, I question everything, which means I fall off the path to salvation. Therefore, anything that would make me question my religion is automatically wrong."

nealeratzlaff 7y ago

From a lot of otherwise science-accepting people I grew up with, the issue isn't that penguins or insects adapted to their environment in unique ways. The issue lies in humans coming from monkeys. People I've known have a hard time with us not being created as special companions for the creator.

galaxyLogic 7y ago
I think this ideology is partly because being a God's special companion means you can rule over others. So it's a convenient patriarchal fiction for many who want to rule over others, with God on Their Side.

djokkataja 7y ago

I think it's about the sense of personal meaning and importance one gets: if God personally crafted you down to the tips of your toes, that makes you feel more important and like your life is more meaningful than if God created some system (evolution) which just happened to eventually result in you at the current point in time.

galaxyLogic 7y ago
Good point. At the same time it is pretty clear by observing how babies are born and grow up, and if you believe God created human race, that you do believe he "created some system" by which we grow from sperm and eggs, to be the way we are :-) I think the way cells "evolve" to become mammals is actually much more wonderous than one species evolving into another.

tuesdayrain 7y ago

I consider myself deeply religious and I never had an issue with this or any other aspect of science. To me, the goal of science is understanding how God's universe works.

jcranmer 7y ago

I think the tendency arises from two critical components, which aren't present in most religious traditions (and hence why most religious problems don't have a problem squaring evolution with religion). The first is a belief that the way to salvation is a narrow path and that those who seek to follow it are constantly buffeted by forces that would have them fall off. The second is a strident belief in the literal, inerrant truth of religious texts. Altogether, this ends up in a worldview of "If I question anything, I question everything, which means I fall off the path to salvation. Therefore, anything that would make me question my religion is automatically wrong."