Ambiguity-uncertainty-vagueness the key to resistance against the idea of evolution?

Well, it turns out that I CAN post here, whaddya know, even after jar pretty much told me a few weeks ago that I'd never-never-never-never-never be allowed to post in the sacred Science fora except by Special Dispensation and that wasn't even certain. I suppose the Dispensation was granted Silently then. Must be a Very Special Dispensation indeed.Fear of ambiguity drove me to religion? Ha is right.What needs explaining in my case is how I was an atheist until my mid-forties. What character disorder was it that kept me an atheist all those years? Let's hear the theories!

Far better psychoanalysis than anybody else has been doing here I must say. You are right. Some bad character traits I lost the instant I became a believer, but others seem to be getting worse. Jesus is pure sweetness so I can only get the cure by spending more time in His company. I need to get off EvC and do that.

You are a bit of a puzzle, RR.Well, there's sweetness and then there's sweetness. Jesus' sweetness is so beautiful one could sit and adore it forever. That would have to rub off a bit on oneself I would think.

Horses whinny, jar. Anyway, no, I really did not know I could post here. When I see "science" at the top of a thread I steer clear of it. I have tried to post on science threads from time to time and found I can't, so I don't try very often.This message has been edited by Faith, 10-09-2005 02:02 AM

Oh, God existed, I just didn't know it until my mid-forties. I've described how I became a believer in other posts -- sorry I don't have the links handy - not sure it's relevant here. I changed when I believed what people said about experiencing God -- in many books. That's about it, except that it took a LOT of reading to understand Who God really is as I started out with some very wrong ideas.

Oh it's absolutely the truth. I worded it for an unbeliever though. A believer would know that contemplating Jesus is crucial to Christian growth. As I said, you truly are a puzzle, RR, but thanks.

You are both my severest (and most accurate) critic (unless it is all tongue-in-cheek, but I can hardly think so) and my strongest supporter. Definitely puzzling. And there's another enigmatic statement.

I didn't believe there was a God. What more is there to say? I also believed in evolution.This message has been edited by Faith, 10-10-2005 11:58 AM

Possibly you have some ideas about what MIGHT have changed or about why someone does or doesn't believe in God that would help me understand what you are asking here?I went to church as a child but it didn't really stick. Gave it up easily at about 15, mostly under the influence of liberal atheist friends and teachers. Believed as they believed for the next 30 or so years. Then began reading books about religion, was convinced that the Bible was the word of God, and became a Christian. What more do you want to know?

I became a believer in God through books by Hindu gurus. At first I assumed all religions worshiped the same God. From there I read in a variety of religions and occultisms before I finally became a Christian.{Edit: My friends at the time were in a variety of New Age practices. One was and is a Zen priestess. A couple were followers of the guru Muktananda. One lived in an ashram of another Hindu guru, forget his name. Two other couples were and are followers and leaders of Transcendental Meditation. I had a friend who regularly visited a channeler of some "entity" or other. I knew some astrologers. I thought it was all bunk until I had this epiphany of sorts realizing that God is a reality while reading in Hinduism. It took a while to get to Christianity.This message has been edited by Faith, 10-10-2005 05:15 PM

No. We're talking about something supernatural, not just a matter of what a person is attracted to.I also added a long edit to that post you may not have seen.This message has been edited by Faith, 10-10-2005 05:17 PM

Not at all. If anything I resisted it. It wasn't any more popular among the educated then than it is now. I cringed at the thought of joining the likes of Jerry Falwell.This message has been edited by Faith, 10-10-2005 06:34 PM

Yup, as I've commented myself, our EvC friend RR is definitely an Existentialist.

And what are the clues to this accidentalness of life? Or what do you mean by the term?In my case once I was told God is a fairy tale I believed that, realizing I had no way to prove He wasn't, and just assumed that was true for the next 30 years. I even got rather aggressive about my atheism, argued with people about it.But we are now OT aren't we.Back to the topic: I didn't "resist" the idea of evolution at all same as I didn't resist being told God is a fairy tale. I believed it. I tried to think about it though, tried to understand the evidence for it. THAT was a frustrating experience. It seemed to me that ALL the evidence could be explained some other way just as well. I guess that's "ambiguity" for you, but science can't rest on ambiguity, even though ironically it's supposed to be a sign of superior intellect to tolerate it. Of course I figured I didn't have the brain to understand it completely despite trying, so I'd just give up and believe it on faith.

A correct Christian theology explains imperfections, deformities and disease as the inevitable gradual deterioration of all nature on account of the Fall.This message has been edited by Faith, 10-11-2005 05:44 AM