Evolution?

OK so, I believe that Evolution is real and it is what it is. But Why is religion against it? Now I'm not saying we humans evolved from Apes, IF we did why would there still be apes? But then again I strongly disagree that a Male was made from mud and then a woman was made from a rib and mud. If I'm not mistaken doesn't the bible say Adam and eve where created at the same time, shortly after saying Adam walked around and got bored?

Now lets say we did come from the ape, wouldn't a form of "cave man" still be around? and wouldn't the human race start to have some sort of evolution going on that we can notice by now?

All animals that are alive now, evolved from animals that were alive in the past, but are not alive now. Think about that.

Originally posted by Cpt.Morgan
OK so, I believe that Evolution is real and it is what it is. But Why is religion against it? Now I'm not saying we humans evolved from Apes, IF we did why would there still be apes? But then again I strongly disagree that a Male was made from mud and then a woman was made from a rib and mud. If I'm not mistaken doesn't the bible say Adam and eve where created at the same time, shortly after saying Adam walked around and got bored?

Now lets say we did come from the ape, wouldn't a form of "cave man" still be around? and wouldn't the human race start to have some sort of evolution going on that we can notice by now?

Along the lines of what shakya said, we didn't evolve from modern apes. Apes and humans share a common ancestor (now extinct) that both evolved from.

The Bible, especially the Old Testament, is generally interpreted metaphorically. Only extreme Christian factions take it literally. Thus, the mud problem is easily dodged.

Natural selection works at such a slow rate that it seems like no change takes place during a single lifetime. Change between species occurs over hundreds of thousands of years. So the answer to the "wouldn't we notice something?" question is no. The few thousand years that we've been civilized enough to record our own history is laughably short in terms of evolutionary change.

But to answer the opening question, some religious people (not all, mind you) are opposed to evolution on the grounds that they believe it represents how human beings could have come to be without their God intervening in the process (i.e. we can exist without God). They seek to discredit it and prove that God is directly and actively involved in the evolutionary process (Intelligent Design). They are fond of attempting to find flaws in evolutionary theory, and are often quite skilled at it, but do not have a testable theory of their own, nor results with which to support their theory. Less extreme groups don't see a conflict between the two, opting for a "God could've made evolution" approach.

We also have other evolution threads. This will likely need to be closed soon.

Originally posted by Cpt.Morgan
OK so, I believe that Evolution is real and it is what it is. But Why is religion against it? Now I'm not saying we humans evolved from Apes, IF we did why would there still be apes?

Because there are still habitats where apes are suited to.

The concept of natural selection is hardly difficult to follow.

Genetic mutations occur...Most of the time these mutations are detrimental to the offspring and so they die...meaning that the bad mutations are never passed on. Occasionally a mutation will mean that a beneficial trait will come up...

By that, I mean that the trait that the offspring shows means it has an advantage and a better chance of survival and so a better chance of passing on the mutation than those who don't have it.

A example would be this...Giraffes eat all the food in one area to a certain height on the trees...Some food remains out of reach...A mutation occurs that means one animal has a slightly longer neck and so can reach higher up the tree for food...This animal has a better chance of survival as it can adapt to food sources that the others cannot. So it passes on its genes and that of the long neck.

Some of the giraffes may migrate to other areas where the food source is lower down...A mutation may occur that means a giraffe has a shorter neck and can manipulate the lower food easier than the taller giraffes...

Over a certain length of time you end up with diverging types of animals....

The more differences in enviromental factors that arise the more they will act on and "select" favourable mutations.

Darker camoflage for darker undergrowth...smaller claws/paws to reach into narrow areas for food etc.

These changes mount up to eventually form different species.

..so...to answer your question...no form of sensible religion is against evolution.

Oxymoron joke in 3 . . . 2 . . .

sensible religion

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Oxymoron joke in 3 . . . 2 . . .

Must we? Can't this one be left alone?

This joke is tired. It had a long day at the office beating up horse carcasses.

It just wants to watch its stories! LEAVE IT ALONE!!

Originally posted by Symmetric Chaos
Oxymoron joke in 3 . . . 2 . . .

Just because its a hypothetical does not make it an oxymoron 🙂