Incredible, what some researching can do.
Offline This is my realization post. I have come to realize that my previous posts have been incorrectly motivated and incorrectly directed in this forum. I came to realize this today, while I was at Borders bookstore this afternoon. I wanted to look up a particular book concerning mathematics and science by Lecomte Du Nouy (spelling?) called Human Destiny. Unfortunately, Borders did not have the book I was looking for. I was disappointed, but I did not leave the bookstore and decided to browse around. My browsing led me to the God Delusion.
I read the first four chapters of Mr. Dawkins book. During those four chapters I came to realize that my conceptions of atheism were wrong. I have been trying to argue here and other places the points that Mr. Dawkins already acknowledges and accepts. I have been essentially misunderstanding what atheism means.
All of the philosophical problems I wanted to point out and argue for, Mr. Dawkins has already pointed them out, and conceded them. The bottom line is, atheism as Mr. Dawkins outlines it is not a target for any of the philosophical problems that I came to confront it with.
I see now the only choice that I am left with is to investigate evolution and the scientific evidence to explain our existence. Also, a key clarification Mr. Dawkins pointed out, what he doesn't see evolution as chance. I will admit, that I conflated evolution and chance. I feel ignorant and duped by some unknown reason which brought about such an incorrect association in my mind between evolution and chance.
So, R.R.S. as I depart on my journey to investigate and learn about the theory which Mr. Dawkins so heavily endorses, I would like to wish you all a very prosperous future in your political endeavors. I very much agree that religion can be damaging when misused and misguided. I would also like to wish you all a very big thank you, for well, driving me to search out the source of my misunderstanding. Sure is incredible what some researching can do.
To all those who read patiently as I ranted,
To all those who replied sympathetically as I argued,
A very big expression of thanks and admiration,
Sincerely,
Jread.
The implication that we should put Darwinism on trial overlooks the fact that Darwinism has always been on trial within the scientific community. -- From Finding Darwin's God by Kenneth R. Miller
Chaos and chance don't mean the absence of law and order, but rather the presence of order so complex that it lies beyond our abilities to grasp and describe it. -- From From Certainty to Uncertainty by F. David Peat
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Welcome to the big kids' table, Jread.
Remember, it's not the correctness of your conclusions that defines your rationality, it's how you respond to criticism. That you argued your beliefs, listened to the criticism and responded honestly is the ideal of the rational response.
We hope to see more of you.
Wow, that was refreshing.
Hey, I love this, I'm gonna write this quote down!
Yes it was, I need this, thanks a lot jread.
I had a good feeling about you jread. As long as reason is your guide, you will get closer and closer to the truth.
"In the high school halls, in the shopping malls, conform or be cast out" ~ Rush, from Subdivisions
I like you.
Welcome!
Wow, Jread! You are quite the truth-seeker.
I can honestly say I've never been as sanguine about changing my mind as you seem to be. I do seek the truth, but it's still really hard at times, considering I was raised as a fundy.
May you enjoy your many discoveries. Evolution is absolutely fascinating. Here's a very nice documentary about evolution by Dr. Dawkins:
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YAY for Jread, keep an open mind. We like those!
the great thing about evolution, is that it is so complex, but yet so simple. Evolution simply is the nonrandom selection of randomly occuring alleles. Very easy to understand. Evolutionary theory tells us that whenever copies of something is made, there will be errors. Many of these errors are worthless. Some are bad and some are good. The bad ones die out, the good ones survive. "good" and "bad" are relative to the enviornment of course.
Its amazing that such a simple process could produce so much life.
"In the high school halls, in the shopping malls, conform or be cast out" ~ Rush, from Subdivisions
"Amazing" is the perfect word. Looking at various fossils of extinct forms is nearly a "spiritual" experience for me. It blows my mind when I realize 99.9% of all species are gone forever. It's fascinating to try to figure out what they looked like and how they lived just by looking at the evidence they left behind.
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Thanks for being so reasonable. And Thank you for letting us know that you are becoming more so. You are giving me hope. It feels fantastic! Enjoy your journey of discovery.
Judge: god, you have been accused of existence! What do you have to say for yourself?
god: I am innocent until proven guilty, your honour!
Good luck Jread.
Yep. Thanks for telling us. It's nice to know there are people who actually come here with an open mind.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
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I hope jread isn't gone for good.
I would like to see more from jread - especially after all the studying!
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Ah well lucky for you Susan, you will be able to see more of me. I find that studying and still dropping my two-cents here on the forum can go hand-in-hand. Thanks for your kind words and I have already posted a new questions deriving from some of researching thus far. It's a scientific one, but an important one. The science buffs here on the forums are currently trying to help me understand the answer to my question. YeHAW!
The implication that we should put Darwinism on trial overlooks the fact that Darwinism has always been on trial within the scientific community. -- From Finding Darwin's God by Kenneth R. Miller
Chaos and chance don't mean the absence of law and order, but rather the presence of order so complex that it lies beyond our abilities to grasp and describe it. -- From From Certainty to Uncertainty by F. David Peat
Good luck Jread. I admire your quest for knowledge fellow philosophy student.
Well said, jread. I hope more of us follow your example, maybe one day we will surpass rational response into rational discourse all round.
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