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You fail to realize the phylogentic [sic] tree was created BEFORE the fossil, genetic, and dating evidences had come around.
ProfessorTertius wrote:I've only skimmed Charlie's posts (and perhaps someday I will have time to read his replies to my posts in the thread) but everything I've read from him so far is just mind-numbingly science-illiterate. It is so teeth-on-edge ignorant, especially when coupled with his arrogance. (He truly thinks that he has a strong grasp of science.)You fail to realize the phylogentic [sic] tree was created BEFORE the fossil, genetic, and dating evidences had come around.
Of course it was---because it is a reflection of what is observed in nature! Charlie fails to mention that as the years went by and scientists observed and published more and more data, the phylogenetic tree grew in detail because the general idea which Linnaeus et al grasped was sound. Charlie's somewhat childish objection is akin to saying, "You chemists and physicists fail to realize that the Periodic Table of the Elements was created before all sorts of physical attributes were even known, let alone measured---and many elements hadn't even been discovered yet!" Charlie fails to understand that a sound model only gets better and better with time, and it also makes predictions which are confirmed by new discoveries. This is true of the Periodic Table which predicted the properties of elements yet to be discovered and it was and is true of the Phylogenetic Tree which continues to predict not yet discovered life forms and even where they are likely to be found geographically and in the geologic record. (In the past I might have gone to great effort to explain all of this to Charlie but it is clear from what he writes that he wouldn't grasp the ideas, even if he would ALLOW himself to look at the evidence.)
I didn't realize just how little background he had in scientific fundamentals. I am beginning to wonder if he was home-schooled. Do you know? (I've learned to be less harsh with such people than I was in the past. Some of the home-schooled fundamentalists were raised on ACE materials and they were prevented from learning some of the very most basic fundamentals we take for granted in K through 12 public education. They are abused children who may be only at the very beginning of realizing how much their development was crippled. I've had conversations with home-schooled Christians who can't reason through the simplest of sixth grade science experiments. And those who have been ACE---Accelerate Christian Education---educated in the last ten years may only have READ about the experiments and never actually conducted them. )
Of course, when it comes to my fellow Christ-followers, it is their ARROGANCE that bothers me most---because so many non-Christians equate that attitude and behavior as what it means to be a Christian. Charlie truly believes that he understands vast areas of science far better than the PhDs. He is certain that it is just a big conspiracy and a "wink wink" conspiracy.
Biologos has a very conciliatory attitude towards the leaders responsible for such mindsets in the YEC world. But I have come to wonder if it is long past time when Christians need to loudly denounce and admonish these people as FALSE TEACHERS who are doing terrible harm to the Church and the Great Commission. I know that in my case I was greatly helped by the people who told me outright, "What you are saying is stupid and absolutely ridiculous. You are ignorant of the basic science of these topics and you need to educate yourself before you thrash about and declare all of the scientists wrong."
Human nature sometimes needs hit over the head with a 2x4. That's why Jesus was willing to yell at people, call them names, and turn over tables on the temple grounds.
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