Genomic evidence unraveling Christianity as Evangelicals question myth of Adam & Eve

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Genomic evidence unraveling Christianity as Evangelicals question myth of Adam & Eve

...some conservative scholars are saying publicly that they can no longer believe the Genesis account. Asked how likely it is that we all descended from Adam and Eve, Dennis Venema, a biologist at Trinity Western University, replies: "That would be against all the genomic evidence that we've assembled over the last 20 years, so not likely at all."
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To many evangelicals, this is heresy.

"From my viewpoint, a historical Adam and Eve is absolutely central to the truth claims of the Christian faith," says Fazale Rana, vice president of Reasons To Believe, an evangelical think tank that questions evolution.
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"I think this is going to be a pivotal point in Church history," [Rana] says. "Because what rests at the very heart of this debate is whether or not key ideas within Christianity are ultimately true or not."

But others say Christians can no longer afford to ignore the evidence from the human genome and fossils just to maintain a literal view of Genesis.

"This stuff is unavoidable," says Dan Harlow at Calvin College. "Evangelicals have to either face up to it or they have to stick their head in the sand. And if they do that, they will lose whatever intellectual currency or respectability they have."
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(Bolding mine)

Source.
 
Evangelicals have intellectual currency and respectability to begin with?

Sorry, but they lost that when they went with YEC and rejected evolution in favor of Biblical literalism. And don't some of them advocate working towards Armageddon?
 
I think any such acceptance would require greater intellectual honesty on the part of evangelicals than they have displayed previously.
They'll ignore it, just like they ignore/deny anything that contradicts their beliefs.
 
Man this is really an exciting time to live as a human being, so many social issues that exist right in front of our eyes. Most of this stuff will come to fruition when I hit my 50s, but it is still nonetheless exiting to see the origins of all this. I happen to be of the opinion similar to that of the original poster. I think so much evidence will be collected by mid-century that the fundamental principles of many religions will be challenged. Other than eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism there is a lack of desire for Abrahamic religions to change their doctrines in order to accommodate modern reality. This will surely make them relics by the 22nd century.
 
Gaius said:
Man this is really an exciting time to live as a human being, so many social issues that exist right in front of our eyes. Most of this stuff will come to fruition when I hit my 50s, but it is still nonetheless exiting to see the origins of all this. I happen to be of the opinion similar to that of the original poster. I think so much evidence will be collected by mid-century that the fundamental principles of many religions will be challenged. Other than eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism there is a lack of desire for Abrahamic religions to change their doctrines in order to accommodate modern reality. This will surely make them relics by the 22nd century.
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I think you're underestimating the human ability to see black and insist it's white. Go over to the 911CT threads and see how many people post evidence that directly contradict their assertions.
 
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tsig said:
I think you're underestimating the human ability to see black and insist it's white. Go over to the 911CT threads and see how many people post evidence that directly contradict their assertions.
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I will do thanks.
 
catsmate1 said:
They'll ignore it, just like they ignore/deny anything that contradicts their beliefs.
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If 'they' includes me aged 33 (thereabouts), I managed it. Plenty of others have too. Some of them post in these forums.

Despite your lack of faith (intended) in 'them', it is entirely possible to extract oneself from that world.
 
Man this is really an exciting time to live as a human being, so many social issues that exist right in front of our eyes. Most of this stuff will come to fruition when I hit my 50s, but it is still nonetheless exiting to see the origins of all this. I happen to be of the opinion similar to that of the original poster. I think so much evidence will be collected by mid-century that the fundamental principles of many religions will be challenged. Other than eastern religions like Hinduism and Buddhism there is a lack of desire for Abrahamic religions to change their doctrines in order to accommodate modern reality. This will surely make them relics by the 22nd century.
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The same sentiment held sway in the Rennaissance and the Enlightenment. ;)
 
Since non-Evangelical sects have embraced modern science to a large degree, I don't think it unlikely that at some point the fundamentalists will have to give in and recognize that the fairy stories must be relegated to the allegorical/mythological section.
It will be a tough sell, I'll wager.
 
At some point the evidence just becomes overwhelming, like the church finally getting over the fact the Earth is not the center of the solar system. If not now, it certainly will happen eventually.
 
I think I found the original paper by Dennis Venema, on which this article is based: http://www.asa3online.org/PSCF/2010...estry-and-ancestral-hominid-population-sizes/

I haven't got through the whole thing myself yet, but what I've read is fascinating. Dawkins has often said that DNA evidence alone, without fossil records or anything else, would be enough to prove common ancestry of all life; but this paper is the first I've seen that explains it in some detail and with clear examples.

Did you know, for instance, that the human genome (like all mammals) contains the same sequence for making egg yolk as egg-laying animals, but deactivated? (See page 171.) What possible reason could an "Intelligent Designer" have for including that sequence in mammals?
 
O tempora! o mores!
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The point still stands--Evangelicals have taken centuries to accept even the most basic facts. Some people still reject GERM THEORY--despite the fact that we can SEE the germs. Somethings like DNA evidence? I don't expect Evangelicals to accept it in my lifetime, or that of my (as yet unborn) children.

Did you know, for instance, that the human genome (like all mammals) contains the same sequence for making egg yolk as egg-laying animals, but deactivated? (See page 171.) What possible reason could an "Intelligent Designer" have for including that sequence in mammals?
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That's not the most impressive evidence, to my mind. The evidence that proves it beyond doubt to me is that (I want to say almost) all life uses the same genetic code. The Stop Codon is THE Stop Codon--it says stop for bacteria, for plants, for humans, for fungus, for example. There's no possible reason a designer should make the same code for blue whales and bacteria. We don't use the same code for different laptops. To be honest, I'm really surprised that there's one code; I honestly would have expected multiple independent abiogenesis events. It's weird, unexpected, and something that no sober designer would do.
 
ID = Imbecilic Design

Dinwar said:
The point still stands--Evangelicals have taken centuries to accept even the most basic facts. Some people still reject GERM THEORY--despite the fact that we can SEE the germs. Somethings like DNA evidence? I don't expect Evangelicals to accept it in my lifetime, or that of my (as yet unborn) children.

That's not the most impressive evidence, to my mind. The evidence that proves it beyond doubt to me is that (I want to say almost) all life uses the same genetic code. The Stop Codon is THE Stop Codon--it says stop for bacteria, for plants, for humans, for fungus, for example. There's no possible reason a designer should make the same code for blue whales and bacteria. We don't use the same code for different laptops. To be honest, I'm really surprised that there's one code; I honestly would have expected multiple independent abiogenesis events. It's weird, unexpected, and something that no sober designer would do.
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Why not? he would just be an awfully bad designer...but yet he did it.

Imagine a huge computer program.

Now imagine that the program has in it all sorts of routines that do various things.

Imagine I want to adapt the program to do a slightly different task from the original but I still needed MANY of the supporting routines.

I would COMMENT OUT some of the code and modify some other and add a few others.

I most likely will not even bother to comment out or even cut out the routines that don't affect the final goal.

It is lazy design and probably one that would be judged as BAD by another programmer....BUT....the final product works and does the desired actions.

I did not have to reinvent the wheel nor expend too much energy.

Oh...yes... that is more likely to be what a process like evolution would do...no? But yet it can still be just a LOUSY DESIGNER too...no? Especially when you have to take into account that he did all this in SIX days….he was trying to meet a deadline.

Imbecilic Design (ID)​

Ah… I forgot….for those who need a laugh track to prompt them when to laugh…here we go … :big:
 
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I'm just waiting for these evangelical scientists who publicly accept evolution to get "Expelled". It's only a matter of time.
 
I never understand why they bother with adam and eve in the first place. According to the bible we're all descendent of Noah and the others on the ark. All other bloodlines died out.

Which, come to think of it, makes me wonder how people can claim that the descendents of Cain (insert group of people you don't like here) are still around and thus need to be enslaved/subjugated/removed. Surely they all died in the flood too?
 
Lukraak_Sisser said:
I never understand why they bother with adam and eve in the first place. According to the bible we're all descendent of Noah and the others on the ark. All other bloodlines died out.

Which, come to think of it, makes me wonder how people can claim that the descendents of Cain (insert group of people you don't like here) are still around and thus need to be enslaved/subjugated/removed. Surely they all died in the flood too?
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Ham's wife was from Cain's line......:D


Also....consider this.....EVEN GOD HIMSELF was too much of an imbecile to realize that the original sin would carry through Noah's line to the new humanity.

Had god been omniscient he would have started all over again with a NEW Adam and Eve instead of going through all that trouble to save Noah and his children...only for Noah to become an alcoholic and his son to "uncover his nakedness" (whatever that means).

And where did this IMBECILIC DESIGN (ID) lead to..... god had to commit adultery, incest and pedophilia with his mother so as to be born as his own son and run away to Egypt after leaving thousands of children to be slaughtered in his stead.....and to what end? To become a HUMAN SACRIFICE TO HIMSELF so as to forgive the descendents of Adam through Noah for a sin they did not commit and he could have just forgiven by willing it instead of going through all that DRAMA.
 
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