Quote:
Originally Posted by Delvo
That reminds me of another big point to keep in mind when talking about it to Christiains: that you could dispute their theology rather than their science, and might make more progress by doing so; someone who won't let go of a religious idea over a conflict with science might still let go of that same religious idea if convinced that it was a religious mistake and a different religious belief was more pure and God-intended. But that requires a lot of familiarity with theological debates & disputes.
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That's what I try to do - show that there is no basis for shunning evolution in the religion in question apart from what the loudest sect is yelling at them. As long as you're respectful and don't rubbish the notion of God altogether (which of course leads to another, longer argument!) I find people tend to listen.
A Jewish friend of mine told me that God made the world 6 times before getting it right, and each time simply built the new world over the old one and this is why we find fossils. I pointed out that such a theory conflicted with the notion of omnipotence, hit him over the head with a rolled up newspaper, and showed him the middle quote of my signature. Fight bad theology with good theology/philosophy and let their own reason lead them to better conclusions.