My baptist neighbor and I got to discussing evolution and public schools today and she gave this webpage which has some good information: http://www.drdino.com I in turn loaned her my copy of Genesis, Creation and Early Man. Just thought I'd pass the webpage along as it has some good science info on it.
Non-Orthodox creationists page
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Nektarios14
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Justin Kissel
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尼古拉前执事
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Theory of dEvolution
Indeed. (macro)Evolution is a theory that Darwin admitted he could not prove and today it still cannot. Many scientists have set out to prove evolution and became creationists. Not in spite of science, but because of science. To believe in evolution takes faith and my faith lies neither with men nor their sciences, but with God and His Church.
I think that there is a difference between faith and belief. After all even the demons believe in God but that does not mean that they have this thing that we call faith. Faith seems to imply some degree of trust or hope but I am not sure that evolutionists have trust or at least many do not have trust. They simply believe in evolution without ever really seeing a need to trust in it. Maybe this is hard for us to understand since we deem faith and God so important but for many I think it is just 'the most plausible theory' and they don't think it effects them in their daily lives. Of course we Orthodox would say that what you believe does effect people but I don't think we can say that they have faith based only on what WE think is important. For them to have faith I think that THEY have to believe first that it is important and second that thing in question is not verifiable and provable through human (logical/scientific/etc.) means. I'm not sure that many evolutionsts fall into either of these things let alone both at the same time. What do you think?
"'You believe that God is one, you do well: the demons also believe and they tremble.' - James 2:19 - ...Therefore, those who do not believe that there is a God, or believe and do not fear, must be judged slower-witted and more shameless than the demons. But it is no great thing to believe there is a God and tremble if one does not also believe in him, that is, if love for him be not held in the heart. For it is one thing to believe him, another to believe in him. To believe him is to believe that the things he speaks are true; to believe that he exists is to believe that he is God; to believe in him is to love him. Many, even the wicked, are able to believe that the things he speaks are true; they believe that they are true and do not wish to make them their own because they are too lazy to do anything about them. Even the demons were able to believe, however, that he is God. But they alone know how to believe in God who love God, who are Christians not only in name but also in action and [way of] life, because without love faith is empty; with love it is the faith of a Christian, without love the faith of a demon. Therefore, anyone who does not wish to believe that Christ is God still does not imitate the demons. He believes that Christ [is] but hates Christ, he makes a confession of faith out of fear of punishment not out of love of a crown. For they too were afraid of being punished. Accordingly, when blessed Peter, confessing the Lord, said, 'You are Christ, the Son of the living God,' (Mt. 16:16) he appears to utter by his mouth almost the same words as the demons; but their confession, because it was uttered with hatred for Christ, was rightly condemned, his, because it came forth from inward love, was rewarded." -Part of Bede the Venerable's Commentary on James 2:19
Nicholas yes I suppose that is right that some and perhaps even many such as scientists make more of it than I am saying in my posts. I guess I would ask what faith is though? Can someone who blindly trusts a human thing like science or logic be said to have faith in something based upon their usage of that science or logic? I would say that that is madness and not faith. But your point is well taken I was overgeneralizing way too much.