Evolution, creation and abiogenesis: an actual discussion.

This guy put it much better than I "Religion was created to give men earthly power over others. The myths and legends used were created to answer those burning questions, where do we come from, why are we here and what happens when we die. Those "answers" were based on speculation, of course, because they lacked the foundations of scientific inquiry. If it sounded reasonable (Which then begs the question, how can reason evolved from unreasonable beings?) it was taken as fact.

As time wore on, the way the world was viewed changed. People started finding explanations for things which previously had been attributed to these "reasonable explanations" they'd been saddled with for thousands of years. The Earth wasn't flat after all, nor was it at the center of the universe, germs caused infections, not 'vapors", diseases could be prevented and some things even cured them. All of which could happen without any interference or influence from deities.

From the vastness of the cosmos a thousand years ago to sub-atomic interactions today, the places for "God" to hide have grown fewer and fewer as more and more of the way our universe works are revealed to minds more intent on proving their positions with facts than maintaining power over others with lies and myth. The answers to those burning questions are somewhat less than satisfying from a mystical point of view, but it provides us with some realistic perspective.

Where do we come from? We appear to have evolved from minuscule shrew-like semi-mammals over hundreds of millions of years.

Why are we here? See the first question's answer. We're here. If you're looking for direction, try helping mankind without hurting it. That tends to work better for everyone.

What happens when we die? Decomposition. If you're looking for continued consciousness, the odds aren't good for that. There is no factual evidence that humans possess a "soul". There is considerable evidence to suggest that most people can't emotionally deal with the thought of nonexistence and would rather make up more comforting, if completely inaccurate, rationalizations in order to face the inevitability of it.

The bright side is that those who believe in life after death won't be around at all to be disappointed by the likelihood that there isn't any. The problem, of course, is that so many people live to die that they have no qualms about killing or harassing others because of that life after death belief. If we treated each other with the certainty that this life is ALL WE GET, then we may actually be nicer to others because we know our religions are just a pile of mythical BS."



Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013...

We have been able to demonstrate and prove that life can form from nonliving matter. Originally RNA(Ribonucleic acid), a molecular string made up of four basic building blocks, gave rise to DNA(Deoxyribonucleic acid) Which is needed for life. Earth was able to support life with its perfect conditions in the goldilocks zone (The habitable zone for life, which has actually been found on many planets in our galaxy alone). Life was able to rise, but we still don't know the full process of how life formed on our planet, but that does not mean we should fill the spaces in science with God. It is ridiculous to assume that because we have not found full answers, God was responsible for the answers that are currently unknown. After life was formed, genetic mutations through errors in the copying of the genetic code, created changes in species through these mutations. Most mutations do not do anything in an organism, while some are unfavorable, and while others are favorable, giving species traits. Favorable mutations would help a species survive and reproduce through the game of life through these favorable traits, passing on their traits to their descendants. In order to adapt to various environmental conditions, organisms develop into distinct species due to differences in the demands driven by the environmental circumstances also know as natural selection. Different species eventually branch off into other species through mutation (changes in an organisms genes through errors in copying, or natural causes), natural selection (Changes in an organism through the demands of the environment), genetic drift (Changes in an organism through groups of the same species reproducing in an isolated area away from the original species), and gene flow (Change through movement of genes from one population to another). Much evidence supports evolution such as transitional forms in the fossil record, chemical and anatomical similarities, geographic distribution of related species, genetic changes over generations, and more. The fact that we have different forms of dogs in the world, is because of evolution (the change in a species over time). I hope this helped everyone who needed to know