Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Deism

2007-06-23T00:30:27Z

PassingFancy: spelling

The founder of '''Deism''' was [[Lord Herbert of Cherbury]]. <ref>http://www.theologicalstudies.org/what_is_deism.html</ref> He came up with 5 essentials of Deism which are "(1) a belief in the existence of the Deity, (2) the obligation to reverence such a power, (3) the identification of worship with practical morality, (4) the obligation to repent of sin and to abandon it, and, (5) divine recompense in this world and the next"<ref>http://www.iep.utm.edu/d/deismeng.htm</ref>

Dictionaries' definitions of '''deism''' include:
:The belief, based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation.<ref>American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition</ref>
and
:"a movement or system of thought advocating natural religion, emphasizing morality, and in the 18th century denying the interference of the Creator with the laws of the universe."<ref>Merriam-Webster online: [http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/deism deism]</ref>

The Catholic Church would denounce Deism as a Heresy in the 1500s, for it's rejection of the divinity of Jesus Christ, the importance of the church, and eschewing the idea of Divine Intervention. While Lord Herbert would found the movement, by the 1800s his arguments were largely demolished by the philosopher Locke and his deconstruction of the concept of an 'Innate Truth'(Upon which much of Herbert's views on Deism were founded).

Matthew Tindal is generally credited with the modern incarnation of Deism and that practiced by the Founding Fathers who were Deists. "God designed all Mankind should at all times know, what he wills them to know, believe, profess, and practice; and has given them no other Means for this, but the Use of Reason."

Deism would enjoy a brief rise in the Western world through the 1800s, but by the early 20th century, it was on the decline. The Unitarian movement would absorb most of it's teachings and eventually produce the Unitarian Universalists. Deism today is a mixed bag without dogma or teachings beyond the idea that one should employ Reason to understand the universe. As a result, Deists who believe in Divine Intervention, Intelligent Design, and many other ideas that would have been alien to the earlier Deists are now around.

==Deism and the Founding Fathers==
While almost all of the Founding Fathers were devout Christians, some it is believed were deists, at least according to some definitions of the term.

A famous deist in early American history was the Englishman [[Thomas Paine]], who espoused deism and popularized the term in his book [[The Age of Reason]]. It is believed this had an influence on deism in the colonies. [[Benjamin Franklin]] wrote in his autobiography about an earlier period in his life,
<blockquote>Some books against Deism fell into my hands; they were said to be the substance of sermons preached at Boyle's Lectures. It happened that they wrought an effect on me quite contrary to what was intended by them; for the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to me much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist.</blockquote>

Franklin later repudiated many of his earlier views and he believed in a God that "ought to be worshiped," and at the [[Constitutional Convention]] less than three years from his death [[Benjamin Franklin]] advocated public prayer. He praised [[Christianity]], but his letter to Ezra Stiles a month before his death was noncommittal as to the divinity of Jesus: <blockquote>"As to [[Jesus]] of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of Morals and His Religion as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see.. I have, with most of the present Dissenters in England, some doubt as to his Divinity; tho' it is a question I need not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect Soon an opportunity of knowing the Truth with less trouble. I see no harm in its being believed, if that belief has good consequences, as probably it has, of making his Doctrines more respected and better observed."</blockquote>

Another [[Founding Father]] described as a deist was [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Jefferson personally struggled with the divinity of Christ and produced an edited version of the Gospels, later known as the [[Jefferson Bible]], which contained only the moral and ethical teachings of Jesus and omitted third-person accounts of his life, particularly the accounts of the miracles.

Ten years from his death Jefferson stated that "[The Jefferson Bible] show that I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call me infidel, and themselves Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its Author never said nor saw."<ref>Jefferson, Letter to Charles Thomson, January 9, 1815</ref>

The closer Jefferson approached his death, the more Christian he appeared. He read the Bible daily as the end grew near. His grandson described Jefferson as follows:<ref>Thomas Jefferson Randolph, undated letter to biographer Henry S. Randall, reprinted in Masfield et al., ''The Real Thomas Jefferson'', p. 321.</ref>

:He was regular in his attendance [at] church, taking his prayer book with him. He drew the plan of the Episcopal church in Charlottesville, was one of the largest contributors to its erection, and contributed regularly to the support of its minister. I paid, after his death, his subscription of $200 to the erection of the Presbyterian church in the same village. A gentleman of some distinction calling on him and expressing his disbelief in the truths of the Bible, his reply was, 'Then, sir, you have studied it to little purpose.'"

----

'''Sources:'''<references/>

==See Also==
:[http://thedcl.org/christia/s/stephwill/agodeieg/agodeieg.html An Account of the Growth of Deism in England] by William Stephens.

[[Category:Religion]]

Other gods

2007-06-23T00:28:33Z

PassingFancy: spelling, formatting

As opposed to [[g-d]], other '''gods''' have been proposed throughout the history of mankind. The term g-d is applied in a general sense to any deity that is worshiped as part of a theistic belief system.

== Other G-ds in the Bible ==

The Jewish and Christian Bibles contain references to more than just the Jewish and Christian G-d(Hereafter referred to as G-d with a large G to avoid confusion).

== Genesis ==

Early translations of the opening text of Genesis use a distinctly different word to describe the being responsible for enacting Creation than G-d, who first appears in the Garden of Eden with Adam. Attempts to translate the word literally get little more than a word approximately meaning 'The Power'.

G-d in the Garden of Eden often uses the plural, (Genesis 1:26) 'And G-d said, let us make man in our image.', (Genesis 3:22) 'And the Lord G-d said, Behold, then man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.' (Genesis 11:7) 'Let us go down, and there confound their language.'. This is occasionally explained as use of the 'Royal We'.

== Exodus ==

The Egyptian gods are referred to several times, never as nonexistent. (Exodus 12:12) 'And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.' (Exodus 15:11) 'Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?' (Exodus 18:11) 'Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods.'. The implication is that G-d is greater than any single member of the Egyptian pantheon, not that the gods worshiped by the ancient Egyptians don't exist. Furthermore, the Magi, empowered by those gods, are able to produce plagues of their own.

The Commandments are the clearest: (Exodus 20:3, 5) 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me. ... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.' G-d makes it clear while other g-ds may or may not exist, the Israelites are not to worship them before Him, or to serve them.

Other laws also make it clear that other g-ds may or may not exist, but the penalties for worshipping them are harsh: (Exodus 22:20) 'He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.' (Exodus 23:13) 'Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.' (Exodus 23:24) 'Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.' (Exodus 23:32) 'Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.' (Exodus 34:14) 'For thou shalt worship no other g-d: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous G-d.'

The strangest section on multiple gods in Exodus is this law: (Exodus 22:28) 'Thou shalt not revile the gods.'. Despite strong prohibitions on the worship, naming, or serving of other gods, one is not to revile them.

== Psalms ==

(Psalm 82:1) 'G-d standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the g-ds.' (Psalm 86:8) 'Among the g-ds there is none like unto thee, O Lord.' (Psalm 96:4) 'For the Lord ... is to be feared above all g-ds.' (Psalm 97:7) 'Worship him, all ye g-ds.'

==Notes==
It is claimed that [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], and [[Judaism]] worship the same G-d in different ways. This claim is regarded by some as a way to convert Jews, Christians and Muslims to Mormonism, since it supports the idea that [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic religion]] has "grown" from Judaism to Christianity to Islam to Mormonism.<ref>http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm</ref> However, many are skeptical of this idea.<ref>http://www.letusreason.org/Islam6.htm</ref>

Regardless of the lack of historical data regarding the origins of any of these religions, the mythological links between them are clear. It is a tenet of the Jewish religion that all Jews descended from Abraham (indeed, in order to convert to Judaism one must complete an 'adoption' ritual for the house of Israel); as Jesus is regarded as Jewish, the growth of Christianity as an offshoot of the Jewish religion is clear. In a similar fashion, Muslims claim to be descended from Abraham by way of Ishmael.

==Short Story==

Horror writer [[H.P. Lovecraft]] once wrote a short story called ''"The Other Gods."''

==References==
<references/>

Creation week

2007-06-23T00:03:35Z

PassingFancy: spelling

The '''Creation Week''' is the seven days described in the [[Bible]] during which God created the universe, including the day of rest. The length of time that people believe Creation Week to take is a good test of orthodoxy.

The Bible does not of course say that each day was 24 hours, because hours are a later human invention, but there is sufficient reason for believing the days to be normal days. These reasons include:
* The Hebrew word ''yom'' (day) must mean a normal day in the context of Genesis 1. In Genesis 1, each day is numbered and used with the words "morning and evening".
** ''Yom'' only ever means a normal day when used with a number.
** ''Yom'' only ever means a normal day when used with "morning".
** ''Yom'' only ever means a normal day when used with "evening".
* God used the seven days of creation as a basis for keeping the [[sabbath]] every seven days, in the [[Ten Commandments]].
* Each day is ''defined'' as comprising a morning and an evening.

That the passage describes normal days is the consensus of the experts. Professor James Barr, former Oriel Professor of the interpretation of the Holy Scripture at Oxford University, wrote:
<blockquote>...probably, so far as I know, there is no professor of Hebrew or Old Testament at any world-class university who does not believe that the writer(s) of Genesis 1–11 intended to convey to their readers the ideas that: ... creation took place in a series of six days which were the same as the days of 24 hours we now experience ... Or, to put it negatively, the apologetic arguments which suppose the "days" of creation to be long eras of time ... are not taken seriously by any such professors, as far as I know.<ref>Letter from Professor James Barr to David C.C. Watson, quoted in [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/943/ Should Genesis be taken literally?] by Russell Grigg, ''Creation'', vol. 16 No. 1 p. 38.</ref></blockquote>

==The Sabbath Rest==

The common literary feature of the creation week is that it is broken down into days. Different English translations have different styles in the English, but the main feature is the way the creation week is broken down into listed days. The following is the last verse in the first creation day.

:Genesis 2:1-3 And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.

This change in literary structure is important because it conveys an idea that is found in several other Bible stories: The seventh day is still continuing, it never ended.

The theology behind this change in literary structure is important. Mankind was created in day six, likely the last thing created in that day. Mankind then fell. God, in his mercy is at rest in this day of mankind's fall, but he is working doing one thing: Rescuing fallen mankind.

== Notes ==
<small><references /></small>
[[Category:Creationism]]

Commonwealth

2007-06-20T18:03:58Z

PassingFancy: Spelling

'''Commonwealth''' is a term used to describe a state where the supreme power is vested in the people[http://www.lva.lib.va.us/chat/FAQ.htm#commonwealth].

The Commonwealth of [[England]] was the term used to describe the republican state created by the Cromwellians from 1649 until the restoration of the [[British]] [[monarchy]] in 1660[http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/timelines/commonwealth.htm].

The title Commonwealth occurs in the formal names of several [[US]] states, such as [[Virginia]], [[Massachusetts]] and [[Pennsylvania]], and is similarly used by the US territory of [[Puerto Rico]].

Commonwealth also appears in the name [[Australia|Commonwealth of Australia]]. In every day use the Australian federal government and its agencies are referred to as the Commonwealth.

The most common modern reference to commonwealth refers to the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], an organisation whose members were, with a few exceptions, formerly part of the [[British Empire]].

Michael C. Thompson

2007-06-20T18:00:20Z

PassingFancy: Grammar

[[Image:Thompsonmc.jpg|thumb|right|Congressman Thompson]]
'''Michael C. "Mike" Thompson, M.C.''' has the Representative since 1999 for [[California]]s First Congressional District and was a California State Senator (1990-1998). He is a [[liberal]] [[Democrat]] and [[Roman Catholic]] who is [[abortion|pro-choice]].
==Early Life and Education==
Thompson was born in [[St. Helena, California]] on January 24, 1951 and graduated from St. Helena High School. He served in the [[United States Army]],during 1969-1972, and was stationed in Vietnam where he was wounded in action, receiving a [[Purple Heart]]. In 1982, he received a Bachelor of Arts from Chico State University. He went back to Chico State University to receive a Master Degree in 1996.
==Career==
The Congressman owned and managed Beringer Winery prior to his political career. He also taught public administration.

==Family==
His spouse is Janet Thompson, a [[family nurse practitioner]]. They have two children.
==State Senate==
Thompson was nominated to the 1990 Democratic ticket for State Senator, 2nd District and won the election. He was reelected in 1994. He was selected to chair the Budget Committee and sponsored the Welfare Reform Act. Due to term limits, he was ineligible for reelection in 1998, and instead ran for the open U.S. Representative seat. He was replaced by [[Wesley Chesbro]].
==Election to the House==
In 1998, Thompson was nominated to the Democratic ticket to face incumbent [[Frank Riggs]]. Due to public discontent with the policies of his predecessor and his popularity as a State Senator, Thompson won the election and was duly sworn in on January 3, 1999. After being elected, he founded the [[Congressional Wine Caucus]], which is designed to make Congressmen aware of the concerns of the winemaking industry.
==Record==
The fact that he is [[Catholic]] and pro-choice has led to some controversy, however he has managed to win re-election in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006. In the House, he has managed to secure a seat on the Ways and Means Committee, which has authority over revenue bills and the Intelligence Committee where he chairs the [[Terrorism]] Subcommittee. He tends to toe the party line on most issues.

==Passenger Bill of Rights==
In 2007, he introduced the Airplane Passenger Bill of Rights, a bill that if passed, would require airlines to allow passengers to deplane after delays over three hours. It would require water and food to be distributed as well. Currently it is still stuck in committee.

==Popularity==
Congressman Thompson enjoys considerable popularity among his constituents. This is due to the pork he has brought to the District, both in grant money and projects, as well as the fact that the Democratic party enjoys and has enjoyed a majority of the voters in the First District.

==Links==
[http://www.mikethompson.house.gov Official Website]<br>
[http://fec.gov Federal Election Commission — Campaign Finance Reports]
[[Category:US Representative]]

Meerkat

2007-06-20T17:57:28Z

PassingFancy: Grammar

'''Meerkats''' are members of the mongoose family who can be found in the Southern Africa/Kalahari Desert. They have white bellies and dark markings around their eyes that act as "sunglasses" to protect their eyes from the sun. A group of meerkats is called a "mob" or a "gang," and they live in communal, grass-lined burrows. They are small animals, weighing less than two pounds with a body length of 10 to 14 inches.

The name "meerkat" came from the Dutch settlers. The Dutch "meerkat" and German "Meerkatze" refer to the guenon, a monkey of the ''Cercopithecus'' genus -- early settlers incorrectly believed that the meerkat, with its long tail and ability to stand upright, was a small type of monkey.

Meerkats live in sprawling underground tunnels, often taking over abandoned termite mounds or tunnels originally constructed by the Kalahari Sand Moccasin, a snake native to the region. As they are so small, meerkats must protect themselves from a variety of predators, and to do so have created a complex interdependent social structure. Both male and female meerkats hunt for food, while other male/female pairs stay behind and protect the young, weaving protective blankets from the grass that lines their burrows in which they cocoon the young meerkat pups. If the burrow is attacked by a snake, jackal, enemy meerkat gang or grizzly bears, the adult meerkats roll the ball-encased young out the back entrance of burrow, running along on their hind legs and pushing the pup-balls to safety.

Because of their long, nimble toes that resemble fingers, African tribesmen once called meerkats ''mishumaa saba,'' which means "little man with finger-hands." Meerkats are extremely dexterous, and can eat a variety of insects including scorpions, as they are immune to their venom. They also eat most desert beetles, and line their burrows with the shells for insulation. When a male meerkat hopes to mate with a female meerkat, he brings her gifts of beetle shells to decorate her burrow, in hopes of impressing her. Meerkats also use their hand-like paws to communicate with each other using a form of sign language.

== Meerkats in the Bible ==

Meerkats, because of their relation to weasels, are among the animals listed as unclean in Leviticus 11:29:

''These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.''

Many non-Christians revere the meerkat, creating multi-million dollar displays for them at zoos and wildlife parks, and they were celebrated in the Discovery Channel TV show "Meerkat Manor." While most Christians are neutral on the subject, many believe that all contact with meerkats should be avoided because of biblical strictures.{{fact}}

John Avery Whittaker

2007-06-20T17:55:13Z

PassingFancy: spelling. grammar

'''John Avery Whittaker''' is a fictional character on the Christian radio drama [[Adventures in Odyssey]]. He is an old grandfatherly figure who owns an ice cream shop/discovery emporium called [[Whit's End]]. He is quite rich but doesn't live in a wealthy manner. He used to be voiced by [[Hal Smith]] until he died in 1994 of a heart attack. In 1996 [[Paul Herlinger]] took over his voice and still does. During the time while there was no voice for Whit the character worked in an archaeological dig in the middle-east.

While creating the character it was decided he would be the central character. Therefore, a biography called "John Avery Whittaker: A History" was written to help define the character's history and experiences (some of them would be retold in flashback form.) According to the biography he was born October 1 (no given year) in Aberdeen, Scotland. He and his family moved to Durham, North Carolina. He graduated from Durham High School and enrolled in Duke University and majored in philosophy and literature. Three units before graduation he was drafted into the navy and trained as a signalman. He received a purple heart for bravery during the battle of Guadalcanal. He was honorably discharged from the navy during September 1945. After returning to America he worked at the Pasadena Library where he met Jenny (Guinevere) Morrow. He courted and later married her. Their marriage produced Three children: Jeremiah ("Jerry"), Jana and Jason. He became the President of Universal Encyclopedia, which he remained until 1971. In 1970, Whit's son, Jerry, was reported missing in action during the Vietnam. Whit moved his family out of Chicago to Odyssey. Whit was a teacher until his wife, Jenny, died. He left to Nebraska to recuperate until he decided to buy an old building called the Filmore Recreation Center. He turned it into an old ice cream/discovery emporium called [[Whit's End]]. He remained in Odyssey for the most part until he decided to go on an archaeological dig in the middle east for about a year. He returned to Odyssey where he has, for the most part, remained to this very day. <ref> [[The Complete Guide to Adventures in Odyssey]], by Phil Lollar, Focus on the Family Publishing, 1997. </ref>

<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, John Avery}}
[[Category:Fictional characters]]

Clarence Thomas

2007-06-20T17:26:42Z

PassingFancy: Spelling, grammar

[[Image:Thmas.jpg|right]]
The Honorable '''Clarence Thomas''' is an [[Associate Justice]] of the [[U.S. Supreme Court]].

Justice Thomas is highly respected by legal scholars for adhering to an interpretation of the [[U.S. Constitution]] based on its original text, meaning and understanding, which has included limiting federal powers. His judicial doctrine finds no basis in the [[U.S. Constitution]] for abortion, [[Roe v. Wade]], homosexual rights, federal interference with state sovereignty, the [[Dormant Commerce Clause]] and constitutional limits on punitive damages. He has utilized and trained more conservative law clerks than any other Justice. He has an unblemished record of service on the Court since 1991 and has never had to recuse himself from a case due to activity off the bench or investments. He is often compared to Justice [[Antonin Scalia]].

==Early life==
He was born in Savannah, [[Georgia]] on June 23, 1948.

== Appointment to the United States Supreme Court ==
In 1991, upon the death of Justice [[Thurgood Marshall]], President [[George H.W. Bush]] nominated Clarence Thomas to fill the newly vacant seat. Supporters of abortion desperately opposed his nomination.

Radical [[leftist]]s attempted to block Thomas' nomination to the High Court through a persistent series of public [[guilt by association]] smears. [[Chip Berlet]] of [[Political Research Associates]] noted that Thomas was on the editorial board of the ''Lincoln Review'', a quarterly black conservative publication of the Lincoln Institute. Berlet issued a rather dubious ''ad hominem'' attack which claimed "it is a far right group that has worked in coalition with… fascist and anti-Semitic groups," and goes on to “link” Lincoln Institute head J. A. Baker with the Indiana Ku Klux Klan by virtue that Baker is on the board of the Council for National Policy and another board member is supposedly a former Klan member. <ref>[http://www.theroc.org/roc-mag/textarch/roc-07/roc07-13.htm ''A Few Facts About Clarence Thomas,''] Chip Berlet, Political Research Associates, Cambridge MA, 1997.</ref>

In a flagrant violation of the rules of the [[Senate]] <ref>[http://www.loc.gov/rr/law/nominations/thomas/debates.pdf Congressional Record -Senate, 102nd Congress, October 7, 1991], Vol 137, Part 18, p. 25706. </ref>, staff members <ref>[http://www.uiowa.edu/~030116/153/articles/brock01.htm ''The Real Anita Hill''], David Brock, Harper Collins, 1993.</ref> for a sitting [[Democratic]] member of the Judiciary Committee leaked a routine confidential FBI background report to [[Nina Totenberg]] of [[National Public Radio]] (NPR) <ref>[http://backissues.cjrarchives.org/year/92/1/thomas.asp The Clarence Thomas Hearings], by William Boot, ''Columbia Journalism Review'', January/February 1992.</ref> which contained a vicious defamatory smear intended to mar Thomas for life. The accusation was known to be false, and was concocted to publicly intimidate an African-American Republican from accepting an appointment to the nations High Court, and derail his nomination. None of the allegations could be substantiated. The deliberate falsehoods did however persuade former [[Ku Klux Klan]] Democratic Senator [[Robert Byrd]] to change his vote from "yes" for confirmation to "no".

Thomas was confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 52-48, which was at the time the narrowest confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee in history.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:US Judges]]

Charles Darwin

2007-06-20T17:07:24Z

PassingFancy: spelling

[[Image:darwin.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Charles Darwin]]
'''Charles Robert Darwin''' (12 February 1809 - 19 April 1883) was a famous naturalist born in England. He is best known for the the [[Theory of Evolution]] by Natural Selection which has since been almost universally accepted by secular scientists as the foundation of modern biology. The concept is that organisms are modified over vast amounts of time by naturally occurring processes, originating from common ancestors that lived tens of millions of years ago. Outside of evolution in particular, he was regarded as an expert on barnacles, as well as being credited with discovering how coral [[atoll]]s were formed.
==General Biography==
Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England in 1809 to his parents Dr. Robert Darwin and Susannah Wedgewood. Darwin's mother was a religious woman but his father was, for the most part, a weak deist. Despite his lack of theistic religious belief, Darwin's father allowed Charles to be baptized into the Anglican Church and encouraged him to become a clergyman. Darwin's mother died in 1817. In 1825 he went on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. There, he became horrified with the brutality of surgery before anesthesia was invented and quit his medical studies. In 1831 he graduated from Christ's College at Cambridge with a BA degree in the classics and theology. On December 27 of the same year he departed on the ''HMS Beagle'' for a five year voyage of exploration. The ''Beagle'' returned to English shores on October 2 1836. In 1837, Darwin drew his now famous depiction of common ancestry in the form of a branching tree <ref>Charles Darwin, Transmutation Notebook B 1837:36</ref>. The following year he discovered the concept of ''natural selection.'' Darwin insists that naturally occurring phenomena and factors working together in blind tandem have produced nature and eventually mankind. However, he originally based the idea of human evolution on a racist assumption<ref>Milton, Richard ''Shattering the Myths of Darwinism'' 1997:186,287 says "Darwin [was] openly racist"</ref>, [after God was rejected as Creator], made in the late 1830s<ref>Barlow, Nora (editor) ''The Autobiography of Charles Darwin'' 1958:130</ref>, that Fuegians (natives of Tierra del Fuego) resembled primates that he had observed in the London zoo<ref>Larson, Edward J. ''Evolution: The Remarkable History Of A Scientific Theory'' 2004:66,67</ref>. In 1842 he wrote out a ''sketch'' of his theory but did not publish it. Again, in 1844 he produced what is known today as an ''essay'' of the same theory more developed but he still chose not to publish. Finally, in 1859, Darwin publishes his famous theory about how life may have been produced without any aid from a Divine Creator, he titles his book: ''On The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection Or The Preservation Of Favoured Races In The Struggle For Life.'' In 1871, well after his theory enjoyed widespread success, Darwin published his ideas on human evolution in a two volume book titled ''Descent of Man.''

==Religious Views==
[[Image:CharlesDarwin.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Charles Darwin in 1880 at the age of 71.]]
Charles Darwin likely abandoned Christianity as a student when he disappointed his father by refusing to become a minister. As an adult he was an [[atheist]]<ref>Mayr, Ernst ''One Long Argument'' 1991:75</ref>. In 1859 (at the age of fifty) Darwin published his famous book ''The Origin of Species''. "In order not to hurt the feelings of his friends and wife, Darwin often used deistic language in his publications" <ref>ibid. 1991:75.</ref>. According to Darwin the "manifestly false history of the world" <ref>ibid. Barlow 1958:85.</ref> as recorded in the Old Testament and New Testament miracles led him to reject Biblical veracity <ref>ibid. Barlow 1958:85-87.</ref>. Eminent Darwin biographer, Professor Janet Browne, sums up Darwin's views concerning religion: Darwin "mapped out a comparative evolution of the religious sense, proposing that religious belief was ultimately nothing more than a primitive urge to bestow a cause on otherwise inexplicable natural events...In short, he made no secret of his view that he did not believe religion to have any rational foundation at all" <ref>Browne, Janet ''Charles Darwin The Power of Place'' 2002:341</ref>. When he died in 1882 at the age of seventy-three, Darwin was buried at Westminster Abbey next to Sir [[Isaac Newton]].

There exists in hostile Darwin literature a story about a Christian called Lady Hope who visited and spoke with a dying Charles Darwin. This appears to be merely a legend, and there is no evidence that Lady Hope ever converted or even visited Darwin on his deathbed. <ref>http://www.carm.org/evo_questions/deathbed.htm</ref>

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Biology]][[Category:Evolution]]

Genetic engineering

2007-06-20T16:56:30Z

PassingFancy: grammar

Work done by American geneticist [[Barbara McClintock]] showed that [[gene|genes]] could jump between DNA strands. Biologists can now transfer genetic information from one organism to another. For example, genes that produce a protein that stops deep-water fish from freezing in the [[Antarctic]] can now be put into transgenic tomatoes, potatoes, and tobacco, to make them more resistant to frost.<ref>http://www.biobasics.gc.ca/english/View.asp?x=795</ref>

==Controversy==

*The shadow of [[eugenics]] hangs over today's debates about genetic engineering and enhancement. Critics of genetic engineering argue that human [[cloning]], enhancement, and the quest for [[designer children]] are nothing more than "privatized" or "free-market" eugenics. Defenders of enhancement reply that genetic choices freely made are not really eugenic-at least not in the pejorative sense. To remove the coercion, they argue, is to remove the very thing that makes eugenic policies repugnant.
*Sorting out the lesson of eugenics is another way of wrestling with the ethics of enhancement. The [[Nazis]] gave eugenics a bad name. But what, precisely, was wrong with it? Was the old eugenics objectionable only insofar as it was coercive? Or is there something inherently wrong with the resolve to deliberately design our progeny's traits? [http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:MoOFUWPq3V4J:web.mit.edu/writing/fee/2004_FEE_June_Readins.html]

===Opinions in favor of genetic engineering===

Some people believe that modifying food crops to improve the [[vitamin content]] or make them resist [[drought]] or herbicides will provide the world with more and better food.

Genetically engineered [[bacteria]] can produce human [[insulin]] for [[diabetes|diabetics]]. Scientists hope they will be able to use it in the future to cure DNA errors that cause illnesses such as [[muscular dystrophy]] and [[cystic fibrosis]]. Cures though, are not yet imminent.

===Opinions against genetic engineering===

Other people believe we know far too little about the consequences of altering plants in a way that is impossible in nature. They think it is too high a risk to let such plants loose in the environment where they might cross-breed with other plants and cannot be recalled if it is clear that the effects are harmful. There have been suggestions that one of the causes of the dramatic drop in the population of [[bee|bees]] is the use in the USA of genetically-modified crops that are resistant to herbicides.

Many people are worried that if people are ever designed genetically, the human race could change in ways we cannot foresee. Most countries still have laws to prevent scientists researching genetic engineering in humans.

==References==
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[[category:science]]