Dear Rebecca,

science is based on observing things and testing things. For example you can observe what happens if you stand up, hold a spoon out and let go. I predict that the spoon will move rapidly toward the ground and hit it. I don't need any faith to make that prediction and neither do you to test my prediction.

We have observed and documented, in real life, populations of things such as cows and wheat changing from one generation to the next. With shorter lived things like microbes, flies and lizards we have seen and recorded the development of novel abilities and the split into separate species. No more faith is required to accept the fact of evolution than to accept that things fall toward the ground.

Observing, recording, predicting and testing is a process called science. Science is not faith based, it is based on critical thinking and skepticism.

As for the "discovery" of Noah's ark, I'm sorry Rebecca but many people have discovered various Noah's arks and none of them are actually any such thing. The most recent one, the one you linked an article to, is about the discovery of a vaguely boat shaped formation of rocks with a not too old goat herders hovel at one end. The "discoverers" made a big deal about there being straw in the "cabin". Do you have any idea what 3 to 4 thousand year old straw should look like? The straw in the photos was less than a year old. And unless the ark was made out of granite the "discovery" is not the hull of the fabled ship.

Returning to science again, a global flood of the magnitude described in the bible, would leave a visible layer in the rock strata world wide with pretty specific properties. There is no such layer. Never mind the fact that there is not enough water on or in the Earth to flood the entire planet to that level. Again, this is just observable, verifiable fact and not faith.

Your lack of understanding or ability to think these things through is an example of a very poor science education. Your lack of knowledge is taken advantage of by the web sites you linked to. Those sites contain out right lies that can be shown to be false, and the site owners know this. I would hope that you wished more for your children, or at least would have the decency not to wish such poor education onto other people's children.

Dear Rebecca,

With respect, I don't think you see your own inconsistency...

1. "the Aboriginal dream time is already taught ... not as a fact"

But I asked if you had a problem with it being taught as fact, as your Christian creation myth is being taught. You've changed the terms of my question!

So you're ok with your mythology being taught as fact, but other CONTRADICTORY myths should not be. I may be preaching to the choir, since I re-read your post and it seems you agree that RE should be kept out of primary school, but to suggest creationism is "common" to all cultures when in fact you believe all the myths except yours are crap is a bit disingenuous!

2. "And are you suggesting that God created smallpox - is this where you ditch your science to blame God for everything? "

Are you serious? I don't believe in God, so why on Earth do you even suggest I'm blaming a fictitious character for anything at all?? That makes no sense.

It is in fact you who suggested God intelligently designed smallpox. You said all the evidence of the world points to it!

I'm merely enquiring what it was about Smallpox that led you to the conclusion that God intelligently designed it? That's all. If you don't want to answer that difficult question, I completely understand why. ;-)

@Rebecca, cont'd...

3. "'Slave' means employee/worker and 'ox' means possessions"

Funny, I thought "slave" meant "slave" and "ox" meant "ox". Go figure!

Ah, but I see! When you said the 10 commandments were "timeless", you actually meant "timeless" in the sense that they need to ne constantly updated and re-written by people such as you in order not to go out of date.

That sort of "timeless", huh?

4. "You totally missed the point, our socio-economics are made up of respect for all regardless of sex, age, skin"

Ours, ideally, sure.

But I think you've missed the point of your Bible, Rebecca... If you'd have read it, you would know that it teaches that women are worth less than men, slavery is condoned, gays and fortune-tellers are to be killed, and non-believers smited. And the list goes on... do you want more counter-examples?

In fact, women are expressly forbidden from teaching, and are instructed not to hold any authority over men, so I don't know what you think you're even doing here offering your apparently worthless woman's opinion on any of these matters to a superior man such as myself!

You may, of course, CLAIM that your Bible teaches "respect for all" until you're blue in the face, but simply stating blatant falsehoods doesn't make them true, Rebecca!

5. "Ask a lawyer where our legal system originated."

I just did, and he told me that despite Christians trying to retro-fit their commandments into the development of our legal system, legal historians actually agree that the greatest influence on modern legal systems was Greek and Roman, and not biblical.

6. "get up with the times."

By Odin's beard, the irony is delicious!!

Being told to "get with the times" by a woman who thinks some ancient "best-guess" that mankind was created from dirt and a rib using magic is MORE accurate than facts revealed by nearly 3000 subsequent years of rigorous, unbiased scientific investigation into these questions!!

Good one, Rebecca!! You nearly made my head explode! haha.

Rebecca Many many believe they have seen Alien Spaceships (UFOs ) many people believe they have met aliens and been kidnapped by them.

if you ask them they are 100% sure of what they have seen and experienced.

Does that mean that aliens and UFOs are real ?

Unless and untill they provide some credible form of proof their beliefs are not scientifically valid are they ?

Same with your Ark argument the person who was looking for an ark and found something he believes 99.9% is an ark does not make it a fact does it ?

Not untill he can provide some decent science based proof.

Most people believe Pharos ruled Egypt and that they built Pyramids and they have an overwhelming amount of supporting evidence.

Some people believe aliens in spaceships built the Pyramids but they can produce no evidence at all.

What theory should we believe ? The one that has supporting evidence or the one with no evidence ?

As for seeing and believing in creationism I see the same things as you I see the natural wonders of the earth and universe. I see evolution and physics at work.

I have scientific evidence to support my visions and beliefs. I am sorry but creationism fails to produce any evidence of any supernatural supreme being other than faith and belief.

If you can produce the same massive weight of science based evidence to support creationism then please post it and we will review it.

I have studied for some 30 years now and I cannot find any convincing arguments .

Thanks, Rebecca, for mentioning the creation.com site. It's a good one for combatting false ideas, such as evolution being somehow demonstrated and beyond questioining.

Dan Dare,
Observing, recording, predicting and testing help make the process we call science. What we observe is that things like microbes, flies and lizards always remain things like microbes, flies and lizards. We don't observe them evolving into anything else. Record it, predict it, and test it as much as you like, but you'll always end up with microbes, flies and lizards.    

--

RI, which includes the gospel teachings, is currently in schools as a reflection of our spritual heritage and part of our cultural history, which many see as valuable for our society going forward.

It could be compared with other intrusions into the standard curriculum, such as Anzac Day memorials and AFL football clinics, which are also valued by many.

When the author describes the atheists as militant, that is rather emotional language. Yet in their fervent determination to expel from our institutions what they see as the foreign invaders, some atheists demonstrate their passion for their preferred creed; just as Joshua who cleared out the enemy from the promised land, or cleansed the temple of its foreign idols and gods.