This gem was seen at LOL god.

Does evolution by natural selection rob life of purpose, as so many have feared? The answer is no. On the contrary, Charles Darwin has made it possible to understand how purpose, like life, builds from small beginnings, from the ground up. In a very real sense, evolution creates purpose.

Simply put. No. Evolution does not rob any meaning from life. In fact, evolution only adds to it. He goes on:

Evolution generates problems and solutions as it generates life. Rocks may crack and erode, but they do not have problems. Amoebas and apes do. Natural selection creates complex new possibilities, and therefore new problems, as it assembles self-sustaining organisms piecemeal, cycle after cycle, by generating partial solutions, testing them, and regenerating from the basis of the best solutions available in the current cycle. In time, it can create richer solutions to richer problems.

There’s an amazing process here at work; an amalgam of cycles and paths. It’s not that simple, yet it is. I find comfort in the simplest definition of evolution as well as the more detailed elongated version.

Creationism is off-putting, to say the least. The notion that every species has been hand-molded by clay and/or dirt is an unpleasant thought to me. As a feminist, I find it even more disturbing than as a skeptical atheist. The bible makes it clear that women came after men. However, in the developmental stages, we are all basically the same until differentiation. The biblical order of things places men above women in a crude, unacceptable way. Males and females are different biologically, yet no gender is better or worse.

Evolution speaks to the equality that naturally exists, in addition to purpose.

Darwin’s explanation of evolution by natural selection shocked, and still shocks, because it appears to deny purpose. We think of purpose as something prior to decision and action: I want to raise my arm, and, unless I am paralyzed or restrained, I do. But in fact purpose emerges slowly, in the species and in the individual. My capacity to move my arm in as many ways as I can depends on things like the evolution of forelegs into arms early in the primate line, the evolution millions of years later of a rotating socket in the shoulder of great apes, to enable swinging in trees, and the further freeing up of arm movements after early hominids became fully bipedal. Babies flail their arms uncontrolledly and purposelessly for months before they can direct them in a particular way for a particular purpose.

Before me, I see an amazing process. How we have evolved from cavepeople to revolutionaries to civilized citizens – how we evolve from babies to adults – how we evolve from fearful to fearless in our daily lives. Religion is constantly evolving, as well as art.

Everything rests within evolution’s hands. Evolution is not this big scary stand-alone act, but an intertwining force we encounter in every aspect of our lives.

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Apparently, a bill has been quietly filed by State Sen. Steve Wise [R-Jacksonville] can potentially change the way school teachers in Florida introduce Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

You may remember this hot-button issue from 2008, when Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, and Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, pushed similar legislation after the state Board of Education explicitly mandated the teaching of the scientific theories of biological and chemical evolution.

This language in this year’s bill from Wise is pretty similar to the version pushed last year by Hays – not banning the teaching of evolution, but allowing teachers to question it in science class. Storms had focused her version more on job protections for teachers who criticized the theory.

Here’s what Wise’s bill would require: “A thorough presentation and critical analysis of the scientific theory of evolution.”

Way to go home state. Give me less and less reasons to move back. Ever. As of right now, I have no plans for kids, so I guess it doesn’t affect me personally. Yet the very notion that I don’t want kids leads me to feel concerned about all future generations.

I feel sorry for all teachers out there truly invested in educating kids and young adults. It sort of makes me happy I never became a science teacher (and it was a passing thought once). A friend of mine from Florida is a teacher. She doesn’t teach any of the sciences, but she loves evolution as much as I do.

(Via Pharyngula)

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I’m not really here to debate creationism, though it may seem so. My main goal is to shed light on why evolution rocks all socks.

Creationism directly implies you must accept an entire religious doctrine in addition to a simple theory on the origin of life. Science makes no claims on what your beliefs may or may not be outside the realm of what is proven in a particular instance.

Creationism is not a pleasant thought
It does not make me feel good or happy in the slightest. I find no passion, no honesty, no purpose is such drivel. It assumes that things are as they are and never have changed. How boring! It removes all responsibility from our actions, our free will, as well as nature’s will. It devalues human life and the scientific method (which is everything). If I’m here solely as God placed me and he watches and knows all, what’s the point? Creationism seriously depresses me. It gives no hope for the future, nor a reason to aspire. What creationists refer to as their “free will” is the illusion of free will, much like living in a gated community gives you the illusion of safety. Although it may work at times, a comforting notion will never turn into a truthful one.

First Lesson
I recall my father sitting me down to tell me all about evolution; sadly my teachers never mentioned it (or either “theory”) much. He oversimplified the man-came-from-monkeys spiel a bit, but he was just trying to get his point across. One of his all-time favorite movies is Inherit the Wind, which he believes is a very important movie to see, as do I. Unfortunately, history repeats itself (in that sense).

A Collection of Facts
I didn’t think about evolution much throughout high school and college; I just knew it to be a scientific theory that had been tested and retested. (A scientific theory, by the way, holds more weight than a fact alone – like germ theory – and is not to be confused with the casual use of the term “theory”.)

That is until Bush. I can’t recall the specific moment, but sometime around the address stating creationism should be taught alongside evolution, I began a lengthy cringe. Being somewhat aware of creationism, I had not actually known anyone who claimed to believe in it. I grew up in a reform Jewish community and attended secular public schools. (College – University of Miami – is “private”, but only due to exorbitant costs!) I honestly never heard anyone speaking seriously about creationism until about the Bush era (in my early-mid 20′s). And all of a sudden, as it seemed to me, it was everywhere. I though we already shot this non-theory down in 1926. Oh yeah, they rebranded (to Intelligent Design).

Purpose-Driven Life
Perhaps you can call me the un-creationist. I don’t think I’m quite anti-, for I’m not anti-creationists all together. It’s just the very notion of it that saddens me. Evolution gives human life true purpose. We have come from somewhere and are going somewhere. We have an innate connection with all plant and animal life that envelops us. Inhales and exhales us. We are all connected in a almost a spiritual sort of way, for lack of a better term. It’s the bigger picture that we are all a part, the spectacular journey that guides us.

Our livelihood is aided by the evolution of human traits such as morals. Being a good person solely because of where you think you’ll go when you die, is not morality. That’s just sucking up, like a God’s Pet. Remember how being a teacher’s pet does not (or at least should not) get you all A’s through school, but actually studying, doing well on tests, and positively contributing to discussions will? A true set of morals comes from being faced with a decision, weighing out the possible consequences, and potentially researching for more resources on the topic/situation. Whether one makes a “good” or “bad” decision will help him/her learn, evolve, and grow as to not make the bad decisions again, while continuing with the good ones.

The world is beautiful, but there is also much pain. If a creator created conjoined twins, babies with no limbs, various other mutations, wars, etc is s/he worth praising? It feels wrong to me. If one’s parents did to them what God does to the world, then those parents would be swept up by Child Services immediately.

My life is full of purpose; I have true freedom and true free will. I can aspire to great heights without worrying if its in god’s plans. Or if s/he’ll approve. The beauty of nature and the universe flows through us, a current that never ceases, never spoils. I look out for myself (with the help of my hubby and other close loved ones). I take care of my own body and my own circumstances everyday. The notion of a “purpose-driven life” is currently an Evangelical Christian meme, but should it be?

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(As seen on Reddit)

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The list includes things such as:

A pile of sand, Pi, and Their Own Children.

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UPDATE: The site had moved.

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This video is satire. Do you think its a bit too subtle?

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