on morals and ethics...
just got done writing a short reflection on an article i read yesterday about morals and behaviors. the author contends that our moral behaviors and ethical choices are the byproduct of biology and evolution -- that we have developed favorable behaviors over time to ensure the advance of our spieces and particular tribe or group. hmmmm...also, his thoughts on religion are essentially that faith is genetic; we created God-myths or stories to explain our existence and lend some worth to what is basically the process of living and dying with no really reason or purpose. he is ok w/ religion, but doesn't place any value beyond the fact that it makes some folks feel better. this article was an assignment the professor gave to challenge us to think through this, in no way does this reflect the views of bethel, zion, the professor, or me! but it sure is interesting stuff to read through and ponder...
so -- i am curious...what convinces you all that this is more than just something we all bought into cuz it feels nice and give us some sort of hope for tomorrow? what around you tells you that God is more than just an evolutionary glitch in the system?
3 comments:
For me, "proof" of God is all around. Go to the zoo and look at the variety of strange-looking animals. The flowers, trees and nature in general speak to me of a creative, beauty-loving God. The birth of a baby is the most profound proof of God to me--it is downright miraculous how it all happens!
People who don't believe in God probably have scientific explanations for all of this. But it's bigger than science! Why have people throughout the ages tried to explain the meaning of life, our existence? Why is it so important for people to have a purpose, a meaning to their lives? God programmed that into us.
I admit, I have a simple faith that believes "because the Bible says so." To think that religion was created to make people "feel better" gives my stomach a knot! It makes me want to pray for all of those who don't recognize our creative, loving, sovereign, faithful God.
Look around today--see evidences of God in nature and on the faces of those you love.
Denise
well... if you buy the idea that morals and favorable behaviors would genetically imprint themselves over the millions and millions of years, why not other memories or languages or such? This thought train could go toward a form of "reincarnation" through genetic imprint, or toward a "programming" similar to that in the Matrix movies... and it still smacks to me of a line of thinking from the "anything but God" school.
Doug
For me it's the little miracles that happen. Many a times driving back to my parents house (3 1/2 hr drive) I would find myself in a daze, to be brought out of it just in time to see that I was about to cross the center line, or head toward the ditch. That to me is God watching over me and getting me home safe to my family. Or the many times I stop my daughter from tumbling down the stairs at the last minute, or catch her from falling when I really didn't see her start to fall. Or the many times my husband has come home and told me about his falls while out riding his bike, some are so bad it's crazy he didn't break anything, or seriously hurt himself.
That's God and his angels keeping our family safe!
I also have to agree with Denise on everything she says, just look around and see all the beautiful things God has created! Yes, there are many out there that have all the scientific explanations....my big question on evolution is....doesn't each species have a different DNA code, how could that evolve from one species to the next?
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