Henry Rollins On Evolution...

[ChefChiTown]

This isn't anything new, but I've been re-watching a bunch of Henry Rollins videos and this clip about evolution vs. religion is just 100% spot on.

Enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QMFQ22erKI&feature=related

 

[bigmac]

I'm a Catholic Christian and I have to say that there is no way that you can rule out the theory of evolution. I know people personally that believe that the Earth is a few thousands of years old. I mean they have scientific research that have found bones that date back Millions of years.
Seems crazy to me.

 

[calpoon]

I don't always agree with him, but he always has something interesting to say. He seems like a really cool guy that would be fascinating to have a conversation with.

 

[calpoon]

I mean they have scientific research that have found bones that date back Millions of years.
Seems crazy to me.

carbon dating isn't perfect, and neither is the fossil record. Some relative dating techniques like tree-rings can come very close. The truth is that it's pretty much impossible to know the exact age of the earth, for one reason because not all parts of it are the same age.

But what I can't understand is how anyone is going to come up with a good argument against the speed of light in a vacuum. I mean it's not that complicated, if you are looking at a star that is a million light years away, then the universe has to be at least a million years old.

But i guess that's the good thing about an omnipotent God, He can do things that make no sense. So I'm sure all the fundies would just argue that He put all the stars there after he made the earth (like it says in the bible) and then somehow stretched all the light waves out so that Adam wouldn't have to wait a few million years to see them.

 

[D-rock]

carbon dating isn't perfect, and neither is the fossil record. Some relative dating techniques like tree-rings can come very close. The truth is that it's pretty much impossible to know the exact age of the earth, for one reason because not all parts of it are the same age.

Every scientific measurement has a certain margin for error and each one depending on the method used and the accuracy of the equipment can only go to so many significant figures, but all measurements on the age of the solar system and the Earth are easily accurate enough to say with almost complete certainty that they are billions of years old.

 

[Wainkerr99]

Wow. I wouldn't want to talk to him. He would probably shout me down, then clobber me. That oh so typical fade haircut already puts me off.

Rollins. Didn't he play bass? I remember his mug on the cover of an English guitar mag.

Yeah yeah I used to buy help from guitar mags. Sheesh you try work out "MTV" by Dire Straits all on your ownsome when you don't have all day. He was shown on the cover standing there arms folded looking fierce.

You know what I find about anti-God activists? They are so angry. Really aggro. Funny huh?

I hate those effing God loving effers. I EFFING HATE THEM. HATE HATE HATE HATE. KILL THEM. KILL KILL KILL.

Then we can all live happily ever after in peace and harmony. All man's troubles problem and difficulties would magically disappear.

Just like that.

Now, THAT is scary. It is scary that the majority of people are becoming so filled with rage and hate that they will turn into ravenous wolves.

And yet my entire life I have been surrounded by so many loving people in church. With a very few exceptions.

All variety, difference of opinion, moral standard and code can once for all be put away. He whines about "God" being in the American Constitution, yet it is godless as they come. They have kept the strictest of rules and thrown out mercy, forgiveness and understanding. After all, those are godly, Biblical qualities. Can't have those now, can we?

He goes on about issues like gay rights and evolution. Man, that is so '90's. If he is going to get angry he needs to stop trying to get people to believe what they want, to conform with the new way of thinking of the 21stC when Man has finally triumphed and solved all the problems of the Universe, sorted out how to enter computer code and whatever other dazzling achievement Man the Awesome has well, achieved, and, again, spend time doing some real good like, oh I dunno, planting a tree or 500.

Or write a nice children's storybook.

As for evolution. Let me just say. We have been given brains. We don't need some raging ex muso to tell us to use them. If people don't want to realise that the Universe is billions of years old, that is their problem. Life will go on and discoveries will be made anyway. It doesn't need to be a rough ride, for God's sake.

Mind you he didn't have the best time growing up. Lot of rage there.

 

[calpoon]

Rollins. Didn't he play bass? I remember his mug on the cover of an English guitar mag.

No he was a singer.

And yet my entire life I have been surrounded by so many loving people in church. With a very few exceptions.

Yeah, because you are one of them. You're at their church listening to their bullshit when they pass around the collection plate, why would they have a problem with that? that's exactly what they want. It's all of the people that don't agree with them that they condemn to hell and God's (loving) wrath.

We have been given brains. We don't need some raging ex muso to tell us to use them.

Agreed. And we don't need the church to either. Rollins isn't saying that you can't believe what you want to, he says right up front that the bible and religion is for having faith where there are no answers... but what religious people (Christians) want to do is deny people the answers that they don't like. Not all religious people believe in a monotheistic creator. There are millions of Hindus and Buddhists and Pagans and all sorts of people but they are content to keep their beliefs in their spiritual houses and out of the public education system that is supposed to be teaching kids facts not beliefs.

 

[Wainkerr99]

Umm sorry I'm a bit confussed here. Maybe I'm just very tired. How did the Muslim, the Buddhist etc actually become so unless they were told?

As for the collection plate = love thing. I quite often did not have money. I went to church in a different country. Admittedly since coming here to the States I am quite wary of going to church. Not to blame Americans specifically, but there seem to be some really whacked ideas and ways here.

I wouldn't want to go to a bar or club either, for fear of being beaten to a pulp, deafened, shot or just plain bored to tears.

Anyway I get what you are saying. It is just so hard to know who to trust anymore. Sound like an old Neil Young song! ("A Maid"). I do not automatically trust gov just because they suddenly throw the baby out with the bathwater.

 

[bustybbwlover]

nah he was the singer in black flag and rollins band. is everyone ready for a rough century? america torturing people, genocide in darfur, israel and the palestinians at it again, a worldwide economic meltdown...and we're not even out of the first decade yet

 

[calpoon]

Umm sorry I'm a bit confussed here. Maybe I'm just very tired. How did the Muslim, the Buddhist etc actually become so unless they were told?

They weren't told in public school, at least not in the US. Probably the same way as everyone else they were brainwashed by their parents for 18 years, or else they became a crackhead or went to prison and decided an image makeover was in order and religious groups were the only section of society that didn't think they were pieces of shit. Funny isn't it that fags and scientists are going to hell, but the church is A Ok with repentant child molesters. Some of them are even part of the clergymen.

 

[calpoon]

For the record, I'm not all that cool with Buddhists either, although for the most part they are more laid back then others. But the Dali Lama, who fled into exile and from the safety of his nice cushy house denounced his fellow Tibetans for defending their homes and thier lives when they were being massacred by the Chinese.

So no, I don't think the world would suddenly be sane and peaceful if all religious dogma stopped being preached, but I do think it would help.

But let's not stop there. How about we get rid of any Ideology that says you have to kill or die for it, other than to protect yourself and your loved ones.

I guess you'd call that wishful thinking.

 

[E-Ann-Hilden]

Wow. I wouldn't want to talk to him. He would probably shout me down, then clobber me. That oh so typical fade haircut already puts me off.

Rollins. Didn't he play bass? I remember his mug on the cover of an English guitar mag.

Yeah yeah I used to buy help from guitar mags. Sheesh you try work out "MTV" by Dire Straits all on your ownsome when you don't have all day. He was shown on the cover standing there arms folded looking fierce.

You know what I find about anti-God activists? They are so angry. Really aggro. Funny huh?

I hate those effing God loving effers. I EFFING HATE THEM. HATE HATE HATE HATE. KILL THEM. KILL KILL KILL.

Then we can all live happily ever after in peace and harmony. All man's troubles problem and difficulties would magically disappear.

Just like that.

Now, THAT is scary. It is scary that the majority of people are becoming so filled with rage and hate that they will turn into ravenous wolves.

And yet my entire life I have been surrounded by so many loving people in church. With a very few exceptions.

All variety, difference of opinion, moral standard and code can once for all be put away. He whines about "God" being in the American Constitution, yet it is godless as they come. They have kept the strictest of rules and thrown out mercy, forgiveness and understanding. After all, those are godly, Biblical qualities. Can't have those now, can we?

He goes on about issues like gay rights and evolution. Man, that is so '90's. If he is going to get angry he needs to stop trying to get people to believe what they want, to conform with the new way of thinking of the 21stC when Man has finally triumphed and solved all the problems of the Universe, sorted out how to enter computer code and whatever other dazzling achievement Man the Awesome has well, achieved, and, again, spend time doing some real good like, oh I dunno, planting a tree or 500.

Or write a nice children's storybook.

As for evolution. Let me just say. We have been given brains. We don't need some raging ex muso to tell us to use them. If people don't want to realise that the Universe is billions of years old, that is their problem. Life will go on and discoveries will be made anyway. It doesn't need to be a rough ride, for God's sake.

Mind you he didn't have the best time growing up. Lot of rage there.

Yes, the Leader singer of Black Flag, a seminal SST lable hardcore punk band from LA. Yes, he is a smart, but still angry man.

 

[Will E Worm]

I'm a Catholic Christian and I have to say that there is no way that you can rule out the theory of evolution. I know people personally that believe that the Earth is a few thousands of years old. I mean they have scientific research that have found bones that date back Millions of years.
Seems crazy to me.

carbon dating isn't perfect, and neither is the fossil record

All the "dating" systems have been proven inaccurate and need to stop being used. They tried carbon dating on a live snail and it registered as millions of years old. Evolutionist= fail. :tongue:

Also, Catholicism= Catholic, not Christianity.

 

[Icewater Jones]

I dunno... I don't understand why we as humans have such a difficult time accepting easy answers. Nobody really know the answers for sure, but is the 'God created the heavens and Earth' just way to simple? Could God have created the evolutionary process? Could the evolutionary process have created God? The one thing I do know is that the consequences for not being in God greatly outweigh the the consequences of not believing in evolution. Whether factual or not, I'd much rather take my chances believing in God. For me, my trust in God makes the beginnings and origins of all things irrelevant.

 

[calpoon]

Everything in the bible has been proven inaccurate and needs to stop being used.

Also, Catholicism= Catholic, not Christianity.

Catholics don't believe in Christ?

This is probably the dumbest thing you've ever said.

Actually, sadly, it probably isn't.

 

[bustybbwlover]

that's a common one tho, for some reason lots of christians don't consider catholics to be christians. i'm at a loss as to why.

 

[Dean Wormer]

All the "dating" systems have been proven inaccurate and need to stop being used. They tried carbon dating on a live snail and it registered as millions of years old. Evolutionist= fail. :tongue:

Also, Catholicism= Catholic, not Christianity.

Who are "they"? Where can I find this piece of information?

 

[calpoon]

Who are "they"? Where can I find this piece of information?

Here They are.

 

[Boothbabe]

Evolutionist= fail. :tongue:

It makes much more sense that some imaginary being with superpowers created by people in dark and uncertain times to give themselves some hope created the earth :1orglaugh

 

[TwatDetective]

Catholics don't believe in Christ?

This is probably the dumbest thing you've ever said.

Actually, sadly, it probably isn't.

I'm not positive, but I think it's because:

-Alot of protestant Christians see the Pope, saints, and Mary as too important in Catholicism and a form of idolatry.

-They think the Bible is the final word of God and not a man (the pope.)

-Catholics think being good and getting baptized are necessary to going to heaven, which is not at all compatible with the view that asking God to forgive your sins is enough and being good and getting baptized are only to please the lord and show the world your love for him.

The catholic church's focus seems to be on the catholic church and not Christ.