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Author Topic:   J.C.Sanford: Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome
kartasik
Junior Member (Idle past 6188 days)
Posts: 2
From: Boulder CO USA
Joined: 05-18-2007


Message 34 of 55 (401056)
05-18-2007 2:58 AM


Dr. Sanford's book was easy reading
I enjoyed Dr. Sanford's little book up until he suddenly flopped into Biblism. Up until that point he dealt with facts and demanded evidence. Suddenly when he reached the topic of the book by Yahweh the War God (Exodus 15:3) he ceased to demand evidence or provide evidence. It was really a blot - as I was hoping to hand this book to some folks I thought should read it. Just because the Primary Axiom may fail is no reason to suddenly jump into another farfetched scheme. Even were I still a Christian I would rather he had left that part out and allow his earlier scientific arguments to make the religious case for him - as anyone who knows the Bible could make their own connections. Had he not added his faith stuff in, the book could easily have been used in a classroom in State schools. But by making his pathetic Christian appeal he made sure that will not happen.
First understand that I was an atheist with a background in geology who was converted to Christ in 1978, but only because of my studies in geology - not because of a marriage problem. I was later trained and became a preacher and was a Christian for 27.5 years. I had created what I call my vast plexus of excuses to explain away all the Bible's myriad problems in my head and preaching (and I knew more such troubles than most Christians or even atheists). But then in Sept. 2005 I studied a section of O.T. scriptures (in the Law) that I often read - mechanically - but had not really paid attention to since they are little observed by today's churches. It was part of a medical issue study. Suddenly I realized that I had run up on a flaw in the Bible at its very foundation that was going to checkmate my efforts to explain it away. It was and still is something never brought up by Bible hating atheists! The Flaw can't be defended because it relates to simple medical science. In one day my faith was shattered and the rest of my vast plexus fell in too. I mentioned it to two other Christians and in about 2 hours their long faith was reduced to tears and sorrow (one of those people was on meds by the next year). It was so powerful because it rips the heart out of the foundation that Christ used to hang the law and prophets upon (that should tell you what book it is in).
Well anyway I resolved not to mention it to other Christians. Why destroy lives and homes? Since I was not under the Bible injunction to teach the world any longer why should I bother with trying to un-teach Christians? I am still not an atheist, but even an atheist really has no reason join in silly anti-Bible crusades (unless they are politically motivated - like a Communist).
But this changed when I read that silly, poorly written Christian polemics that Sanford decided to stuff into his book just so churches would plunk down money for his pocket. It had no business in there. So, I sent the guy my dreaded verses - the Christian meltdown verses. Since he is a scientist I am fairly certain he won't easily dodge that bullet. I mean many Christians may - since they don't read or really believe the Bible anyway. But those who are serious and logical will not easily dodge this bullet. I kind of felt ashamed I sent it to him...because let's face it, it trashed my life, place in my family, and much more. I suppose I was just pissed that he used such poorly worded arguments to support the Bible at the end of his book. Even a young Sunday School teacher could have done better there. And it just ruined the book.
Edited by kartasik, : No reason given.
Edited by kartasik, : No reason given.
Edited by kartasik, : No reason given.

Replies to this message:
 Message 35 by PaulK, posted 05-18-2007 7:54 AM kartasik has replied

  
kartasik
Junior Member (Idle past 6188 days)
Posts: 2
From: Boulder CO USA
Joined: 05-18-2007


Message 36 of 55 (401237)
05-18-2007 6:44 PM
Reply to: Message 35 by PaulK
05-18-2007 7:54 AM


Re: Dr. Sanford's book was easy reading
First lol - and greetings,
I was amazed by your smugness and that of the article. For the writer to have read a whole 30 pages! And from that to have found faults in Sanford’s book when he answered many of those faults in later chapters was very humorous. ”Could it be that Sanford twisted everything’ just because he is a Bible thumper? - or so suggested the great Averendo. But he did not even begin to answer Sanford and I doubt many institutions of learning will use this Blog for their answer to Sanford. Though I have noted that many silly net musings on various forums have. I have seen Dawkins use many of the same types of arguments to make the case for evolution as Sanford used to make against it. As for men having preconceived notions - such as your own self - or certainly Averendo, who felt so worked up he had to fire off attacks on a book he had barely started, (and in his reading he certainly was not open minded but was looking for any tiny flaw to pounce upon). Averendo tried to insinuate that Sanford’s right to a religious belief has forever compromised his scientific abilities, when in fact it is obvious that Averendo has his own preconceived religion - of a type - that forever bars him from truly judgingSanford fairly.
The truth is - once I tossed out the Bible I was completely open to evolution - and in fact I was even open to it as a preacher - since one can twist the Bible to fit a symbolical shroud to fit over modern science. Since I personally HAD used the Book of Enoch in my own Bible, using manuscript A - I understood the earth and universe to be a minimum of 10,000,000 years old, with a likely upper limit equal to what geology and astronomy calculates. And even now I was hoping or have been hoping, that a real scientific rebuttal of Sanford would be already on the net - and in fact it was the search for this that brought me here by mere chance.
Having finished Sanford’s book I found Averendo’s pathetic attacks - some filled with personal innuendos - greatly lacking any merit. I still look forward to a SERIOUS rebuttal of Sanford, and not just one build around half facts, dates, and attacks on the merits of religion in general. I found Averendo’s page to be a cartoon. Certainly in my own field of geology such a rebuttal would have been considered a joke.
No doubt you read my sentence: “Just because the Primary Axiom may fail is no reason to suddenly jump into another farfetched scheme.” And you assumed that I completely sided with his thesis. Actually I was speaking as what should have been HIS (Sanford's) point of view and my main point concerned his silly sally into Bibledom. I found many things in Sanford’s work lacking - and have questions I intend to have answered SERIOUSLY. For example his whole thesis for humans revolved around monogamous mating - something that was rather recently introduced by civilization into the world of man, first by the Greeks/Romans (though in name only), then by the ancient German tribes (again name only), and then by the Church (again in name only). The truth is many men, if not most, through out mankind’s long history really were not monogamous - while women generally were forced into polygamy.
Secondly Sanford no where even mentions what civilization is doing to human selection - sadly most scientists always fail to realize the full impact of civilization (as for example believing that humans are incredibly smart, when in fact it is the force-multiplier of civilization that leads to this illusion). Thus, Sanford totally fails to include what the chemical pollution and body burden of toxic substances has on the speed of the break down of modern human DNA. Nor does he go into the full impact of the data noise civilization is creating in human selection. (By the way all this also impacts the animal kingdom as well as the microscopic world.)
If one reads the first half of his book one could almost come away believing in the evolution of bacteria and especially virus’. He nowhere deals with the DNA alteration humans pick up from virus’.
In any event I do hope science does finally quit shying away from the credible assault Sanford made, especially since it is mainly a series of quotes from dyed in the wool evolutionists - some quite recent by the way. I hope they don’t do what men like Dawkins loves to do - just fall into personality attacks and mud slinging. I do tire of science’s paranoia of the stupid Bible!! Certainly geology suffered massively because of this silly paranoia - resisting things like plate tectonics or asteroid created astroblems - simply because they were afraid of the terms ”large change’ or ”catastrophe’, and that because they feared the silly Bible. Always looking in fear behind one is NO WAY TO DRIVE A CAR, or guide science forward. Forget the silly Christians and such like and pursue TRUTH. I advised Dawkins to stop wasting his time trying to argue Christian polemics like a half-educated theologian, and to deal the Bible a deathblow to the jugular by simply using science - as in archaeology - which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Bible is false. Just kill it and move on. But he persists in his silly anti-religious tirades, which in my opinion actually gives religions strength and ammunition to argue with.
So personally I care less if evolution is as science says it is, or is not as Sanford says, or MORE LIKELY is something that neither side has yet discovered. Truth to tell I believe it possible that atomic physics will likely come through to biologist’s rescue - as my daughter works with a professor at CU that has discovered something in plants that totally defies the laws of thermodynamics and has caused a small stir with physicists she knows. Sanford was right about this - nothing in science truly has AXIOMS or should. Everything should be questioned and continually. Had I not be of that mind I would still be a Christian.
Based on the total lack of material or mechanical causation for how tree cells arrange themselves and alter their character - I personally believe there will be discovered a universal substrate - no doubt built of other dimensions that will show that what we call intelligence is really just another force waiting to be discovered. We admit that our particles could be energy in another universe. Perhaps our entropy - information destruction - is an upward evolution in another universe as well, while the entropy in the other universe is upward evolution - ”information creation’ - in ours. Such a condition could appear in waves or in periodic surges. I am still hoping to learn more about what my daughter’s biology professor discovered.
Edited by kartasik, : No reason given.
Edited by kartasik, : No reason given.
Edited by kartasik, : clearing up a point

This message is a reply to:
 Message 35 by PaulK, posted 05-18-2007 7:54 AM PaulK has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 37 by PaulK, posted 05-19-2007 8:28 AM kartasik has not replied
 Message 38 by sfs, posted 05-19-2007 9:23 AM kartasik has not replied
 Message 40 by Dr Adequate, posted 05-20-2007 7:45 AM kartasik has not replied

  
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