Re: SFN Fan Mail “Your Visit with Gish”
To: Tommy Huxley
From: John Fillmore
Date: Unknown
WHY DON'T YOU LEARN SOME REAL SCIENCE? EVOLUTION CAN'T BE A REAL
SCIENCE BECAUSE IT CAN'T BE PROVEN WRONG.
EVERY TIME A CREATIONIST FINDS A PROBLEM THE EVOLUTIONIST SWEEPS IT
UNDER THE RUG.
HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS.
HOW DID THE EYE FORMED? BY RANDOM CHANCE! DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. HUM.
HOW DID MATTER FORM WITHOUT A GOD?
HOW DOES EVOLUTION EXPLAIN THE BRAIN?
ALL YOU SKEPTICS FROM JAMES RANDI DOWN THE FOOD CHAIN ARE AFRAID OF
PEOPLE WITH GREAT IDEAS. THE ICR IS ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED
INSTITUTIONS IN THE WORLD.
GISH IS A GENIUS AND A MAN OF GOD.I HAVE ANOTHER QUESION FOR YOU. HAVE
YOU EVER READ THE GENESIS FLOOD? GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE AND AS HARD
AS THE ATHIESTS TRY TO BLOCK THAT THE MORE JESUS LETS THE LIGHT SHINE
THROUGH.
I MAKE MY LIVING AS AN INVENTOR. I KNOW WHAT SCIENCE IS ALL ABOUT. I
HAD TO EXPLAIN THESE FACTS TO SOME OTHER SKEPTICS.
ANYWAY, IF YOU WANT TO REALLY ARGUE THE POINT ABOUT EVOLUTION TRY BOB
ENYART - HE WILL KICK YOUR BUTT.
I HOPE YOU SOMEDAY SEE THE LIGHT AND COME TO THE LORD.
YOURS IN CHRIST
To: John Fillmore
From: Tommy Huxley
Date: Unknown First, I want to thank you for your response. I appreciate all feedback, whether good or bad, because everybody’s opinions count.
After reading your letter, I’m only annoyed with your broad, sweeping judgments. I wish my critics would focus their disagreements over specific details instead of spouting broad absolutist beliefs, but I’ll try to answer your diffuse points individually.WHY DON’T YOU LEARN SOME REAL SCIENCE? EVOLUTION CAN’T BE A REAL SCIENCE BECAUSE IT CAN’T BE PROVED WRONG. Evolution is the process of change over time and self-evident in the natural world. Therefore, it is a science. Even creationists don’t argue with that, although they minimize biological changes to artificial limits that appeal to their notion of Biblical conformity.
For example, they claim that after Noah’s ark landed on Mt. Ararat, God supernaturally induced rapid, helter-skelter “microevolution” of created kinds in the animal kingdom to account for the millions of species that exist today. After all, we have 2,700 different species of snakes, 900 species of bats, 37,000 species of spiders, and a quarter million species of beetles. And these different “species” can’t interbreed.
Obviously, they couldn’t all fit on that ark! So creationists invented their own theory of evolution that blows away anything Charles Darwin ever conceived of. Creationists believe their definition of evolution is “real science.” So if godless Darwinists and religious fundamentalists alike believe that evolution is a real science, then your objection is moot.
But if you’re still not convinced, why don’t you subscribe to the Journal of Molecular Evolution and keep abreast of the latest scientific breakthroughs? Or do you believe that all molecular biologists revel in a global satanic conspiracy?EVERY TIME A CREATIONIST FINDS A PROBLEM THE EVOLUTIONIST SWEEPS IT UNDER THE RUG. Could you be more specific? From my experience, creationists “sweep problems under the rug.”
For example, I heard John Morris, President of the Institute for Creation Research, brag on Christian Radio the other day that “evolutionists” can’t account for the paucity of short-period comets in our solar system.
“Where do they come from?” Morris asks breathlessly, “if our universe is billions of years old?”
Actually, short period comets originate in the Kuiper belt. And astronomers have discovered and catalogued 37 separate Kuiper belt objects, which is amazing when you consider their lilliputian size and enormous distance from the Sun. Obviously, there must be billions more that we can’t see.
But John Morris “sweeps all that under the rug” and pretends it doesn’t exist. Poor John!HOW DID MATTER FORM WITHOUT A GOD? Again, evolution only discusses the process of change over time!
I’ll repeat it again: change over time!
Evolution doesn’t attempt to explain how life or the universe began! Even if God did create matter, energy, space and time through one ad hoc miracle, that wouldn’t negate biological evolution at all! It’s a completely separate topic!HOW DID THE EYE FORM? BY RANDOM CHANCE! DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. HUM. Actually, the eye has evolved over and over again throughout the animal kingdom. We’ve discovered enormous optical varieties. We’ve even found primitive invertebrates thriving next to hydrothermal vents on the seafloor with only the most rudimentary light-sensitive sensory organs. Therefore, the natural history of the eye is easily traced.HOW DOES EVOLUTION EXPLAIN THE BRAIN? What kind of explanation are you looking for? Could you be more specific?
I don’t know if this helps, but the fossil remains of hominid skulls reveal that our brain size steadily increased over time.ALL YOU SKEPTICS FROM JAMES RANDI DOWN THE FOOD CHAIN ARE AFRAID OF PEOPLE WITH GREAT IDEAS. THE ICR IS ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED INSTITUTIONS IN THE WORLD. On the contrary, most people believe that the Institute for Creation Research is a weird, spooky anachronism — even other Christians. And the members of that organization invent bizarre, unbiblical appeals to Biblical authority. Henry Morris’ explanation that the craters on the moon are collateral damage resulting from a battle between Satan and Michael the Archangel is just one of many examples!
But I’m confused about James Randi being on the food chain. Is he being stalked by cannibals?GISH IS A GENIUS AND A MAN OF GOD.I HAVE ANOTHER QUESION FOR YOU. HAVE YOU EVER READ THE GENESIS FLOOD? You mean the book by Henry Morris and John Whitcomb, first published in 1961? Yes, I’ve read it. But that book’s theory of how The Deluge accomplished hydrodynamic sorting of the geologic column is paranormal pseudoscience.
I doubt that God admires a man like Duane Gish, who lies more often than Bill Clinton. After all, God claims that he “detests lying lips, but delights in men who are truthful.” (Proverbs 12:22)GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE AND AS HARD AS THE ATHIESTS TRY TO BLOCK THAT THE MORE JESUS LETS THE LIGHT SHINE THROUGH. I’m confused. What are you saying? Are you appealing to masculine religious authority? Metaphysical threats to the unrepentant? I’m lost.I MAKE MY LIVING AS AN INVENTOR. I KNOW WHAT SCIENCE IS ALL ABOUT. I HAD TO EXPLAIN THESE FACTS TO SOME OTHER SKEPTICS. You’re an inventor? What have you patented lately?
Do you really know what science is all about? Maybe you can “EXPLAIN THESE FACTS TO” me.ANYWAY, IF YOU WANT TO REALLY ARGUE THE POINT ABOUT EVOLUTION TRY BOB ENYART - HE WILL KICK YOUR BUTT. Who is Bob Enyart? And why would he assault my rump?I HOPE YOU SOMEDAY SEE THE LIGHT AND COME TO THE LORD. What LORD are you talking about? Yahweh? Since I’m one of those infidels who “love darkness rather than light” (John 3:19) I doubt I’ll ever see the light.YOURS IN CHRIST You don’t sound like “mine in Christ.” On the contrary, you sound menacing and scary!
But thanks for writing!
To: Tommy Huxley
From: John Fillmore
Date: Unknown
I APPRECIATE YOUR RESPONSE TO ME. I KNOW YOU WON'T CHANGE MY MIND
ABOUT EVOLUTION, I HOPE I CAN CHANGE YOURS.
I AM CURRENTLY WORKING ON A ENERGY MACHINE, SIMILAR TO THE NEUMAN
MACHINE. I HAVE NOT PATENED ANYTHING YET.
I WORK WITH ELECTRONICS. ALL SELF-TAUGHT.
BUT BACK TO YOUR ARGUMENT ABOUT THINGS CHANGING OVER TIME. I READ THAT
IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN TRILLIONS OF YEARS TO FORM A MOLECULE THAT
REPLICATED ITSELF.
SINCE THE EARTH IS 4.5 BILLION YEARS OLD IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE
TO HAVE HAPPENED BY CHANCE.
EXACTLY WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING, TOM?
AND I AM NOT MENACING OR SCARY. I AM A 60-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO HAS SEEN
HIS BETTER DAYS. BUT I FEEL WHEN I SEE THIS STUFF ON THE INTERNET THAT
I MUST STAND UP AND COMPLAIN.
YOU SEEM LIKE A SMART MAN, MR. HUXLEY AND IT JUST SEEMED LIKE A SMART
PERSON LIKE YOU WOULDN'T FALL FOR THIS STUFF.
I KNOW YOU PEOPLE THINK I AM A RELIGOUS FANATIC. AND YOU'RE EXACTLY
RIGHT: I AM!!!
LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION ON EVOLUTION:
IF EVOLUTION SELECTS A MUTATION THAT BEST FITS THE PATICULAR
ENVIROMENT, THEN EXPLAIN HOMOSEXUALITY.
WHY WOULD THERE BE HOMOSEXUALS, THEY DON'T REPRODUCE?
OR IS THIS A LEARNED TRAIT?
ANYWAY, YOU HAD THE GUTS TO ANSWER ME AND I APPRECIATE IT.
YOUR IN CHRIST
To: John Fillmore
From: Tommy Huxley
Date: Unknown Thanks again for your response. I’ll try to answer some of your points, briefly.I READ THAT IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN TRILLIONS OF YEARS TO FORM A MOLECULE THAT REPLICATED ITSELF.
SINCE THE EARTH IS 4.5 BILLION YEARS OLD IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE HAPPENED BY CHANCE. The fossil record suggests that complex organisms existed almost as long as the Earth itself (geologically speaking).
And yes, that’s a good mystery. And since science is a fallible human endeavor, it obviously can’t explain everything. But there are two considerations you should keep in mind.
First, creationists have a tendency to multiply probabilities instead of adding them, which bloats their figures. For instance, they assume that life arose through singular events placed end-to-end instead of side-by-side. Life most likely originated through cumulative events, not single-step events, so you can’t take their probabilities for granted.
Second, nobody knows what the composition of the Earth was like 3.5 billion years ago. It’s impossible to design an experiment that duplicates exotic environmental factors that are now obsolete.
But again, that doesn’t negate biological evolution. When you examine the solid, tangible, physical evidence, the earliest fossils show only single-celled organisms. And when you trace the fossil record through time, life forms show more gradual complexity than the plants and animals that lived before them. In other words, they changed.
That’s what scientists mean when they claim that evolution is a fact. Life changed through time. That’s no longer in dispute. Evolutionists only theorize about how these changes occurred, not if they occurred, and that’s where the “controversy” dwells.
A lot of people appeal to intuitive, gut feelings that life on Earth, and the structure of the universe in general, shows evidence of intricate, complex, supernatural design. That it couldn’t just “happen” without a master plan.
And guess what? I sympathize with that gut feeling. When I pick up a Carolina Wolf Spider, and examine its intricate, bio-mechanical construction, my own intuitive feeling is, “somebody must have thought this thing out before putting it together.”
That’s why I’m an agnostic instead of an atheist. I admit that I don’t know everything. And I’m open to the suggestion that an unknown force influences reality, which is also known as the “anthropic principle.”
But some Christians boast, “if the universe shows evidence of design, then by default, that designer is Yahweh, and that proves the entire Bible is divine rather than human in origin, and completely infallible in every detail.”
That’s a groundless leap of logic. There are so many contradictions, inconsistencies, and fallacies in the Bible that it’s often its own worse enemy. And I don’t make that claim idly. I was raised a Southern Baptist, and I know the Good Book through and through.
And not too long ago, I was listening to The Bible-Answer Man show on Christian radio when its host, Hank Hanegraaff, said, “Evolution is an adult fairy tale. That’s all it is! A fairy tale!”
Excuse me? Isn’t the Biblical creation story equally vulnerable to such accusations?
According to Genesis chapter three, a perfect naked man and a perfect naked woman, living alone together in a tropical garden paradise, brought death and destruction on the entire human race because they ate a piece of magical fruit from the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.”
Ooooohhhh, that evil knowledge!
And this happened after Eve was seduced by a talking serpent that spoke flawless Hebrew.
And after God pronounced disproportionate judgment for this dinky offense, he kicked them out of the Garden. And then, he posted a cherub, wielding a giant flaming sword, to guard the entrance so that the two can’t sneak back into the Garden, eat another piece of magical fruit from the “Tree of Life,” and attain immortality, becoming like God!
Earlier, you said that I “seem like a smart man and wouldn’t fall for this [evolution] stuff.” Well, look at the “stuff” you fall for! Doesn’t that make us even?EXACTLY WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING TOM? I’m a computer nerd at a medical company. I know that’s evasive, but since I live in the buckle of the Bible Belt, I try to retain some anonymity. I also love to read books about astronomy and natural history, among others.LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION ON EVOLUTION.
IF EVOLUTION SELECTS A MUTATION THAT BEST FITS THE PATICULAR ENVIROMENT, THEN EXPLAIN HOMOSEXUALITY?
WHY WOULD THERE BE HOMOSEXUALS, THEY DON’T REPRODUCE?
OR IS THIS A LEARNED TRAIT? Since I’m not gay, I don’t have special insight into what sexually attracts people to members of their same sex. I’ve asked some of my homosexual friends when they first realized they were gay, and typically, they’ve said it occurred when they were nine or ten years old.
And they’ve told me that this secret attraction brought on feelings of guilt, isolation, and sometimes suicidal depression, so I don’t believe this is a lifestyle that people willingly choose.
 If you’re really interested, there’s a book by Chandler Burr called A Separate Creation: The Search for the Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation, that examines homosexuality from such disparate scientific fields as neurobiology, genetics, endocrinology, and psychology. It’s a fascinating read.
As for evolution “always” selecting the mutations that best fit their environments, that’s not true. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have mass extinctions. Bad things happen, naturally, and happen without justification.
Again, thanks for writing.
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