Home-schoolers learn to critique evolution

Evolution is so well proven, by various lines of argumentation and evidence, that it is noncontroversial. New Testamant scholarship is different. Many moderate people assume that the broad outlines of the NT are true, and that the specifics are suspect. Conservative evangelicals tend to regard all aspects of the gospel stories as being literally true, then they work from that presupposition. Secularists and many other historians assume that the gospels are fiction- in other words, pseudobiographies, and that even if Jesus, Paul, Peter and the others were real people, it can never be proven as such. The problem with the historical Jesus motif is that very scant evidences outside of the canonical gospels and the other gospel literature even exist to be evaluated.
As far as evolution is concerned, 100 years ago, more people believed, percentage-wise, in a very old Earth than do today. 50 years ago, a higher % of US adults believed in a very old Earth. As of now, 15% of all American adults believe in a flat Earth.!!!
It will take generations of improved science education to reverse a trend that has been rolling the wrong way since the Niagra Bible Conference in 1870. And I do not know how to improve science education.
IMHO

Katie wrote:

<quoted text> To FossilBob hello you can say that again iam sure that there are more interesting finds yet to come both on this planet and other places in the solar system.PS FossilBob iam also interested in astro-geogology

I'm no expert on the subject, but have been an amateur astronomer for most of 6 decades:)

And...as I tell my astronomer\friends... astronomy is just geology "up there" :)

FossilBob wrote:

<quoted text>
I'm no expert on the subject, but have been an amateur astronomer for most of 6 decades:)
And...as I tell my astronomer\friends... astronomy is just geology "up there" :)

To FossilBob hello Well you are an amature astronomer so am i i have been since i was about 5 or 6.FossilBob a friend at UMIST has informed me that you will be able to see the brightest supernova for 40 years with just a pair of binoculars.The supernova is 21 million light years a way in the Great Bear constellation and should be visible in 7-10 days.I will be watching out for that one to show my children an exploding star.You are right astronomy is just geology up there.Iam going to start a thread on the geology of the solar system iam going to cover all the planets and their moons with information about geology and weather systems ect. I will start it tomorrow.PS stick around for a good read.

Katie wrote:

<quoted text>To FossilBob hello Well you are an amature astronomer so am i i have been since i was about 5 or 6.FossilBob a friend at UMIST has informed me that you will be able to see the brightest supernova for 40 years with just a pair of binoculars.The supernova is 21 million light years a way in the Great Bear constellation and should be visible in 7-10 days.I will be watching out for that one to show my children an exploding star.You are right astronomy is just geology up there.Iam going to start a thread on the geology of the solar system iam going to cover all the planets and their moons with information about geology and weather systems ect. I will start it tomorrow.PS stick around for a good read.

Hadn't heard about a supernova; will have to check up on it:)

REALLY busy right now with new grandson, our "kids'" move to a new house, class...

FossilBob wrote:

<quoted text>
Hadn't heard about a supernova; will have to check up on it:)
REALLY busy right now with new grandson, our "kids'" move to a new house, class...

To fossilBob hello have you heard the latest from UMIST?Astronomers have found a planet made purely from diamond.The planet 4000 light years away is around 40,000 miles in diameter 5 times that of the Earth.The planet is thought to be all that remains of a once massive star that collasped and was crunched down into crystalline.Dr Benjamin Stappers of Manchester University said'We have never seen anything like this before.'Producing such exotic planets is the exception rather than the rule and requires special circumstances'.The planet orbits a tiny but super hot pulsar that is just 25 miles across but has a mass of 1.4 times that of the sun.The planet orbits its pulsar every 2 hours and 10 minutes.The planet was detected by a team of radio astronomers working in Australia,Hawaii and Jodrell bank just outside of Manchester.(The radio telescope at Jodrell bank belongs to UMIST)Interesting discovery FosillBob what do you think?Well i guess that proves you right when you said that astronomy is geology but up there.

FossilBob wrote:

<quoted text>
I'm no expert on the subject, but have been an amateur astronomer for most of 6 decades:)
And...as I tell my astronomer\friends... astronomy is just geology "up there" :)

To FossilBob hello i have came across this artical in the journal Nature.Most of the worlds gold came from a huge bombardment of meteorites around 4.3 billion years ago scientists believe.And there are enough precious metals at the Earths core to cover the planet with a layer over 12 ft thick.A study of ancient rocks has found.Most precious metals have been added to our planet by a lucky coincidence,said Bristols university,s Dr Matthias Willibold.

Katie wrote:

<quoted text>To FossilBob hello i have came across this artical in the journal Nature.Most of the worlds gold came from a huge bombardment of meteorites around 4.3 billion years ago scientists believe.And there are enough precious metals at the Earths core to cover the planet with a layer over 12 ft thick.A study of ancient rocks has found.Most precious metals have been added to our planet by a lucky coincidence,said Bristols university,s Dr Matthias Willibold.

I'll grab a shovel, meet you somewhere, and we'll start digging!:)

I'll have to read up on that... we do have a nice big metal core!

FossilBob wrote:

<quoted text>
I'll grab a shovel, meet you somewhere, and we'll start digging!:)
I'll have to read up on that... we do have a nice big metal core!

To FossilBob hello i agree with you i will also fetch a spade and we'll start digging.Now when we get down to the core we'll stake our claim were rich rich beyond our wildest dreams ££££££££$$ here it comes.PS FossilBob did you see the Super Nova the other night me and my children did.

thomas wrote:

Evolution is so well proven, by various lines of argumentation and evidence, that it is noncontroversial. New Testamant scholarship is different. Many moderate people assume that the broad outlines of the NT are true, and that the specifics are suspect. Conservative evangelicals tend to regard all aspects of the gospel stories as being literally true, then they work from that presupposition. Secularists and many other historians assume that the gospels are fiction- in other words, pseudobiographies, and that even if Jesus, Paul, Peter and the others were real people, it can never be proven as such. The problem with the historical Jesus motif is that very scant evidences outside of the canonical gospels and the other gospel literature even exist to be evaluated.
As far as evolution is concerned, 100 years ago, more people believed, percentage-wise, in a very old Earth than do today. 50 years ago, a higher % of US adults believed in a very old Earth. As of now, 15% of all American adults believe in a flat Earth.!!!
It will take generations of improved science education to reverse a trend that has been rolling the wrong way since the Niagra Bible Conference in 1870. And I do not know how to improve science education.
IMHO

Goretti's Gorilla's ?

Katie wrote:

<quoted text>To FossilBob hello i agree with you i will also fetch a spade and we'll start digging.Now when we get down to the core we'll stake our claim were rich rich beyond our wildest dreams ££££££££$$ here it comes.PS FossilBob did you see the Super Nova the other night me and my children did.

Cloudy lately; should be good viewing in about 3-4 days:)

FossilBob wrote:

<quoted text>
Cloudy lately; should be good viewing in about 3-4 days:)

To FossilBob hello i saw the SuperNova with my children i taught them that what they were seeing happened 21 million years ago and we are seeing the SuperNova now because it has taken the light from the SuperNova 21 million years to get here.I then had to explain about the speed of light,oh well FossilBob all in a nights worth of astronomy.Sorry it was cloudy for you oh boy what a sight what a star.

To FossilBob hello i do not think my children are going to learn to critique evolution somehow,do you?Takecare and all the best.

Katie wrote:

To FossilBob hello i do not think my children are going to learn to critique evolution somehow,do you?Takecare and all the best.

Well... My kids got an earful about geology, astronomy, geologic and evolutionary history all the way through :)

They have a fairly good background in science and history...enough to know when someone is not giving them the straight story!

FossilBob wrote:

<quoted text>
Well... My kids got an earful about geology, astronomy, geologic and evolutionary history all the way through :)
They have a fairly good background in science and history...enough to know when someone is not giving them the straight story!

To FossilBob hello its the same here and the same subjects so SNAP.I was telling my children the other day why the Irish sea will one day be dry land and why one day the Himalayas will be as flat as holland.FossilBob i guess it is all down to geologic processes.

I have come across this short article in Nature Journal HEAT AND COLD MAKETH MAN.Humans changed fastest during periods of climate change in the past two million years,experts have said.Extreme heat and cold saw man evolve physically and culturally,a royal society conference was told last week.Cambridge university and the Natural History Museum did the study.The museums Chris Stringer said'Climate change was a major player in evolution.Conditions were created to encourage our ancestors to come down from the trees,

STAR(WARS)GAZING....Astronomer s have announced that they have found the home of Luke Skywalker.The planet orbits two suns just like Luke Skywalkers home planet of Tatooine.The newly discovered planet named Keplar-16B-orbits a pair of small stars 200 light years from Earth.It is much colder than Luke Skywalkers desert world on fictional Tatooine.But it is the closest we have come to finding somewhere similar and was spotted by astronomers searching for extra-terrestrials.But they do not believe there is much chance of finding life on Keplar-16B where the surface temperature is around minus 150F the journal Newscientist reports.But hopes have been raised because it demonstrates the huge range of planet types.Top US expert Josh Carter said ,We are finding that our Solar System is only one example of the variety of planetary systems that nature can creat'