To answer the thread's question, no I don't belive in the evolution of species from a common ancestor. I also don't believe in abiogenesis (the spontaneous generation of life from lifeless matter).

Are some of Darwin's ideas good and worth consideration, yes, absolutely. For example, Darwin's idea of adaptive changes are quite reasonable within a species. There is, however, no evidence that such adaptive changes will result in a new species. Darwin's finches, as seen in the Galapagos islands, are a good example. Many variations of finches exist on those islands, each with adaptations that make sense for the variation. That said, however, they are all finches. They can all interbreed (although they generally don't) and they can breed with other finches throughout the world. They have not become something other than finches (e.g. they haven't become crows or doves or even snakes). The chromosomes of finches allow for the variations because they are within the variation range of a finch, but they don't gain adapations that are not within the normal variation range for a finch.

As to organized relgion, there are some reasons to avoid them and yet there are some to join them. An organized religion, although flawed (as all human endeavours are) can do more good for the world than a neighborhood gathering. The organization can leverage the size and financial contributions of multiple congregations to provide for disaster relief, medical support, etc. An organized religion gives one a greater pool of associates with similar beliefs which can lead to better, more mutually beneficial friendships and support structures. Also, being a member of such a religion may allow one to bring about change in that religion if it goes astray (much harder to do from the outside). Organized religion is going to be flawed. It is going to be less than the ideal, but there can be positives as well. One should simply choose one that remains as close as possible to the core beliefs of one's faith.

-- Jeff

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"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." --Ronald Reagan