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by "they" i meant the original writers, Arpig, you are nit picking. And, yes, every society, even lose ones, had a "belief" or theory about the beginning of life.

That is one of the definitions of a theory, yes? A belief?

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I dont know, vincent. Though I do not believe in "God" I can see the point in that argument. Darwin gave his theory. And his theory has extreme merits. But something causes changes. I wouldnt say the "Gods created us by guiding the hand of evolution", but I can see the plausibility of using that idea.

Its definitely not what the Bible teaches... but... As we should all know, the Bible taught what was acceptable at that time, through limited knowledge of science and evolution.

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As you said, tazzygirl, something causes changes. You would get no argument from Darwin on that until you step outside of Nature for the change agent. That is where religion and Darwinian Evolution part company. Darwin's mechanism for change challenges the concept of a supernatural change agent. Blatantly. Consequently, it has been a challenge to theologians who have either railed against his model or tried to reconcile their religious vision to it. But, it seems awfully hard to join the Naturalism of Darwin with the Supernaturalism of Religion.

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ORIGINAL: ThatDamnedPanda
For my part, the "angst" and the anger I feel regarding this issue derives from the fact that the religious right is constantly trying to pass laws forcing me to live my life in accordance with their religious beliefs. And I refuse to tolerate it. They can believe anything they like, but they need to keep it out of my life. If they refuse to do that, they're going to get a reaction out of me, and it's not going to be a courteous one. And they have nobody to blame for that but themselves.

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ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

Definition of THEORY
1: the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another
2: abstract thought : speculation
3: the general or abstract principles of a body of fact, a science, or an art <music theory>
4a : a belief, policy, or procedure proposed or followed as the basis of action <her method is based on the theory that all children want to learn> b : an ideal or hypothetical set of facts, principles, or circumstances —often used in the phrase in theory <in theory, we have always advocated freedom for all>
5: a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena <the wave theory of light>
6a : a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation b : an unproved assumption : conjecture c : a body of theorems presenting a concise systematic view of a subject <theory of equations>

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theory

I dunno Arpig, thats not what it says here.

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ORIGINAL: "Scientific theory," Wikipedia
A scientific theory comprises a collection of concepts, including abstractions of observable phenomena expressed as quantifiable properties, together with rules (called scientific laws) that express relationships between observations of such concepts.  A scientific theory is constructed to conform to available empirical data about such observations, and is put forth as a principle or body of principles for explaining a class of phenomena. (Merriam-Webster.com: Theory in Science)

[...]

The defining characteristic of a scientific theory is that it makes falsifiable or testable predictions.  The relevance and specificity of those predictions determine how potentially useful the theory is.

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ORIGINAL: vincentML

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I dont know, vincent. Though I do not believe in "God" I can see the point in that argument. Darwin gave his theory. And his theory has extreme merits. But something causes changes. I wouldnt say the "Gods created us by guiding the hand of evolution", but I can see the plausibility of using that idea...

[...]

As you said, tazzygirl, something causes changes. You would get no argument from Darwin on that until you step outside of Nature for the change agent. That is where religion and Darwinian Evolution part company. Darwin's mechanism for change challenges the concept of a supernatural change agent. Blatantly. Consequently, it has been a challenge to theologians who have either railed against his model or tried to reconcile their religious vision to it. But, it seems awfully hard to join the Naturalism of Darwin with the Supernaturalism of Religion.

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Are those your bolds? Arpig is correct, in that, in biology, a theory is none of the items listed in webster's dictionary. A theory is the culmination of hypothesis, experiment, and the rigorous use of the scientific method. It is the highest stance a biologist will ever take. To view it as a belief, which is the basis of the religious argument is to ignore the three books Darwin wrote on the subject. Just read them. (If we were talking about physics, then theory is definition 5. They call views they view as unarguable as laws. Biology stops at theory.)

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A scientific theory or law represents an hypothesis, or a group of related hypotheses, which has been confirmed through repeated experimental tests.

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And, yes, every society, even lose ones, had a "belief" or theory about the beginning of life.

That is one of the definitions of a theory, yes? A belief?

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ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

I dunno Arpig, thats not what it says here.

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ORIGINAL: eihwaz

I believe that evolution is considered a scientific theory, no?

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ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

Im not, in any way, using theory in a scientific method.

How many times do I have to point that out?

Its theory... like.. "I have my own theory on that subject".

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ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

Oh wait, I get it, you are all getting your nuts in a bind because I used the word.. belief. Get over it. I dont mean religious belief. I mean belief as in.. "I believe I left my keys at home"

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Nor would I argue with Darwin... definitely smarter than I am.

However, I tend to view it as a slow acceptance of religion to accept something has changed in their theories, and I embrace the acceptance, regardless of how slow. Sorta like the Pope finally accepting condoms.

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ORIGINAL: tazzygirl

Damn atheists are so freakin touchy.

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Damn atheists are so freakin touchy.

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Their god is sorta like the god of the deists. He/She got it going and then let it work out in the most likely process?

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Unfortunately, the Biblical literalist are not so accommodating and pursue the attempt to silence the teaching of Evolution or at least to have Intelligent Design taught as a viable alternative in science classes.