Jesus. Darwin has had almost no effect whatsoever.
Darwin
Jesarles Darwinus
i’m gonna go with Jesus on this one!
Jesus
def Jesus
Jesus .
Darwin, definitely
Jesus. I had to think awhile to remember who Charles Darwin was…
Darwin fosho
Not sure what I believe, but when I was little I was always in church. It was never a question, my family believed, so did I. Then came 9th grade biology, where I heard about Darwin. He made me question my beliefs. So I’d say he was the most influential.
Jesus
You really want me to answer this, right now? I doubt it… lol…
The big CD! He told me in an epiphany to spread the word of Evolution.
id have to say jesus,,, but then i know at least a dozen people named jesus,,,, i dont know anyone named charles,,,, or darwin,,,, much less with both names stuck together,,,,
Jesus
oh,,, i had an old lady,,, several old ladies ago who had an uncle charlie,,,, thats the same as charles i guess,,, but,,, i never talked to him,,,, so,,, ill stick to my original answer,,,,
Jesus
In my personal thinking? Darwin — Jesus has had little to no affect on my thinking.
Jesus. People don’t realize that Jesus’ teachings of good morality affects them a lot more than Darwin’s ideas. I mean, how often do we think about evolution and science vs being a good person and loving others?
Jesus. He loves me and Darwin doesn’t. Even though I believe in evolution.
Jesus is far more important to the way we think as a culture. Darwin is so recent, it’s really hard to compare. Anyone who says Darwin, is really just misleading themselves, and is unaware of the profound effect the teachings of Jesus have had on the world’s culture.
Jesus, without a doubt. Millions of people still follow his teachings (or rather their interpretation of them) today. Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the world. Darwin doesn’t have a religion. And frankly, I’d favor Jesus as an influential person. He preached love. Darwin taught science. Love > science any day.
It’s just the assholes who butcher Jesus’ teachings that I have a problem with.
Darwin. Sorry, Jesus /:
Jesus.
My homeboy, Jesus…….
Mr. Charles for the money.
Jesus
charlie
I would have to say Charles Darwin
Neither. I see flaws in both of their philosophies/teachings.
Jesus.
In world history? Jesus. Whoever he actually was, more of history has been impacted by his teaching (or peoples’ interpretations of his teachings) than Darwin’s. Darwin was influential in popularizing the theory of evolution, but he hardly invented it. Jesus invented Christianity, and served as the focal point of at least half of the best-selling book of all time.
Darwiinnnnn
Darwin, and Darwin only.
This question is asking who is the most influential person in YOUR thinking, not the world, or it’s history.
Anyways, I’d have to say Jesus.
can there be a third option other than those two?
Darwin.
Way to ask one of the most controversial questions ever. Darwin. Jesus may have good morals, but it really – to me – is just as close to a fable as Aesop is.
That’s a really difficult question, but I think I’d have to say Jesus. Darwin proposed one major thing, Jesus taught a way to live. I’m not saying I believe in the whole omnipotent god/heave/hell thing, but having gone to church for most of my life, Jesus has probably influenced me more.
Jesus
if i HAD to chose i guess jesus
ayn rand is amazing as well
Why? Is this a competition? They informed people on completely different topics. I’d say they’ve both been an equal influence for equally different reasons.
On my way down here, I saw a few responses that reminded me why my answer is Darwin.
It’s only a shame we don’t function as a properly Darwinistic society. That’d be pretty awesome.
Neither one, really.
The ambiguous answer of the day: “It depends on what I’m thinking about.”
Jesus, without a doubt. Even those who don’t follow him, are affected by his ideals. After all, as part of the trinity, he laid down the moral laws which most people follow today.
Neither. I have thoughts on both, but neither of them have hard core marked my thoughts in any way, shape, or form. =D
Jesus. Even if you’re not Christian, his ideas have affected a bunch of things! Also (stealing from the Alpha course) people haven’t been able to IMPROVE on what Jesus has said, however, we’ve definitely “improved” on Darwin’s ideas….
Besides, Darwin doesn’t affect everybody =) And I think more people would know who Jesus was than Darwin, across all age groups, and across the planet =)
Definitely Jesus. Take him away, and the world as you know it doesn’t exist. Take away Darwin, and nothing has really changed – only people’s minds.
I do know a young man whose first name is Darwin. It just doesn’t fit him…poor guy.
duhh
Jesus
Darwin has prompted some thoughts about the natural world, but Jesus has affected my thinking in every realm of thought and every other sphere of my existence.
Yeshua
Mr.Darwin <3
Darwin for sure!!
Jesus!
In my thinking? My personal thinking? Darwin.
In the minds of millions of Americans, Jesus.
Jesus.
Darwin, funny how he was a Christian and let go of his beliefs on a boat.
Darwin for sure
Jesus FTW!
Jesus, he influenced the whole society and culture.
Darwin’s theories helped start the chain of successive theories that put our perspective of humans into context with the natural world. Before the entire natural selection/evolution, humans were seen as the epitome of nature, perfect because they are made “in the likeness of God.” I’d say Darwin changed that up a bit…
Also, by attributing all the is good and moral to being caused by Jesus, I’d say that’s putting too little faith in inherent human nature. There have been a plethora of peoples and cultures unaffected by Christianity. By saying Jesus created morality, is it safe to assume people like Native Americans were immoral heathens? Or just heathens…
Jesus. Darwin has affected my thoughts about science more, of course, but not much at all outside that sphere.
Darwin fo’ sho’.
my boy j.
Jesus
I honestly on impulse wanted to say Charles Darwin, but I know better.
It was defintiely Jesus, whether I believe in him or not.
darwin. that’s what AP/IB biology classes does to you
I know my culture has formed my thinking. But I must say Jesus since I study His church and His word.
Most or more? Your title is misleading.
@DJ__x - Jesus. People don’t realize that Jesus’ teachings of good morality affects them a lot more than Darwin’s ideas.
Sure. Between the end of the Roman Empire and the end of European Imperialism, Christians were damn pacifists.
Jesus, along with a bunch of other masters. Darwin is merely the guy who collated a bunch of observations into a general theory. He has probably influenced people less than say, Galileo. Why pick Darwin to oppose to JC? The goodness of the latter’s teachings does not depend on evolution being true or false, and if evolution is a true theory, it does not oppose the idea of a God.
Darwin fo shizzle. Jesus is a close second, though. Even if I’m not a believer anymore, if you actually read what he said and not Paul’s interpretations of the things he said, it’s powerful stuff.
darwin
Charles Darwin FTW.
In my thinking? Darwin. In my personal belief system? Jesus.
Darwin evokes thinking, arguing, and disagreements, all which require thinking.
Jesus just takes believing and accepting. IMHO
Jesus. The entirety of Western civilization as we know it is based on the principles of his teachings, such as equality among men; the Christian church also provided the very framework for society AND government for more than 1,000 years, and still plays a vital role in society today. So many of the wars that shaped Europe, the Middle East and northern African region were related, directly or indirectly, to Christianity and its followers.
Aside from the fact that Darwin is a relative newcomer to the stage of history and its influences, he has also not affected as many people as Jesus the Christ did, and I know of no wars that were fought in Darwin’s name, or even for the sake of the things he taught.
Jesus. Hands down.
Both
Day to day Jesus seems to be more important, though this in no way negates Charles Darwin in my mind.
Darwin.
I don’t really think about Jesus, so he’s never had an effect on me.
And I think the people who say that people who choose Darwin is uneducated or whatever, seriously? wtf. up yours to put it bluntly.
eh.. Jesus (because my mom would kill me otherwise)
In my thinking? Jesus. Doesn’t mean I don’t agree with Darwin as well, but he doesn’t influence my thinking.
Very good question to ask.
jesus. no contest. always thought darwinism was overrated.
Jesus
Neither. Darwin doesn’t speak exculsively for non-Christians.
al gore
I defy anyone to prove Darwin is their influence…
and not prove to evolve from their forefathers.
I don’t consider Jesus in any decision I make, but I do think of empathy and social contacts that have evolved in primate behavior, so clearly my answer is Charles Darwin.
Like the fallacious arguments presented by CS Lewis in Mere Christianity, most of your commentor’s logic is completely flawed from its base. Jesus started a political movement and the stories of his life were perverted for others use to this day.
There was empathy and equality in other places before and after Christ having nothing to do with him, and Christians have done awful things as well in his name so um??
does that have to be an either/or question? I’m a Christian evolutionist.
If we’re talking about biological, geological, and genetic evidence that correlates between disciplines and is irrefutable, then Darwin has definately influenced my thinking more than Jesus ever will – I don’t think Jesus really had much to say on this matter, as there weren’t many biologists, geologists, geneticists, etc. in his day. However, if we’re discussing practices of morality and general outlooks as to how one should behave as a member of society, then I tend to look to Jesus more.
Charles Darwin.
uhh. I’m going to go with Jesus….for me that was a no brainer.
@innerblondness - And for that matter, Jesus doesn’t speak exclusively for Christians. I’m not Christian – I don’t believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins, nor do I believe that he rose on the third day, or any of that other nonsense that Christians do, but I have read the New testament, and tend to integrate some of the things Jesus taught into my life.
I still don’t know why this blog opposes Jesus and Darwin, when they both spoke about VASTLY different matters. I think the more correct casting would be: Is your line of thinking closer to Michael Behe’s or Charles Darwin’s?
Jesus.
Darwin.
<—- Stonewall evolutionist, but respectful of creationists.
Jesus
One a second note, the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama have influenced me the most beyond any other teachings, so he takes the cake. Even though he is not an option.
Jesus….Darwin was just trying to make himself famous. If you do research, Darwin didn’t even believe half of what he wrote about evolution.
Jesus.
If I had to choose, probably neither. I would say my Dad. He’s a great person and an awesome role model who has worked very hard. When I’m struggling I know I can look to him for sound advice.
P.S. Does anyone else feel it’s weird how Jesus was really a Jew. I don’t get why they hated him. Okay. So he was different. But so what! He was ahead of his time!
This is rough. I’m a huge evolutionist and atheist, but I can’t deny that Jesus ever lived and did a lot of good. Talking strictly about beliefs/religion, Darwin I guess. I just don’t understand the question. Is Darwin supposed to be the exact opposite of Jesus? One extreme versus another? This confuses me on a few levels. It seems that people assume Atheists and evolutionists hate religion/ god/ jesus. Which is asinine. First off, Atheists don’t hate any god because they don’t believe in them. That’s like a full grown adult being accused of hating Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. Not believing doesn’t equal hate or even dislike. Secondly, there are lots of Christians who believe in evolution. You’re asking us to choose one or the other, but I know there’s thousands that put lots of faith into both people. Bah. I don’t know…just an odd set of options you have here for us Dan.
Jesus. I agree with JadedJanissary and DJ_x. The Son of God influences my way of life and my set of values. However, I do concur with Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. I’m reading up on the recent developments and changes to this theory. I have heard of Social Darwinism. “Survival of the fittest” in a social setting?
Darwin. If there happened to be a man named Jesus, it wasn’t his words that people know. It was all those people that wrote the Bible and they would have skewed them to their own views.
Jesus. I don’t have enough faith in mankind to be a none believer in Jesus.
Wait, wait a minute. This is a pretty hard one for me. Let me think on it and I’ll get back to you in about three weeks.
Jesus
Tits.
Charles Darwin!
I would say for the first half of my life, it’s been Jesus. But lately it’s been Darwin. I have no problems saying both are influential. Jesus is there for my moral influence. Darwin is there for making sense of this world.
Darwin. Thinking about humans as just another large mammal is so vastly important to understanding why people do what they do.
Jesus
If I had to choose, I would say neither.
Amazingly enough I have questioned both. But I came to my own conclusion that both are right.Think about it…
Jesus. That’s a no-brainer.
I would think Darwin would affect your thinking more and Jesus your morals which really are not thought about, but more ingrained into you rather than part of your thought process. I do not walk around thinking about how I am going to be nice to someone… I just am. Its automatic. Darwin makes you think about evolution and science vs, religion.
Honestly, Darwin.
Jesus had little to no effect on me. I did go to church when i was little, but the people at church influenced me much more than their idea of Jesus. They were kind until i started to think for myself. Their conditional love greatly affected my self-esteem. I felt that i was “evil” for being naturally skeptical.
Darwin on the other hand, taught me to think for myself. I read his book, Origin of Species, in fifth grade and it made me want to learn more and contribute to the scientific community. I understood his concepts much easier than my friends and that raised my self-esteem. I went to the library after reading a small section in my textbook and checked it out. I now pride myself on my skepticism and my intellectualism. I attend a school for gifted and talented students. Had i followed the doctrine of my childhood church, i would not be where i am today, nor would i go the places i plan to go.
Jesus….
@MereBenjimon - Uh yeah, thanks I guess? although that was a tad creepy, to be frank.
Jesus
Assuming you mean Jesus Christ… Then definitely Jesus.
Darwin. Jesus had as much influence on me as Snow White, or Xenu. As for arguments that jesus has effected everyone because otherwise Atheists would just be a bunch of child raping monsters, but that’s simply not true. Evolution also explains what we call morals.
i always say i love three JC’s; johnny cash, jesus christ and jose cuervo so since jesus is on the list to chose from im gonna say jesus.
I even have a stamp that lets me put Jesus’ face on my toast in the morning.
Jesus!
Jesus. Though I knew someone who could be Darwin’s missing link.
Jesus
Jesus
Interesting choice of people to choose between. Jesus, if he was who the only book recording his existence says he was, seemed to be a good example of how to be nice to people. Charles Darwin has given me much to ponder on the evolution of humans, animals, and even a few plants. I would say that in some aspects, Darwin has had more influence over my thinking. Since I do not adhere to any religion, including the belief in Jesus as the son of a deity, Jesus hasn’t held sway over my thoughts since I was a child under the rule of my father (a strict, Church of Christ attending Republican); I haven’t gone to church (even as a doubter) since I was 14. I have, however, had college Biology and Nature Conservation courses which took very interesting looks into the changes our world has undergone.
jesus
Charles Nelson Reilly.
Definately Charles Darwin!!! The man was a genius. While I’m sure Jesus has affected a lot of people, he has done little to make me think; espescially the way Darwin does. By the way only 14 more days til Darwin Day!!! Hazzah!!!
In a way, Darwin. Stuff I studied about him made me question my beliefs that I guess this question would categorize as being under “Jesus.” But it made my belief in the Bible and Jesus that much stronger. Ultimately Jesus, and Darwin made Him stronger.
Oh my.. I had to laugh when reading this.. All the people who said Darwin obviously weren’t impacted that much, because at the end of his life, on his deathbed, he gave his life to Jesus Christ and admitted he himself didn’t believe in his own theory and apoligized. So.. how very interesting that people draw any influence from a self proclaimed fake..
Neither. My inspiration comes from the boundless death and destruction that flavors our world with sugar, spice, and everything nice.
@Picture_Perfect_Chaos - Besides, aren’t some Mormons (not all) child raping monsters that believe in Jesus? Lol.
Jesus.
JESUS.. Darwin was simply a windbag who some believe plagerized another scientist, Dr. Turner (can’t remember first name). Anyone can write up a theory. Darwin’s is simply that, a theory, a hypothesis, a mere suppositioin requiring verification. Jesus has a written history(Bible) that has withstood time virtually unchanged longer than any written manuscript in the world. How many pages did Darwin have and what short time ago was it written? Ha! Darwin, schmarwin! And what happened to poor old Bigfoot, how’d he get left out of the link? Or wait, is there a theory that Bigfoot is the missing link? Too bad Chuck’s not around anymore, he could ride on the coat tails of that one. Thanks, Fj, absolutely in love with JESUS!
Darwin. Jesus had no effect whatsoever.
@afireinside_me - I’ve also heard that this was a hoax. *shrug*
DARWIN~
Jesus, I hope. I mean, I don’t know which societal views came from whom, so now I’m kind of panicking. I think Darwin was wrong about human evolution but I DO think it’s survival of the fittest, but ahhhh! >.<
I’d hope it would be Jesus….. *hugs Jesus*
This is actually extremely interesting… although I am athiest, I’m going to have to say Jesus.
I believe in evolution so Darwin has influenced me there, but for every day life I do look to the principles of major religions… even though I don’t believe in their God, I still think that many Christian ideals are worth following in every day life.
Jesus.
In some ways I will say Darwin, but as a cultural whole Jesus is definitely the winner
I DO try to follow Jesus, and Darwin bugs me an awful lot, so I’m pretty sure it’s Jesus….
AAUUUGH, how come I can’t just say “Jesus” and go?! He’s the one I would rather be influenced by, obviously, but I don’t know which parts of my mind have been inadvertently impacted by Darwin….
>:(
Jesus, my Savior, of course.
@Sirius_Fan_Girl - May i ask why you believe in survival of fittest?
neither actually
my thinking isnt based on scientific evidence or religious faith. i guess the person who had the biggest influence in my life was Thoreau
Jesus. all the way.
@Audiofreak18 - Well, I do think that if something is weak, then it will have a more difficult time of surviving; for instance, if someone has a weak immune system, they’re more liable to be sick, and more likely to die. Eventually the ones with stronger immune systems would be the majority. In the wild, animals with injury are likely to be caught and eaten, since those are the ones that are easiest to catch; they’re slower.
But in human society, people are more compassionate. We try to help people who are weaker instead of abandoning them, and so we don’t always allowe survival of the fittest to play out, at least, when it comes to actually living and dying. In most situations, the best will win; in debates, the strongest argument; in sports, the fastest/strongest athlete…. etc. We don’t want to be represented by the one who can’t do the job the best. Basically, it’s what tends to happen the most often, so that’s why I believe it. I’m not saying it should ALWAYS be true, but it does definitely play out that way.
Sorry, this is extremely long… I don’t even know if I answered your question, I just kind of started rambling…. -.-
@Sirius_Fan_Girl - Oh, that’s fine. I had never really thought about it that way. After the fall of man, it really has become a survival of the fittest.
Darwin. I don’t need fables, thanks.
Jesus.
Both. But I’m being pushed to more believe in Darwin. Life is a fight.
Jesus…
The world may be about survival of the fittest, but it’s your morals and free will that rule you.
Without a doubt Jesus!
I had to “research” on who this Darwin character was. Hmm, he’s the guy who married his own cousin Emma Wedgwood?
~Holly~
Jesus.
Equal really…oddly enough
Darwin.
JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!! by a LONG SHOT!!!!!!!
Darwin was only a temporary theory in college…..that never did anything positive or negative in my life or heart.
Jesus changed my LIFE! FOR THE GOOD.
REV 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
personally speaking?
Jesus.
the bigger picture, as in, the entrie world?
Hands down.
Jesus.
@awwwwwwberry - yay!!! even though you’re an atheist, thank you for having common sense!!! and not just going around bashing someone because it’s tied to religion!!!
this made me really happy, haha I felt compelled to comment.
I think Jesus and good old Charles are buds. Science and religion can suppliment each other. But Jesus is my hero, Charles is just a smart dead guy.
As of right now? Darwin. But who knows ten years from now…
Darwin. Most definitely.
darwin has effected my thinking more because I had to learn it (evolution), it wasn’t just instilled in me like jesus was.
Jesus
Big Jay! I really dig his ‘stach… and his teachings, of course.
Jesus.
Darwin
@DJ__x - humans would have good morals even if the story of Jesus never was.
darwin
jesus has had more impact on humanity, by far.
personally, darwin has had more of an impact on me.
in My life Jesus
High school science- Darwin
FACT: People love Jesus
Jesus
However, I’m goin’ with Darwin.
Darwin.
Jesus. Our country would never have been formed with a concept of men being created equal if we built on Darwinism. Men would be superior to women (Darwin’s words, NOT mine), and there would be a preservation of certain favored races (according to the full title of his book), at the expense of other races.
One thing that I don’t think people realize is how Darwin never explained the origin of the universe. He only talked about changes in species once life already existed. Also, variation in species fits perfectly with intelligence and design. You would have to encode the possibility of varieties or adaptations ahead of time, which takes lots of thinking. With no mind, and no intelligence, that would mean no thought went into the DNA whatsoever. Even when a virus “evolves,” it becomes … a virus. No change into a different species, phylum, etc.
Just the human enzyme that forms the DNA has only a 1 in 10 to the 40,000th power of coming about by random chance. Then you still need DNA itself, with instructions to build a cell, and so on (to get up to the trillions of cells that form a human body). There aren’t even 10 to the 40,000th power atoms in the known universe, so it’s mathematically impossible.
Jesus, homie.
Jesus. I doubt I would have become an atheist if I didn’t have so much Christian b.s. to reject. Nobody ever told me I’d go to hell if I didn’t believe in Darwin.
I admire them in as much as I am of the opinion that they are both misunderstood: In September 2008, the Church of England issued an article saying that the 200th anniversary of his birth was a fitting time to apologise to Darwin for “for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still”.
There has yet to be an apology for the probability of misinterpretation of the Lord’s prayer: According to Aramaic translation by Neil Douglas-Klotz of the Syriac, you’ll see something very interesting. The Lords Prayer begins, “Abwun d’bwaschmaja” – [O Thou from whom the breath of life comes] Abwun is the parent, is the mother/father God, it is not gender specific. Abwun, the creator of the bwaschmaja, which translates, in a conceptual language as heaven, if you take it in the Syriac experiential sense, the core of the word is ‘schm’ which is resonance. Now we’re beginning to see this is a creation story itself, the Abwun, the mother/father creator, of the schm, of the resonance in the field of the world, of the Universe. And that we look at how that field of resonance [the prolongation of sound by reflection; reverberation] begins to translate as language, as meaning for us at this time, is really the whole story of our developmental evolution.
The Lords prayer in the original Aramaic Language: Abwûn – [O Thou, from whom the breath of life comes,] d’bwaschmâja – [Who fills all realms of sound, light and vibration.] Nethkâdasch schmach – [May your light be experienced in the uppermost and highest.] Têtê malkuthach. – [Your heavenly domain approaches.] Nehwê tzevjânach aikâna d’bwaschmâja af b’arha. – [Let your will come true in the universe (all that vibrates) just as on earth (that is material and dense).] Hawvlân lachma d’sûnkanân jaomâna. – [Give us sagacity(assistance) for our daily need.] Waschboklân chaubên wachtahên aikâna daf chnân schwoken l’chaijabên. – [Detach the fetters of shortcoming that bind us, as we let go of others.] Wela tachlân l’nesjuna – [Let us not linger in superficial things.] ela patzân min bischa. – [Let us be freed from that what keeps us from our true purpose.] Metol dilachie malkutha wahaila wateschbuchta l’ahlâm almîn. – [From you comes the all-working will, the lively strength to take part in, the song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age.] Amên.
Darwin. I still stand firm that if we took the labels off bleach bottles then the problem would correct itself.
Jesus, because being a martyr is many times more hardcore than being a naturalist. Could Charles Darwin go through such torture? Maybe, but he wasn’t given the opportunity.
Apologies if this sounds rude, but comparing the two as people is rather difficult, and an obvious, yet weak attempt at starting a flame war between the creationists and evolutionists. Or perhaps a poor attempt at getting the Christians and Atheists fighting.
Jesus’s teachings tend to deal with morality, while Darwin’s pertain to science. Their influences are in completely different aspects of life.
Jesus was more significant in my upbringing, and thus definitely more influential. Please not that influence is not necessarily positive. Even having left the Christian faith, I cannot deny the influence it had on my early life, and the effects those brought later.
Just an aside, you might get different answers should you have chosen someone with more influence on faith than on evolutionary theory, like perhaps Carl Sagan or Richard Dawkins.
I value the kindness and love Jesus taught and I value the work Darwin did to bring light to our origins and the way the species of our planet change over deep time (But if you’re going to credit Darwin, you have to credit the other scientists like Malthus whose ideas were in Darwin’s work. .. That is beside the point, though. More relevent is how illogical it is to compare science and religion in the same category. They are and should be separate entities).
@Dargon - I think you said what I meant much better than I could.
Jesus :]
jesus.. look how many wars were caused due to his beliefs….
Jesus. He never had to refute himself.
jesus. all the way
Jesus.
Jesus ftw.
Darwin ftw!
I’m an atheist… and I’m majoring in evolutionary & developmental biology. =]
@computerguyw - omg… so many things factually wrong with this comment, that I don’t even know where to start. I have not read “On the Origin of Species” in its entirety, so I cannot say for certain whether Darwin ever said men were superior to women. However, evolutionary theory as a scientific theory does not say this. If Darwin ever said it, it was because of the zeitgeist of the time during which he lived; it is not included in evolutionary theory today. The nice thing about science is that if we are wrong about something, we don’t hesitate to correct our mistakes. After all, we are bound to make some mistakes in the pursuit of knowledge.
Preservation of races? Race is a social construct; you don’t seriously believe difference in race = difference in species… or maybe you do, but that is not scientifically accurate. People of different so-called “races” can produce fertile offspring – this means that they are NOT different species, according to the scientific definition of “species.”
Evolutionary theory was never supposed to explain the origin of the universe. It does not attempt to explain how the universe came to be, or how life originated. Those are to be answered by cosmology and biochemistry. Evolutionary theory only attempts to explain the diversification of life – once it got here, however that happened. You’re attacking a strawman here.
As for the rest of that paragraph.. well I’d have to type out an entire textbook to correct you. You obviously don’t understand how mutation and selection actually work. Mutations happen randomly everytime DNA is replicated; most are fixed, but some go unnoticed, conferring variations on the organism. If this new variation provides the organism some advantage in the environment it is in, then that organism is more likely to reproduce, and therefore more likely to pass that new mutation on. Eventually, the new trait may become fixed in the population if it is advantageous. I’m sure that just went over your head, so I’m not going to elaborate any further. Pick up a textbook if you’re curious, but in the meantime stop blabbing about topics on which you have no authority to speak.
Also there is no enzyme that produces DNA, as DNA is a self-replicating molecule, so that whole part of your argument is void as well. There are enzymes that increase the rate of DNA production, and these “evolved” after DNA. But at any rate, neither DNA nor enzymes are living organisms, and therefore they are not subject to Darwin’s laws of evolution by natural selection. Their “evolution” is explained by the current leading theory of abiogenesis, which lies within the realm of biochemistry. Unfortunately, I don’t know many of the details of this theory, but again, if you’re curious, you should check it out.
Ok I’m done here. Seriously everyone, if you’re going to dismiss something, you should at least understand it first.
Jesus. But natural selection is happening every day and I”m pretty sure Jesus wouldn’t deny it.
Darwin.
People can save the Jesus talks.
The teachings of Jesus were instrumental in the development of Western culture. Charles Darwin’s impact was only upon a certain area of science.
I think it would have to be the Big JC.
Um, Darwin. See, Darwin actually *had* thoughts.
JESUS!
Darwin~
that one guy.
Oh my GAWD. Of course Darwin. Mendel should be included with Darwin, btw. Jesus was just a nice Jew with perhaps a severe case of schizophrenia (or maybe everyone around him did).
@BaRBieGiRL_92587 - Preservation of races? Race is a social construct; you don’t seriously believe difference in race = difference in species…
The full title of Darwin’s book is: The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life
If you’re going to be a true Darwinist, THEN it would make sense to believe in different races being superior to each other. I’m not saying I believe it. Apparently you don’t, which contradicts Darwin, whom you claim to follow.
People of different so-called “races” can produce fertile offspring – this means that they are NOT different species, according to the scientific definition of “species.”
The Bible would agree. Darwin wouldn’t. He said Africans evolved from a weaker species. I saw a special on one of the scientific channels once (probably Discovery or NatGeo) where we supposedly killed off our weaker ancestors. If that were true, it just makes us murderers – not the more evolved and “better” species.
Evolutionary theory was never supposed to explain the origin of the universe. It does not attempt to explain how the universe came to be, or how life originated.
That’s what I said the first time! Here’s my problem. You can’t start building a theory of evolution on nothing, or say “it’s up to cosmology to explain that.” Would you start building the walls of a house without pouring the foundation first?
Evolution always seems to stress time as the important variable, when it’s not really a matter of time at all. They should start by discussing whether these various claims could mathematically happen by accident. As I mentioned, there’s not enough matter in the whole universe to accidentally form a strand of DNA. If that’s true, then you could wait an infinite amount of time and it would never happen without outside intervention.
You obviously don’t understand how mutation and selection actually work.
Regardless, they are not “random.” You don’t just accidentally have a species growing fins in response to its environment. The capability of growing fins was already hard coded into the DNA, which takes thinking way ahead of time, and knowledge of what the future environment will be like (intelligence).
Ok I’m done here. Seriously everyone, if you’re going to dismiss something, you should at least understand it first.
How many people know that Darwin studied intelligent design early in his career? Or that he went to seminary? Or that Pennsylvania first tried to abolish slavery in 1774, before the Constitution was ever written? I do want people to know the truth, but I never found it in public school textbooks that only told part of the story.
To be perfectly honest, both. I could not have come to the line of thinking I’m currently at if I had not “read into” a bit of both.
Comments (217)
Dawrin.
Jesus. Darwin has had almost no effect whatsoever.
Darwin
Jesarles Darwinus
i’m gonna go with Jesus on this one!
Jesus
def Jesus
Jesus .
Darwin, definitely
Jesus. I had to think awhile to remember who Charles Darwin was…
Darwin fosho
Not sure what I believe, but when I was little I was always in church. It was never a question, my family believed, so did I. Then came 9th grade biology, where I heard about Darwin. He made me question my beliefs. So I’d say he was the most influential.
Jesus
You really want me to answer this, right now? I doubt it… lol…
The big CD! He told me in an epiphany to spread the word of Evolution.
@dulce_am0r - Nice. lol
Jesus
Charles Darwin.
Jesus.
charles darwin. for sure.
id have to say jesus,,, but then i know at least a dozen people named jesus,,,, i dont know anyone named charles,,,, or darwin,,,, much less with both names stuck together,,,,
Jesus
oh,,, i had an old lady,,, several old ladies ago who had an uncle charlie,,,, thats the same as charles i guess,,, but,,, i never talked to him,,,, so,,, ill stick to my original answer,,,,
Jesus
In my personal thinking? Darwin — Jesus has had little to no affect on my thinking.
Jesus. People don’t realize that Jesus’ teachings of good morality affects them a lot more than Darwin’s ideas. I mean, how often do we think about evolution and science vs being a good person and loving others?
Jesus. He loves me and Darwin doesn’t. Even though I believe in evolution.
Jesus is far more important to the way we think as a culture. Darwin is so recent, it’s really hard to compare. Anyone who says Darwin, is really just misleading themselves, and is unaware of the profound effect the teachings of Jesus have had on the world’s culture.
Jesus, without a doubt. Millions of people still follow his teachings (or rather their interpretation of them) today. Christianity is the most prevalent religion in the world. Darwin doesn’t have a religion. And frankly, I’d favor Jesus as an influential person. He preached love. Darwin taught science. Love > science any day.
It’s just the assholes who butcher Jesus’ teachings that I have a problem with.
Darwin.
Sorry, Jesus /:
Jesus.
My homeboy, Jesus…….
Mr. Charles for the money.
Jesus
charlie
I would have to say Charles Darwin
Neither.
I see flaws in both of their philosophies/teachings.
Jesus.
In world history? Jesus. Whoever he actually was, more of history has been impacted by his teaching (or peoples’ interpretations of his teachings) than Darwin’s. Darwin was influential in popularizing the theory of evolution, but he hardly invented it. Jesus invented Christianity, and served as the focal point of at least half of the best-selling book of all time.
Darwiinnnnn
Darwin, and Darwin only.
This question is asking who is the most influential person in YOUR thinking, not the world, or it’s history.
Anyways, I’d have to say Jesus.
can there be a third option other than those two?
Darwin.
Way to ask one of the most controversial questions ever.
Darwin. Jesus may have good morals, but it really – to me – is just as close to a fable as Aesop is.
That’s a really difficult question, but I think I’d have to say Jesus. Darwin proposed one major thing, Jesus taught a way to live. I’m not saying I believe in the whole omnipotent god/heave/hell thing, but having gone to church for most of my life, Jesus has probably influenced me more.
Jesus
if i HAD to chose i guess jesus
ayn rand is amazing as well
Why? Is this a competition? They informed people on completely different topics. I’d say they’ve both been an equal influence for equally different reasons.
On my way down here, I saw a few responses that reminded me why my answer is Darwin.
It’s only a shame we don’t function as a properly Darwinistic society. That’d be pretty awesome.
Neither one, really.
The ambiguous answer of the day: “It depends on what I’m thinking about.”
Jesus, without a doubt. Even those who don’t follow him, are affected by his ideals. After all, as part of the trinity, he laid down the moral laws which most people follow today.
Neither. I have thoughts on both, but neither of them have hard core marked my thoughts in any way, shape, or form. =D
Jesus. Even if you’re not Christian, his ideas have affected a bunch of things! Also (stealing from the Alpha course) people haven’t been able to IMPROVE on what Jesus has said, however, we’ve definitely “improved” on Darwin’s ideas….
Besides, Darwin doesn’t affect everybody =)
And I think more people would know who Jesus was than Darwin, across all age groups, and across the planet =)
@JadedJanissary - Yes, yes, yes.
Definitely Jesus. Take him away, and the world as you know it doesn’t exist. Take away Darwin, and nothing has really changed – only people’s minds.
I do know a young man whose first name is Darwin. It just doesn’t fit him…poor guy.
duhh
Jesus
Darwin has prompted some thoughts about the natural world, but Jesus has affected my thinking in every realm of thought and every other sphere of my existence.
Yeshua
Mr.Darwin <3
Darwin for sure!!
Jesus!
In my thinking? My personal thinking? Darwin.
In the minds of millions of Americans, Jesus.
Jesus.
Darwin, funny how he was a Christian and let go of his beliefs on a boat.
Darwin for sure
Jesus FTW!
Jesus, he influenced the whole society and culture.
Darwin’s theories helped start the chain of successive theories that put our perspective of humans into context with the natural world. Before the entire natural selection/evolution, humans were seen as the epitome of nature, perfect because they are made “in the likeness of God.” I’d say Darwin changed that up a bit…
Also, by attributing all the is good and moral to being caused by Jesus, I’d say that’s putting too little faith in inherent human nature. There have been a plethora of peoples and cultures unaffected by Christianity. By saying Jesus created morality, is it safe to assume people like Native Americans were immoral heathens? Or just heathens…
Jesus. Darwin has affected my thoughts about science more, of course, but not much at all outside that sphere.
Darwin fo’ sho’.
my boy j.
Jesus
I honestly on impulse wanted to say Charles Darwin, but I know better.
It was defintiely Jesus, whether I believe in him or not.
darwin.
that’s what AP/IB biology classes does to you
I know my culture has formed my thinking. But I must say Jesus since I study His church and His word.
Most or more?
Your title is misleading.
@DJ__x - Jesus. People don’t realize that Jesus’ teachings of good morality affects them a lot more than Darwin’s ideas.
Sure. Between the end of the Roman Empire and the end of European Imperialism, Christians were damn pacifists.
Jesus, along with a bunch of other masters. Darwin is merely the guy who collated a bunch of observations into a general theory. He has probably influenced people less than say, Galileo. Why pick Darwin to oppose to JC? The goodness of the latter’s teachings does not depend on evolution being true or false, and if evolution is a true theory, it does not oppose the idea of a God.
Darwin fo shizzle. Jesus is a close second, though. Even if I’m not a believer anymore, if you actually read what he said and not Paul’s interpretations of the things he said, it’s powerful stuff.
darwin
Charles Darwin FTW.
In my thinking? Darwin. In my personal belief system? Jesus.
Darwin evokes thinking, arguing, and disagreements, all which require thinking.
Jesus just takes believing and accepting. IMHO
Jesus. The entirety of Western civilization as we know it is based on the principles of his teachings, such as equality among men; the Christian church also provided the very framework for society AND government for more than 1,000 years, and still plays a vital role in society today. So many of the wars that shaped Europe, the Middle East and northern African region were related, directly or indirectly, to Christianity and its followers.
Aside from the fact that Darwin is a relative newcomer to the stage of history and its influences, he has also not affected as many people as Jesus the Christ did, and I know of no wars that were fought in Darwin’s name, or even for the sake of the things he taught.
Jesus. Hands down.
Both
Day to day Jesus seems to be more important, though this in no way negates Charles Darwin in my mind.
Darwin.
I don’t really think about Jesus, so he’s never had an effect on me.
And I think the people who say that people who choose Darwin is uneducated or whatever, seriously? wtf. up yours to put it bluntly.
eh.. Jesus (because my mom would kill me otherwise)
In my thinking? Jesus. Doesn’t mean I don’t agree with Darwin as well, but he doesn’t influence my thinking.
Very good question to ask.
jesus. no contest. always thought darwinism was overrated.
Jesus
Neither. Darwin doesn’t speak exculsively for non-Christians.
al gore
I defy anyone to prove Darwin is their influence…
and not prove to evolve from their forefathers.
I don’t consider Jesus in any decision I make, but I do think of empathy and social contacts that have evolved in primate behavior, so clearly my answer is Charles Darwin.
Like the fallacious arguments presented by CS Lewis in Mere Christianity, most of your commentor’s logic is completely flawed from its base. Jesus started a political movement and the stories of his life were perverted for others use to this day.
There was empathy and equality in other places before and after Christ having nothing to do with him, and Christians have done awful things as well in his name so um??
Where is my blanket?
@theperfectlines - You’re cute. whoa! TOO OLD!
@MereBenjimon - Dude, she’s 14. Have a seat.
does that have to be an either/or question? I’m a Christian evolutionist.
If we’re talking about biological, geological, and genetic evidence that correlates between disciplines and is irrefutable, then Darwin has definately influenced my thinking more than Jesus ever will – I don’t think Jesus really had much to say on this matter, as there weren’t many biologists, geologists, geneticists, etc. in his day. However, if we’re discussing practices of morality and general outlooks as to how one should behave as a member of society, then I tend to look to Jesus more.
Charles Darwin.
uhh. I’m going to go with Jesus….for me that was a no brainer.
@innerblondness - And for that matter, Jesus doesn’t speak exclusively for Christians. I’m not Christian – I don’t believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins, nor do I believe that he rose on the third day, or any of that other nonsense that Christians do, but I have read the New testament, and tend to integrate some of the things Jesus taught into my life.
I still don’t know why this blog opposes Jesus and Darwin, when they both spoke about VASTLY different matters. I think the more correct casting would be: Is your line of thinking closer to Michael Behe’s or Charles Darwin’s?
Jesus.
Darwin.
<—- Stonewall evolutionist, but respectful of creationists.
Jesus
One a second note, the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama have influenced me the most beyond any other teachings, so he takes the cake. Even though he is not an option.
Jesus….Darwin was just trying to make himself famous. If you do research, Darwin didn’t even believe half of what he wrote about evolution.
Jesus.
If I had to choose, probably neither. I would say my Dad. He’s a great person and an awesome role model who has worked very hard. When I’m struggling I know I can look to him for sound advice.
P.S. Does anyone else feel it’s weird how Jesus was really a Jew. I don’t get why they hated him. Okay. So he was different. But so what! He was ahead of his time!
This is rough. I’m a huge evolutionist and atheist, but I can’t deny that Jesus ever lived and did a lot of good.
Talking strictly about beliefs/religion, Darwin I guess.
I just don’t understand the question. Is Darwin supposed to be the exact opposite of Jesus? One extreme versus another? This confuses me on a few levels.
It seems that people assume Atheists and evolutionists hate religion/ god/ jesus. Which is asinine. First off, Atheists don’t hate any god because they don’t believe in them. That’s like a full grown adult being accused of hating Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. Not believing doesn’t equal hate or even dislike.
Secondly, there are lots of Christians who believe in evolution.
You’re asking us to choose one or the other, but I know there’s thousands that put lots of faith into both people.
Bah.
I don’t know…just an odd set of options you have here for us Dan.
Jesus. I agree with JadedJanissary and DJ_x. The Son of God influences my way of life and my set of values. However, I do concur with Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. I’m reading up on the recent developments and changes to this theory.
I have heard of Social Darwinism. “Survival of the fittest” in a social setting?
JESUS…
Charles Darwin! Chyeaaah!
@FireMapleSong - Definitely agree!
Who is Charles Darwin? (lol)
Darwin. If there happened to be a man named Jesus, it wasn’t his words that people know. It was all those people that wrote the Bible and they would have skewed them to their own views.
Jesus. I don’t have enough faith in mankind to be a none believer in Jesus.
Wait, wait a minute. This is a pretty hard one for me. Let me think on it and I’ll get back to you in about three weeks.
Jesus
Tits.
Charles Darwin!
I would say for the first half of my life, it’s been Jesus. But lately it’s been Darwin. I have no problems saying both are influential. Jesus is there for my moral influence. Darwin is there for making sense of this world.
Darwin. Thinking about humans as just another large mammal is so vastly important to understanding why people do what they do.
Jesus
If I had to choose, I would say neither.
Amazingly enough I have questioned both. But I came to my own conclusion that both are right.Think about it…
Jesus. That’s a no-brainer.
I would think Darwin would affect your thinking more and Jesus your morals which really are not thought about, but more ingrained into you rather than part of your thought process. I do not walk around thinking about how I am going to be nice to someone… I just am. Its automatic. Darwin makes you think about evolution and science vs, religion.
Honestly, Darwin.
Jesus had little to no effect on me. I did go to church when i was little, but the people at church influenced me much more than their idea of Jesus. They were kind until i started to think for myself. Their conditional love greatly affected my self-esteem. I felt that i was “evil” for being naturally skeptical.
Darwin on the other hand, taught me to think for myself. I read his book, Origin of Species, in fifth grade and it made me want to learn more and contribute to the scientific community. I understood his concepts much easier than my friends and that raised my self-esteem. I went to the library after reading a small section in my textbook and checked it out. I now pride myself on my skepticism and my intellectualism. I attend a school for gifted and talented students. Had i followed the doctrine of my childhood church, i would not be where i am today, nor would i go the places i plan to go.
Jesus….
@MereBenjimon - Uh yeah, thanks I guess? although that was a tad creepy, to be frank.
Jesus
Assuming you mean Jesus Christ… Then definitely Jesus.
Darwin. Jesus had as much influence on me as Snow White, or Xenu. As for arguments that jesus has effected everyone because otherwise Atheists would just be a bunch of child raping monsters, but that’s simply not true. Evolution also explains what we call morals.
i always say i love three JC’s; johnny cash, jesus christ and jose cuervo so since jesus is on the list to chose from im gonna say jesus.
I even have a stamp that lets me put Jesus’ face on my toast in the morning.
Jesus!
Jesus. Though I knew someone who could be Darwin’s missing link.
Jesus
Jesus
Interesting choice of people to choose between. Jesus, if he was who the only book recording his existence says he was, seemed to be a good example of how to be nice to people. Charles Darwin has given me much to ponder on the evolution of humans, animals, and even a few plants. I would say that in some aspects, Darwin has had more influence over my thinking. Since I do not adhere to any religion, including the belief in Jesus as the son of a deity, Jesus hasn’t held sway over my thoughts since I was a child under the rule of my father (a strict, Church of Christ attending Republican); I haven’t gone to church (even as a doubter) since I was 14. I have, however, had college Biology and Nature Conservation courses which took very interesting looks into the changes our world has undergone.
jesus
Charles Nelson Reilly.
Definately Charles Darwin!!! The man was a genius. While I’m sure Jesus has affected a lot of people, he has done little to make me think; espescially the way Darwin does. By the way only 14 more days til Darwin Day!!! Hazzah!!!
In a way, Darwin. Stuff I studied about him made me question my beliefs that I guess this question would categorize as being under “Jesus.” But it made my belief in the Bible and Jesus that much stronger. Ultimately Jesus, and Darwin made Him stronger.
Oh my.. I had to laugh when reading this.. All the people who said Darwin obviously weren’t impacted that much, because at the end of his life, on his deathbed, he gave his life to Jesus Christ and admitted he himself didn’t believe in his own theory and apoligized. So.. how very interesting that people draw any influence from a self proclaimed fake..
Neither. My inspiration comes from the boundless death and destruction that flavors our world with sugar, spice, and everything nice.
@Picture_Perfect_Chaos - Besides, aren’t some Mormons (not all) child raping monsters that believe in Jesus? Lol.
Jesus.
JESUS.
. Darwin was simply a windbag who some believe plagerized another scientist, Dr. Turner (can’t remember first name). Anyone can write up a theory. Darwin’s is simply that, a theory, a hypothesis, a mere suppositioin requiring verification. Jesus has a written history(Bible) that has withstood time virtually unchanged longer than any written manuscript in the world. How many pages did Darwin have and what short time ago was it written? Ha! Darwin, schmarwin! And what happened to poor old Bigfoot, how’d he get left out of the link? Or wait, is there a theory that Bigfoot is the missing link? Too bad Chuck’s not around anymore, he could ride on the coat tails of that one. Thanks, Fj, absolutely in love with JESUS!
Darwin. Jesus had no effect whatsoever.
@afireinside_me - I’ve also heard that this was a hoax. *shrug*
DARWIN~
Jesus, I hope. I mean, I don’t know which societal views came from whom, so now I’m kind of panicking. I think Darwin was wrong about human evolution but I DO think it’s survival of the fittest, but ahhhh! >.<
I’d hope it would be Jesus….. *hugs Jesus*
This is actually extremely interesting… although I am athiest, I’m going to have to say Jesus.
I believe in evolution so Darwin has influenced me there, but for every day life I do look to the principles of major religions… even though I don’t believe in their God, I still think that many Christian ideals are worth following in every day life.
Jesus.
In some ways I will say Darwin, but as a cultural whole Jesus is definitely the winner
I DO try to follow Jesus, and Darwin bugs me an awful lot, so I’m pretty sure it’s Jesus….
AAUUUGH, how come I can’t just say “Jesus” and go?! He’s the one I would rather be influenced by, obviously, but I don’t know which parts of my mind have been inadvertently impacted by Darwin….
>:(
Jesus, my Savior, of course.
@Sirius_Fan_Girl - May i ask why you believe in survival of fittest?
neither actually
my thinking isnt based on scientific evidence or religious faith. i guess the person who had the biggest influence in my life was Thoreau
Jesus. all the way.
@Audiofreak18 - Well, I do think that if something is weak, then it will have a more difficult time of surviving; for instance, if someone has a weak immune system, they’re more liable to be sick, and more likely to die. Eventually the ones with stronger immune systems would be the majority. In the wild, animals with injury are likely to be caught and eaten, since those are the ones that are easiest to catch; they’re slower.
But in human society, people are more compassionate. We try to help people who are weaker instead of abandoning them, and so we don’t always allowe survival of the fittest to play out, at least, when it comes to actually living and dying. In most situations, the best will win; in debates, the strongest argument; in sports, the fastest/strongest athlete…. etc. We don’t want to be represented by the one who can’t do the job the best. Basically, it’s what tends to happen the most often, so that’s why I believe it. I’m not saying it should ALWAYS be true, but it does definitely play out that way.
Sorry, this is extremely long… I don’t even know if I answered your question, I just kind of started rambling…. -.-
@Sirius_Fan_Girl - Oh, that’s fine. I had never really thought about it that way. After the fall of man, it really has become a survival of the fittest.
Darwin. I don’t need fables, thanks.
Jesus.
Both. But I’m being pushed to more believe in Darwin. Life is a fight.
Jesus…
The world may be about survival of the fittest, but it’s your morals and free will that rule you.
Without a doubt Jesus!
I had to “research” on who this Darwin character was. Hmm, he’s the guy who married his own cousin Emma Wedgwood?
~Holly~
Jesus.
Equal really…oddly enough
Darwin.
JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!!!! by a LONG SHOT!!!!!!!
Darwin was only a temporary theory in college…..that never did anything positive or negative in my life or heart.
Jesus changed my LIFE! FOR THE GOOD.
REV 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
personally speaking?
Jesus.
the bigger picture, as in, the entrie world?
Hands down.
Jesus.
@awwwwwwberry - yay!!! even though you’re an atheist, thank you for having common sense!!! and not just going around bashing someone because it’s tied to religion!!!
this made me really happy, haha I felt compelled to comment.
I think Jesus and good old Charles are buds. Science and religion can suppliment each other. But Jesus is my hero, Charles is just a smart dead guy.
As of right now? Darwin. But who knows ten years from now…
Darwin. Most definitely.
darwin has effected my thinking more because I had to learn it (evolution), it wasn’t just instilled in me like jesus was.
Jesus
Big Jay! I really dig his ‘stach… and his teachings, of course.
Jesus.
Darwin
@DJ__x - humans would have good morals even if the story of Jesus never was.
darwin
jesus has had more impact on humanity, by far.
personally, darwin has had more of an impact on me.
in My life Jesus
High school science- Darwin
FACT: People love Jesus
Jesus
However, I’m goin’ with Darwin.
Darwin.
Jesus. Our country would never have been formed with a concept of men being created equal if we built on Darwinism. Men would be superior to women (Darwin’s words, NOT mine), and there would be a preservation of certain favored races (according to the full title of his book), at the expense of other races.
One thing that I don’t think people realize is how Darwin never explained the origin of the universe. He only talked about changes in species once life already existed. Also, variation in species fits perfectly with intelligence and design. You would have to encode the possibility of varieties or adaptations ahead of time, which takes lots of thinking. With no mind, and no intelligence, that would mean no thought went into the DNA whatsoever. Even when a virus “evolves,” it becomes … a virus. No change into a different species, phylum, etc.
Just the human enzyme that forms the DNA has only a 1 in 10 to the 40,000th power of coming about by random chance. Then you still need DNA itself, with instructions to build a cell, and so on (to get up to the trillions of cells that form a human body). There aren’t even 10 to the 40,000th power atoms in the known universe, so it’s mathematically impossible.
Jesus, homie.
Jesus. I doubt I would have become an atheist if I didn’t have so much Christian b.s. to reject. Nobody ever told me I’d go to hell if I didn’t believe in Darwin.
I admire them in as much as I am of the opinion that they are both misunderstood:
In September 2008, the Church of England issued an article saying that the 200th
anniversary of his birth was a fitting time to apologise to Darwin for “for misunderstanding you
and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still”.
There has yet to be an apology for the probability of misinterpretation of the Lord’s prayer:
According to Aramaic translation by Neil Douglas-Klotz of the Syriac, you’ll see something very
interesting. The Lords Prayer begins, “Abwun d’bwaschmaja” – [O Thou from whom the breath of life comes]
Abwun is the parent, is the mother/father God, it is not gender specific. Abwun, the creator of the
bwaschmaja, which translates, in a conceptual language as heaven, if you take it in the Syriac
experiential sense, the core of the word is ‘schm’ which is resonance. Now we’re beginning to see
this is a creation story itself, the Abwun, the mother/father creator, of the schm, of the resonance in
the field of the world, of the Universe. And that we look at how that field of resonance
[the prolongation of sound by reflection; reverberation] begins to translate as language, as meaning
for us at this time, is really the whole story of our developmental evolution.
The Lords prayer in the original Aramaic Language:
Abwûn – [O Thou, from whom the breath of life comes,]
d’bwaschmâja – [Who fills all realms of sound, light and vibration.]
Nethkâdasch schmach – [May your light be experienced in the uppermost and highest.]
Têtê malkuthach. – [Your heavenly domain approaches.]
Nehwê tzevjânach aikâna d’bwaschmâja af b’arha. – [Let your will come true in the universe (all that vibrates) just as on earth (that is material and dense).]
Hawvlân lachma d’sûnkanân jaomâna. – [Give us sagacity (assistance) for our daily need.]
Waschboklân chaubên wachtahên aikâna daf chnân schwoken l’chaijabên. – [Detach the fetters of shortcoming that bind us, as we let go of others.]
Wela tachlân l’nesjuna – [Let us not linger in superficial things.]
ela patzân min bischa. – [Let us be freed from that what keeps us from our true purpose.]
Metol dilachie malkutha wahaila wateschbuchta l’ahlâm almîn. – [From you comes the all-working will, the lively strength to take part in, the song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age.]
Amên.
Darwin. I still stand firm that if we took the labels off bleach bottles then the problem would correct itself.
Jesus, because being a martyr is many times more hardcore than being a naturalist. Could Charles Darwin go through such torture? Maybe, but he wasn’t given the opportunity.
Apologies if this sounds rude, but comparing the two as people is rather difficult, and an obvious, yet weak attempt at starting a flame war between the creationists and evolutionists. Or perhaps a poor attempt at getting the Christians and Atheists fighting.
Jesus’s teachings tend to deal with morality, while Darwin’s pertain to science. Their influences are in completely different aspects of life.
Jesus was more significant in my upbringing, and thus definitely more influential. Please not that influence is not necessarily positive. Even having left the Christian faith, I cannot deny the influence it had on my early life, and the effects those brought later.
Just an aside, you might get different answers should you have chosen someone with more influence on faith than on evolutionary theory, like perhaps Carl Sagan or Richard Dawkins.
I value the kindness and love Jesus taught and I value the work Darwin did to bring light to our origins and the way the species of our planet change over deep time (But if you’re going to credit Darwin, you have to credit the other scientists like Malthus whose ideas were in Darwin’s work. .. That is beside the point, though. More relevent is how illogical it is to compare science and religion in the same category. They are and should be separate entities).
@Dargon - I think you said what I meant much better than I could.
Jesus
:]
jesus.. look how many wars were caused due to his beliefs….
Jesus. He never had to refute himself.
jesus.
all the way
Jesus.
Jesus ftw.
Darwin ftw!
I’m an atheist… and I’m majoring in evolutionary & developmental biology. =]
@computerguyw - omg… so many things factually wrong with this comment, that I don’t even know where to start. I have not read “On the Origin of Species” in its entirety, so I cannot say for certain whether Darwin ever said men were superior to women. However, evolutionary theory as a scientific theory does not say this. If Darwin ever said it, it was because of the zeitgeist of the time during which he lived; it is not included in evolutionary theory today. The nice thing about science is that if we are wrong about something, we don’t hesitate to correct our mistakes. After all, we are bound to make some mistakes in the pursuit of knowledge.
Preservation of races? Race is a social construct; you don’t seriously believe difference in race = difference in species… or maybe you do, but that is not scientifically accurate. People of different so-called “races” can produce fertile offspring – this means that they are NOT different species, according to the scientific definition of “species.”
Evolutionary theory was never supposed to explain the origin of the universe. It does not attempt to explain how the universe came to be, or how life originated. Those are to be answered by cosmology and biochemistry. Evolutionary theory only attempts to explain the diversification of life – once it got here, however that happened. You’re attacking a strawman here.
As for the rest of that paragraph.. well I’d have to type out an entire textbook to correct you. You obviously don’t understand how mutation and selection actually work. Mutations happen randomly everytime DNA is replicated; most are fixed, but some go unnoticed, conferring variations on the organism. If this new variation provides the organism some advantage in the environment it is in, then that organism is more likely to reproduce, and therefore more likely to pass that new mutation on. Eventually, the new trait may become fixed in the population if it is advantageous. I’m sure that just went over your head, so I’m not going to elaborate any further. Pick up a textbook if you’re curious, but in the meantime stop blabbing about topics on which you have no authority to speak.
Also there is no enzyme that produces DNA, as DNA is a self-replicating molecule, so that whole part of your argument is void as well. There are enzymes that increase the rate of DNA production, and these “evolved” after DNA. But at any rate, neither DNA nor enzymes are living organisms, and therefore they are not subject to Darwin’s laws of evolution by natural selection. Their “evolution” is explained by the current leading theory of abiogenesis, which lies within the realm of biochemistry. Unfortunately, I don’t know many of the details of this theory, but again, if you’re curious, you should check it out.
Ok I’m done here. Seriously everyone, if you’re going to dismiss something, you should at least understand it first.
Jesus. But natural selection is happening every day and I”m pretty sure Jesus wouldn’t deny it.
Darwin.
People can save the Jesus talks.
The teachings of Jesus were instrumental in the development of Western culture. Charles Darwin’s impact was only upon a certain area of science.
I think it would have to be the Big JC.
Um, Darwin.
See, Darwin actually *had* thoughts.
JESUS!
Darwin~
that one guy.
Oh my GAWD. Of course Darwin. Mendel should be included with Darwin, btw. Jesus was just a nice Jew with perhaps a severe case of schizophrenia (or maybe everyone around him did).
@BaRBieGiRL_92587 - Preservation of races? Race is a social construct; you don’t seriously believe difference in race = difference in species…
The full title of Darwin’s book is: The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life
If you’re going to be a true Darwinist, THEN it would make sense to believe in different races being superior to each other. I’m not saying I believe it. Apparently you don’t, which contradicts Darwin, whom you claim to follow.
People of different so-called “races” can
produce fertile offspring – this means that they are NOT different
species, according to the scientific definition of “species.”
The Bible would agree. Darwin wouldn’t. He said Africans evolved from a weaker species. I saw a special on one of the scientific channels once (probably Discovery or NatGeo) where we supposedly killed off our weaker ancestors. If that were true, it just makes us murderers – not the more evolved and “better” species.
Evolutionary theory was never supposed to
explain the origin of the universe. It does not attempt to explain how
the universe came to be, or how life originated.
That’s what I said the first time! Here’s my problem. You can’t start building a theory of evolution on nothing, or say “it’s up to cosmology to explain that.” Would you start building the walls of a house without pouring the foundation first?
Evolution always seems to stress time as the important variable, when it’s not really a matter of time at all. They should start by discussing whether these various claims could mathematically happen by accident. As I mentioned, there’s not enough matter in the whole universe to accidentally form a strand of DNA. If that’s true, then you could wait an infinite amount of time and it would never happen without outside intervention.
You obviously don’t understand how mutation and selection actually work.
Regardless, they are not “random.” You don’t just accidentally have a species growing fins in response to its environment. The capability of growing fins was already hard coded into the DNA, which takes thinking way ahead of time, and knowledge of what the future environment will be like (intelligence).
Ok I’m done here. Seriously everyone, if you’re going to dismiss something, you should at least understand it first.
How many people know that Darwin studied intelligent design early in his career? Or that he went to seminary? Or that Pennsylvania first tried to abolish slavery in 1774, before the Constitution was ever written? I do want people to know the truth, but I never found it in public school textbooks that only told part of the story.
To be perfectly honest, both. I could not have come to the line of thinking I’m currently at if I had not “read into” a bit of both.