Evolution vs Creation

As is the norm for most of my non-Christian friends (and even some Christian friend), my brother the Atheist does not believe in Creationism. He's a firm believer in Evolution. Here is an excerpt from chapter 4 in his upcoming book:

"...I see proof every day that we weren’t literally plastered together from clay and dirt by some magical sculptor’s hands, but instead evolved from more primitive life forms. I’m reminded of this every time I trim my toenails, which sadly, according to my wife, isn’t often enough... My wife is convinced that I have toenails solely to torture her when we sleep. But I say they’re not long and sharp, it’s just the angle at which they grow that makes them feel long and sharp when they brush against her leg in the middle of the night. ...Could it be that toenails are proof that we are descended from some other animal, a creature that used its feet to climb trees, dig in the dirt, and defend itself? And if they are proof of such evolutionary beginnings, does that mean we weren’t crafted from clay? And would that mean the Bible is inaccurate?"

What am I to say about this? Clearly his logic drops off a bit - but for those who do not believe that the bible is more than a book written by men over the years, or that the Koran is simply a book a nice guy put together years ago after wanting to split away from the religions of the time, how do we engage in an informed discussion based on scientific facts to help rationalize our belief in Creationism? I tend to fall down on these points quite a lot - and easily say things like "I'm not a religious scholar nor have I studied theology, so I go by faith". Ok, that sounds good to Christians and probably people of other faiths, but to non-believers it's a bit weak. I know many books have been written on these subjects, but most that I've read (don't get me started on Ken Ham - talk about weak writing!) make painful jumps in logic about as credible as my brother the Atheist's jump in logic from chapter 4. What scientific data exists to support Creationism? Is there any? Can anyone really refute Evolution?

Atheist Friends? Muslim Friends?

I have a lot of friends who don't believe in God. Is that a big deal? Not really. It helps me remember that we're all different in this world, starting from different places and points of view. And it helps me stay sharp in my beliefs, and it forces me to revisit what's important to me vs what's legalistic vs what's not a big deal. As I think through my closest friends, its probably split between Christians and non-believers (not necessarily all Atheists - some folks who are of other beliefs). My mother is Arabic but she's not a Muslim, nor is any of our immediate family. But I don't have any close Muslim friends. Odd? I don't know that I even know any Muslims. I find it odd that I know a lot more Atheists than I do Muslims, Hindu's, Mormon's, etc... is that unique to me? Is it the circles I run in? I might have met a few Muslims but I'm not sure. Maybe it's the regions I've lived in (Dallas, Texas; Indiana, Denver/Colorado Spring, Colorado; Phoenix,Arizona) in the US. But I've worked all over the place and traveled all over the world. You'd think I would have run into more Muslim's. I will say most of my non-believer friends are very opened minded willing to discuss a lot of diverse topics - and they tend not to rant and rave when they disagree with me (except for some of my family members :) ). They are (get ready for this!!) VERY Christ-like in their behavior. Most care about the downtrodden, most focus on social programs, most love all kinds of people, most care about the world and where it's headed. But a lot of them get fired up when talking about Christians - not when they talk about anyone else. We're kind of polarizing, aren't we. But seriously - why do such compassionate, caring, forgiving people turn into angry, disparaging, mean spirited people when talking about Christians? What triggers this response? I need to ask my friends - or maybe they'll read this and respond. What about you readers - where do you fall in all of this?

Mohamed Bashing?

I'm not an expert on religion at all - but I do know that around the world when Mohamed is disparaged or even drawn in a political cartoon, there tends to be serious repercussions. However, is this response true in other faiths? If I draw a cartoon making fun of Vishnu, do Hindu's come looking for me? I know when people speak ill of Jesus it bothers me, but not to the point of jihad. So what's the deal? If Mohamed sacred to the point of killing other human beings? What about Alla? What about the other prophets in Islam? Is it just the one guy, or all guys are untouchable when it comes to humor? The Simpson's make fun of all faiths - except Islam. The same with South Park. Is it because if they cross the line and depict Mohamed in a negative or humorous light a jihad will be declared on them and their families? Can we have firm political discussions about faith without it leading to violence? For example, if I believe that Christianity is the true faith, and have this discussion with a Muslim, is he expected to get violent if I think Mohamed was just a guy vs something more? Man, getting clarity on this would help go a long way to preventing my Brother the Atheist from getting killed for things he's putting in his book about Islam and Mohamed...

Faith / Belief Poll

OK - not everyone thinks they have a belief or faith. That's crap! You believe in something - whether it's believing in a god, or believing in evolution, or believing in some cool cosmic mistake, at your core you must have some kernel of logic, hope, information, etc that drives you. If you don't - wow! I want to know you more!! Take my poll on beliefs and let me know you answered the way you did.

What is an Atheist?

Here is the definition from dictionary.com:

a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.

—Synonyms: Atheist, agnostic, infidel, skeptic refer to persons not inclined toward religious belief or a particular form of religious belief. An atheist is one who denies the existence of a deity or of divine beings. An agnostic is one who believes it impossible to know anything about God or about the creation of the universe and refrains from commitment to any religious doctrine. Infidel means an unbeliever, especially a nonbeliever in Islam or Christianity. A skeptic doubts and is critical of all accepted doctrines and creeds.

Hmmm - sounds like my brother. Do you know anyone like this? Is this definition accurate?

Back Cover - Hilarious?

I found the back cover art to be funny - probably a little bit of a surprise to some readers here. But come on - you gotta admit you smiled a little bit, right?

Now I'm not sure that quoting Mohammed was a good idea - some folks make take offense and response negatively. But Abraham talking about having a BLT??? HA! And book burning parties - that's comedy.

The creativity alone should have impressed you - and it leads me to wonder about the content even more.

Thoughts / comments?

A book for all people?

My brother has written a book. I'm not sure if it's a good book or not. I've seen excerpts, seen the front and back cover, the table of contents, etc. It's supposed to be humorous - which I don't doubt - he's a funny guy (a favorite past time at family gatherings is for he and I to get everyone else laughing so hard tears are flowing and "accidents" might be happening).

He's an atheist - is that supposed to be capitalized, like Muslim or Christian? I don't know, so to prevent anyone from getting upset with me I'll capitalize it from now on.

OK, he's an Atheist. So, what's the big deal? Not much - unless you're worried about his eternal soul. Obviously I'm a Christian - my wife and I are the only ones in my immediate family. Again, not a big deal for our regular interactions - we love them and have no doubt they love us. We don't agree on some things, we agree on others. Our core difference is a big one.

So this book he's written - it's funny (I hope). It's not a slam on Christianity specifically - it's a humorous poke at all religions. Islam - he mocks it. Scientology - he mocks it. Judaism - he mocks it. Christianity - he mocks it. The list goes on and on. Some might be over the line, some might be funny. But he's also raises hard questions - many that most of us believers (regardless of what we believe in) probably don't want to address.

It seems like the kind of book where in one chapter I'll be cheering him on, while in another I'll be railing against him. Discussion is bound to be spurred on by my Atheist brother.

His book will be available within a week. You can visit his website at http://toenailsbook.com/. I've put some of the content up on this site as well. Comments and feedback are appreciated - of course if you read his book I'll value your feedback a little more!

I'm trying to get some pages posted, along with the cover art and table of contents. I'm having trouble with the TOC, but the rest should help you better understand what we're getting into. WHen the book is published I'll get a few more pages online. But you can always buy the book yourself to read it in its entirty -like reading any book you'll want to get the complete view before commenting too much. And I'll review the comments - not for content but for spam - before allowing them to post. No point in letting the spam machines fill up the cyberspace any more than they already do!