Evolution of Life in the Universe

[@stephencipoletto9648]

That was one of the best lectures on the Universe I ever heard, and I am no Catholic.

[@carygoleman]

I'm atheist but his argument for suffering in the universe being statistically viable is the most compelling I've heard in a while

[@mikhailvoropaev3357]

Coyne is AWESOME !

[@haimhengen]

Fantastic lecture, rest in peace, lovely man

[@ananiasacts]

George's brain appears to be in a superposition of states, one doesn't permit the existence of god, the other requires one. I enjoy his commentaries, and note he's remarkable expressive when taking about science. Be he's equally opaque when describing his faith, suggesting for example, that spiritual traditions are a form of real evidence. Still, it's nice to see a religious person demonstrate any respect for science--let alone have such a marvelous grasp. He's the antidote for creationism.

[@pnadin123]

No, he is a great follower of Jesus, he's done some amazing work. Watch his video with Richard Dawkins... science has no place in religion, religion has no place in science. God is not a God of explanation, but a God of love, seek him in this way and you will find the Lord Jesus :)

[@MCWaffles2003-1]

i see a video intended on mocking this man in a debate with richard dawkins and in the comments section i see people praising this man for open mindedness. i come to a video of him showing the beauty of the universe through his eyes and people scoff and call him an unbeliever. you people make me sad

[@mikhailvoropaev3357]

It's impossible to mock this dude, he is too awesome. Dawkins is a child compared to him. Great mind. One of those few who helps you believe despite the pedophilick culture of the Catholic Church.

[@Lerian_V]

@Peter Stuyvesant But if it happens that he exists, your fate after your body dies should worry you.

[@joegeorge8153]

Dawkins treated this man with the up most respect.

[@markheithaus]

Dawkins really seemed pleased with and fascinated by him

[@ThEsHeEn117]

Agreed, wasn't that the point of his talk? To arouse the mind of the "big questions" which can't be answered? This man is amazing and one of my heroes.

[@spaveevo]

well, if the vatican has scientists like this then we have hope for religion and science to coexist.

[@misscameroon8062]

Bravo dr.Coyne,we need more priests like you;religion can`t stand in the way of science!

[@doscojones6404]

There is a long list of clerical scientists in Catholicism: George LeMaitre - the Big Bang Theory; Gregor Mendel - godfather of modern genetics, to name just two.

[@paulstock7533]

Love it! His humour and presentation were great.Loved his cander on religion and the bible.

[@Vogda]

I like this guy, not because he is a scientist and catholic and not because I agree completely with all he says, but because he does not try to twist science and the facts as the evangelical creationists do.

[@rgonzalezz08]

On one hand you have the chaotic randomness of the universe and in the other hand we have human consciousness.

[@Petre66CA]

I like this video to the last second

[@haroldhart2688]

For Hydrogen, the atomic mass is 1.01. Because you have two hydrogen atoms, the atomic mass of H2 is 2.02. So one mole of H2 weighs 2.02 grams. If you have 3.0 moles of H2, that would weigh 2.02 x 3, or 6.06 grams

[@LucyFre]

Super 👌

[@Enigmatik691]

Wonderful presentation.

[@MJLallo]

Where can I get the footage of the documentary The People With Long Eyes about the Vatican Observatory. This was done in late 80's or early 90's. I composed the music for it!

[@kadene2]

What causes viruses to mutate and become resistant to antibiotics destroyed the same strain of virus in the past? This is evolution on a micro level. I don't know enough about scientific concepts, but this is the easiest way for me to understand evolution.

[@Anemptybox]

If only more religious people were more like George, religion wouldn't be so much of a problem in our society.

[@Jim1905]

@washmlakid You should read about G.K. Chesterton and G.B. Shaw, one was a christian apologist and the other an atheist. They had many heated debates but in the end were very good friends. They each saw each other as comrades against ignorance; they weren't just trying to prove each other wrong but argue in search of truth. Shaw said of Chesterton "He was a man of colassal genius".

[@corydorastube]

What would you rather have, an honest man that says "I do not know" or a dishonest man who makes things up.as he goes along? If all clerics were as honest as this man the world would be a safer place.

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac I'm sure only Einstein knew what he meant by that word, but it sounds like what I believe in. I was raised Catholic, then became atheist in college, and have since become agnostic/pantheist. So I don't like to judge or make fun of peoples choice in religion; accepting that for those things which science has yet to shine a light on, we should be free to philosophize, and yes, even imagine various possibilities. Of course I try and be careful but some things remain quite mysterious.

[@defenderoftheadverb]

41.30 Expansion is not slowing down. Is accelerating according to latest info. Hence dark energy.

[@jasper826]

Father Coyne should explain us what serve to the mankind the Galaxies which God built millions of light years afar?

[@pinkyas]

@ananiasacts I have watched him several times, he is just the most honest religious person I have ever seen and have nothing but respect and appreciation for his person and discours. Of course, only a little more and... there would be no religion left.

[@arnieabram3306]

At 11:11:34 Mr. Coyne states that the Bible, specifically Genesis, talks more about God than it does the creation of the world. This is certainly true for scientist. But for those who "walk by faith and not by sight" or - shall I say - live by some form of Godliness and Words of Faith," have been easily inspired (spiritually) by the science mentioned throughout the book Genesis. It takes a scholar trained in the field of science to write and lecture on scientific proofs/discoveries, just as it would take an learned/experienced person of faith and inspiration to understand, write, and lecture on the scientific evidence located throughout the book of Genesis (think Moses). Mr. Coyne we can relate, don't short change scripture. The scriptures depicts millions of different things to millions of different people, including science, throughout the world, not just the story of God. Moses didn't need to say "chemical reaction" to depict "creation" of the "heavens and earth," in the beginning. Scriptures are only understood by readers who "possess" a discerning spirit. The bible isn't just a book of beautiful stories. Those books encompass the pattern/beginning/ending of life itself scientifically and spiritually (God's realm). Just as man discovered that the earth isn't flat, two hundred years from now man will soon find out that the beginning of life wasn't caused by a "big bang," but a home-made project developed by a first grader in his playroom. I'm just saying.......

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac In fact we do find things out by making things up (how else have languages evolved?). Some things we make up correspond with physical reality better than others and we include those which are most reliable into the sciences. It's my "belief" that science will never be able to describe all aspects of reality conclusively and that no matter how much we "figure out" there will always be mystery "left over". The universe I believe is richer than our minds can ever fully describe

[@ananiasacts]

24:30 I thought lithium came from the big bang. 41:00 The universe is expanding at an increasing rate, not slowing down. 44:00 No, we share a common ancestor with monkeys is all. 47:00 Toasters, iPods, even cars probably meet the same criteria. As would anything engineered by any process from low temp. matter. 51:40 video stopped for some reason.

[@washmlakid]

@sbergman27 I agree with some of your points, disagree with others. Have you got time to go into it? Or pehaps it would be better by PM.

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac you're right, and I'm not saying (nor have I ever said) that science is religion or vice versa. They are both completely different methods for arriving at completely different types of truth. Science is most successful w.r.t. physical reality. Yet there are limits to its methods in describing COMPLETELY and satisfactorily many aspects of experience e.g. psychology, economics, and various other complex systems. The specific methodologies in those fields are not yet dependable. And

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac sufficiently rigorous or scientific an explanation to qualify as settled knowledge. In fact, much of what we call mind is still very much a mystery. We're making great strides via neuroscience but we've got a ways to go, and I believe it'll be one of the toughest scientific challenges we've ever faced. We have to be careful what we qualify as valid and thorough description of mental experiences, s.t. causal links are well established. There is yet much mystery in mind.

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac A religious experience can be known to the person who experiences it. It is unlike the kind of experience that may be analyzed via scientific methods but one can't deny the holder of such an experience his having experienced it. So it may not lend itself to outside verification but as humans we are often under the influence of ideas, thoughts, emotions others can't "understand" in any detailed, scientifically valid manner. This doesn't deny that these experiences ever took place.

[@joegeorge8153]

What a nice man.

[@apokalypse7777]

What a lovely Honest presentation😇😇😇 So refreshing to hear “ I don’t know” Instead of fumbling for answers that won’t satisfy a sceptical audience. Just to make one point. We are All under time and chance. And events can happen with or without Gods intervention. But not without his knowledge. Interesting point raised that we didn’t need to exist for the universe to be as it is. In a way that is true😇 But on the Sixth day, GOD SAID “let us make man our our image” We; if you put aside the origins of the universe. Are a deliberate creation, from the heart and mind of God😇😇😇 If we claim to believe in a creator who is omnipotent. Then as Jesus said to his disciples, when asked” who then can be saved”? With man, this is IMPOSSIBLE. BUT… With GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. 😇😇😇

[@shunyotube]

Fair enough. I'm not Xian, but I like this priest and some of the very liberal folks in the Catholic church seem sincere and cool to me. But yes, you have a good point and I'm most often feeling as strongly about it as you express.

[@KaizerDraco]

this man is truly the representative the thinking pattern of a proper and just human being and his belief about god and the universe, this is the belief that i have adopted and believed with no doubts for years. it is SO SO SO,hard to find a man who can truely reason and understand the codes behind life, i mean when we say we are sophisticated, we are utterly stupid as well. the meaning of life is right there,people are just ignorant to accept it, for what? money? to buy donuts, coffee?

[@ananiasacts]

@lifes40123 I'm addicted to the lectures... they are so damn good.

[@MrCostiZz]

What a nice priest …..

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac You misunderstand and mischaracterize what I'm trying to say. That there are things "out there" is without question, my point is that our description of those things depends on our creating constructs and then applying logical relations amongst them. I have a physics degree so i'm not denying science. My point is that H2O and E=mc^2 only have meaning because we have created constructs that correspond to "reality" fairly accurately. Read Popper and Margenou to see what I'm saying.

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac religion is based on trying to find out more about spiritual truths, or those parts of experience not related to physical nature. Unfortunately it's gotten a bad rap because many of it's main proponents and institutions throughout its history have tainted it with authority and demagoguery. But Dr. Coyne is one of many (see Henry Margenau) who, being more enlightened, mean to reconcile all of experience without relying on authority or dogma.

[@defenderoftheadverb]

This is refreshing. With all the creationist nonsense about one tends to think that theism poisons science. Coyne lets the evidence speak for itself. Of course his interpretation has a theistic spin but it doesn't get in the way.

[@defenderoftheadverb]

Never heard of the inverse square law? Not aware that dust and gas have mass? What exactly is your problem?

[@nvantas]

In a response to a question presented regarding the Tree of the Universe, Dr. Coyne expressed his opinion of no that if going back a billion years or even to the time of the Big Bang event, would the universe follow a path that would lead to say the development of the human brain. If there is no destiny in the universe, does that preclude the existence of heaven and/or hell? If the answer to that is yes (in other words heaven and hell do not exist) then what would be the purpose of Jesus?

[@politicalfoolsandhorses]

The Bible does not explicitly say whether or not hell exists, but it does warn about the consequences of sin. In my opinion, go to basics. Sin is breaking one o more of the 10 rules. Ad the consequences of sin is that the more you break (like rob or cheat or overcharge people for a living or taking other people's wives or doing to others what you would not want others to do to you, etc) ( all arising from greed) (all arising from the fact that needs to be happy are few, wants are many) the more you will be living hell, here on earth since all these are drives without a finish that lead to WANTING more and more and you are never happy and never at peace with yourself - By contrast those that live by the 10 rules - and that understand that needs to be happy and to live in peace are few and the best way is to love all like yourself and ever do harm to others; they spend their life in happiness and die a peaceful death here on earth too.

[@Sizifus]

Actually, in our school we had lessons with a priest, who, strangely, rarely talked about the bible or its passages, he always used his own rational judgement to explain situations and morals. I am an atheist and I consider him a friend. Debates with him were very enjoyable, the man is quite open-minded.

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac Of course religion has been responsible for (though not wholly so) many embarrassing acts such as Galileo, Crusades, Witches, etc...but that doesn't disqualify the good it has done as an institution in providing stability and order in many societies, especially when things were less known scientifically. I stand by my characterization of psychology and economics as being dismal sciences and note that "explaining" religious experiences as being "merely emotional experiences" isn't

[@JamesClifford-00]

@suitabledude I hear what you're saying but....you don't "find things out" by making things up. That's why science & religion don't mix.

[@JamesClifford-00]

@suitabledude Agreed. The universe is mysterious. And since the world no longer languishes under the tyranny of Catholic theocracy we're even free to philosophize. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'll leave you with one last bit of plagerized wisdom: "Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned."

[@gamesbok]

Some religious experiences may be tested. Hospitals that perform many procedures involving general anesthetic frequently have reports of Out of Body or Near Death Experiences. They frequently place unusual objects on top of cupboards. When the patient reports raising from his/her body staff ask them to identify the objects placed out-of-sight. None ever have.

[@corydorastube]

Amen to that!

[@St0ffZillA]

Bravo...bravo!

[@JamesClifford-00]

@suitabledude Right. That what I've been saying. Doesn't this imply that what folks are pleased to call religious experience could be produced by willing imaginations?

[@jasper826]

After all he knwos and he says it is very curious how he can still believe in God

[@Lerian_V]

14:57 deez nuts. Forgive me father.

[@thetruth3574]

Why assume that the universe "started" with nothing-- or started at all? The universe is infinite and eternal and has always been changing, taking on new forms which only seem to "begin" because we cannot see where they what they were before we noticed them.

[@washmlakid]

@sbergman27 I've told some friends in PMs my feelings on 'debates' vs. 'arguments' vs 'discussions'. One pointed out to me the story of Einstein and Bohr at Copenhagen. They were professional rivals and had very different opinions on Quantum Mechanics. However, in personal life they were good friends. They spent a day walking around the lake, discussing their views, and trying to work out some way to reconcile them. That's the way I try to deal with people. Doesn't always work of course. Some...

[@Solution2012]

it's interesting how humans fill in missing pieces on their own trying to solve a puzzle.

[@gamesbok]

Laplace wrote a book on the formation of the Solar System, and Napoleon ask why he hadn't mentioned God. 'Je n'avais pas besoin de cette hypothèse-là.' ("I had no need of that hypothesis.") Napoleon, greatly amused, told this reply to Lagrange, who exclaimed, 'Ah! c'est une belle hypothèse; ça explique beaucoup de choses.' ("Ah, it is a fine hypothesis; it explains many things.")

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac truth is there will always be phenomena lying outside the grasp of scientific understanding. Besides, the scientific method relies on its own metaphysical requirements which allow it to yield "valid" results, such as the requirement of permanence and stability, requirements of extensibility, simplicity and elegance, dare I say, beauty! Does the combination of these requirements in a methodology work? Of course as we've discovered. They are yet metaphysical in nature.

[@Exodus511]

Personally my take is if there are no miracles like in the bible this day and age (I mean like burning talking bushes, oceans parting and that sort of thing) then methinks that what was written were exaggerations of true events attempted to be portrayed in a very poetic symbolic form. Unfortunately through the generations others have taken advantage of the desire many have to be provided spiritual stability... (Continued)

[@FREEZERQC]

wow it ze first time i see i downloadable viideo on youtube (without vdownloader)

[@washmlakid]

@sbergman27 Let's try them one by one. Remember also, I'm not defending the Church or its' doctrines, only what is addressed by Fr. Coyne. Fr. Coyne has made concessions to eliminate inconsistencies. I'm guessing you mean 'miracles', as in Fatima on the one, and the virgin birth and resurrection on the other. The Church itself recognizes other miracles, if they meet the criteria set out by the Church. I don't remember which Pope or what year, but these were codified some time ago.Not all...

[@washmlakid]

@sbergman27 I wasn't trying to split hairs. I was trying to get a feel for the thought behind the statement. I also wanted to clarify that as long as the Church hasn't forbidden it, it's open to discussion and disagreement amongst the faithful. This, to me, rules out inconsistency on Fr. Coyne's part. He also says, on more than one occasion, his religious beliefs in no way contradict science and vice versa. I perhaps shouldn't have lumped all theists and atheists together earlier. You are...

[@Thrashaero]

@BalladoftheWindfish i understand that it's rather inconsistent to be a preacher of a religion and not its claims. but that could easily be because he knows they're not true. perhaps he's not taking it for granted anymore, as it were, like he ostensibly should. That tends to happen easily when a person starts thinking instead of not. He could still however be trying to string relevance to religious beleif anyway. it's fairly common for catholics to be christian-lite.

[@pinkyas]

@ananiasacts thanks for your reply. Don't really see what you mean by It's more of a crisis today. People like that in fact do no longer believe in gods or bibles, they are too far beyond, as we are, but just like the idea of believing. Believing in believing, although we all know it's nonsense, it's wrapped up in so much humanity that we can... almost.... accept it in their case.

[@JamesClifford-00]

@suitabledude I wonder how many religious experiences are merely emotional experiences. The human mind is highly suggestible. Consider the power of the placebo effect after a one time event like swallowing a sugar pill. Is it surprising if decades of mental conditioning, validation & reinforcement allows us to "experience" what we been taught to expect? Whether that's good or bad is another question. Most often good I hope but certainly religious experiences have driven some folks quite mad.

[@rayoat]

I figured out "god" now. i once prayed for a new bike but got told god doesnt work that way, so the next day i stole 1 and asked for his forgiveness. See? easy!

[@0000thief]

That s called honestly. He doesnt pretend to have a good answer to questions which doesnt have good answers. Most priests would tell you a bunch of bullshit and pretend that it s all 100% proven. When you try to explain them why they re wrong they will change the subject.

[@yemail5555]

His concept of god is closer to Spinoza's and is not so adhere to Catholic's dogma that I know of.

[@Direkin]

Funny thing is, if Creationists were to watch this video, they'd probably claim that Coyne isn't a "true" Christian.

[@larrybutler4964]

Right.

[@washmlakid]

@sbergman27 to get this across to others repeatedly for years. Apparently they are, as you said, afraid their worldview is threatened. I believe that goes for both.

[@corydorastube]

Dou you think that Catholics have some kind of "hot line" to God? Did you watch any of this presentation? It does not sound like you did.

[@gamesbok]

It could also forcast lunar eclips 4 times out of 5, probably enough for a druid to keep his job.

[@JamesClifford-00]

@suitabledude I'm not sure what you think I misunderstand but this is a danged awkward way to converse. Karl Popper wrote: "the criterion of the scientific status of a theory is its falsifiability, or refutability, or testability." Seems to me those things apply to chemistry & special relativity but not to religion. Say Aunt Minnie falls ill and her family prays for her. If she recovers it's answered prayer. If she dies God took her home. Neither conclusion is testable, falsifiable or refutable

[@gamesbok]

Elegance is always nice, but I wouldn't call the Wiles and Taylor solution to Fermat's Last elegant. If we take in our hand any volume; of divinity or school metaphysics, for instance; let us ask, Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion. - An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

[@woweixiaomiandui]

@klank67 i know what you wrote in your last sentence, it's your first sentence that i'm talking about.. "A PhD in fairytales doesn't place him..."

[@ananiasacts]

1:14:00 There is a cognitive niche in any biological environment. We're living proof of it. The odds that a stable environment that contains and supports life could last for ten billion years without creating it seem small. Mostly because it took our planet much less time. Once you get to multicellular life it looks like you're most of the way towards inquisitive self awareness. 1:17:00 At least he admits religion is mostly just a political issue. 1:25:43 "Publicly I do." Says it all.

[@flowewritharoma]

let me know aud book trailer

[@silverfletcher4271]

The simplest way to explain the life and the universe is to say that God created everything. The end.

[@peterxp4274]

Nonsense, non-Catholics have every right to believe as they wish. It is on their own conscience.

[@noxure]

@adamkyler He probably means ionizing gas.

[@JamesClifford-00]

@suitabledude The god of Einstein, you say? Glad to hear it. Was afraid you were Catholic. "If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." -Albert Einstein "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods." -Albert Einstein I'm pretty sure the word "gods" in that quote is used metaphorically. Cheers.

[@Exodus511]

As far as most Atheists go... Why are you basing your opinion of God from a book you don't believe in? I mean if I don't believe in the bible... Well what's written in the bible I can't exactly use as proof for my convictions. So the bible says God is good, we should worship him and not use his name in vein. Okay. If I don't believe in the bible should I agree with anything the bible says? Maybe God isn't good, he doesn't want us to worship him and we can use his name all we want...

[@washmlakid]

@sbergman27 Perhaps I suffer from the same sort of logical inconsistencies. I think that Fr. Coyne explains this rather well in his interview with Dawkins,q.v. On my user page I've playlisted some of the videos I've found by Fr. Coyne. If you have time, and care to, I think that one in particular addresses your points. I keep any religious views I may have, or don't have, to myself. Except on a site on Theology, and I don't go there because I don't care for the sanctimonious jerks who ...

[@klank67]

@woweixiaomiandui Perhaps I should have wrote it this way then: A man with a PhD in astronomy/cosmology that still believes in fairytales suggests a rather unusual partitioning of the mind.

[@ananiasacts]

1:00:00 Why it happened is just as much a scientific question as how it happened is. 1:03:00 How is denying god a crime like killing a neighbor? There are no thought crimes. The very idea is horrendously immoral. 1:05:00 Not a mystery. Evolution by natural selection. The molecules that don't make it aren't as fit in our present environment as the ones that do is all. 1:10:00 I disagree. The odds that life is rare in environments that would permit it seems fantastically low. Its abundant.

[@defenderoftheadverb]

So you do understand there is a force of attraction between these things but because one is more massive than the other then they can't actually attract each other? I'm amazed your carer lets you play on the net. It seems less than responsible.

[@ananiasacts]

@pinkyas, I like him a lot too. But I think his arguments should only convince listeners of his prejudice, and don't make a case. Even if we had no theory of evolution to explain our existence, it still wouldn't suggest that a deity was involved. I think he's a good example of what Dan Dennett calls the religion trap, where by the time you're halfway through seminary you're taught it's all just pap at bottom and left to find your own way of justifying it. It's even more of a crisis today.

[@suitabledude]

@MightyCarnac Right, my point though is, what produces willing imaginations? Specifically, not generally or vaguely. We're far from answering this at this point. I believe in a god similar to that of Einstein and Spinoza, to me the Universe or God are like an assymptote and we're the curve approaching it (via science etc). We're always getting closer but we'll never obtain a full understanding of all things. This is a metaphysical belief, or a religious one. Science alone can't answer this.

[@Exodus511]

sigh... I love when this discussion about God gets back into the spot light. I mean it's a lose lose situation. A large mass of people will always believe a supreme entity exists and a mass of people will always believe that one doesn't. What both seem to share however is the use of the scriptures. Theists will say that God exists because it says so in the bible and Atheists will say that the bible has too many ridiculously out there stories... (Continued)

[@Thrashaero]

@BalladoftheWindfish well, expressing disappointment that somebody doesn't know about miracles that you say you know about is making a claim that such miracles and supernatural voodoo exists. Anyway, you said it yourself "I actually have not given this much thought because I just take for granted that the supernatural exists and go from there." You might want to start thinking more about things and taking less things for granted and acting as that is the way to go. You might find life easier.

[@noxure]

@prettyemofreak wtf, dude. Gravity doesn't work that way. xD F=G[(m1 * m2)/r²] So a dust particle of 1gram experiences a gravitational pull of about 5*10^-5N (1/500 times gravity on earth), ACCELERATING at a few centimeters/s² while the gravitational pull also increases EXPONENTIALLY the closer it gets. You would be surprised how fast that thing will go after a year or so. One billion miles is nothing on a cosmic scale.

[@suitabledude]

@EqualAndFree i'm familiar with the quote, and numerous others. I mentioned him because his sentiments on God are similar to mine, and Spinoza and many others I'm sure.

[@haassun2k]

father george coyne has to be an under cover atheist

[@larrybutler4964]

Not at all.

[@ananiasacts]

Of course, The vatican is a business and uses every technique any other business uses from market research to political lobbying to maximize profitability and minimize risk. Selling psychological comfort is a lot like prostitution, you know exactly what your clients want and how to deliver it but to make any real money you have to get them irrationally exuberant about it. Knowledge of science combined with thousands of years of expertise in sophistry can help them craft a better product.

[@washmlakid]

@sbergman27 ... of the clergy or Catholics do. This is not a problem as the Pope has not spoken to this point 'ex cathedra'. The virgin birth, the miracles performed, and the resurrection of Jesus are at the core of Catholic dogma, and as such can't be denied by a Catholic. To do so would be heresy, and the heretic is subject to ex-communication.

[@nelsonml9]

@prettyfreak ask yourself!! does gravity effect dust? Would solar winds effect dust? do i understand the vastness of space? are there stars that on a realist scale make our moon look like dust? would several inces of dust randomly and equally covering the moon statisticly equal billions of years. takeing in consideration.THAT DUST FORMS LAYERS! and would those layers be compressed into somthing i lil harder then dust.dirt. rocks.i dont know THE MOON ITSELF lol. slap yourself.

[@OmicronIII]

Educated clergy. LOL! Rock on, man! :)

[@markheithaus]

There's a lot of that in the Catholic Church. He's a jesuit. This is why protestant fundamentalists often have a problem with Catholicism. A short hand explanation would be the following: In the Catholic mind the Book is a book of the faith. The faith comes first, thus to treat the creation story as a story is okay. In many protestant churches the faith is a faith of the Book. The book is the foundation, thus the tendency to defend the creation story as literal.

[@Aristoteles83]

The universe is the true palace of opportunity, ha ha ;-) Little updates to this talk: the expansion of the universe is speeding up due to dark energy which might lead to a big rip or big cool and the oldest observed galaxies now are roughly 14 billions years old. So the youngest formed only a couple of hundred million years after the inflation of space and time.

[@gamesbok]

You have to work quite hard to get things that wrong.