The Ten Commandments In Evolution

The founders of the United States were well aware of religious differences in the new nation. Oppression had forced varied European religious groups to seek homes elsewhere, some in the new world of America. Governmental pressures toward conformity in religion had in the past led to corruption and civil strife. Thus, Congress made a dual assertion in its First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." However, the ethical foundations of American society--and therefore its laws--intermingle with the moral codes of religions, including the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments. This handbook helps bring understanding and meaning to the controversies that have arisen in present day society over the application of the Ten Commandments to public law and moral problems. Applications can be logical and legal, or can violate the separation of church and state called for in the First Amendment. Part One provides background on the Ten Commandments. It gives the various versions found in the Old Testament, and explains the non-Israelite influences on those versions (the Hammurabi Code, for example). The moral thinking of the ancient Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Hebrew cultures is examined. The modern Jewish tradition is detailed, as well as the different interpretations placed on the Ten Commandments by Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans and other Protestants. Part Two focuses on the modern controversies, assessing the differing sides of each. Among the many controversies covered are government funding of faith-based charities, posting the Ten Commandments in public buildings, science versus religion in schools, prayer in public places, blue laws, stem cell research, cloning, euthanasia, capital punishment, abortion and war, racial profiling and covenant marriages.

In his book The Evolution of a Creationist Dr. Jobe Martin chronicles his personal journey from traditional scientist to creationist. He was a traditional evolutionist but it was his medical and scientific training that would go through an evolution when he began to study animals that challenged the scientific assumptions of his education. Dr. Martin has been exploring the evolution vs. creation debate for the past 20 years. His findings have been fascinating students around the world as he lectures on these remarkable animal designs that cannot be explained by traditional evolution.

Ian McDonald is a major SF writer, whose River of Gods (2004) won the British Science Fiction Association award for Best Novel, and was shortlisted for the corresponding Hugo, Arthur C. Clarke, and British Fantasy Society awards. Chaga (published in the U.

Why is it that 150 years after the celebrated appearance of Charles Darwins evolutionary vision, reasonable peoplelaity and professional scientists alikeremain skeptical toward it? Does Darwinian science, as various new atheists assert, nullify the rationality of theistic belief? What is the nature of Evolutionism as a worldview with religious implications? Author Richard Terrell explores these fundamental questions and more, from the standpoint of the Humanities, arguing that the issues of lifes origin, human nature, and human destiny call for a larger arena of discussion than can be provided by science alone. He rejects popular notions that science has put an irrefutable barrier in the path of theistic belief, and casts light on how the evolutionary vision of lifeexpressed as scientific materialismconstitutes a religious worldview of its own with questionable implications for the human condition. Along the way, Terrell considers the thoughts of such classic evolutionary thinkers as Ernst Haeckel, Julian Huxley, George Gaylord Simpson, and Theodosius Dobzhansky, along with more contemporary thinks like Richard Dawkins and other new atheists. Drawing upon the rich historical storehouse of affirmation and skepticism concerning Darwinism, Terrell argues that opposition to Darwinian beliefs is not confined to religious objections, but that the most serious challenges have come from scientists. Surprisingly, this minority report has existed through all the years of Darwinian cultural ascendancy, and is gaining in strength today. Here is a challenge to encourage students free inquiry into Darwinian doctrine and cultural influence free of dogma and intimidation.

We are living in a time of asynchrony: While technologically we are firmly in the 21st century, our world views are still characterized by ancient legends which are thousands of years old. This combination of high-level technical ability and highly naïve child-like beliefs could have disastrous consequences in the long run. We are behaving like five-year-olds who have been given responsibility for a jumbo jet. One of the most depressing problems of our time lies in religious fundamentalists of all stripes casually making use of the fruits of the Enlightenment (freedom of expression, constitutionality, science, technology) in order to prevent its principles being applied to the domain of their own belief. For example, to further their beliefs, the 9/11 terrorists used airplanes constructed on the basis of scientific principles; principles to which their beliefs could never stand up. In return, the "fundamentalist with other means", George W. Bush, led the world into a devastating "crusade" against "terror" and the "axis of evil" making use of a technology which could never have been developed if scientists had contented themselves with the American President's child-like faith that the Bible's creation account is true. In the face of the dangers arising from the renaissance of unenlightened thinking in a technologically highly developed era, it is a matter of intellectual integrity to speak out clearly - especially where religion is concerned. Anyone who is capable of splitting the atom and communicating via satellites must possess intellectual and emotional maturity. That certain people or groups of persons avoid exposure to criticism by establishing "holy" (i.e. untouchable) rules and uphold their fallacies as mandatory for all time, may and can no longer be accepted practice in a modern society.

As primitive civilization developed, society has established cornerstones in our thought and reasoning. Things we are told repeatedly as fact from birth and are thus believed instinctively. Many of these cornerstones now date back many millennia such as the Bible. The BER Series takes a candid look into the Bible to explore how the theological beliefs within Institutional Religion have affected society in diabolical ways. These books also challenge the church's theological cornerstones to prove that they deviate from the Bible and truly have an obscured understanding of the Divine. Thus, the goal is to bring an overdue debate to organized religion. The hope is to remove the barriers that deny humanity the evolution of our species. No topic is out of bounds. A person could listen to ten lifetimes of sermons and never get even a fraction of the candor of these books. Love them or hate them, you will be unable to put them down and you will never see the World or the Divine the same way again.

An introduction to the Biblical Evolution Revolution series beginning with a candid discussion on the general issues with the Bible. Issues ranging from trivial logistical questions, such as book names, chapter and verse layout, etc. to critical issues, to go as far as questioning the morality of the Bible and how its morality has impacted society in negative ways. From this foundation, the author proposes several options to improve upon the Bible with a general introduction to the upcoming books in the series and what the reader may anticipate in the books to come.