g4macdad
Muse
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2007
- Messages
- 752
What are you talking about. I told you that Judaism accepts the Theory of Evolution and you wanted evidence. I gave you the evidence. I hope you will accept the evidence and not deny it merely because you would like it to be otherwise.
Wrong. That's a distinction that only Intelligent Design theorists have adopted and no sect of Judaism of which I am aware has ever accepted Intelligent Design.
What alternative Scriptures? All sects of Judaism use the same "Scriptures": The Tanach (what you call the Old Testament), the Talmud (the oral traditions of Judaism) and the Mishnah (the commentaries of learned Rabbis after the Exile). (Well, Karaite Jews -- a really obscure sect -- don't use Talmud or Mishnah, but now we're getting really picky.)
Orthodox Jews who reject evolution and believe in the literal truth of the Torah (and that's only some of them), do so mostly because that's what their rabbis in the 18th century decreed. Maimonides, the most famous rabbinical scholar stated in the 12th century (when there was only one sect of Judaism) that the Torah is not to be read literally -- it contain lessons of morality, not lessons of science. When he said it, by the way, he was not setting forth anything particularly groundbreaking. It was an unremarkable statement in its time because it's been the way most Jews have viewed the Torah since time immemorial.
As for what I personally believe, I believe that God created the universe with physical laws. I believe He gave Jews the Tanach with moral lessons to help us in our daily lives. I believe He may may have given other people other moral guidance in other forms. I believe he gave us the capacity for rational thought so that we might better understand His creation in a rational manner. That's what I believe, though I think it irrelevant to the current discussion.
You reject creationism but:
"As for what I personally believe, I believe that God created the universe with physical laws."
Yes it is silly to believe a God who can create all matter and physical laws and communicate with people to write down his word, would be able to create life.
ROTFLI am so tempted to use an old tired crack joke right now.
I have to believe that you have grossly misinterpreted the beliefs of these people.
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