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"Evolution is something that you do."

Steve

Penultimate Amazing
Steve
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I saw the above caption on a sign outside a church on my drive to work this morning. After some thought I still have absolutely no idea what the author is trying to say. I thought I would share it anyway.
 
Maybe their intent is to say that evolution in designs by humans (like gradually improving TV set designs) is driven by an intelligent designer, therefore biological evolution does the same?

It's a stretch, but it's about the only way I can make anything out of it.

Could they be a little more cryptic?
 
Considering the amount of different meanings the word 'evolution' seems to have to those who are more interested in refuting it than understanding it, it could be just about anything.

It might or might not be connected to Andrew Cohen, mentioning his event "Evolution is something you do". It depends on what kind of church it was, I suppose.

Maybe they are simply preaching the truth. We do evolve, don't we? :D
 
I think it means you evolve from a simple sinner to a holy person if you go to their church.
 
They are likely "cheritable" enough to be putting up those messages not as advertisements bot as "morality tips" to those driving by. In this case, I'm pretty sure the intent is that evolution as in one's "spiritual" evolution. For clarification, religious sorts are all totally obsessed with the "spirit", a morality ghost that gets tainted and purified based on one's actions. The idea is that with "a lot of work" someone can become a good or bad person getting over, slowly, always slowly (because that way they don't notice nothing has actually really changed that much) changing who they are to be more "Christ-like".

And now you have a glimpse into the mind of these sorts, at least that's how they were doing things when I was involved in all that nonsense. Now I basically see it all as rather silly. Just stop hurting people!
 
Posted the OP years ago. Today, same church, the sign reads "Christianity must evolve or die". IMO this does not exactly cast the "truth" of the Christian bible in a favorable light. If Christianity is such a wonderful thing why would its adherents think it has to change in order to survive?
 
dogguy said:
Posted the OP years ago. Today, same church, the sign reads "Christianity must evolve or die". IMO this does not exactly cast the "truth" of the Christian bible in a favorable light. If Christianity is such a wonderful thing why would its adherents think it has to change in order to survive?
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Isn't the frequent criticism that Christianity is hidebound and tied to archaic understanding of the universe? Why fault them for taking steps in the right direction?

Not every Christian is a literalist.
 
Piscivore said:
Isn't the frequent criticism that Christianity is hidebound and tied to archaic understanding of the universe? Why fault them for taking steps in the right direction?

Not every Christian is a literalist.
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If, by "the right direction" you mean away from the 2,000 year old roots of their religion then I wonder how far they would have to "evolve" in order for the founding principles of Christianity to become irrelevant. Or has this already happened? It seems apparent to me that current Christianity, in all its myriad forms and denominations, bears little resemblance to the Christianity of 2,000 years ago. So if "evolving" is a natural trait of Christianity when does it stop being Christianity and start being something else? If the religion was true or correct in its original form then "evolution" would not be necessary, or even desirable.
 
It honestly reminds me of the Glen Beck thing about the difference between evolution and revolution ... perhaps they're trying to make a political statement of some kind?
 
dogguy said:
If, by "the right direction" you mean away from the 2,000 year old roots of their religion then I wonder how far they would have to "evolve" in order for the founding principles of Christianity to become irrelevant.
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Irrelevant to what, exactly? Christianity, like all religions (and all nations, corporations, and girl scout troops), are exactly what their members make of it. So what if it evolves and changes? The United States has changed a lot in just 200 some years, does that invalidate America's legitimacy? Our reliance on the Constitution?

Or has this already happened? It seems apparent to me that current Christianity, in all its myriad forms and denominations, bears little resemblance to the Christianity of 2,000 years ago.
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And this is a good thing, isn't it?

So if "evolving" is a natural trait of Christianity when does it stop being Christianity and start being something else?
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When the Christians that make it up decide it does. See Smith, Joseph.

If the religion was true or correct in its original form then "evolution" would not be necessary, or even desirable.
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For my money, I'm not really going to give a guano if the religion is true or correct to its original form and count it as a win they're tending away from crusades and inquisitions. YMMV.
 
Piscivore said:
For my money, I'm not really going to give a guano if the religion is true or correct to its original form and count it as a win they're tending away from crusades and inquisitions. YMMV.
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o/t .... speaking of guano, I was always curious of Batman's guano had any special abilities or uses?
 
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My favourite motto on a sign outside a whacky church I pass on my way to play Necromunda:

"If evolution were true mothers would have 3 arms"

There's been a few other classics. Perhaps Ill start writing them down.
 
dogguy said:
Posted the OP years ago. Today, same church, the sign reads "Christianity must evolve or die". IMO this does not exactly cast the "truth" of the Christian bible in a favorable light. If Christianity is such a wonderful thing why would its adherents think it has to change in order to survive?
Click to expand...

My view: with nearly every change in society's moral consensus, the devoutly religious must be dragged kicking and screaming into it. They struggle against moral progress mightily, fighting tooth and nail, and proclaiming all the while that X is destructive, sinful, and base. Eventually, after the vast majority of the populace has finally come to accept X, the devout so often manage to convince themselves that X has always been the natural position of their religion, even if their religious leaders still condemn it every day.

Perhaps the fundamentalists are have a point: Christianity (read: Islam, Judaism, Communism, whatever - pick your poison) will evolve, and thereby die. They fight against progress because they know deep down that every time their ideology is forced to change due to scientific findings or the changing moral zeitgeist, that dogma dies just a little bit.

Evolve And Die.

[edit] Sorry, that might have been a bit of a rant. I just spent an hour arguing with someone who insisted that I am hellbound because I think my best friend and his husband constitute a real marriage. That experience left me...er, angry.
 
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Doc Daneeka said:
My view: with nearly every change in society's moral consensus, the devoutly religious must be dragged kicking and screaming into it. They struggle against moral progress mightily, fighting tooth and nail, and proclaiming all the while that X is destructive, sinful, and base. Eventually, after the vast majority of the populace has finally come to accept X, the devout so often manage to convince themselves that X has always been the natural position of their religion, even if their religious leaders still condemn it every day.
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I'm sure that 50 years from now, Christians will be claiming they were always supportive of gay rights while atheists used evolution to justify discriminating against gays.
 
godless dave said:
I'm sure that 50 years from now, Christians will be claiming they were always supportive of gay rights while atheists used evolution to justify discriminating against gays.
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Exactly. I have no doubt whatsoever that acceptance of gay marriage will eventually become a mainstream Christian position. There will be people seriously attempting to argue that it was Christianity which brought about legal gay marriage in the first place.

Sigh.
 
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