That could be interpreted as an insulting reply, Keith. Let’s try to stick to the topic and keep things above the belt.
Answers in Genesis Ark Encounter
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Why is that insulting? That question is below the belt? Perhaps you can explain to me why there is a perceived reality of all things biblical yet Santa, the North Pole and everything that goes with is considered nothing more a than a simple children’s fairy tale? Perhaps you could explain the difference.
The topic had veered to evolution vs creationism. I think it’s a fairly debatable topic without having to bring one’s faith into question. If you don’t see a problem with trying to compare God / Jesus to Santa Clause, then my advice would be to just drop it.
The debate can go on without insulting people’s faith.
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It’s all the same thing. So, you choose not to answer the question? What about the comparison is problematic for you and why do you consider it an insult? Can you in fact explain any difference between the absolute belief in the “stories” of the bible and those of Santa, etc.? What about that is insulting? What about Greek Mythology or any of the other hundred’s of various “god’s” throughout the relatively short history of man? How can one be completely bought in to and the others summarily dismissed as too far fetched?
Frankly, your deviation from the topic of creationism vs evolution seems to be an attempt at avoiding the issue I brought up of faith in the theory of evolution. You’ve taken the topic, one that doesn’t necessarily have to include the idea of God (or any god) and tried to turn it into a theist / anti-theist exchange.
In the rules of polite debate, that’s called a red herring. It’s dishonest and only serves the purpose of you avoiding the conversation at hand.
https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/150/Red-Herring
Please stick to the subject.
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I do think you can be more courteous in your replies, @stixx3969, but I’ll give you a quick answer. And, I’m more than happy to join you in a new thread with plenty of dialogue. Further, some of my great friends and favorite people are atheists, so I’m hardly new to, or afraid of, this topic.
The first question I had to ask was if Jesus existed. Question numero uno. Is this guy for real? What I quickly found is that virtually no scholar, secular especially included, denies the historicity of Jesus. To deny he existed would require a most obtuse bias. Did St. Nicholas exist? Yep. What makes them different? Two things, at least.
One: what did Jesus claim about himself? Christ claimed he is God and would rise from the dead. Two, did people who knew Jesus believe him? I’d say so, as it is also historically proven that hundreds went through torturous deaths while holding to Christ’s claims.
So, in those few short thoughts, I think we have demonstrably seen quite the difference between the two. And I didn’t quote a single Bible verse!
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So, to question your religious beliefs is considered discourteous? What is this forum for? It is discourteous to pose the question why of your god is to be considered real and not Santa or perhaps any number of comic book super Hero’s? Those were books as well, Again, what is the difference and why is one to be considered the absolute truth and the other but a mere fairy tale?
It’s tough to decipher tone in written text, that’s for sure. No, I love when folks question their, or my, beliefs. You can’t arrive at true faith without questioning and challenging it. I don’t have a blind faith, friend. I walked away from the faith I was exposed to as a child, then came back when I found no answers anywhere else. I love to think, I love to question, and I love to challenge. And, I gave you just a few reasons why I don’t agree with your statements about Jesus vs. Santa. You didn’t reply to those. I’d love to continue with you, but please start a new thread.
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The difference is the timing you chose to raise the question. You seem to have taken the discussion in an entirely different direction to avoid rebutting the notion that evolution is also just a theory.
I’m sure plenty of people here have no problem debating your question, but start a new topic for it and continue the current topic here.
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So, it’s an ok topic in a new thread, but not a thread about the Ark? That doesn’t make anymore sense then the entire Ark premise either. But ok, fine.
Yes I believe there was a man named St Nicolas who brought so much joy to children. There are so many stories and events from the past that leave us with many questions unanswered.
Why was Stonehenge built and by whom. Who built the Standing Stones at Aylesbury, Orkney and many other sites around the UK and Ireland.
Who built the statues on Easter Island and why ?
We know the Egyptians built Pyramids as did the Maya and the Inca’s who built Machu Picchu.
The Chinese built the Forbidden City there are ancient temples in Cambodia. We know the Romans built an Empire across Europe and beyond How do we know this?
Because there is lots of physical evidence from the ancient world that leaves us in modern times to ponder what went on in the past.
The Bible is a history book, physical evidence of stories and legions from another time. We know .Pontius Pilate was the fifth prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from AD 26 to 36. He is best known today for the trial and crucifixion of Jesus
We are free to question whether or not the stories in the Bible are true or exaggerated as much as were are free to question the stories we read in the New York Times. When it boils down to it, it’s what WE as individuals choose to believe.
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What if I told you that I really believed in Spiderman? Would that sound a little too far fetched for you? As to the crucifixion of Jesus, there was nothing specifically special about that in it’s day and putting a man on a cross was an very common practice. I have never stated there was nothing interesting in our past but nothing stated now or throughout history has offered in one verifiable shred of evidence of any god, Christian or otherwise. If there were an actual god, why would they need you or anyone else to convince me of it’s existence? Why does it require faith? Faith is required when evidence is absent. That is my point.
With regards to evolution, that’s my point, too. 
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So, you require more proof for evolution but none whatsoever for creationism? Isn’t that a little double standard-ish?
I require proof either way. Until I see something definitive, I remain in a neutral corner. The way I see it, if you’re convinced about one and not the other, even though there’s no definitive proof, you’re the one with the double standard.
Why then do you think the Ark Encounter felt the need to include dinosaurs?
Don’t know, but also don’t care. Whether or not the curator of that attraction is accurate has no bearing on the creationism vs evolution debate.
Why do you insist on trying to stray off topic? How about this. Why don’t you provide a link to some evidence that proves beyond a doubt that one species evolved into a completely different species? I’m not talking about natural selection where a bird evolved an elongated beak. I mean real, hard evidence of “the missing link” so-to-speak.
You see, I was very excited in my younger days to visit the Lucy exhibit in NYC the first time I went there. I thought “I’m finally going to see the proof!” Not only is Lucy not proof of a missing link, it turned out to be evidence of science misleading the public about evolution. Less than 40% of Lucy’s bones were discovered, and of those that were discovered, they were scattered out over roughly a kilometer. So, scientists can’t even be sure they all belonged to the same animal.
So, let’s just put this to rest. If you can present hard evidence of one species evolving into another, I’ll jump off the fence and join your side.
and your proof for creationism?
It would seem as if this post has been moved to general chit chat that the entire Religion and Politics category with my last post has been removed. Am I missing something or just not seeing it?
You seem to misunderstand my position. I never claimed that creationism was fact. I think you need to reread my posts. I have said all along I’m agnostic on this subject. In fact, so far, I think you’re the only one claiming to have any answers. I’m just requesting you provide the evidence you seem to think you have.