Keenidiot

The likelihood that you were born faces such vanishingly small odds as to be impossible. Yet, despite these odds you were.

Waiter, I will have two of whatever the hell he had.

Life is not energy, it's the application of energy. Like the lightbulb in your room, when it burns out there's no more light. When you burn out, there's no more you. I am an atheist because humans have love of creating myths to explain things that were not understood. We have narrowed our gods down as our wealth of knowledge has grown (except in Hinduism of course, but that's not a common result. And it's a rather complicated mash of faiths and beliefs, including some atheist ones.) That we desire something more is understandable. But often what we desire is not the same as what is.

Probably worth mentioning that dinosaurs were dieing off at the end of the Cretaceous, the impact only seems to have helped them along. Even then they stuck around several thousand years after the impact. The problem with trying to predict how evolution may occur, is that there are to many variables. It's entirely possible that on an alien planet you could have lifeforms that don't fit into any of our traditional categories, and are entirely unique.

Potholer54 has an entertaining video addressing creationist claims of carbon dating.

Dekan... well, yeah. There's historical evidence that goes back as far as we have records of homosexual activity.

Religions also state donkeys talk, the world is flat, and the sun is a guy flying about in a chariot.

... So?

Artificial pressures put on dogs by man let to the wide diversity of forms under such a sort period of time, they didn't naturally appear in such a wide range, that's the main difference. Other times where one species produces a wide variety of forms is due to extinction opening several niches for them to evolve into, something that's not happened in human ancestry.

A devout Christian, Jew, or Muslim, would have good reasoning to attack or otherwise oppress homosexuals.

Wanted to be there, but no money for the trip. From friends that went it seemed like a great time.

It's people like you who've helped changed my mind. Never forget that. Exactly. That despite this, you are continuing to be who you feel you are, is bravery. It is simple acknowledgment to say so.

First, I want to express my sorrow at your story, my admiration of your strength, and my wish that the future is better for you. I am one of those people to who was raised in a family that was hostile to homosexuals and the transgendered, and this has left a mark on my behaviour towards people like yourself. It is something I am rather ashamed of. For myself, it came from religion. I've since moved beyond what I was raised with, and I'm happy that I've been able to help my family move forward as well. It's colored my support of the LGBT community, as I support it even stronger due to my own early hatred and current discomfort with the community which was imparted to me at a young age.

I view a lot of philosophy as navel gazing, but I do enjoy reading the work of certain philosophers. I view it sort of like I view good works of fiction; it's a view into someone's mind, and sometimes you can come away bettered by the reading.

No offense, I love reading you guys go at it, but I think we're skewing away from the OP here. Yes, I think many people can be wrong. There was a time when everyone believed the sun went 'round the earth. It was the height of an enlightened education to believe so, and it was wrong. The Earth continued revolving around the sun, and while we still believed ours was the only galaxy the other galaxies continued their existence impartial to our understandings.

yeah yeah, hit google and see what you find. I just grabbed this one off the top, and it's specifically JH, there's other groups out there.

Yeah, I know. It was going to happen anyway and I've had a long day of repeating that Hitler wasn't an atheist so I figured, eh.

I wouldn't pay someone, but check online for support groups and the like. This is one I found after a quick google search: http://exjehovahswitnessforum.yuku.com/ As far as it goes, attempting to change someone's mind is not intrinsically religious.

And Einstein didn't believe in quantum mechanics or plate tectonics. Yeah, he was smart. Smart people can also be wrong.

Speaking of crusades, mass murder... "I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.." /godwin

Except this is a legend, not truth. No they didn't. The did however laugh at Bozo the clown.

I usually sell mine back if I'm able, ifnot I hang onto them. I do have a couple that I've picked up at thrift stores, even though they're a bit dated. Mostly just through interest and one due to being edited by a scientist who's work I personally enjoy.

I'm familiar enough with the Jewish people to be sure, though if I remember correctly the Romani people also provide an example of genetic traits. I'm not as familiar with the Filipino cultures, my knowledge of the Jewish people comes from my archaeological interests in Egypt. I would guess that the isolation of being an island nation gives them a unique genetic identity and probably a variety of culture. I'm sure those cultures would have pushed their own restrictions.

I would suppose that culture would lead to being a factor in selection, the Jewish people would be be a good example of how a strict culture/religion can produce a people with unique genetic traits. I'm just spit balling here, though.

No, sexual selection is where one a female or male representative of a species chooses a mate based off of chracteristic that doesn't necassarily benefit the survival of a species, like the male peacock's plumage. That said, yeah it is still natural selection.