Evolution supposedly "The Greatest Lie Ever Told"

[ImNotCreativeAtAll]

So recently, I came across this video called "The Greatest Lie Ever Told" on Youtube. Now the video starts off about how evolution is a tactic in creating a religion for the NWO and a bunch of things of that sort. It does take a while for him to stop talking about his idea that the theory of evolution is a religion and a part of the NWO, but his claims against evolution start at around 10 minutes in. And that's where I need your help, particularly people who have studied evolution immensely. I'm in high school, I support evolution, but I only have a vague idea about evolution as opposed to someone who has studied it for years. So I can't fully rebut what he is saying or even admit that he has a valid point. All I am asking for is a bit of guidance from a credible source within the scientific community. Much appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1ufK04tjOI

[John]

The video's good for a bitter laugh, but it doesn't present anything new or compelling. It rehashes the same tired misinformed arguments intelligent design proponents have been spouting for years.

I skipped to the 10-minute mark, as you indicated, and almost immediately heard the guy claim that evolution is supposed to explain the origin of life. This is false. The origin of life from non-living material is called abiogenesis, and while we have a few ideas of how it might have happened, we don't know for sure. Meanwhile, evolution describes how diversity and speciation arise among living organisms, and modern evolutionary theory is about as close to absolute truth as science gets.

I actually listened to a few more minutes of the video, as he spouted off about how there are no transitional fossils, and how our inability to directly observe evolution means we can't accurately estimate the timescales on which it operates, and how modern dating methods are wrong for various reasons (and he seems to believe absolute and relative dating are one and the same), etc. It quickly became apparent that the creator of the video has several fundamental misunderstandings of evolutionary theory. Moreover, he doesn't seem like the type to be swayed by reasoned argument supported by evidence.

I wouldn't bother engaging with this person, except perhaps to recommend that he take an introductory biology course or two. But then, I doubt that would convince him either.

Edited March 9, 2015 by John

[StringJunky]

Conflating religion and science as equivalent belief systems, like the video does, with respect to the emergence and development of life is so wrong. Science doesn't care how it happened, it just wants to know what happened, with the evidence it has available at any given time. It has no vested interest to hold on to one line of enquiry over another, unlike religion, which has a single immutable framework to describe what happened and its credibility to its proponents utterly depends on it.

Edited March 9, 2015 by StringJunky

[swansont]

!

Moderator Note

We would prefer that you list the arguments you'd like to discuss, rather than subject people to >30 minutes of a nonsense video. You may even get more participation, since creationist arguments never seem to evolve, and are all the original kinds that have been around for a while.

[Strange]

his claims against evolution start at around 10 minutes in.

 

As he almost certainly doesn't have anything new or original (or true) to say, you will probably find his points refuted here: http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html

 

If not there, then elsewhere on that site.

 

But I would have thought that anyone who starts there video about science by talking about Lizards taking over the world (or whatever it was) has sufficiently little credibility left after 30 seconds, that their claims can just be ignored...

Edited March 9, 2015 by Strange

[overtone]

I'm in high school, I support evolution, but I only have a vague idea about evolution as opposed to someone who has studied it for years. So I can't fully rebut what he is saying or even admit that he has a valid point. All I am asking for is a bit of guidance from a credible source within the scientific community.

- - -

We would prefer that you list the arguments you'd like to discuss, rather than subject people to >30 minutes of a nonsense video

Another advantage to presenting your own queries, rather than linking people on a site like this to a video like that, is that by doing so you will separate yourself from the large population of creationist trolls that have taken to posting phony "questions" or "concerns" whose actual purpose is propagation of some item of creationist evangelism no one here would pay any attention to otherwise.

 

I know that I will not watch your video, for any reason - life is too short - and I suspect others share my bias. But I would devote the fifteen seconds it would take to read any actual question you have about it. And then probably just link you to talkorigins or the like - because there is nothing new about evolution in the Bible, but there is good advice to be had in Ecclesiastes.

Edited March 10, 2015 by overtone

[Phi for All]

Creationism is the height of intellectual dishonesty. Creationists have had their tired old arguments refuted over and over, yet they still haul them out whenever they think they have a new, unsuspecting audience.

 

For some reason, they're so afraid of what evolution represents to their belief system that they'll ignore real-life evidence in favor of a literal interpretation of their bible. Like sheep that enjoy pulling the wool over their own eyes.

[HPositive]

I'm okay with Christians I have many friends who are Christian but Evolution is fact life can't just go poof it is done It just happened out of coincidence. We have found proof therefor we have evidence which makes it fact we have found the skeletons of past humans. The video says observation and experimentation I laughed so hard because he has the entire misinterpretation of what science is. He tries to sound like a genius. Also yes you can find a calculation correct me if I am wrong. When he said no fossil record I almost cried cause really its self explanatory what is wrong. That part on ¹⁴C I think you can see or hear. Fossils are prints in rocks lets say a T-Rex stepped in mud billions of years ago the mud then turned into rock. When he said I think you have heard a little thing about the Loch Ness Monster he is just making himself look bad really he is no longer trying to prove God he is trying to prove something man disproved years ago.

[pavelcherepan]

So recently, I came across this video called "The Greatest Lie Ever Told" on Youtube. Now the video starts off about how evolution is a tactic in creating a religion for the NWO and a bunch of things of that sort. It does take a while for him to stop talking about his idea that the theory of evolution is a religion and a part of the NWO, but his claims against evolution start at around 10 minutes in. And that's where I need your help, particularly people who have studied evolution immensely. I'm in high school, I support evolution, but I only have a vague idea about evolution as opposed to someone who has studied it for years. So I can't fully rebut what he is saying or even admit that he has a valid point. All I am asking for is a bit of guidance from a credible source within the scientific community. Much appreciated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1ufK04tjOI

 

I have watched just a small bit of the video, but I'm pretty sure that most things in the video have been discussed and explained in this pinned thread: http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/15439-welcome-creationists-to-science-forums-and-debate/ , creationists don't usually come up with anything new and interesting.

 

Use argumentation from that thread if you want to argue with the guy, but I rather doubt there is a point in it. Creationists rarely listen to logic and scientific reasoning.

Edited May 19, 2015 by pavelcherepan

[StringJunky]

 

... Creationists rarely listen to logic and scientific reasoning.

It's not surprising really when you consider that they hold the qualities of commitment and belief in such high esteem.