Russel M. Nelson comments on big bang theory and evolution

[_Sethbag]

While Elder Nelson may not think our physical bodies began at some past point with a big bang, he might have to concede our spirit bodies did.

Oh snap!

Though, I don't know that we teach that... Oh “F” it, we sure do!

[_DarkHelmet]

As an outsider, the Apostles' talks have always struck me as similar to what you can get from having conversations with your slightly crazy uncle who listens to too much religious right radio. The odd thing about this dynamic is LDS are conditioned to think these are great fonts of wisdom and often treat them accordingly. It's, again, as if that slightly crazy uncle who listens to too much religious right radio all of a sudden acquired a few million followers for no reason in particular. Not everything said will be dumb - occasionally it will veer into genuinely insightful - but you get an awful lot of stupid, factually incorrect ideas and platitudes to come along for the ride.

It's moments like this where that shines through. The explosion in a printshop analogy is a very tired creationist canard. He might as well asked if people evolved from monkeys, how come there still are monkeys?! It'd be easy to chuckle at this borrowing of fundamentalist protestants' dregs, if not for the background knowledge that there is a sizable audience treating all of this very seriously.

And this crazy uncle had the audience chuckling in agreement at those crazy unbelievers who think you can make a dictionary by blowing up a printing shop. How does a big-bang believing TBM feel during this talk? Sure, you can treat him as a crazy uncle, but he has the whole conference center agreeing with him. He is also a highly educated man, so the big-bang deniers can say "See, he's super smart and he doesn't believe in the big bang." Yet, these same TBMs will also claim that Mormonism and science are completely compatible.

[_Buffalo]

Anyone impressed by the blowing up a printing press analogy is a low watt bulb.

[_Equality]

As an outsider, the Apostles' talks have always struck me as similar to what you can get from having conversations with your slightly crazy uncle who listens to too much religious right radio. The odd thing about this dynamic is LDS are conditioned to think these are great fonts of wisdom and often treat them accordingly. It's, again, as if that slightly crazy uncle who listens to too much religious right radio all of a sudden acquired a few million followers for no reason in particular. Not everything said will be dumb - occasionally it will veer into genuinely insightful - but you get an awful lot of stupid, factually incorrect ideas and platitudes to come along for the ride.

It's moments like this where that shines through. The explosion in a printshop analogy is a very tired creationist canard. He might as well asked if people evolved from monkeys, how come there still are monkeys?! It'd be easy to chuckle at this borrowing of fundamentalist protestants' dregs, if not for the background knowledge that there is a sizable audience treating all of this very seriously.

Funny you should mention that. A classic from Crazy Uncle Boyd:

Another doctrine, equally false and widely accepted, also misrepresents the status of little children. Let me illustrate.

Years ago, two of our sons, then little fellows, were wrestling on the rug. They reached that line which separates laughter from tears, so I worked my foot carefully between them and lifted the older one back to a sitting position on the rug. As I did so, I said, “Hey there, you little monkeys. You’d better settle down.”

To my surprise, he folded his little arms, his eyes swimming with deep hurt, and protested, “I not a monkey, Daddy; I a person!”

The years have not erased the overwhelming feeling of love I felt for my little boys. Many times over the years his words have slipped back into my mind, “I not a monkey, Daddy; I a person!” I was taught a profound lesson by my little son.

http://www.LDS.org/ensign/1986/11/littl ... n?lang=eng

[_Stormy Waters]

Anyone impressed by the blowing up a printing press analogy is a low watt bulb.

To be fair though, I think we have overlooked the fact that the church has experience destroying a printing press. Maybe they know something we don't.

[Guest]

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[_gdemetz]

I think that the printing press/dictionary quote was a valid comparison, especially in the light of new discoveries as to how very intricate and complicated even a single cell can be.

[_beefcalf]

I think that the printing press/dictionary quote was a valid comparison, especially in the light of new discoveries as to how very intricate and complicated even a single cell can be.

Intricate and complicated? Yes.

Made by magic? Nope.

[_Jhall118]

I think that the printing press/dictionary quote was a valid comparison, especially in the light of new discoveries as to how very intricate and complicated even a single cell can be.

If any theory of biology postulated that a single cell sprang out of nothing, then this would be a very good analogy.

Unfortunately for Dr. Nelson, this is not the case. The ironic thing is, Creationism postulates just that. Why is it that people don't get that? Dr. Nelson thinks that an infinitely complex being (wow, what are the odds of THAT springing from nothing?) is responsible for creating humans on this planet overnight.

THAT is the exploding printing press to create a dictionary. The theories Physics and Biology propose do nothing of the sort.

And it doesn't even take a philosopher of science to figure that out, so it must be true :)

[_gdemetz]

I never stated "magic." However, for any matter to develope into an extremely advanced and complicated structure such as man at random, in my opinion, is the equivalent of that explosion in a printing press which produces a dictionary. Apparently Sir Issac Newton felt the same way. When he had just completed building an elaborate scale model solar system, one of his fellow scientists, who was an agnostic or atheist, commented that it was remarkable, and then asked Newton who made it. Newton replied; no one, to which his friend replied nonsense, or something to that effect. Newton then asked the question why could he believe that his cheaper imitation had to be made by someone, but yet the original, much grander version could have just sprung up on it's own!