I don't think that evolution cancels out God. Where God clashes with evolution is in religious doctrine that teaches that evolution just isn't right. This is one of the first things – the Garden of Eden myth vs Darwin's findings – that really got me taking a good hard look at the religious teachings of my youth. Creationism is a story told by people about God. When the Garden of Eden was written about, they really had no stories about the origins of the world – no science or understanding – so they created a mythology that attempted to explain that which they couldn't understand. It was their best theory at the time. Somewhere along the line, the Garden of Eden became a testable hypothesis, and didn't hold up in light of Darwinsim. This says nothing about the existence or absence of God. It says something, though, about how human beings develop theories and mythologies to fill in the gaps and their knowledge and experience until new evidence comes to light that changes everything. I'd argue that one man's trip to the Galapagos Islands on the HMS Beagle changed everything. But it didn't change the existence of God. God still exists or doesn't exist separately from evolution.

The problem with Darwin was that he himself said that if no (I'm paraphrasing) missing links were found his theory was useless. He assumed that fossils of the missing links would be found soon. Had he realized that the fossil record shows many different explosions and sudden appearances of profoundly unique creatures, I believe he would not have been so quick to put his theory into place.

And that's something that many people would have us forget…it IS just a theory. It is by no means a law, although within the institutes of "higher learning" you are quickly discouraged from anything that moves away from Darwins theory..or neo-Darwinism for that matter.

I have seen the proof of small evolutionary changes…but nothing on the order of what would be required for Darwins theory to be true. Michael Behe has shown that irreducible complexity is real, and most Darwinists have no idea how to deal with that other than smoke and mirrors. They will throw out complex sounding explanations that mean nothing, or belittle and threaten the proponents of any idea other than their own…sad really, because at one time the earth was quite flat according to scientists of the day, and to say otherwise was foolish…until it was shown to be true, at which point everyone who had said otherwise jumped on the bandwagon…

It's a complicated world! /laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

You have a severe lack of understanding about natural selection. No offense. You need to do more research.

And perhaps you should read some of the research from the opposite side. Natural selection is a joke.

Although, if it WERE true, then the monkeys would all be as smart as WE were 20000 years ago…which means by the time we are in space ships buzzing around the galaxy, THEY will be smart enough to do our taxes for us! Sweet! /laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> /laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> /laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Comments like that are exactly why I stated that Darwinists don't know what to say…so they belittle and throw up smoke screens. Try reading Behe. Try refuting the evidence. …I'll be putting you back on "ignore" now… /wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

Creationists have already huddled to find a way to cast aspersions on yet another piece of evidence that blasts their belief-systems into the cosmos, so to speak. I am already blogging on another board arguing against utter idiocy, fools who just don't understand natural selection, how it works, and why they are so wrong. As harsh as this sounds, ignorance is just that, ignoring evidence that confounds their world-view. It is very nearly exhausting to point out mistakes in understanding and competence to offer a coherent argument.

Well, Dawkins, I certainly have to agree that ignorance is an issue.

Yes – my study of Darwinism was a long time ago, too. You get old – you forget.

I have always accepted Darwin as truth – mainly because I haven't found a better theory that makes more sense to me. Evolution and adaptation happen, we know that. I don't think that Darwin cancels out God, however. I think if anything, it supports intelligence in the universe.

very well put and my sentiments exactly. (besides, you're the same age as me, kiddo!)