The Wildhearts

I had a thought today, which combined with boredom at work became the little skit below. If you are a creationist, this is not for you (anyway why are you reading this thread, didn't you see the title? jeez if you can't folow instructions how are you going to follow the Commandments?). oh, and i am not trying to offend those witth religious beliefs, just those with silly ones

Imaginary debates with sterotypes
Me: All those peeps who don't believe in evolution, presumably not one of them is worried in the slightest by the possibility of a bird flu epidemic? Because the only way for such an epidemic or pandemic to occur is if the bird flu virus evolves into a version that can spread from human to human. no evolution, no pandemic, so at least the fundies are sleeping easy, eh?
Creationists: "Hold on! Our God is a wrathful God, he sends plagues to strike down the unrighteous. So we can be scared of Bird Flu if we like."
Me: Yeah, but what do you think he's doing at the moment? testing it? he's God for God's sake! he makes it right first time, you don't read in the Bible of Moses warning of the plagues " and he shall strike down the first-born, (but first he'll start with isolated chicken farmers cos he's funny that way) and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, etc."
Creationists: "err - You rot in hell, heretic!"
Me: "Nice comeback, Godboy"

Erm, but are genetic mutation and evolution the same thing? I didn't think so!

</spanner in works>

If i'm answering the wrong point or have misread what you were saying, apologies and just ignore me. and if i'm being patronisin or am just plain wrong slap me down. as i say this thread is a product of boredom and my strange sense of humour.

Evolution is a process. Genetic mutation is the engine of evolution, natural selection the steering wheel. For a species of organism to change/gain a new ability there must be a genetic change to code for it, and if that change provides a reproductive benefit, then natural selection will promote that change causing a new species (or sub-species) of organism to evolve.
A mutation in the existing H5N1 virus that allowed it to spread from human to human would greatly increase its ability to reproduce, thus natural selection can act upon it favourably (for the virus, not for us). Leaving us with the new strain of H5N1 that evolved from the existing one.
In the same way, a genetic mutation that did not increase the virus's ability to reproduce (or worse, harmed it) would not spread, leaving only the original virus, un-evolved, and of only limited threat to humans.
If evolution as a process does not exist there is no way for the virus to 'acquire' the ability to spread by human to human contact. So we're safe if Creationism is correct.

I read a good suggestion (in Viz) to stop bird flu in its tracks: put Day Nurse in bird baths. And Night Nurse for owls.

To put another spanner in...

Creationists do believe in Evolution now... They just still think God put everything there to start with...

Then there's the really nutty ones who think the Earth's only 7000 years old, everything in the Bible is true and the dinosaurs are God's way of testing us... I've met one, used to work with one... THere's no arguing with em...

Adding my twopenorth', for what it's worth:

A) If we all evolved from Adam & Eve, there must have been some incestuous relationships to populate the world, now correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the bible say that incest is a sin??????

B) I am quite happy for creationists and other people with religion to practice what they belive in, but what I find is the crap bit, is the fact that they refuse to believe that non religious people can go about their lives without the need to pray to a god every day. (Personally, my Mecca is St James' Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne, and my god has changed over the years from Arthur Cox, through all the following managers, apart from Ruud Gullit and Kenny Dalglish!!!, and various players from Gazza, to Shearer- hahaha)

C) Aren't the bible, the Koran and all the other religious books all a variation on a theme???, basically, they all say the same thing, but the way they are written is down to the interpretation made by the person responsible for writing it (I hold true the news clip in the Red Dwarf episode Better Than Life, where the newsreader announces that an extra page of the bible has been found and says " All characters portayed herein are ficticious...etc etc etc)

There you go, a little more than a two pennorth', but hey, there you go.

all religion is silly, and there is no need

end of