Family Discussions

[bloom]

For some crazy reason, my parents, my brother and I got into a discussion of politics and religion. (My parents are in their 70s). Actually - it seems that my very Republican mother has started reading some pretty liberal books - including one that made a good defense for the Palestinians case and discusses many Israeli atrocities. She was upset that the Europeans get more realisic news coverage about it than we do.

Anyway - my brother didn't like that way that subject went and so he started attacking public education which led to the fact that he thinks that science should be taught in schools how "Christians" (like him) think it should be taught. He thinks that the world was created 6000 years ago (with the dinosaurs living within that time). He has sent his children to schools that believe this - and thinks that either all kids should be taught that or that all students should have a school option ("choice" W/o paying tuition) to go to schools that teach this.

So all your geology, geography, biology, history - would be all screwed up. And he thinks that this would make our schools better.

He is determined to believe the creation story in Genesis (both of them - I guess) as facts. Anything less introduces moral confusion. He does not think that he picks and chooses what to believe in the Bible. He believes it all.

Oh - and he is a college graduate - self-employed.

I don't think my parents (who are totally on board with evolution) knew that he believed this 6000 year old reconstructed scientific view that accommodates the Bible. (I had expected he did).

I think it would be depressing to have one's adult child believing this nonsense.

[rurallib]

1. Some what on the subject - I have always wanted to ask a true

believer where humans came from after Cain & Abel? Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel. From what I recall there are no females mentioned. And then Cain killed Abel. But we never find out who he bred with. Gives me the idea that there are two possibilities:
1) we are descended from a mother-fucker OR
2) we are descended from someone who had sex with a beast that was near human. So we are descended from sex between Cain and some beast.
Inquiring minds want to know
Not to mention that Cain was a convicted murderer. so we all have a murderer in our parentage.

[shain from kane]

3. Here's another twist. From the Washington Post ---

"The longer ago somebody lived, the more descendants that person is likely to have today. Humphrys estimates that Muhammad, the founder of Islam, appears on the family tree of every person in the Western world.

Some people have tried to establish a documented line between Muhammad, who was born in the 6th century, and the medieval English monarchs and, thus, to most if not all people of European descent. Nobody has succeeded yet, but one proposed lineage comes close. Though it has several weak links, the line illustrates how lines of descent can wander down through the centuries, connecting famous figures of the past to millions of people living today.

The proposed genealogy runs through Muhammad's daughter Fatima. Her husband Ali, also a cousin of Muhammad, is considered by Shiite Muslims the legitimate heir to leadership of Islam."



Ain't that a hoot?


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/12/AR2006081200607_pf.html



Edited to add link.

[bloom]

5. There is this frightening website:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/

There is even an "answer" to your question

"...Thus, there was only one man at the beginning—made from the dust of the Earth (Genesis 2:7).
This also means that Cain’s wife was a descendant of Adam. She could not have come from another ‘race’ of people and must be one of Adam’s descendants....

Even though only these three males are mentioned by name, Adam and Eve had other children. In Genesis 5:4 a statement sums up the life of Adam and Eve—‘And the days of Adam after he had fathered Seth were eight hundred years. And he fathered sons and daughters.’ This does not say when they were born. Many could have been born in the 130 years (Genesis 5:3) before Seth was born.

During their lives, Adam and Eve had a number of male and female children. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that, ‘The number of Adam’s children, as says the old tradition, was thirty-three sons and twenty-three daughters.’

The Bible does not tell us how many children were born to Adam and Eve. However, considering their long life spans (Adam lived for 930 years—Genesis 5:5), it would seem reasonable to suggest there were many! Remember, they were commanded to ‘Be fruitful, and multiply’ (Genesis 1:28)."

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/tools/cains_wife.asp


There is quite a long explanation - but this is the main idea. It was ok to marry siblings, then (since humanity was just starting out) - and there were lots of siblings to marry.

[Mythsaje]

2. It's depressing that ANYONE believes this...

But I'd hate to have a grown child that did.

I think I'm going to have nightmares now. Thanks a lot. ;)

[bloom]

4. I do feel depressed about it, too.

For me it's sort of a feeling of helplessness. I wish I could fix it. "Knock some sense into him" - as if that were possible.

If I were my parents - I might be thinking - how did this happen? Education was always very important at our house - like the intentional choosing of neighborhoods - because of the schools. They were supposed to be "top notch" for the city.

I ended up raising my kids in a pretty rural community - and ironically - the biology teacher thought that evolution was a joke (taught it reluctantly). But my kids just thought he was ridiculous. :)