And to further raise the validity of your questions... What about the millions and millions of humans who existed during the early times who had never heard the Hebrew/Judaic doctrine of religion? What about the Chinese people thousands of years ago? What about the Japanese Samurai? What about the American Indian? What about the African tribes who existed during the time of Christ? A tremendous question indeed.

I abhor any religious view which is exclusive, in other words, says only these people will "make it".

So, just what does the Christian Bible say about this? The answers are in there.

The Bible says that God "winked" at these other religions. Winking means he let it pass. Apostle Paul also mentions the fact that the Greeks worshipped the one true God without even knowing it, they marked a statue, "To The Unknown God". How many other peoples were also worshipping God in their own way? One only can imagine.

But the one thing that is very consistent in Humans. We all have a conscience, and a desire to seek something higher. Whether it be the African tribesman or the Japanses Samurai or the American Indian, they all "knew" there was something higher than theirselves.

So.

1) I am not a proponent that the Bible creation story is literal. At the same time however, it is amazing how real it relates the history of the universe, almot in the same fashion that science has discovered today. Those thousands of years ago when those words were first penned, they had no knowledge of how the universe was created, that the Earth was a small entity in something much larger, yet even so, Genesis states, God created the Earth and it WAS VOID AND WITHOUT FORM. Just stop and think about that for a moment... and then think about where the Bible also mentions that a "Thousand years to God is but one day, and one day a thousand years". It is emphasizing the fact that Time stands still for a Divine Being who is everywhere at the same time. A billion years to this Divine Being is but a twinkle of an eye. There is no time with God. So how is it the universe can seemingly be 15,000,000,000 years old or more? I believe it cause the Bible insinuates it.

2) Because the Bible contains a multitude of analogies and parables. In fact, Jesus spoke almost entirely in parables, at least what is recorded. Revelations is one huge parable.

In the grand scheme of things, this is not important to my personal salvation and my belief in Christ. Whether I believe in Adam as a true single human, or whether he represents a a generation of peoples is not important and does not affect my personal belief in Christ.

Many many years ago, belief in a god was prevelant because people had no other answers for the questions about the universe and life. The irony of science, at least for myself, is that the more science discovers about how the universe ticks and the complexities of even the smallest form pof bacterial life, the more I believe in a master Creator. In essence, the wonderful discoveries of science have done more to bolster my belief in an Almighty than it has to reduce it.

But *that* was the intention. God created the foundations of science so that the more we discover, the more we draw closer to Him. Man did not create science, God did, and we are only starting to learn how to use it.

who the hell is Ben Stein and why is my pizza burnt!?

So of everyone who has posted in this thread so far, who has actually seen the movie?

So of everyone who has posted in this thread so far, who has actually seen the movie?

Legend, I am flabbergasted that you look at the wonder of nature (and the human body) and can only find faults with it.

Considering the nasty little thing called Entropy, the whole system is quite amazing.

The odd thing is that of all the human organs, the brain is the least efficient in many respects. We do an awful lot of approximation and guessing in our heads, with easy to demonstrate errors (optical illusions are the easiest demonstrations).

How efficiently the brain manages cognative thought isn't a weakness, however, or proof of poor design - the fact that we have cognative thought at all (let alone the amount) far outstrips the inefficiency.

We're built, like all species, to have a finite size and, with it, life span. Approximately 120 years seems to be the maximum under ideal conditions. But none of us live under ideal conditions or treat our bodies in an ideal manner.

Joints ache because our bodies can't take time out to replace cartiledge in the joints - it would render the joint unuseable during replacement. And the blood vessels that would be required to remove old cartiledge while building new just won't work due to compression on joints. It's not "bad design;" it's a design decision that makes sense - even if it means the part will wear out eventually.

My genetic tree has a nice perk of quick bone healing. Not X-Men fast or anything, but faster than most people. It is what probably saved me from hip replacement surgery, as the neck of the femur healed in four weeks rather than six or eight, reducing the chances of necrosis. The downside is that arthritis and rhumatism is also a genetic trait. My index fingers began rotating inwards when I was in my 20's....by the time I'm in my eighties grabbing a walking cane will be painful, and making a full fist most likely impossible. Assuming that I don't opt for surgical correction, that is.

Poor design? I don't think so. Downside to a benefit.

Rilex, you're correct - I used "Intelligent Design" as a description of my beliefs rather than that of strict Creationists. I put Creationists in the same category as every other Fundamentalist group. At least they're not violent.

We do an awful lot of approximation and guessing in our heads, with easy to demonstrate errors (optical illusions are the easiest demonstrations).