How should one react in this situation?

It sounds like you handled it as gracefully as one could.

You told them you don’t agree but stopped short of trying to beat them into submission and it sounds like they also let it drop.

I’d take that as a tacit agreement that we were “agreeing to disagree” on that subject and leave that particular stone unturned in the future.

As to not liking to see unchecked ignorance, I understand what you mean.

But, realistically, if they can dismiss all the evidence of evolution as “millions of years rubbish” you aren’t likely to shine new thoughts into their closed minds.

Now if they bring up the subject again it is safe to assume that they have difficulty accepting that you have different beliefs. In that case I would say that the damage to the friendship has already been done.

You stated your case and agreed to disagree for the sake of the relationship. Call it a good day and move on.

You were in a no win situation IMO. Someone who considers fossil evidence as rubbish is not going to be swayed by you and will indeed consider you as arrogant if you persist in trying to clear up their interpretation of scientific facts .

I think you did a better job than I’d probably have done. But that millions of years comment tells you all you need to know, it’s not a debate, not a question, or search for answers. Faith can be a grand thing, but it can also be more blinding than spending the day staring at the sun… through a telescope.

Definitely a situation best left alone, unless more open minds come to the table.

I asked a museum guy in chicago where they have that huge skeleton called “sue’ what he said to people like this- in essence, he said, you smile and nod, and leave it alone. There’s no helping them.

Thank you all. I have trouble leaving it alone though, because I used to be like that. When I was a Christian, I was a young Earth creationist, and most of my friends from back then are too. I don’t want to leave them in that position if they could possibly reach the level I have, but it is impossible to judge who will change and who will not.

@FireMadeFlesh how amazing. What made you change?

I too believed that as a young teenager because that’s what I was brought up to. My family were evangelical Christians.

They were also educated people, and ultimately it was the educational standard they held up for me that won out over the dogmatic one.

That is a tough situation… Although if they are down with mutation and adaptation they are very close. The evidence that I think would be most approachable would be talking about the evolution of dogs. Dogs are, in essence, domesticated wolves. Dogs and wolves are no longer the same species, but there is clear evidence (looking at the genomes of these species) that dogs ancestors were wolves. Some of the wolves branched off to fill a new niche (the delightful eat-what-humans-give-you niche) and in doing so, new characteristics were favorable, they adapted to the new niche (and were bred by humans to do so as well) and voila! New species.

@trailsillustrated I don’t like repeating myself, so take a look at what I wrote here. Thanks!

Since even scientists disagree, this is still considered opinions backed by science on both sides. It is not a matter to break up a family.

I think you handled the situation perfectly. It’s futile to discuss what have come to be called “wedge issues” with those holding the opposite opinion. You can provide rock solid evidence and argue long into the night, but people will continue to hold on to their beliefs regarding evolution, abortion, the death penalty, race issues, etc., stubbornly refusing to budge their opinions.

The best you can do is what my Grandmother Lida Belle used to do, bless her soul, and that was to smile sweetly and say, “Well, I guess we have different opinions on that subject.”

You quitter!! Push em to the brink of intellectual extinction always!! haha. I’m kidding somewhat. Tact is important but it doesn’t benefit anyone, imo, to let people think they couldn’t be convinced by evidence you know they haven’t observed.

I have to deal with this on the regular. Just now I came back from a trip where all my relatives (all 40 of them that i met!) were in a very strong anti-evolution religion. Did i go to church with them? Yes. Did I let them think I agreed with anything silly? No.

“How’d you like the service?”
“Oh it was very nice! You know, except for a few parts where they quoted from the bible out of context.”
“What?! They didn’t do that.”
“Oh sure they did! I noticed you weren’t paying attention at that point, I don’t blame you for missing it.”

I got slugged in the arm for it by my aunt but it was fun.

I’m sorry I have no idea how I’d deal in that situation because I’d either be kicked out for laughing my ass off or because my head exploded – I just can’t handle such crap.

Start working on the “millions of years” thing. If they don’t even believe that Earth is billions of years old, that might be something that they could start to comprehend sooner. Don’t do it directly, though. Suggest a trip to a Museum of Natural History, and see what scientists say just regarding the history of the planet.

You probably did the best you could under the circumstances. Such beliefs should be argued against vigorously, but you won’t have a relationship afterward. Save the arguments for people whom you have no such relationship with.

Sometimes the old truism applies.

Discretion is the better part of valor ofttimes.

For the record, you didn’t leave it unchecked. You made your position known clearly and gracefully avoided unnecessary rancor. You did just fine.

If there are any open minds who may wish to pursue things further, they know to contact you.

My first bit of advice, is that some one wants to do bible study, just skip the first 3 days, then once their past genesis you’ll be safe. ; )

There is a new push in evangelical circles to bring the truth about evolution to the non believers, since many atheist first cite evolution as proof that the first chapter of the bible is hogwash.

I think this is a mistaken angle to be pursued. People who believe in evolution are quite unlikely to be dissuaded by the current arguments in use today.

I’ve actively published articles based on the tenets of evolution, and I believe them and use them in my daily work. Evolution is not my deity, it’s my job. Oddly, I go to church. Spirituality is experiential. Just because you don’t happen to feel it, doesn’t make it unreal. My experiences are highly consistent with the supernatural, it’s a side effect being around people near death. This could be a separate discussion or thread.

This puts me in the unique position of avoiding certain days of bible study. Some of my friends likely think I am possessed by a demon, while others think I’m drinking the cool aid at church.

I would care if I were a follower, but my path has not allowed that. Truth, as terrifying as it may seen, ultimately must be judged by your perception, and whatever meme you are infested with – true or not.

Jesus was the ultimate evangelical. Imagine how he handled tax collectors and prostitutes. (I would imagine they had better music than the money changers).

These evolution creation attacks are sickly unbecoming of both sides.

Just avoid at all cost, unless you have no choice. It’s better to lie, then to defy.

I was kicked out when living with an uncle who was very Christian, very republican, very conservative, very W. Bush worshipping, very narrow minded, very controlling and very opinionated only 6 weeks after moving in with him. I personally wanted to mind my own business and live my life peacefully but was considered a child who needed to be repaired (I was 20 years old).

It was a very traumatic experience for me – night after night of ridiculous questioning and his attempts at “reasoning” with me. He couldn’t accept me or my views on the world. I really didn’t care what he thought about anything but he couldn’t stop harassing me, trying to understand me, dissect my very being and tell me I was wrong. (Even how I dressed and my cruisy attitude insulted his very core.)

A discussion about the big bang (a conversation I continued to beg for him not to make us have) resulted in him asking me to pack my things and book a plane back to New Zealand.

:( Sorry, sore spot for me but thought I would share.

@DrMC My advice on a Bible study is to expose its numerous flaws, not just those in the first book. I’m not talking about silly things like rabbits chewing the cud, but the moral issues of a god who creates the illusion of free will as a straw man to be knocked over at the end of time with the death of those of a different opinion.

“Just because you don’t happen to feel it, doesn’t make it unreal. My experiences are highly consistent with the supernatural, it’s a side effect being around people near death. This could be a separate discussion or thread.”
I have far better reasons than not having felt it. Many of my closest friends and family members, who would never lie about it, strongly assert that they have had supernatural experiences. I don’t doubt that the event occurred, just the explanation applied to it. Maybe this is better left for another thread as you suggest, as we are no longer speaking of the issue at hand. Thanks!

@Rachienz Thanks for sharing that. I enjoy conversations like that, but not with close friends or family. Fluther serves that purpose perfectly well. I’m sorry you didn’t have a pleasant experience.

Rachienz – people like that are why I stayed away from church as long as I did.

Fire – I’m working on that. Attribution of dreams, events, and other reasons for being drawn to a particular ethnic group or philosophy and how the general public is memed towards that is an interest of mine.

If I were to ask you – in this climate, if those with power were to make death camps, and resolve to improve the situation once and for all, who would be loaded on the trains?

- Given the activity on this board, I might wonder at this time if it’s the Christian’s turn. This is actually expected by them. I am not a dispensationalist, I’m just making an observation of the strong anti christian sentiment I’ve been observing for some time.

@DrMC What situation is this? If those in power were to create death camps, I imagine it would be for dissenters. That would be people like myself, who do not accept authority because of what it is, who think that our governmental system needs huge reforms, and refuse to live a normal, mediocre life.
But that is getting away from the topic of religion entirely. So in what context would those in power be looking to resolve a situation?

Wow. @DrMC where does paranoia of that level come from? And who are “those in power”? Our government? Or the giant corporations that control so much of the political process here and abroad?

heh, paranoia is a byproduct of watching the political process.

I avoid pointing fingers, to allow making the broader point that attacking memes is as wrong today as it was in 1942. The names have changed, but the game remains the same. I’m not thrilled with the extreme positions taking by obama with respect to the sanction of life. I’m not thrilled with his honesty, therefore I fear his lack of integrity.

His followers practice extreme versions of

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a758774222&db=all

Now I just know this will warm things up. Fall to my expectations.

this is the topic of religion, and those who are treated with slur, disregard, due to their choice of religion in ameriKa today.