CMR80606 said:
i didn't particularly intend any disrespect. i was just expressing that the interest creationist's seem to have in evolution really does not oblige me to read the bible.
It was not you,
CMR80606, to whom I was referring as being disrespectful. I completely agree with you on the idea that "either evolution or the Bible" is a false dichotomy since they do not even address the same issue.
But, I do disagree that it is
only believers who wrongly attempt to undermine one by using the other and included Skinwalker's rude comments about believers as a shining example. Here was a non-believer using the idea that "natural" explanation renders the belief in God synonymous with superstition (being wrong) in the toned down version.
I agree that you are not obliged to read the Bible because of the discussion which revolves around what you have accurately labeled a false dichotomy. But perhaps it would behoove you to read what knowledgeable believers actually have to say about evolution before you comment. And, certainly, it would be to your advantage to know what some people use from the Bible to see if you think it undermines evolution. It might also help you more fully understand why your false dichotomy label is accurate.
When the other guy knows more about your position than you know about his, you are at a distinct disadvantage in any discussion. The idea that believers know more about evolution than evolutionists know about belief is only half the story. My observations is that many believers who post here have a far better understanding of evolution than do the evolutionists who attempt to defend it based on their own lack of knowledge about evolution and even greater lack of knowledge about the objections.
It is only when both sides are knowledgeable on all aspects of a topic that either side can learn from the other.
I am not sure, at this point, that you actually understand why this is a false dichotomy. I am, first of all, suspicious as to whether you understand what a dichotomy is. My second suspicion is that you consider evolution v. Bible a false dichotomy because you think evolution is "right" and creationism is "wrong."
A dichotomy (as you seem to be using it) revolves around the idea that two concepts are mutually exclusive. So a false dichotomy is a situation in which one has improperly labeled two ideas as being mutually exclusive when they actually are not mutually exclusive. Creationism does not necessarily exclude the process of evolution; evolution does not necessarily exclude the possibility of creation. The Bible does not preclude evolution nor does evolution prove the Bible wrong.