Re: An interesting area where the Bible may provide accurate historical insight
- From: Matt Silberstein <RemoveThisPrefixmatts2nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2005 19:06:39 GMT
On 31 Aug 2005 11:55:16 -0700, in talk.origins , eswrite@xxxxxxxxx in
<1125514516.452961.324660@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
[snip]
>Mr. Diamond's article is interesting, but he (and you) draws
>conclusions from tenous assumptions. For instance, why is height
>equated with health? Are tall individuals always healthier than their
>shorter cousins?
No, but it is a pretty good marker. What matters if it healthy/well
fed people tend to be taller than unhealthy/poorly fed, not if all
tall are healthier than all short. The former quite true, not the
latter.
> Secondly, given the spotty nature of the fossil
>record, can anyone truly draw conclusions about the general health of a
>given population from such a small sample?
Yep. We have enough of a record to make some pretty good estimates on
height.
>What if only the unhealthy
>individuals, say the ones with bad teeth, were fossilized in the
>location where you happen to be digging? Should you then run off and
>pronounce unhealthy teeth in the entire population?
It is possible, but the expectation is that the find is random, and so
representative, unless there is some causal reason.
>A third more subtle foo-pah ignores that the switch to an agricultural
>construct, and the higher levels of population it can support is--as
>the theory is currently stated--is a result of evolution. If natural
>selection selects those most likely and best equipped to pass on their
>genetic material, then agriculture as a behavior would be selected over
>hunting exactly for one of the evils Diamond bemoans--because it
>supports larger populations and hence greater reproductive success.
So? I don't see the foo-pah here. No one suggested this was evidence
against evolution. Building on low lying islands is also due to
evolution, that does not mean it is a good thing. Evolution is not
progressive, it is judgment free.
[snip]
>More assumptions. Does it say Adam did *not* farm prior to the fall?
>Does it describe his life as that of a hunter-gatherer? Can you find
>one instance pre or post-fall where the text specifically says farming
>is evil, a step down, or otherwise inferior to hunting/gathering?
Sure. Adam is punished by having to toil for his food by working in
the field.
[snip]
--
Matt Silberstein
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