So i just read through this WHOLE thing. I cant beleive i missed it.
Anyway. Lets start with weaselface's definition of faith.
That was the most bullshit, brainwashed definition of faith i have ever heard. Hell, even when i whent to catechism they admitted that faith is the beleif on something that cannot fundamentally be proven. Thank god we are not debating wether Websters dictionary is true or not. :\
Next!
Theorie of Evolution. Lets look at the word theory. It does not mean that it is unproven. Did you know that the explanation for gravity is called the THEORY of gravity? Not the law of Gravity. People have taken to calling it the Law of gravity. But the truth is that we cannot test this for every known possibility. Therefore the official name of the explanation of gravity is the Theory of gravity.
Therefore Theory does not mean it is untrue. Theory means that our observations over a period of time have shown that, in this example, that if you drop that pencil, it will fall. Same goes for the Theory of Evolution. It is an observation that with evidence we have gathered. Most notably, Darwins Finches, that differentiation occurs. We can see it today with all of the different species that exist. Even in humans, random genetic mutations exist. This is the basis of evolution and natural selection. There are random mutations. Sometimes these mutations are beneficial for the organism. If it is a great benefit then the others die off and those with the mutation live on and replace or co exist with the originals.
That is evolution. Do you want to argue that everyone is born genetically identically? It is natural. Evolution is no like pokemon where over night you change. It is an observation that organisms change over time, and we definetly have that evidence. Fossils.
If you want to argue that we dont know how old the fossils are then go ahead. The method of carbon dating is done with a mathematical equation. I knew it before but i dont remember. The fossils can be millions of years old. We can guestimate by observating the rate in which carbon deteriorates (half-life) By measuring how much of the carbon is left we can guestimate (not random guess) and give an approximate age of the fossil.
The ape thing is not that we came from apes. It is that that apes and humans come from the same evolutionary line. Meaning that there was one organism that through mutation and adaptation changed enough to be separated. There the line split. One line whent on to become the apes of today (with many branches) and one whent one to become the humans of today.
The Iceman, Neanderthal, as well as others are ancestors which had very simlar qualities as humans. So, using carbon dating we see that the ones that look most different are the oldest and the ones that look more similar are the newest. So that ties it together pretty good. There is evidence that the modern human and its predecessor did coexist for a time. However the difference was that the predecessor had a larger more physical bulk while the new mutation had a smaller physical bulk and a larger brain. We can deduce by the fact that the modern human is the only one in existence that for some reason the other died out. Probably due to competition, something we know to be nature of any organism.
Another note is that, according to genesis, god made the earth in 7 days, he created man and all animals. Then explain how we continue to find new species if god had made all of them millions of years ago. If man was created as it says in genesis then the fossils that exist that paint a very different view of man and many animals couldnt possibly exist.
Also, are you guys protestant? The idea that god has predetermined who will be saved is something i just studied i beleive it originated from calvinism or from one of the protestant reformers of the time. It is definetly not something found in Catholicism.
I dont remember the other arguments.