Atheist believes in God

[aileron]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mills

Even so, the Bible calls them fools!

The Bible also tells us not to call people fools. Matthew 5:22

Originally Posted by aileron

BrotherBrian, atheists are as diverse a group as Christians. We do not have a Pope, Bishop, or Council of Elders who represents us. To say that X or Y is the "position" of atheists is an over generalization at best and at worst an accusation of bigotry.

Of course there are a great number of thinking, rational, brainy people who believe in the Abrahamic God, as well as other deities. I personally have a great deal of respect for the Jesuit commitment to education, for instance. Certainly there are uneducated or militant atheists who feel the way you describe, but they do not, I think, represent the majority opinion. The problem is that the "professional atheists" are the most vocal, and unfortunately sometimes quite bigoted.

Unfortunately, my opinion is based upon my interactions with them in every Christian and secular forum I've been part of.
A perusal of the various threads here will bear out my assertion.
If you're not of that stripe, good for you, and thanks.
Welcome to the forum, by the way.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by friendly hardline atheist

Just bring the right reactants together and let them turn into DNA. Chalk up another impressive feat for science at the expense of 'Goddunnit'.

That's not even close to being correct FHA. They actually took an existing strand of DNA and artificially re-organised it. An truly outstanding feat of bio-engineering, but it's simply (did I say simply?) rewriting a piece of code.

It's so far from 'creating life' that I feel embarrassed using that term in this context.

Originally Posted by Brad

That's not even close to being correct FHA. They actually took an existing strand of DNA and artificially re-organised it. An truly outstanding feat of bio-engineering, but it's simply (did I say simply?) rewriting a piece of code.

It's so far from 'creating life' that I feel embarrassed using that term in this context.

Brad---that's the way I read the nresearch, but when I pointed it out, he disagreed with my interpretation of the article.
ARE you and I correct?

[friendly hardline atheist]

Hello Brad,

Originally Posted by Brad

That's not even close to being correct FHA. They actually took an existing strand of DNA and artificially re-organised it. An truly outstanding feat of bio-engineering, but it's simply (did I say simply?) rewriting a piece of code.

It's so far from 'creating life' that I feel embarrassed using that term in this context.

Could you please point out where you read that they used an existing strand of DNA?! The opening line of the article reads

Originally Posted by Guardian newspaper

Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

A bit down it reads

Originally Posted by Guardian newspaper

The Guardian can reveal that a team of 20 top scientists assembled by Mr Venter, led by the Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, has already constructed a synthetic chromosome, a feat of virtuoso bio-engineering never previously achieved. Using lab-made chemicals, they have painstakingly stitched together a chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code.

The DNA sequence is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium which the team pared down to the bare essentials needed to support life, removing a fifth of its genetic make-up. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, which the team have christened Mycoplasma laboratorium, has been watermarked with inks for easy recognition.

I think you are mistaken. The sequence in which they ordered the A, T, C, G base pairs is taken from an existing organism, but the article says that the chromosome was created from lab chemicals and therefore wholly synthetic. That contradicts what you said about using existing parts of a DNA strand.

Again, I think you are just plain wrong, that you read that they had merely taken the sequence of base pairs (that means a line of the letters A, T, C , G, representing the four bases) and erroneously concluded from that that they had chopped up and reordered an existing strand of DNA. That is not what it says. Others also don't read it the way you read it:

The Artificial Life of J. Craig Venter

Part of that article reads 'Venter and his team have built from scratch a chromosome of 381 genes'

If you stick to your position then kindly point our where it says they used an existing DNA strand.

greets,
Peter

Originally Posted by aileron

The Bible also tells us not to call people fools. Matthew 5:22

You mis-read that quote from the Bible. It tells us not to call our BROTHERS fools. This is referring to our brothers in Christ, because someone who is not a Christian is a child of the devil. Certainly not my brother in Christ (this yet!)