Evolutionist’s Dishonest Obsession with Noah’s Ark

The obsession of Evolutionists with Noah’s Ark is actually a form of intellectual dishonesty as I see it.Evolutionists often attack the story of Noah’s Ark in an attempt to invalidate the whole Jewish Bible. . However, there are severe logical flaws in the attacks of the Evolutionists. I’m not expecting that Evolution

Evolutionist’s Dishonest Obsession with Noah’s Ark

The obsession of Evolutionists with Noah’s Ark is actually a form of intellectual dishonesty as I see it.

Evolutionists often attack the story of Noah’s Ark in an attempt to invalidate the whole Jewish Bible.

However, there are severe logical flaws in the attacks of the Evolutionists. I’m not expecting that Evolutionists should believe in a Creator, I’m asking them to use honest and logical arguments.

If the Universe was created by a supernatural Creator, then that Creator could also bend space-time to make room for all the creatures in the Noah’s Ark.

This is to say that during the Flood, the Creator could have easily interfered with the natural order He created in order to fit all the animals on the Ark. In fact, we believe He rarely interferes with the natural order so that we can assume scientific law is valid at most times, but possibly not at the incident of Noah’s Ark.

For thousands of years, many people believed in an eternal Aristotelian Universe that precluded any miracles. However modern science has effectively debunked Aristotle’s theory with its discovery of a beginning to the Universe, so now the possibility of miracles must be admitted.

Evolutionists could only falsify Noah’s Ark IF-

a) they could observe the non-existence of Noah’s Ark during the ancient Flood

and/or

b) they could prove the Universe was not created by a supernatural Creator, rather an eternal Universe or eternal “Multiverse” exists. In an eternal Universe, God would not have free will to cause miracles during Noah’s flood.

Evolutionists certainly cannot achieve a) so they are left with b). However they cannot scientifically prove b) so therefore

Evolutionists cannot honestly disprove the story of Noah’s Ark nor can they disprove that any other miracles described in the Bible occurred.

Religion of Darwinism

Darwinist evolution theories have morphed into a type of faith based atheist religion, a substitute for belief in a Creator and belief in Biblical creation. Regrettably many progressive Jewish intellectual types have become militant missionaries for the Darwinist religion. There is no real evidence in the fossil record

Religion of Darwinism

Darwinist evolution theories have morphed into a type of faith based atheist religion, a substitute for belief in a Creator and belief in Biblical creation. Regrettably many “progressive” Jewish intellectual types have become militant missionaries for the Darwinist religion. There is no real evidence in the fossil record for Darwinism, which in fact violates many scientific principles (such as the laws of entropy). For example, the fossil record clearly shows that species appear suddenly and then later disappear without any significant change. Also, Darwinist evolution is at a complete loss to explain the origin of life. Despite numerous experiments no scientist has ever produced life from non-life in a laboratory.

In the Talmud it mentions that one of man’s unique qualities not possessed by animals is the ability to speak. I believe that to prove that any ancient species of primate can be considered any type of man (as opposed to an animal), there must exist some evidence the ancient primate could speak. It would seem that the only clear evidence a creature could speak is IF we discovered any evidence the creature could write. In this case, we would have conclusive evidience the ancient creature was NOT an animal.

A few years ago I actually challenged one of the senior research scientists at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History regarding a display of “Australopithecus”, an ape-like creature that is presented as some type of ancient species that had evolved from apes to become more like man. I asked that scientist to prove that the Australopithecus had any actual human characteristics and was not simply a type of ape.

Intellectual apprehension is one of the primary characteristics that separates man from animals. I asked that scientist:
Where is there the slightest evidence that the Australopithecus creature could speak, write, or that it possessed any intellectual apprehension?
Without such evidence, how can the creature be considered human in any way?
Perhaps that creature was only an ape?

The scientist took me into the museum’s extensive research laboratory in the basement, which contained many collections of fossils of various species. The scientist took out an Australopithecus skull, an ape skull, and a human skull. As I recall the Australopithecus skull was pretty much identical to an ape skull. The scientist attempted to provide some circumstantial evidence that “Australopithecus” walked upright, but I was not shown the slightest evidence that the creature could speak, write, or had any intellectual apprehension.

Rationalist Judaism Blog Debunked–RAMBAM vs Darwin

The Rationalist Judaism blog, administered by Rabbi Natan Slifkin, in my opinion misrepresents the rationalism of the great medieval rabbis and dishonestly attempts to shoehorn their Torah philosophies into radically conflicting, modern, materialist theories such as NeoDarwinism.On the “Rationalist Judaism” blog th

Why the Rationalist Judaism Blog Misrepresents the RAMBAM

The “Rationalist Judaism” blog, administered by Rabbi Natan Slifkin, in my opinion misrepresents the “rationalism” of the great medieval rabbis and dishonestly attempts to shoehorn their Torah philosophies into radically conflicting, modern, materialist theories such as Neo-Darwinism.

On the “Rationalist Judaism” blog there is (or was) a statement: “This website is an exploration into the rationalist approach to Judaism that was most famously presented by Maimonides.” However, if one carefully studies Maimonides’ brilliant “Moreh Nevuchim” sefer, it becomes very clear that the Rambam’s Torah ideas are quite inconsistent with the Neo-Darwinist evolution theories being hyped on the Rationalist Judaism blog!

In Moreh Nevuchim 3:19, the Rambam explains that the complex design of the eye’s mechanism cannot be due to chance, rather “we see here necessarily design in nature”. The Rambam is not referring there to just an “appearance of design”, but rather actual design evident in nature. According to the Rambam, signs of design in the Universe are “the result of the action of an intellectual Being, that endows everything with its natural properties.” Such ideas are completely incompatible with Neo-Darwinism.

Contemporary “rationalists” believe that the physical Universe constitutes ALL of reality, and they deny any immaterial entities or causes such as God, angels, prophecy, Man’s immaterial intellect, etc.

The Rambam’s philosophy cannot be dishonestly shoe-horned into modern “rationalism”. Certainly Rambam did advocate there is a scientific order to the Universe, but that order is produced by the God’s Intellect, NOT by the random, undirected natural forces of Neo-Darwinism. The Rambam advocated the scientific study of the Universe, but that study was only utilized as a stepping stone to the ultimate knowledge, i.e. Metaphysics and knowledge of God. In Moreh Nevuchim 1:34, Rambam explains that in order to obtain human perfection, one must train himself in logic, mathematics, natural sciences, and finally in the “divine science”.

It seems that Rambam would consider Darwinism just a rehash of the ancient philosophy of Epicurus that the Rambam considered “kefirah”, i.e. heresy.

“”Those who have no knowledge of the deity but think that things are subject to generation and passing-away through joining and separation due to chance, and that there is no one who governs and orders being, are Epicurus and those like him…””
(Maimonides, Guide to the Perplexed II:14, 12th Century C.E.)

Wise non-Jews are aware that Darwinism is just a rehash of ancient Greek atheist and materialist theories, theories that the Rambam considered “kefirah”.

Charles Darwin and the Ghost of Epicurus

The Rambam teaches certain metaphysical concepts such as material cause, formal cause, efficient cause, and final cause. In Moreh Nevuchim 1:69, the Rambam teaches that God is the efficient cause, the formal cause, and the final cause of the world. These metaphysical concepts are radically incompatible with Neo-Darwinism that eliminates any Creator, any causes, or any purpose for life or the Universe.

Neo-Darwinism, which attempts to explain the origin and development of life by undirected material causes, is utterly incompatible with the Rambam’s Torah philosophy. Any intellectually honest person would have to conclude that if the Rambam were alive today, he could not possibly accept the validity of the Neo-Darwinist evolution theories advocated on the Rationalist Judaism blog.

The “Rationalist Judaism” blog claims to be exploring the Rambam’s ideas, but in my opinion, it is radically misrepresenting them.

Evolution Group Think

The American academic environment has degenerated into an atmosphere of totalitarian atheist group think where all heresies against the prevailing Darwinist religion are being ruthlessly suppressed.The excellent video documentary (produced several years ago) Expelled: No intelligence allowed contains a great expose of

Evolution Group Think

The American academic environment has degenerated into an atmosphere of totalitarian atheist group think where all heresies against the prevailing Darwinist religion are being ruthlessly suppressed.

The excellent video documentary (produced several years ago) “Expelled: No intelligence allowed” contains a great expose of the totalitarian group think among the university evolution fundamentalists. It also exposes the connection between evolutionary theories and Nazi genocide:
“… educators and scientists are being ridiculed, denied tenure and even fired for the crime of merely believing that there might be evidence of design in nature, and that perhaps life is not just the result of accidental, random chance.”

These same leftist professors who persecute their colleagues who express any heretical ideas against the Darwinist religion are often also virulent enemies of Israel. Evolution is atheist junk science that can in no way explain the origin of life, nor can it explain the origin of a speaking being with intellect such as man. I believe Darwin clearly indicated his motivations for inventing the evolution religion were to minimize the necessity for any supernatural Creator.

For those looking for an antidote to the evolution Kool-Aid, I recommend reading the essays of Dr. Georges Cuvier, a brilliant scientist who is mentioned in the “Drush Or HaChaim” treatise of the Jewish sage Tiferes Yisrael. Unlike today’s dope addled leftist professors who follow the evolution drumbeat like sheep, Dr. Cuvier was a true intellectual with a knowledge of human history and respect for the Bible. Dr. Cuvier’s brilliant discourse provides strong evidence against evolution group think and in favor of an ancient flood, but has been suppressed by the politically Darwinist liberals of recent times.

Evolution is a faith based atheist religion which violates scientific principles (such as the laws of entropy) and for which there is no real evidence in the fossil record. For example, the fossil record clearly shows that species appear suddenly and then later disappear without any significant change. Evolution is at a complete loss to explain the origin of life. Despite numerous experiments, no scientist has ever produced life from non-life in a laboratory.

Most evolution fundamentalists simply gloss over and ignore the massive scientific evidence against Darwinist evolution. The great rabbinic authority Tiferes Yisrael, whose famous “Drush Or HaChaim” sermon argues for an ancient earth, but not evolution, brings opinions of the renowned scientist Dr. Georges Cuvier. Dr. Cuvier firmly opposed evolution and believed that species appeared and disappeared in the fossil record without significant changes.

A very scholarly book released several years ago that powerfully and brilliantly refutes Darwinism is “Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design” by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer.

Darwinism: A Rehash of Ancient Epicurus

Darwinists would have us believe that evolution is a novel, modern, sophisticated scientific theory unknown to the ancients.Certain religious blogs such as the Rationalist Judaism blog identify with the alleged rationalism of Maimonides, while also advocating for Evolution. This is an absurd contradiction IMHO.Maimonid

Darwinism: A Rehash of Ancient Epicurus

Darwinists would have us believe that evolution is a novel, modern, sophisticated scientific theory unknown to the ancients.

Certain “religious” blogs such as the “Rationalist Judaism” blog identify with the alleged “rationalism” of Maimonides, while also advocating for Evolution. This is an absurd contradiction IMHO.

Maimonides was a “rationalist” within Medieval thought, he was not a modern materialist attempting to explain the Universe by recognizing only material causes. Maimonides would have sharply rejected Darwinism.

In the 12th Century C.E., Maimonides dismissed the ancient version of Darwinism.

“But it would be quite useless to mention the opinions of those who do not recognize the existence of God, but believe that the existing state of things is the result of accidental combination and separation of the elements, and that the Universe has no Ruler or Governor. Such is the theory of Epicurus and his school, and similar philosophers, as stated by Alexander [Aphrodisiensis]; it would be superfluous to repeat their views, since the existence of God has been demonstrated whilst their theory is built upon a basis proved to be untenable.”

(Maimonides, Guide to the Perplexed, 12th Century C.E.)

“some classically educated contemporaries of Darwin saw in his ideas little but a 19th-century rehash of thoughts that they had once studied in ancient Greek and Latin authors in their university days.” (evolutionnews article)

Ghost of Epicurus

Man’s Efforts Have An Effect

Akeidat Yitzchak (AY) was a great medieval Torah authority. . In Akeidat Yitzchak no. 26, he provides a fascinating lecture on the various reasons for a person’s success.According to AY, there appear to be 4 causes (or circumstances) a person may find himself in:. . . A Righteous person Good Mazal: Little exertion is

Man’s Efforts Have An Effect

Akeidat Yitzchak (AY) was a great medieval Torah authority.

In Akeidat Yitzchak no. 26, he provides a fascinating lecture on the various reasons for a person’s success.

According to Akeidat Yitzchak (AY), in many cases Man’s efforts do matter.

I. A summary of the Akeidat Yitzchak on 4 different circumstances where a person’s success may or may not be solely controlled by Hashem:

Righteous person + Good Mazal: Little exertion is required for a person to acheive success.
Unrighteous person + Good Mazal: He will not prevail over Hashem’s will, despite his best efforts.
A person born with average skills and intelligence, and average Mazal: The Torah is addressing this large group of people – this person must certainly exert himself, his successes or failures are due overwhelmingly to his own efforts or lack of efforts. He is operating under the laws of nature – “One employs every known medication to ward off infection”.
A Righteous person with negative Mazal: His efforts plus Hashem’s assistance will neutralize the negative Mazal.

II. A Summary of Recent Hareidi Torah Philosophy (referencing the 4 above):

Everyone is assumed to belong to either category 1 or category 2 in the list above.
No. 3 in the AY list above has been completely deleted, so that a person’s success is never dependent on his efforts at all.
The effect of “Mazal” has been usually deleted from all 4 of the list above.

Thus in normative Hareidi philosophy,a person must make minimal token efforts but they have no real effect on the results. If a person is failing to achieve results, it is assumed to be a decree from Hashem, it cannot be due to the person’s lack of effort.

This deterministic viewpoint I believe has caused severe damage to Hareidi communities.

The fatalistic “religious” viewpoint promotes a very negative effect on society by discouraging and minimizing the value of Man’s efforts.

According to Akeidat Yitzchak, it seems that most people must make an effort, not simply because making an effort may be a mitzvah, but because the effort does have an effect.

Torah vs. Greek Chochma

The three sons of the Biblical prophet Noah were Shem, Ham, and Yefet. Torah tradition teaches that mankind has descended from those three sons and their wives. . The Torah teaches that Yefet, who was the ancestor of the Greeks, will dwell in the tent of Shem, who was the ancestor of the Jews. Rav Hirsch ztl understand

Torah vs. Greek Chochma

The three sons of the Biblical prophet Noah were Shem, Ham, and Yefet. Torah tradition teaches that mankind has descended from those three sons and their wives.

The Torah teaches that Yefet, who was the ancestor of the Greeks, will dwell in the tent of Shem, who was the ancestor of the Jews. Rav Hirsch zt”l understands the meaning of the name Yefet in psychological terms – Yefet is the ancestor of the Greeks whose minds were expanded in philosophy and science.

We see that the ancient rabbinic sages accepted some ideas from the Greek philosophers, or perhaps the Greeks learned those ideas from the rabbis. There was some overlap between rabbinic thought and Greek thought, and also some definite conflicts – the Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim repeatedly attacks the claims of the Greek philosophers that the Universe is eternal.

The Ramban in his perush on Breishees referred to the initial point of matter that the Universe began with as hiyuli, IE formless matter known to the Greeks as hyle.

Rabbeinu Bachya in Chovos HaLevavos mentions Aristotle’s ideas in a number of places.

Some ideas from Greek or medieval metaphysics that the rabbis accepted are still useful ideas in the modern age. The concept of matter and form seemed to have been widely accepted by the rabbis, and this concept has been revived in a mathematical form in 20th century Quantum Mechanics.

If I recall correctly, Rav Meir Triebetz in some of his shiurim on the hashkafacircle.com website cited Rav Tzadok as claiming that Greek philosophy is the chitzonius (external aspect) of the Kabbalah. There is definitely some evidence for this.

“I quoted also the pious and wise of other nations whose words have come down to us, hoping that my readers’ hearts would incline to them and give heed to their wisdom, as for example, the words of philosophers, the ethical teachings of the ascetics, and their praiseworthy customs. Our Rabbis have already said regarding this (Sanhedrin 39b): One verse says: ‘after the ways of the surrounding nations you have done’ (Ezekiel 5:7). How can this be reconciled? As follows – their good ways you have not copied; their evil ones you have followed.”
(Introduction to Chovos Halevavos-Duties of the Heart)

Escaping Modern Torah Intellectual Quagmires

By intellectual quagmires, I am especially referring to the severe limitations and internal contradictions present in many Chareidi Jewish philosophic viewpoints. Much of Hareidi/Chassidic Torah philosophy from the last few hundred years can lead to either an intellectual deadend or else an intellectual quagmire.

By “intellectual quagmires”, I am especially referring to the severe limitations and internal contradictions present in many “Chareidi” Jewish philosophic viewpoints.

Much of Hareidi/Chassidic Torah philosophy from the last few hundred years can lead to either an intellectual dead-end or else an intellectual quagmire in one’s Torah philosophy.

This seems to primarily result from the abandonment of much of the teachings of the great medieval Torah authorities, such as Rambam, Rabbeinu Bachya, Ran, Akeidat Yitzchak,etc.

The Ran (Rabbeinu Nissim) was a great medieval Torah sage whose derashos (lectures), along with the Torah philosophy of other medieval Torah sages, provides a strong intellectual framework for Torah Judaism that allows one to escape the quagmire of Hareidi/Chassidic Torah philosophy.

Artscroll has done a tremendous service to the Jewish world by translating the Ran’s derashos and providing many annotations and explanations, with many citations from the greatest medieval Torah authorities.

(Note: I do not work for Artscroll nor do I receive any compensation for endorsing these books.)

Derashos HaRan

Revival of Metaphysics

In the modern age, certain concepts previously studied in the field of Metaphysics have been largely abandoned and replaced with a mathematical, mechanistic view of the natural order. Scientism is a type of modern materialist, atheist belief that our scientific knowledge alone provides us a complete knowledge of realit

Revival of Metaphysics

In the modern age, certain concepts previously studied in the field of “Metaphysics” have been largely abandoned and replaced with a mathematical, mechanistic view of the natural order. “Scientism” is a type of modern materialist, atheist belief that our scientific knowledge alone provides us a complete knowledge of reality.

In prior ages, the study of “Metaphysics” was valued as a knowledge system that involved a rational investigation of the general attributes of reality. This study included the attributes of physical and non-physical reality, and the study of the attributes of God and the ultimate causes of what constitutes reality.

Medieval (Aristotelian) Metaphysics can provide a strong impetus to an ethical, monotheistic view of the Universe. This is why certain great rabbis, such as the Rambam and Rabbeinu Bachya, utilized this Metaphysics to prove the existence and oneness of God. A revival of Metaphysics as a legitimate branch of human knowledge would serve an important role in reviving monotheistic beliefs and ending the monopoly of “scientism” on defining reality.

In the Modern Age, Metaphysics (regrettably) has been largely abandoned. The “scientism” that replaced Metaphysics at the start of the Modern Age has provided a huge tailwind to atheist, materialist belief systems.

Modern “scientism” has created a system of “mathematical materialism” and abandoned any of the useful concepts of “Metaphysics” that were included in the scientific thought of the past. In modern “scientism”, the only reality recognized are material phenomenon that are describable with mathematical equations.

By abandoning Metaphysics concepts, and focusing science solely on developing mathematical, material explanations of Nature, modern science has actually created gaping holes in the ability of man to recognize a Creator of the Universe and also to comprehend the Universe. This approach has resulted in the current “scientism” where science is relied on to explain EVERYTHING about reality and the Universe, even though science has no ability to do so.

Instead of atheist scientism, a revival of some aspects of metaphysics needs to occur if we seek to both maintain ethical monotheism and also to maximize our understanding of the Universe.

Recognizing the Limits of Science

The claims of the atheist science establishment that somehow the Universe created itself, are fundamentally in conflict with honest science. There is a necessary demarcation between Biblical theology and science that Torah observant Jews must recognize.Ancient rabbis rejected the erroneous scientific speculations of Ar

Recognizing the Limits of Science

Ancient rabbis rejected the erroneous “scientific” speculations of Aristotle that had no real basis in any observations, such as the very erroneous claim that our Universe is a static Universe that existed eternally. We now know from many reliable scientific observations that this Universe could not have existed eternally.

Hundreds of years ago some of the greatest rabbis wrote descriptions of the creation process that seem to be generally quite consistent with some of the details described by the modern Bing Bang Theory.

The important point to remember is the Bible is not intended as a scientific treatise, it was intended as an ethical guide for man.
However, the basic facts the Bible describes are quite consistent with advanced modern science.

For example –

Universe had a beginning (was created according to the rabbis) in the finite past.
All matter was created ex-nihilo at the beginning of the Universe, and was formed into the components of the Universe.
The days mentioned in Genesis do not correspond to our days as earth’s sun was not created until the fourth day. The Bible states explicitly that the “days” were the separation of light and darkness by God, (not the revolution of the Earth).
There have been multiple creations and destruction of life on Earth during multiple eras of time. The Bible is only describing in detail the present era.
Scientific laws, as we now understand them, did not exist during the initial Creation process, but only after the Creation process was completed.
The Creation process cannot be explained in scientific terms that are intelligible to man. Scientific laws we now know did not exist during that process.
There occurred a metaphysical increase in complexity in life on Earth, starting with the earliest animals (marine invertebrate) until the creation of man, the most complex living creature.

The Creation process is non-repeatable and non-observable by man. There must be a necessary demarcation between science and Biblical theology which do not conflict with each other.

Science must recognize its limits and recognize that Biblical theology is not in conflict with authentic science. Rather Biblical theology picks up where science must end.