Why do you fail to accept the theory of evolution? [Spirituality & Religion]

@justmerae: the 'why are there still apes' question?
Is that the one that says "if we evolved from apes, why are there still apes?"
To which the immediate response (obviously) is... we didn't evolve from apes.
All primates (apes, chimpanzees, bonobos, and chimpanzees) share a common ancestor. As expected, that common ancestor has long been extinct, although the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans would have been around as recently as 6 million years ago.

@newjaninev2: I really was not looking for an explanation I know the theory. I was saying why not answer it? Not the same as needing the explanation.
People will believe precisely what they want to believe, my point is why is it okay if she calls it a theory (Which it is) but not okay when someone who does not believe in evolution uses the same terminology?
At least you provided the information on what is believed and for that I give you credit, it is not proof, but it is an explanation.

@justmerae: No, I did not explain what is believed... I gave a brief overview of what the evidence compels (and would be very happy to details some of taht evidence).

In like vein, the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection doesn't require belief. It's an evidence-based Theory, and can be accepted or rejected... although rejection necessitates rebuttal of the evidence which underpins and shapes the Theory.

Celine probably rails against the creationists' tendency to conflate scientific Theory and lay-person theory (and quite rightly). The scientific and lay uses are, of course, two different things. For that reason, I usually capitalise the scientific use, in order to distinguish it from lay usage (where it refers more to a hunch, an idle belief, or a convenient fiction).

@newjaninev2: That is not what she has written and if you cannot defend what you have written what is the point?
This ends like all things end in an endless debate where no minds are changed and everyone is at each other's throats.
People do not have to accept any theory they do not wish, that is their right.
Since this theory cannot be reproduced in a laboratory...then theory is the right word, but again not going to argue this all day we will never agree.If people want to think they won, they can it really is not that big of a deal to me, except for the fact that people will excuse language for their own group they will not tolerate in the opposing one.
I hope you have a great day.
I really do.

@justmerae: There's no need for an endless debate, and we can avoid any such thing simply by examining our use of the word 'theory'.

Science starts with observation. We look at the world, and we notice things. Many of these things seem to be related, and so we try to come up with an explanation as to how they’re related. This explanation is called a Theory… we can think of these as ‘Big T’ Theories, because they are based on demonstrable evidence and they have wide explanatory power. Scientists then test the Theory in order to prove that it is wrong. This is an important point, and it seems to constantly confuse non-scientists. Science doesn’t try to prove that a Theory is correct. Science tries to prove that the Theory is wrong, and the Theory is accepted only so long as we are unable to show that it is wrong.

Contrast this with our everyday ‘theories’ (my neighbour is probably cheating on her taxes… my friend is having an affair), which are simply vague hunches or convenient fictions - we can think of those as small-t theories. Usually we go looking for evidence to support these ‘theories’, and it is common for us to ignore evidence that contradicts them. It seems to me that it's these vague hunches or convenient fictions that people have in mind when they say that evolution is ‘just a theory’.

You’ll hear people say “Science has proven that this is true”. Only the advertisers say this. You’ll also hear “Science has not proven that this is true”. This shows a lack of awareness of how science works. Science has never proven that something is true, because science never tries to prove that anything is true. Science tries to disprove its own theories, and accepts those theories only so long as they can’t be disproved.

Some people claim that the Theory of Evolution is not a real theory because ‘it cannot be falsified’. This is a nonsense. So, what would falsify the Theory of Evolution? Well, if we opened up a stratum of the Earth’s crust that was laid down, say, 100 million years ago and found there the fossilised remains of a modern-day giraffe, then the Theory of Evolution would have a fatal problem. The same would apply if we found fossils out of place in the Earth’s strata. Every single fossil puts the Theory of Evolution at risk, and yet, despite the hundreds of millions of fossils on the record, the Theory still stands. We never see a ‘modern’ rabbit (as an example) suddenly appearing in fossils formed, say, 60 million years ago.

The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection is drawn from the evidence… and the evidence we continue to gather consistently fails to falsify it.