[JulianChastain]

> The report complains that when asked about the age of the universe, AIs just give the scientific consensus answer of 13bn years, never mentioning that young earth creationists believe it’s 600 years old

Is certainly a typo, off by an order of magnitude. 600 years ago the Christian Church had already been around for more than 1000 years. Young earth creationists believe the earth is ~6000 years old

[basisword]

Thanks for clarifying. I know they're nuts but the earth being 600 years when Jesus was around 2000 years ago didn't make any sense.

[AussieWog93]

I'm not a YEC myself but know a few.

I don't think "nuts" is the best way to describe the individuals I know.

Compared to the average person, I wouldn't say they think less (or defectively) but tend to focus much more of their brainpower towards more pragmatic, day-to-day questions. Stuff like "how should I conduct myself in the world?" or "how should I relate to my neighbours?" rather than "did dinosaurs exist 65 million years ago?".

And of course, The Bible has much better answers to these types of questions than science does, so it ends up forming the fundamentals of their worldview.

In many ways I'd say these people are arguably more sane than many of the "rational-minded" people here.

[danaris]

Yeah, that's not...that's not a good way of being.

I, for example, am perfectly capable of considering "how should I conduct myself in the world?" and "how should I relate to my neighbours?" and still be able to comprehend basic (and some advanced!) science.

Also

> And of course, The Bible has much better answers to these types of questions than science does, so it ends up forming the fundamentals of their worldview.

No, it bloody well doesn't.

Even if you limited yourself to the New Testament (which, of course, these types absolutely do not—for one thing, the New Testament says nothing whatsoever about the age of the world, so any Young-Earth Creationist must by definition be paying heavy attention to the Old Testament), you'd get Jesus saying some good stuff like "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven," alongside some questionable stuff like "turn the other cheek" (situationally good advice, not a good universal rule), and then Paul comes in writing letters all over the place and starts talking about how it's most important for wives to submit to their husbands and similar drek.

Furthermore, as a matter of fact, science these days has been getting much better at being able to tell us stuff about how to conduct ourselves toward our fellow human beings. For instance, it tells us that women are, indeed, just as capable as men in every way; that strict authoritarian governance is worse in every way than more open, inclusive models; and that if we "turn the other cheek" to those abusing us, they're just going to abuse us worse.

So maybe actually think critically for a bit before you praise the YECs in the world too roundly.

[AussieWog93]

Sorry mate, I forgot for a second that the people I know and respect in spite of this strange belief are all in fact strawmen.

[danaris]

...Strawmen?

Where in my post did I say or imply that the people you describe were not real?

I wasn't saying anything about the people who believe this, aside from the fact that no, they aren't some kind of Great Person From A Lost Era because they espouse, not a "strange belief", but a patently false one based on a literalist interpretation of the Bible that didn't even exist until the mid-19th century.

I was saying that your statements—that they were somehow able to "focus more of their brainpower" toward acting well toward their neighbours just because they denied science, and that the Bible was a better source of advice on how to treat people well than modern science is—are bullshit.

I'm perfectly willing to believe that there are YECs who act like perfectly nice people toward other men who look and talk like them. But that's not what you were claiming.

[tim333]

> And of course, The Bible has much better answers to these types of questions than science does...

The Bible:

>If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death.

then of course you say that's silly, we shouldn't execute gays, but it reduces my faith as to the bible having better ideas how to treat people. The church may have better answers as they get updates on what to do with gays, slaves, witches and the like.

[skeeter2020]

>> didn't make any sense.

only because of your lack of FAITH </s>