From: George Murphy (gmurphy@raex.com)
Date: Mon Dec 02 2002 - 12:32:53 EST
RFaussette@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 12/2/02 9:30:39 AM Eastern Standard Time, gmurphy@raex.com
> writes:
>
> > The question of _how_ evolution takes place is of course more difficult.
> > But we
> > would avoid a lot of wasted time & posturing if we would agree that it
> > _has_ taken
> > place.
> > Shalom,
> > George
> >
> >
> >
>
> Yes, why waste time. I would like to draw your attention to two at first
> seemingly disconnected facts. In the Bell Curve, a study of IQ differentials,
> an entire page is devoted to identifying the group with the highest mean IQ
> in the world. That group is Ashkenazi Jewry from Eastern Europe with a mean
> IQ of 117. The way this is accomplished within one of these religious
> communities is by marrying the daughters of the grand rebbes ONLY to the most
> brilliant of the young religious men in the community (who later become the
> grand rebbe) suggesting that there is a definite connection between high IQ
> and breeding practice among Ashkenazi Jewry. Now that you've read that fact,
> I would like to point out that in the Origin of Species Darwin points out
> that "as can be seen in genesis, the colour of domestic animals was at that
> early period attended to," but he does not give chapter and verse. I found
> it. It's Genesis 28 and 29, the story of Jacob, his wives and Laban's flocks.
> If you read the chapters carefully you will immediately notice the connection
> between the marrying practices of Ashkenazi Jewry, their IQ and Jacob's
> concerns over having a "dull eyed" wife, concerns which prompt him to take
> retaliatory action against laban by WEAKENING the breed of his flocks.
> Evolution takes place as a result of differential reproductive success. The
> fittest survive. If you take selection out of the hands of nature and put it
> in a breeder's hands, the breeder becomes the selecting environment and
> evolves the form/traits he chooses. If he chooses that the product of his
> efforts have high intelligence, he selects for intelligence. Only the fittest
> are allowed to (survive) be grand rebbe.
> The conclusion:
> Jews (on average) are the smartest people in the world because they are
> descended from orthodox breeding communities who obey God's Law as it is
> expounded in genesis. The Bible is biologically accurate. This is a known
> fact among many academics, among them Kevin MacDonald, author of a trilogy on
> Judaism, and others. If the Jews are indeed the smartest people in the world
> as a result of following God's Law, what are we doing?
> rich
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> In a message dated 12/2/02 9:30:39 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> gmurphy@raex.com writes:
>
> The question of _how_ evolution takes place is of course
> more difficult. But we
> would avoid a lot of wasted time & posturing if we would
> agree that it _has_ taken
> place.
> Shalom,
> George
>
> Yes, why waste time. I would like to draw your attention to two at
> first seemingly disconnected facts. In the Bell Curve, a study of IQ
> differentials, an entire page is devoted to identifying the group with
> the highest mean IQ in the world. That group is Ashkenazi Jewry from
> Eastern Europe with a mean IQ of 117. The way this is accomplished
> within one of these religious communities is by marrying the daughters
> of the grand rebbes ONLY to the most brilliant of the young religious
> men in the community (who later become the grand rebbe) suggesting
> that there is a definite connection between high IQ and breeding
> practice among Ashkenazi Jewry. Now that you've read that fact, I
> would like to point out that in the Origin of Species Darwin points
> out that "as can be seen in genesis, the colour of domestic animals
> was at that early period attended to," but he does not give chapter
> and verse. I found it. It's Genesis 28 and 29, the story of Jacob, his
> wives and Laban's flocks. If you read the chapters carefully you will
> immediately notice the connection between the marrying practices of
> Ashkenazi Jewry, their IQ and Jacob's concerns over having a "dull
> eyed" wife, concerns which prompt him to take retaliatory action
> against laban by WEAKENING the breed of his flocks.
> Evolution takes place as a result of differential reproductive
> success. The fittest survive. If you take selection out of the hands
> of nature and put it in a breeder's hands, the breeder becomes the
> selecting environment and evolves the form/traits he chooses. If he
> chooses that the product of his efforts have high intelligence, he
> selects for intelligence. Only the fittest are allowed to (survive) be
> grand rebbe.
> The conclusion:
> Jews (on average) are the smartest people in the world because they
> are descended from orthodox breeding communities who obey God's Law as
> it is expounded in genesis. The Bible is biologically accurate. This
> is a known fact among many academics, among them Kevin MacDonald,
> author of a trilogy on Judaism, and others. If the Jews are indeed the
> smartest people in the world as a result of following God's Law, what
> are we doing?
> rich
While perhaps of interest, this would change the focus of the
discussion
considerably. Putting aside a number of other caveats, I would just
note the following:
The notion that the ideas about breeding in Genesis 28 & 29
can be equated with
"God's Law" cannot be maintained. Jacob is pictured as a good con
artist who knows some
practical facts about animal breeding, but also as making use of
notions that we know
today are incorrect, like the belief that a child's physical
appearance _in utero_ can
be altered by the appearance of some startling thing that its mother
sees while carrying
it. As Westermann (_Genesis: A Practical Commentary_, p.214) puts
it: "There are
magical notions in the background, but the critical element in the
case of Jacob is his
intention to breed for a specific purpose by using his knowledge of
animal behavior."
Shalom,
George
-- George L. Murphy gmurphy@raex.com http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
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