Human Origins

Nowhere Man will argue that mankind was a special creation. The first man was a distinct species, created perfect, about 6,000 years ago. The Biblical Adam & Eve were the first human couple and have since propagated the entire human race. The current imperfections in mankind (including ageing and death) are a direct result of God withdrawing his holy spirit, or active force from mankind after Adam's original sin. Nowhere Man will argue that the evidence is most consistent with this view.

Lilith will argue that mankind has descended, by way of the current scientific view of evolution, from a common ancestor with modern primate species. The most recent common ancestor of all mankind is substantially older than 6,000 years. Mankind was not a special creation and is another branch on the tree of life. The current imperfections in mankind (including ageing and death) are due to imperfect blind evolutionary processes. Lilith will argue that the evidence is most consistent with this view.

1. Good discussion & ethical guidelines should be held.

   1. No personal attacks.

   2. No illogical statements.

   3. No arguments from authority.

   4. No arguments from incredulity. (I can't believe that...)

   5. Definitions should be presented for all terms.

   6. References should be presented for new evidence.

2. The debate structure should be followed.

   1. Debate should remain between the two debaters.

   2. Only statements within the debate thread and between the debaters should be considered. Posts from those outside the debate should be ignored and do not effect the actual debate.

   3. Only one response is allowed per opponent response. The debate will be an exchange of posts.

   4. One major point is allowed paragraph. An exception can be made if two points can only be stated together.

   5. The responder should reply to each paragraph in it's entirety without separating paragraph text.

   6. Each major point should be responded to.

   7. Although only the two debaters are allowed to participate in the debate, they may call on outside resources for help. This includes both natural and supernatural entities.

   8. Responders will be allowed up to one week to respond. (although, I doubt anyone will have to wait that long)

3. Three judges will oversee and moderate the debate.

   1. At any time a responder may ask for a "judgment call". This should be done *before* he makes his actual response to his opponent. This should be a separate post where he should state the rule he believes is being broken and shows the relevant text. Both parties should wait silently for a ruling. After all three judges have ruled, the discussion will continue.

      1. If the ruling is in the favor of the defendant, the plaintiff continue and respond to the post as normal.

      2. If the ruling is in the favor of the plaintiff, the plaintiff should wait for the defendant to correct his mistake. This defendant should repost his entire offending post with the corrected text in place.

   2. If at any time a debater adamantly refuses to adhere to a ruling of the judges, the debater will be disqualified and shown unfit for debate.

   3. If a debater feels 1) the opponent has repeated an invalid point and 2) the debater has no original points regarding the topic discussion, he may call "check". The responder must cover all points in the "check" post as usual and must also provide an original response to the checked point as well.

      1. After a response has been made, if the debater feels the new point is not original, he may call "checkmate". The responder is given another chance to generate a new approach to the topic. Both debaters must then wait for the judges to rule on the checkmate. If the judges rule against the defendant, he has lost.

Evidence must be factual and empirical. It must be factual in the sense that it is shown beyond reasonable doubt. It must be empirical in the sense that the observation can be repeated by others. Vague memories, stories from parents, things heard from friends, and orange colored books do not qualify.

When both debaters agree to the debate terms and the judges are chosen then the debate will commence. Two new threads will be opened in responce to the root thread of this topic. One will be for the debate and the other will be for any commentation, foul language, heckling, or frusterated rants. Since the discussion positions are outlined above, no introductions should be nessicary. Nowhere Man will be allowed the first post where he will state his initial arguements. The debate will continue from there.