And I apologize for getting frustrated, dorkus. I agree with pretty much everything in your last post.

Would I agree that one or both of two contrary belief systems is wrong? Usually, but sometimes it depends on the belief - just as not all courtroom questions have yes/no answers.

Since we're talking about the origin of species, then there are both absolutes and matters of interpretation. Either we split off from apes or we didn't, and that was either about 7 million years ago or it wasn't. Either we evolved into what we are now or we just appeared this way. And so on.

What's not absolute is how it's all driven. Darwin explains a lot of what *happens*, but of course he can't explain why it happens or why anything bothers to exist in the first place. That's what a lot of religion attempts to explain, but none of us will ever really know why...which is where your open mind comes into play.

Stephen Hawkins doesn't have the answers to questions we're unlikely to ever be able to answer, but he sure knows how to pose the questions more clearly than you or I.