sean samis, # 58:
“bornagain77, KF, Mung, mw, Origenes, Silver Asiatic, StephenB and any others I might have missed: I thank you all for your comments here. Whenever I get someone saying that creationism/ID is not actually religious, I refer them to your comments and those like yours. Your comments make the case for me: Creationism in all its forms is religion. It does not belong in any science curricula except as an example of what science is NOT. Sincerely; thank you.”
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"Creationism/ID is not actually religious" who said that?
Surely, there is indeed sound science in those movements. Yes, YEC or OEC may have more religion in their overtones than the broader remit of the spirituality within the ID movement.
However, as we all know, in such “science curricula” any intelligence that questions consensus science must be rejected and is not allowed in class, perhaps because Darwinists are afraid their faith-based pseudo-scientific stance, which surely stands on quicksand, will be uncovered for what it is, a beguiling delusion.
Furthermore, Shamans can do better at looking at dead bones and seeing what they really mean (stasis of kinds) rather than the self-hypnotised who looked at a pig’s tooth and said it was a missing human link; or looked at the Piltdown fiasco, while all king Darwin’s horses and all king Darwin’s men, could not detect a fraud for years and years. Surely, the evidence points to how easily we are beguiled into
The problem in scientific creationism, and what I see as a reason for its exclusion from the science classroom in public schools, is the fact that it looks as if, from the outside, the whole theory that it rest on is simply a contortion of the traditional version of creation described in Genesis, custom-made to fit in with Darwin’s theory of evolution. R. M. Hare would probably say that scientific creationism is simply a modification of the story of creation in Genesis, to fit into the ÒblikÓ of the religious fundamentalist. A blik, as Hare describes it, is a pre-set worldview held by all people, in which they draw from when forming certain opinions on any particular subject. In the case of religious fundamentalist, whose faith in the validity of the Book of Genesis is an essential part of their blik, it becomes necessary for them to contort their literal view of the Book of Genesis into a form that is scientifically acceptable. For this reason, creation science still does not have a place in the science classroom of public schools.
For as long as mankind has had the curiosity to gaze at the stars, we have been constantly questioning our origin and place in the universe. From simple, yet elegant solutions (like our world being on the back of a large tortoise) to the more complex pantheons of gods and heavens, humanity’s dedication to classifying and comprehending our universe has enabled us to weave rich and complex mythologies and beliefs. However, in America today there are two prominent paradigms that are shaping how we see the world—Christian creationism and scientific evolution. These two schools of thought, like many other conflicting models of the universe and its creation, have fueled passions and incited spirited rivalries among its most ardent followers and fanatics, but, again like many other opposing beliefs, at the same time it is easy to see how they can be reconciled both within and without oneself. However, many scientists and theologians believe that one of the two is blasphemous and the other is gospel (or textbook) truth. For example, in Scott D Sampson’s essay Evoliteracy, (2006) Sampson denounces Christianity and pushes for everyone to learn the theory of Evolution instead of creationism. While he is correct in wanting a more educated populace, Christianity is not an inherently wrong construct. Similarly, many of those pushing for intelligent design have similarly decried the evolutionary theory as
With the rise of modern science over the centuries came a vigorous attack on Christian theology; most universally recognized is Darwin’s theory of evolution. Although it has been taught throughout schools across the country since the 1960’s, recent legislature entitled “academic freedom” bills has encouraged skepticism of Darwin’s theory due to the inherent contradictions of it. Still, some people challenge Christianity on the basis of a lack of evidence, yet they’ll turn to theories of evolution which lack empirical support without enquiry.
Intelligent design supporters have believed that a low-key approach is in order to be more successful ,rather than simply asking educational institutions to require that intelligent design be taught. Instead, they ask only that schools teach the controversy surrounding evolution, arguing that broadening the discussion will foster critical thought. (Clemmitt, 2005)
Evolutionary theory has accrued evidence from diverse scientific fields and is now championed as the centerpiece of biology. Creationism has branched out to include scientific, moralistic, and probabilistic arguments, and its alliance with fundamentalist Christianity has helped it retain political power. Toumey asserts that “without the churches, academies, colleges, lobbies, rallies, broadcasts, and mailing lists of the New Religious Right, creationism would be an obscure oddity; with its Religious Right sponsors, however, it becomes a popular sensation that generates difficult public controversy about science education.”
"Intelligent Design is not tantamount to the biblical doctrine of creation. Theologically, Intelligent Design falls far short of requiring any affirmation of the doctrine of creation as revealed in the Bible. Nevertheless, it is a useful and important intellectual tool, and a scientific movement with great promise."
“A delusion is something that people believe in, despite a total lack of evidence.” Richard Dawkins. Intelligent Design and Evolution have long been at odds, from laymen arguments to some of the prestigious minds in the world, all have been debating over this scientific rift. However, the question that has fraught even the most intellectual person; is Intelligent Design a religion or is it science? This issue has held the public school system back since the rising call for Intelligent Design to be in science textbooks. In the scientific field, there is a myriad of convincing evidence for Evolution and because of this many people believe that Intelligent Design is simply a religion. Since Intelligent Design is merely a religion and not a scientifically supported subject, adding it to
The objection to evolutionary theory and it's teaching began well over 100 years ago. Charles Darwin proposed in 1859 that populations of organisms underwent evolution through a process known as natural selection. Three years prior to the publication of this theory, in 1856, he wrote of "creationists" in a personal correspondence (Darwin, 1856). The notion that scientific theory conflicts with and rejects religious dogma has been a persistent, pervasive one. Religious organizations continue to push for the acceptance of creationism or intelligent design in school today. Despite the numerous legal cases brought to forth to force the teaching of creationism in public schools, we of the school board maintain that creationism has no place within our schools.
lot of stress for the students, their families and the clergy at their church. Why do we
Creationism should be taught in schools, they do idol critical thinking skills. However, they still choose to overload them with information on an unproven
In 1859, Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking Origin of Species, which would introduce the seminal theory of evolution to the scientific community. Over 150 years later, the majority of scientists have come to a consensus in agreement with this theory, citing evidence in newer scientific research. In an average high school biology classroom, one may imagine an instructor that has devoted much of his life to science and a predominantly Christian class of about twenty-five students. On the topic of evolution, one of the students might ask, “Why would God have taken the long route by creating us through billion years of evolution?” while another student may claim “The Book of Genesis clearly says that the earth along with all living
Despite great efforts to convince the opposing side, a battle still brews amongst creationists and evolutionists over the beginning of life and the universe, but neither opinions’ palpability can be firmly upheld through scientific manners. Since science can only prove hypotheses that are testable and based on current observations, neither creation nor evolutionary concepts can be proven with irrefutable evidence. However, regardless of the inability to prove either concept, most public school systems promote evolution as a scientific fact. Many students who lack firm beliefs about the origin of life believe what they are taught without giving any personal thought to the matter. Instead of robotically absorbing biased information,
Teaching Creationism or Intelligent Design to our youth can be done in a way that is neither opinion based nor completely fact based, but may hold some risk of personal interpretation. The first thing needed to be considered is how can children of the middle school age range grasp such a deep subject and have the capacity to reach their own conclusion. Information found regarding the development of children in this developmental range was found in the book titled "Characteristics of Middle Grade Students,” Caught in the Middle by the Sacramento Department of Education. It was found that students of this age hold a variety of learning attributes that support the belief that children can handle both sides of this controversial issue. Some
Public schools are a place to learn proven facts and some very well—known and accepted theories. These schools have been led this way for a long time and show no signs of changing. Many states around the country have rejected the teaching of creationism in public schools, since the subject is so controversial among teachers and parents. In Ohio, a bill to develop new science content standards was not successfully passed. Many creationists were upset when they discovered that the first drafts of the standards were filled with evolutionary content, without any allowance for alternative explanations of life’s origins. In the uproar, the state board held a special meeting to investigate the process that the writing team and advisory committee used to draft the science standards (Matthews, Answering Genesis). This is why learning the facts about evolution should be taught at school. By doing this, there would be much less confrontation between teachers, students, and parents. If one has the desire to learn about creationism or any other beliefs of how the world came to be, one should learn it at a place outside of school, such as church or at home.
Should the stork theory appear in books on reproduction? How about astrological lore in expositions on astronomy? It would be unreasonable to even consider those ridiculous concepts. This is why the idea of creation should not be considered as the answer to how life began. Rather, the theory of evolution accounts for the creation of life. Charles Darwin is credited with creating the theory of evolution. Evolution assumes that all natural forms arose from their ancestors and adapted over time to their environments, thus leading to variation. In evolution, there are many rules the environment places upon the survival of a species. “There are many misconceptions that creationists have about evolution.