Reflection On Creationism

I. Acceptance of Creation is growing in spite of overwhelming evidence proving Evolution There is no easy resolution for whats true and evolution or creationism. It is a complex topic with profound scientific, religious, educational, and criticism. How can a student or parent come to grips with this issue? Evolution vs. Creationism provides a badly needed, comprehensive, and balanced introduction to the many facets of the current debates about what should be taught in a classroom or in reality itself. Evolution relies on scientific facts while creationism clings on biblical beliefs. But the legal and

5). In the years immediately after the Scopes trial, many laws were created in opposition to the teaching of evolution in high school biology courses (Moore para. 8). The governor of Texas ordered the evolution sections to be cut out of the textbooks in schools with scissors (Moore para. 8). The impact of the Scopes trial was evident in the revised additions of textbooks; for example, one textbook had a picture of Darwin on the cover of the 1921 edition, which was replaced by a cartoon digestive system in 1926 (Moore para. 9). Many textbooks that did not remove the importance of evolution did not sell well, if they sold at al. (Moore para. 9). Evolution made its way back into biology textbooks, but religious content also appeared as an alternate way of explaining where life came from (Moore para. 10). Today, evolution has made its way back into many biology classrooms; however, there are still teachers that are reluctant to teach evolution (Moore para.

Giving students freedom in their academic lives encouraged students to form their own opinions. Teachers had biased feelings towards those who denied students the right to the whole truth because of specific religions, because it raises an uneducated generation. Fundamentalists needed to realize that as times changed9 modernization of education is necessary, regardless of religious beliefs so students receive the full truth and become liberated people. If students are restricted from certain topics and are only taught one view on a few subjects then there will be no new or different ways of thinking, rendering education pointless. “Without freedom in the intellectual life, and without the inspiration of uncensored discovery and discussion, there could ultimately be no scholarship, no schools at all and no education.” The American Federation of Teachers expressed their fear for the future of education and how it would be constrained due to traditionalism, in contradiction of Sparks and other creationists.

Since the beginning of the human race there has been a lingering question as to the origins of man and how all living things acquired their characteristics. The two main theories that arose over time were Creationism and Evolution, both of which provided very distinct answers to this question. Creationism based its answer on the idea of a supernatural power or being that created the entire universe, man and the numerous other organisms that live within it. While, Evolution theorizes that all living things have the potential to change and grow over time into something new and different. So in other words, one theory suggests that humans and all the organisms on Earth are the result of divine design, while the other indicates that they

Through the 1920s, conflicts regarding the teachings of religious values versus Evolution, along with the increasing fight for women’s independence, caused a great deal of tension within America. Prior to the ‘20s schools taught the Bible and Christianity’s principles were stressed. It was in 1925 when Clarence Darrow defended John Scopes, a biology teacher, who was put on trial in the court for teaching the theory of Evolution (Doc C). This document illustrates the dialogue of

The debate over Evolutionary theories and Creationism beliefs has been a major debate throughout our churches, education system, and even our homes. There have been countless scientists, theologians, journalists and Christians that have studied both sides of the spectrum, that argue how the world we live in was created. Many empty statements, with little to no facts, just assertions about this particular question have been stated in many debates all over the world. So on one side we have Creationism belief that essentially argues that God is the “intelligent designer” and on the other side Evolutionary theories that state the world has evolved over the centuries. In the Merriam- Webster dictionary, Creationism is defined as, “a doctrine or theory holding that matter, the various forms of life, and the world were created by God out of nothing and usually in the way described in Genesis “. Merriam- Webster dictionary also defines Evolution as, “a theory that the differences between modern plants and animals are because of changes that happened by a natural process over a very long time; the process by which changes in plants and animals happen over time; a process of slow change and development”. So is it possible to believe both of those definitions?

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.

     Recently, education appeared as the truth. Perhaps people in the science field and I wanted facts, proof for the truth. Charles Darwin had come up with the idea of natural selection and the theory of evolution in the 1800’s. The questions and answers offered by science are more plausible. Scientists struggle with these questions every modern day. Open-minded people question and look for answers. Science suggests that religious ideas are incorrect.

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

The feud between creationist and scientist about the origins of the universe dates back to the 20’s during the Scopes trial. Scientist are against creationism because there is no evidence to support the theory. Scientist support Charles Darwin’s theory Darwinism, the theory that organisms evolve from simple to complex through minor adaptations over time, because it has held up for more than a century. Rowe’s article expresses how he believes that creationist created intelligent design to take the place of creationism in public schools after the Supreme Court ruled that

Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s Inherit the Wind provides a realistic interpretation of the 1925 Scopes Trial through the tale of Bertram Cates, an educator incarcerated for including evolution in his curriculum. One word, a colon and two simple sentences reiterate the point that society is still far from being fully scientifically advanced and tolerant of outside views. The unwillingness of society to adopt more modern viewpoints persists in society today as it did 92 years prior.

This evolution was very important in the 1920’s by how science was introduced as an enemy of society. The main person that was John Thomas Scopes had the idea of teaching his students about science as the Darwinism theory, that explain another way we were evolved. At that time families were based on religious belief in how we were created by God. The issues that brought to people, like parents to have doubts in bringing to children to learn science for them was like brainwashing. Darwin had the idea of evolution by the origin of how we were born as human kinds. Gary B. Ferngren states, “ many modern religious thinkers look for a common ground in which evolution can be seen as God’s method of creation,”( pg 219, Ferngren).

The poll surveyed teachers of all ranges of high school biology, from introductory biology to Advanced Placement Biology. In his survey, he asked teachers twelve questions that dealt with evolution in the classroom, ranging in scope from student reception of the subject all the way to teacher opinion on teaching methods. After the interviews, he compiled the results and examined the similarities of the teachers’ responses. Immediately, he found that all of the teachers he surveyed expressed the idea that their students had a difficult time fully comprehending the subject. Many of the teachers attributed this to the fact that students have the most difficulty grappling the concept of how long evolutionary change takes. Also, he noticed that the teachers unanimously agreed that religious beliefs acted as the biggest barrier to the full understanding of evolutionary theory. (Hermann 2012) While Hermann did not find substantial variation in teachers’ responses to the poll questions, he did find extreme variance in their actual methods of relaying the information to the

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.

In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, introducing the theory of evolution. One hundred and fifty-six years later, scientists still accept this senseless philosophy. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay states, “Our school systems teach the children that they are nothing but glorified apes who are evolutionized out of some primordial soup” (Snyder). Schools worldwide have presented exactly this to the young, impressionable minds of your future doctors, engineers, scientists, and presidents. They assure us that if we give a small amount of mud enough time it can, by itself, bring about the art of da Vinci, the plays of Shakespeare, the music of Mozart, and the brilliant mind of Einstein.