Christians…is It Fear? Or Something Else?
A very famous cell biologist, who wrote one of the most widely used biology textbooks, is currently battling GA creationists who want a disclaimer on every textbook stating that evolution is not fact. http://www.telegram.com/article/20090205/NEWS/902050958/1008/rss01&source=rssThis biologist insists that there can be a happy mix between belief in religious dieties, and evolutionary theory.What surprises me is this uproar at the idea of including evolution in a scientific text used by school children….what is the problem? Whether part of the educational curriculum or not, kids will learn about evolution through exposure to society. Whether part of the educational curriculum or not, kids will discover a variance among religious belief. Is it not better to expose them to everything and allow them to decide for themselves and draw their own conclusions, rather than leave them half informed? What is it that causes the debate to rage on? Do Christians fear their children moving toward the freethinkers? Would you love and accept your children any less if they decided they believed in evolutionary theory?Thank you Calvin.
I agree that evolution is still considered a theory, so, fine — they have the right to point that out.Of course, there are many other well-known scientific theories:1. Relativity2. Plate Tectonics3. The Germ Theory as it relates to disease4. The Big Bang Theory5. Cell TheoryAre the creationists going to demand that we label books related to those, as well?That’s a lot of labels. And, yes, Calvin — to me it implies *fear*. Fear that their children will be blindly led into slack-jawed belief the same way they were…of course, not the belief *the parents* want their children to have. Doesn’t a pack of parents defending a petty semantic argument like it’s a precious treasure seem a bit flailing? A bit desperate?I don’t understand why people underestimate the intelligence of their children. And I’ve always wondered why, if they fancy themselves so righteous and correct in their beliefs, they fight any attempt to provide a balanced education on the subject.
I would disown my kid…but besides that if they hate evolution so much, why not kill their kid to stop them from seeing it.
Please don’t use the word Christian and Creationist to mean the same thing. Not only does the Catholic teach the evolution is just peachy, many Protestants are also just fine with evolution.
It is a fact that Evolution is not a fact but a theory. Therefore all the disclaimer did was tell the truth. I am not sure why one would think the fear lays with those telling the truth and not from those who scream and carry on about that truth being told. I have seen much on here from those that reject creationism that is much more full, or equally full, of fear as some creationists. Why such fear of truth?
I too am for the debate and not shielding our children from that debate, but I am for the truth as well. I do not care if one side or the other has fear about a subject, but I do care when that fear attempts to cover the truth. Let the light shine (both sides).
I think the disclaimer is right in the title – The THEORY of Evolution. Nowhere is it called the FACT of Evolution.
I’m catholic. My parents don’t have a problem with us being taught that way. It’s school, and we are our own people. We can make our own decisions. My parents and grandparents don’t fear it at all. It doesn’t come up in discussions either.
I have to admit, the broad misunderstanding of the definition of a scientific theory infuriates me.
The SCIENTIFIC theory is not some half cracked idea somebody came up with. The SCIENTIFIC definition to a theory is as close to fact as it gets – there is nothing more proven in science, other than direct observable fact. The creation of the earth is not something that can EVER be defined by fact because nobody was here to physically witness it – which is the ONLY way you can have a SCIENTIFIC fact. Direct observation.
Science seldom uses “fact”, rather, science seeks to disprove all falsehoods and weed through what’s left to try and find the best answer. A scientific theory is a widely accepted answer to a scientific question. It’s not considered a theory until it is widely accepted by the scientific community as being the best solution we have.
To choose not to teach our children the life work of thousands of scientists in a science class is an absolute travesty.
The word theory is used differently outside of science, and I think that is a shame because it results in confusion.
As was stated above, of course it’s not fact…but when you study science you understand why it never can be (even if it really is).
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