Monday, September 07, 2009

Creation vs. Evolution-The Ongoing Saga


Perhaps as big as the evolution vs. creation battle has been scientifically, the culture war over the issue is as big if not bigger than the science battle.

Should we consider above image offensive? According to Smith-Cotton High school, the image is indeed offensive.

The latest battle comes from Sedalia, MO where it's local high school found it's marching band wearing t-shirts that showed the traditional alleged evolution of humans (pictured left) holding brass instruments that evolved from the 1960's.

In the touchy issue of separation of church vs. state, any references to religion by a public school is definitely frowned upon and will most likely end with a lawsuit. But does the same issue work both ways? Should we consider evolution a religious problem and therefore not allow schools to promote it?

Considering evolution is already taught in public schools, I am not exactly sold that evolution should not be promoted by public schools. What do you guys think? Is evolution a religious issue and therefore should not be promoted? And if evolution is not a religious issue, is it therefore permissible for a school to promote evolution?

2 comments:

Janell said...

Honestly, it such an old debate and very easy for any Christian to blow holes in it.
I actually think it's kind of good for Christian students (young and old) to combat this debate because it only strengthens our core beliefs. It's quite obvious once you really start debating with an evolutionist that they don't really know what they're talking about.
They're all theories; ours is a belief. I think that's the major difference.
I just wish schools wouldn't promote it as FACT because it most certainly isn't; it's only a theory whether people believe it or not.

josh r said...

A religious belief is something accepted on faith. A scientific theory is the best way of explaining all available data. The theory of evolution is the best way of explaining such data as carbon and radiometric dating, speciation, proto-human fossils, etc. Schools would not be teaching science well if they neglected such a foundational theory.

A religious belief, one clearly taught by the Bible, is that God created the universe and all life. Many Christians believe that this happened in a week, some 10,000 years ago. Many other Christians believe this happened over billions of years through the process of evolution. But to argue over how God created is to miss the greater truth that God created.

The theory of evolution is an explanation of all available data, not a religious belief. Unless a school is explicitly teaching atheistic evolution and attacking the belief in God, they are not encroaching on religious territory. Should schools promote evolution? This is similar to asking "Should schools promote the theory of relativity?" Schools should always promote learning and education. Churches and Christians should always remind people that God is the source of all wisdom and understanding. All truth, even scientific truth, is God's truth.