Monday, January 17, 2005

Creare Mundus

Currently, in several states there is debate over whether or not schools should teach evolution as fact, and even whether or not they should teach the theory of intelligent design. Proponents of evolution argue that evolution is a proven scientific fact, while creation is a religious belief, therefore the First Amendment allows the teaching of evolution and prohibits the teaching of creation. This argument is severely flawed. First, evolution is simply not proven in the slightest (note: for those who are more educated in biology, natural selection is a fact. When I say “evolution”, I am referring to the belief that natural selection was able to create life as we know it from random molecules floating in a primordial goo over billions of years). For a theory to be scientifically proven, it must be tested in a controlled setting. Evolutionists are correct in pointing out that creation cannot be scientifically proven, but they fail to see that evolution is equally incapable of being proven, due to the obvious fact that to be proven someone had to have observed it, which is not the case. The only thing we can do is to look at the evidence around us, and make an intelligent decision from it on our origins.

The second problem with the evolutionists’ argument is by stating that the theory of intelligent design is somehow more “religious” than evolution. If creation is in fact true, then it is scientific, not religious, because science is what is factual. Teaching children in school that one of the theories of our origins states that the world may have been created is not forcing “religious” beliefs on them, it is giving them the facts and allowing them to make an educated decision. Those guilty of forcing their beliefs on children are the people who tell them that evolution is a scientific fact, when evolution has not ever and can never be scientifically proven.

Personally, if I ruled America, creation would be taught in the public schools. However, since that is not a possibility, the simple answer to the dilemma of what to teach children in public schools is one of the following:
1) Ignore the issue. Why do children in a science class need to study our origins? Will their knowledge of photosynthesis be affected by how it developed? Let the origin issue be discussed in philosophy class, or later in their education (college).
2) Present the theories of both intelligent design and evolution without commentary, and let the students decide which they think is correct.
3) Home school your children, or send them to a private school where being told by teachers that they evolved from single-celled slime organisms is not an issue.

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