Originally posted by doug_mmm:
YEC encourages children to ignore scientific reality and believe a narrow view of the Genesis. Fine and well until they grow up and discover alternative explanations that are more convincing given the scientific evidence.
In reference to you, your website, and in particular, the particular statement that you posed: “Does the teaching of YEC cause a problem for learning science in the future of today’s students?” Why not look at both sides of this question. “Does the teaching of evolution cause a problem for learning science in the future of today’s science.
In answer to that question, I will start not just with an “anecdote,” but an actual event that happened. As has already been pointed out it is not fair of anyone to question or criticize one’s personal religious beliefs. We have religious liberty in this county and it is against the law to discriminate against such. One student from a religious background that taught against the theory of evolution, and did teach YEC, sent their daughter to a secular university where, in the Biology class the professor mocked anyone who believed in Creation, tore the idea to shreds, and proceeded to demonstrate in his own biased and sarcastic way how evolution was the only possible way that the origin of the earth could have happened. This student had never been exposed to such godless teaching before. She went home and committed suicide. So much for the learning of science. BTW, that is why I personally advocate Christian schools, and send my children to Bible Colleges or Christian Universities. They are limited, but it is worth it.
A Christian’s faith is based on the Bible. It is based on the fact that the Bible is indeed the very Word of God. That is taken by faith. However it is not blind faith. It is faith that is based on historical fact. The fact is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ—one of the most historically attested facts in history. If you do not believe me on this one point I challenge you to check out the veracity of the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is this one fact that evolutionists, as well as other religions and cults would like to do away with. As I mentioned before, if you allegorize the first two, or even the first eleven chapters of Genesis, then why not the whole gospel message? It has already been done, so don’t be so surprised. The Jehovah Witnesses have allegorized the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. They don’t believe that He rose from the dead in bodily form. It was a spirit resurrection, they say. A spirit resurrection is no resurrection at all. We all have a spirit that separates from our body at the point of death. That is nothing new. A resurrection, by the very definition of the word, involves the body. The J.W.’s have allegorized this to take out the body and replace it with the spirit. Are you among those that believe this too. Why not? If you can allegorize one part of the Bible (Genesis one), then why not the Resurrection as well?
Again the faith of the Christian is based on the Word of God, and in fact that the Bible is the Word of God. Every word of it is true. That is the foundation from which we work from. It is based on the resurrection of Christ, an undeniable fact. For, “if Christ be not raised from the dead, our faith is in vain and we are most miserable.” Christ Himself attests to the validity and historicity of the Word of God, and the Old Testament in particular (including the Creation account), a number of times. His deity is demonstrated by His resurrection. The truth of His Word is demonstrated by His resurrection. This lays the foundation for our belief in Creation. You might say if it was good enough for Jesus; it is good enough for me.
First, a good many scholars have worked backwards, with dates that they do know from actual historical events verified through archeology and through history. By using the genealogies to the date of Creation Archbishop Ussher came up with the date of 4004 B.C. Since then some have found what may be “missing generations,” and some other minor discrepancies. With every possible discrepancy taken into consideration we can place the date of the earth somewhere between 4000 and 10,000 B.C. That is a sharp contrast to the billions of years that the evolutionist places it and in no way can harmonize with it. There is no possible way that one could believe in the work of God’s creation (which is to believe in God) and believe in evolution at the same time. No matter which way you look at it the two do not harmonize. Evolution is a replacement for God. It is unbelief in God. Some here may be misled, led astray, confused in the issues, but ultimately I sincerely hope that they will see the absolute truth in this matter. Evolution and belief in the Bible do not and cannot mix. Their premises are entirely different, and yet at the same time, creationism does not deny science, the scientific method (which you falsely accuse us of—slander), and is not led astray by any true science at all. In fact it encourages us to study more and more of
God’s creation. You have your facts wrong. There is an increasing number of outstanding scientists, who in recent years have turned to creationism, and if not creationism at least a belief in God from the atheism that they once believed in. For example the leader of the Human Genome project is a Christian. He was not influenced by organic evolution in his research of the genome, and the study of DNA.
The Christian starts with the premise that God created all things. God was the designer of all things, and therefore that is a similar pattern throughout the animal kingdom of the way that God decided to plan his creation. There is One great Designer of this universe who out of his Sovereign grace designed the universe at His own pleasure and will.
The evolutionist starts with the premise of some primeval gasses (whose origin to this day cannot be accounted for), and some how came together and created an explosion (the Big Bang). How you get order out of chaos and defy scientific laws to get this perfect universe that we live in, we will never know, but this is the foolishness of the evolutionist, and what he must believe in. Science needs observation. Science here is out of its realm. There was no one here to observe the origin of the earth or the universe. Thus evolution has put itself in the realm of religion. It takes faith to believe in the Big Bang theory, or any other theory that deals with origins.
Only Genesis chapter one can successfully explain what happened in the creation of our world. God was there. He created all things in six days. Faith in God, the Creator is much more palatable and believable, then faith in god, the Big Bang. Either way it takes faith. Either way there was no human observer. Creation is attested by Jesus Christ, whose divinity is attested by the Resurrection. Evolution has no verifiable truth; it remains nothing more than a fairy tale with no evidence to support it at all. Evolution is outside of its realm.
And yet this evolution is taught as fact throughout public schools and secular universities. It permeates almost every science by those who push its agenda. By comparison one may liken it to today’s gay minority who have an agenda to push their agenda of teaching the homosexual lifestyle through every school and educational institution in the country. Their purpose is to re-educate, redefine marriage (as they have in Canada), legitimize legally this wicked lifestyle so that it becomes a common everyday acceptable thing in the eyes of even the most conservative Christian. They are succeeding. The evolutionist has succeeded in doing the same thing. The Bible clearly teaches against both. Our modern society clearly wants to accept both. Homosexuality is being accepted in some places on a “scientific” basis. It is all in the genes, you know. But as someone mentioned sarcastically about their two friends at work joking about “evolutionary science,” we also disdain “homosexual science.” It is not a result of science; it is a result of sin. Evolution is not the result of science; it is the result of unbelief, and a failure to study and accept the Word of God.
In every facet of science evolutionary hypotheses can be explained, by those well acquainted in their various fields, by what happened at Creation, what happened at the Flood, what happened at the tower of Babel. These three events account for most of the problems that the evolutionist has. I have read the Bible all the way through. I have read the arguments of the evolutionist in various fields. I cannot read all the material, it is too voluminous for any one person to keep up in every field of science. However, to be fair, have you read the Bible all the way through? Have you read some of the more outstanding creationists’ works such as “The Genesis Flood,” by Whitcomb and Morris? Have you taken the time to read the other side of the story?
Most of us have. Most of you (I am guessing, have not.)
Your arguments, in general, include such things as: circular reasoning, universal negatives, wide generalizations, unproven assumptions, etc. And then you have the audacity to have us accept illogical conclusions. It is no wonder that many found the website an affront to their intelligence. But when you already believe unintelligent things, you have no problem with it. “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no god.”
DHK
Not completely sure. I do take effort to not offend but to make a strong case. I do sometimes slip towards sarcasm or to using the absurd to demonstrate the absurd. I really hope I do not offend those with whom I disagree.