Should creationism be taught in school...and why/why not

[dsurrett]

I believe in the Biblical account of creation. I think the six days or creation were literal 24 hours days and God is big enough to create things with the appearance of age. If the six days were figurative and each of them lasted 10,000 years though, I'd be fine with that as well. Until a relatively short number of years ago, it was taught in schools, and evolution, big bang theory, etc, were scorned and laughed at. There are so many theories out there that Creationism, Intelligent Design, or whatever you want to call it, can't be relegated to ancient religious myths if you're going to let any other theory be taught as fact. Biblical archaeology has been proven correct time and time again, even where little or no extra-biblical evidence had previously appeared. Not trying to be a smart aleck, and this is only my opinion, but it takes less faith to believe the Biblical account than to believe some of the stuff I've seen on the Discover Channel with their arguments for how the earth was formed.
So if I'm in the minority on this issue, that's fine, just allow me to have an opinion even if it's different than others.
Long days and pleasant nights.

[Moderator]

The argument could also be made that the Bible is a product of evolution as it incorporates many myths from other cultures, e.g. Sumerian, Mesopotamian, Greek, etc.

[sam peebles]

Well, a day is not some arbitrary measurement invented by man. That's like saying we made up the trees or the sky. No, we simply attached a name to them. A day is how long it takes Spaceship Earth to complete one rotation. It's been around for as long as the solar system has been in existence. A day on Venus or Jupiter is not the same length as here on earth. Ours just happens to be twenty four hours (didn't the recent earthquake in Japan actually shift the length of our day by a microsecond or something?).

That beings said, time is subjective to those experiencing it. Time flies when you're having fun and all that jazz...So, IF there is a God, and he is omnipotent, I'm sure he can make a day be whatever the hell he wants, and screw what physics and the universe demand.

To stay on topic with the thread, I have no problem with creationism being taught in school, but it should be an elective, certainly NOT a requirement. I'd rank it up there with a class I had in eighth grade, in which all we essentially did was play with legos and staple together the weekly newsletter.

Intelligent design always reminds me of a Gary Larson Farside cartoon, in which a lab coat-wearing scientist working out a long, complicated mathematical proof on the chalkboard, in the middle of which "and then a miracle occurs" is written, and his colleagues point to it and say: "I believe you've got a problem here, Smithers".

[dsurrett]

I think we'd have to 'agree to disagree agreeably' on that one.

The argument could also be made that the Bible is a product of evolution as it incorporates many myths from other cultures, e.g. Sumerian, Mesopotamian, Greek, etc.

[Moderator]

The perfect way to disagree.

[fljoe0]

I thought I'd bring this thread back so we could hear from the Miss America candidates on this subject

[fljoe0]

I loved the answer from one girl who said, "when it comes to little theories, you probably want to stay away from those."

[Damaris]

I think religious education is not a bad thing depending on how it is presented. As a subject. For example, Judaism teaches this, Islam teaches this, different branches of Christianity teach this or that. Learning is good, and the more you know about something, the less scary it is.

I'm not opposed to creationism being taught in school. That said, I don't think it should be required and I don't think the Christian version should be the only creation story discussed. And since (personal beliefs aside) evolution is still an important scientific theory, it should stay in the science classroom and continue being taught until a better version or more complete theory emerges. Knowledge is power, and understanding the foundations of science as we know it is just as important as understanding the principles of other religions. They both impact our world in huge ways. And teaching people about both - especially while they are young and their opinions are still forming - is much more likely to help foster tolerance and understanding. Think what could have been accomplished if all the time and energy wasted on science-vs.-religion arguments were put to good use.

Really, I don't have a problem with much of anything being taught in school ... as long as opposing ideas are always taught as well. One side of the story is never the whole story, and the more kids are exposed to the more opportunity they have to learn and decide things for themselves. That's what education is all about, giving people the tools they need to not just manage in the world around them but to progress. We do want the following generations to be better than us ... right?