Dr.Traveler
Mathematician
- Aug 31, 2009
- 3,948
- 652
- 190
The thing of it is Dean that we don't live in the utopian world (thank God) of radical academic one sided restrictive liberalism. Americans should be free to consider Creationism while the academic world concentrates on genetic mutations in lower life forms and the origin of the species. Teaching Creationism in schools is not a threat to the world of liberalism as we know it. Kids will still be learning how to put a condom on a cucumber. Relax lefties.
Scientific theories are proved true or proved false based on their ability to make verifiable predictions. Until such point they are merely hypothesis.
In a science class teachers have a responsibility to prove theory, not hypothesis. If you can provide a prediction made by Creationism that is verifiable via experimentation, fine, teach it in science classes. Otherwise, reserve it for a philosophy course.
In the long run, Evolution is going to win out for the same reason the Kepler model won out over the Ptolemaic model, namely the Kepler model actually let you build accurate calenders and star charts and the Ptolemaic model didn't. Evolutionary theory helps develop cutting edge medical treatments and advances in genetics. Creationism doesn't.
Understand as I say this that I am a Christian who very much believes in the Biblical version of events, but we're at the point where if you're denying that evolution takes place, you're pretty much on par with the Flat Earth folks or the Ptolemaic model folks. Clearly evolution is in progress. What's interesting is that evolution even helps resolve some of the more difficult biblical stories. Noah's Ark makes a whole lot more sense when you add in the idea that Noah's original group of animals could, through evolution and natural selection, have diversified out into what we have now.