Creationism

1783 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of media on public opinion

In a typical American high school, Mr. Doe, the science teacher begins his discussion on the theory of evolution. John, a student opposes the idea the humans came from apes and evolved. John believes that men came from God and that man was created in 6 days. Jane hears this and argues against John, “How could anything possibly be created in 6 days? This sort of project would take millions of years!” By using up all 45 minutes of class time discussing creationism and evolution, this is a metaphor to the eternal debate as to the origin of the human species. The question of how man came into existence is one of the great debates of this century. There is not enough evidence to support creationism, yet there is even less to support evolution.
The controversy on the origins of life is still hotly debated to this day. The origins of life can be conceived from the theory of evolution or the theory of creationism. The argument is old earth [evolution] versus young earth [creationism] (Seely 2). An astounding 95% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit, as compared to the 9% who conclude not to have a religion at all (Sheler 2). People have geared towards a more eclectic background on their “spiritual journey to meet our own personal need” (Sheler 2). Throughout history, humans have been through a gradual accretion rather than one “sporadic event” after another (Tattersal 58). It is only in the United States that this debate is such a conflict. Humans have an impulse to look unto a higher being rather than a human leader who has faults similar to their own. The higher being [God] should be one of pure perfection. It is the development or creation of man which is what is so intriguing, it is the mystery of man. As individuals and as a whole, people tend to get uneasy between their “religious compulses and our [their] unwavering commitment to a

secular society” (Sheler 1). As a contradiction within itself, “we [humans] profess fidelity to traditional morality yet champion individual freedom and resist religious authoritarianism” (Sheler 1). Our own manifestations of how we originated and where we came from, the debate of “the chicken or the egg” is just blurred by the ambiguities between creationism and evolution. Was it the egg? If so, where did the egg come from? Eggs come from chickens, but then where did the chicken come ...

... middle of paper ...

...act that we come from something and somewhere, it’s just the fact that we are searching for answers.

Works Cited

“Creationism.” World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 4, 1994:1123.
“Evolution.” World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 6, 1994:436-443.
Graham, Charlotte. “The Eternal Debate.” SIRS. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst- ar…&type=ART&sound=no&key=CREATIONISM. 22 Oct. 1994:1-3.
Gould, Stephan Jay. “Nonoverlapping Magistera.” SIRS. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst- ar…&type=ART&sound=no&key=CREATIONISM. March 1997:1-8.
Marlantes, Liz. “The evolution of a controversy.” ProQuest. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?TS=…&sid=1&1dx=25&Deli=1&RQT=309&Dtp=1 23 Dec. 1999:1-2.
Onken, Michael. “Physics.” Microsoft Explorer. http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/dec96/835000890.Phr.html. 18 June 1996:1.
Sagan, Carl. The Dragons of Eden : Ballantine Books, 1997.
Sheler, Jeffrey L. “Spiritual America.” SIRS. http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst- ar…&type=ART&sound=no&key=CREATIONISM. 4 April 1994:1-10.
Sullivan, Robert. “2000 Years of Christianity.” Life. December 1999:50-68.
Tattersal, Ian. “Once We Were Not Alone.” Scientific American. Jan. 2000:56-62.

Show More
Related

  • Evolution: It Should Be Taught In Schools

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... The “Doubting Darwin”. Newsweek.com - "The New York Times" 07 Feb 2005. 44. eLibrary.

    Read More

  • The History Of The Scopes Monkey Trial

    1647 Words  | 4 Pages

    Charles Darwin, the Father of Evolution, was a British scientist who laid the foundations of the theory of evolution, transforming the thinking of the entire world about the living things around us (Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)). After working on his theory for nearly 20 years, he published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. As soon as the book was released, the controversy began with each sides gaining followers until the climax on July 10, 1925. The idea that animals could “evolve” and change into new species, including humans, was one that challenged not only how people thought about the natural world, but challenged the story of the creation from the Bible itself. Even though Darwin himself never said that humans “evolved” from apes, everyone took it as a logical extension of his new theory. It went against the idea of argument for design that had unified theology and science for decades (Moran 5). This new threat to Christianity and the social culture of the time was one that would transform state laws on their educational curriculum.

    Read More

  • Robert Root-Bernstein And Mceachron: Article Analysis

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron, “Teaching Theories: The Evolution-Creation Controversy,” The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 44, No. 7 (Oct…1982). This article, written by Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron sheds light on the controversy of evolution vs creationism in schools and the validity of each being called a scientific theory. The work was created to answer the questions, “Which of these theories is truly scientific and which is a religious belief? Which should be taught in schools?” The article concluded in favor of evolution as a valid scientific theory that should be taught rather than creationism, but also mentioned the worth of understanding the latter.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast William Bradford And Jonathan Edwards

    771 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Religion is the backbone of evolution.” Without the cultural differences and belief systems we would not have a regulated religious base. It is evident some religions can be both alike but yet still very different. The historical William Bradford and Jonathan Edwards demonstrate this theory. William Bradford portrays more leniencies while allowing for more religious tolerance within the puritan community. With some contrasting beliefs but familiar goals, Jonathan Edwards, pursued a stricter religious background. Both of these author’s play an important role in sculpting the puritan way of life.

    Read More

  • Rhetoric Challenges the Virtue of Society and Individuals

    1309 Words  | 3 Pages

    Boyer, Pascal. Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought. New York, NY: Basic Books, 2001.

    Read More

  • Creationism in Public School Science Class

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    happen? If not, then why should science teachers teach that life evolved over billions of

    Read More

  • Evolutionists Vs Evolutionist Essay

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    After Sir Charles Darwin had introduced his original theory about the origins of species and evolution, humanity’s faith in God that remained undisputed for hundreds of years had reeled. The former unity fractured into the evolutionists, who believed that life as we see it today had developed from smaller and more primitive organisms, and creationists, who kept believing that life in all its diversity was created by a higher entity. Each side introduced substantial arguments to support their claims, but at the same time the counter-arguments of each opponent are also credible. Therefore, the debates between the evolutionists and the creationists seem to be far from ending. And though their arguments are completely opposite, they can co-exist or even complement each other.

    Read More

  • Should Intelligent Design be Taught in Public Schools?

    1653 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1859, Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking Origin of Species, which would introduce the seminal theory of evolution to the scientific community. Over 150 years later, the majority of scientists have come to a consensus in agreement with this theory, citing evidence in newer scientific research. In an average high school biology classroom, one may imagine an instructor that has devoted much of his life to science and a predominantly Christian class of about twenty-five students. On the topic of evolution, one of the students might ask, “Why would God have taken the long route by creating us through billion years of evolution?” while another student may claim “The Book of Genesis clearly says that the earth along with all living creatures was created in just six days, and Biblical dating has proven that the earth is only 6000 years old.” Finally a third student interjects with the remark “maybe the Bible really is just a book, and besides, science has basically already proven that evolution happened, and is continuing to happen as we speak.”

    Read More

  • Genesis, the Gospel, and Theistic Evolution

    3099 Words  | 7 Pages

    Humans have asked questions about their origin and their purpose on earth for eons. The Bible tells humans that God created them and explains their purpose. However, since the Renaissance, humanism answers questions about origins by naturalistic means and science has been redefined in the process. Most institutions of higher education and many individuals have adopted the naturalistic theory of evolution to explain human origin without considering its effects on faith. In contrast to prevailing thought at Goshen College, a literal six-day creation is foundational to the Gospel message. Combining evolution and Christianity makes one’s faith less logical and opens one’s science to new quandaries.

    Read More

  • Was Darwin Wrong David Quammen

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    The argument of whether or not humans evolved from monkeys is constantly tossed around in our society with the emergence of more and more scientific discoveries. Evolution across such a broad spectrum is known as macroevolution, or changes that happen at or above the species level. Both popular and academic discourses debate the religious and moral issues associated with macroevolution and its propositions. The main person behind the idea of evolution was Charles Darwin who theorized that everything comes from a common ancestor. In the magazine article “Was Darwin Wrong?” featured in a 2004 issue of National Geographic, David Quammen discusses whether or not Darwin’s findings in evolution theory were correct. This article was targeted for

    Read More

  • Evolution Vs. Creationism

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    The information presented in evolution studies must be viewed with an open mind since there is no definite proof or law of evolution. The dilemma boils down to science vs. religion. God has been our creator since beginning of time, but the discoveries of recent science are sudde...

    Read More

  • Agnosticism

    466 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Agnosticism is the philosophical position that it is impossible to know about the nature or existence of God.” The term was invented in 1869 by Thomas H Huxley from the Greek “agnostos”. So one can define the difference between an Atheist and an Agnostic is simply as the Atheist emphasizes that there is no God, whereas the Agnostic maintains only that he does not know. Agnosticism is not a position one can take like theism or atheism, rather it’s more like an rational process.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Creation Vs Evolution

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The greatest mystery of existence is existence itself” (Chopra). Chopra, a world-renowned author, perceives the existence of life as a truly mystifying cerebration. The pending question that many scientist, and even theists, attempt to answer is how life ultimately began. Currently, the mystery is left with two propositions, evolution and creation. While both approaches attempt to answer the origins of life, evolution and creation are two contrasting concepts. Evolution views life to be a process by which organisms diversified from earlier forms whereas creation illustrates that life was created by a supernatural being. Creation and evolution both agree on the existence of microevolution and the resemblance of apes and humans but vary in terms of interpreting the origins of the life through a historical standpoint. A concept known as Faith Vs Fact comprehensively summarizes the tone of this debate, which leads the question of how life began.

    Read More

  • Atheism

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    Arguments about religion can get extremely intense, especially when its a devote believer against an atheist. There are a lot of common arguments that are brought up in these debates, one of which is the inevitable, “Then were DID we come from?” argument. Since no atheist is the same as another I can’t say this is 100% true, but a good percent of atheists believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection. This puts the origins of humanity into the hands of nature, I believe we evolved and adapted to the species that we are today. Another common debate is the argument of where our morality comes from. “A popular claim among religious theists is that atheists have no basis for morality — that religion and gods are needed for moral values.” (Austin Cline. About.com). As u read, most theists conclude that morals are given to us by a God, because you need a reason to have morals otherwise there is no basis for r...

    Read More

  • Essay On Religion And Science

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    Up until the Enlightenment, mankind lived under the notion that religion, moreover intelligent design, was most likely the only explanation for the existence of life. However, people’s faith in the church’s ideals and teachings began to wither with the emergence of scientific ideas that were daringly presented to the world by great minds including Galileo and Darwin. The actuality that there was more to how and why we exist, besides just having an all-powerful creator, began to interest the curious minds in society. Thus, science began to emerge as an alternative and/or supplement to religion for some. Science provided a more analytical view of the world we see while religion was based more upon human tradition/faith and the more metaphysical world we don’t necessarily see. Today science may come across as having more solid evidence and grounding than religion because of scientific data that provides a seemingly more detailed overview of life’s complexity. “Einstein once said that the only incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible” (Polkinghorne, 62). Yet, we can still use theories and ideas from both, similar to Ian Barbour’s Dialouge and Integration models, to help us formulate an even more thorough concept of the universe using a human and religious perspective in addition to scientific data.

    Read More

More about Creationism

Open Document