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the influence of Genesis
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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.” A secular country like our own does and should treat each argument as valid. However, only the third student’s argument cites scientific backing. Is it fair that we are denying that intelligent design be taught as an alternative to evolution in our science classes? When a belief has no legitimate scientific backing, it is not science, but rather a philosophy, whereas biology is in fact science, which is why intelligent design does not belong in science classes in public schools.
Since the time that teaching evolution in public schools was banned as heresy and taboo for contradicting the Bible, most public school systems today take an opposite approach in which creationism is seldom ta...
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...ligion, but it would allow for greater open-mindedness – parents should be able to send their students to a school in which they know that no indoctrination is occurring. As for those who do not tolerate the teaching of evolution, despite the 150 years of growth for this theory, there is always the local place of worship, which will freely teach the word of God.
Works Cited
Branch, Glenn. "Intelligent Design is not Science, and Should not Join Evolution in the Classroom." usnews.com. U.S.News & World Report, 2 Feb. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.
"Intelligent Design." pbs.org. PBS, 5 Aug. 2005. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.
"Judge Rules Against ‘Intelligent Design’." msnbc.com. MSNBC, 20 Dec. 2005. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.
Morris, Henry. "Where Evolution has Gaps, Creation Might Offer Answers – If we will Listen." usnews.com. U.S.News & World Report, 2 Feb. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.
Teaching of evolution has several issues. One of the main issue is that it is unfair to some students with a background of Christianity. Christians believe in Creationism, meaning God created the whole world or if not, most of the world. Darwin's theory of Evolution is complete contradictory of this. In the Bible, it is stated that God made humans in His image while Darwin's theory says that Humans evolved from monkeys. It is basically proving that God, does not exist, violating the first amendment, Freedom of Belief. The first amendment states "..respecting the establishment of religion..." When Christian students listen and are forced to learn the theory of Evolution, it is restricting them to worship without obstacles and is therefore, disrespecting the establishment of religion by defying the existence of God. "If Genesis were interpreted as symbolic, as a myth, fable or fantasy, then the entire role of Jesus would have to be reinterpreted."(http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_school.htm)
In the Websters dictionary the definition of religion is, "something someone believes in and follows devotedly." Another definition found in Webster's dictionary is the definition of "belief." Belief is confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof. Science is knowledge that is gained through observation and experimentation. Evolution is a belief because it not testable, observable or repeatable. People must have a certain amount of faith to accept the theory of evolution. The same goes for intelligent design. People must have a certain amount of faith to be live in it (Marjorie 2001). Since evolution is then a belief that people must solely have faith in to believe, it could be categorized as a religion. Public schools are violating the 1st amendment of freedom of religion by only teaching evolution. The origin of life still needs to be taught in science classes so another alternative should be taught in schools. The studen...
This is not the right approach. Creationism, as exemplified in the book of Genesis, should not be taught in a science course. Science runs on a certain set of rules and principles being: (1) it is guided by natural law, (2) it has to be explanatory by reference to natural law, (3) its conclusions lack finality and therefore may be altered or changed, (4) it is also testable against the empirical world, and finally (5) it is falsifiable. These characteristics define the laws, boundaries, and guidelines that science follows. In a science course, all knowledge conveyed is shown, or has been shown in the past, to exemplify a strict adherence to these qualities. Creationism, unfortunately in the eyes of Christian fundamentalist, does not exemplify any adherence whatsoever to these rules and guidelines of science. Therefore, it should not be included in the science curriculum in public schools, even as an alternative to evolution.
Many arguing evolution say that it should not be taught in schools for reasons like it is a religion or that is teaches against religion. Truthfully, evolution is a scientific theory just as many students learn about every day. Why should a student be able to learn about how the Earth revolves around the sun but not how human life evolved over time? These are both theories so there would be no reason to separate them. Secondly, religion should not be taught in school, due to the separation of church and state brought on by the United States Constitution. Therefore, denying a child the theory of evolution because it goes against religious beliefs would be in the hands of the child’s parents.
The only theory of creation that teachers are allowed to teach in public schools is the theory of evolution. No other idea is considered and this is not acceptable. Many people think it is closed minded to only teach one religion, but that is a two way street. It is also closed minded to only teach evolution. Someone may argue the reason why they only teach evolution is because if they teach any religion based theory then it forces religion on people. Teaching evolution forces a different belief on religious people. We need to find a way to teach multiple theories.
...hat science courses are evolving, who knows maybe in the next few generations intelligent design will be the mandatory science course for all students, while evolution is only taught in history class.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Words of this nature have been questioned for thousands of years—by naturalists, materialists, humanists, etc.—and, in more recent times, have led to court cases, heated arguments, and public debates. The major debate intended to be covered in this piece is that of whether or not evolution should be taught in classrooms. Also, if it is to be taught, should it be taught as fact or theory? It is also intended to present enough evidence to disprove evolution altogether and, as a result, make it much less than a theory, but actually the vain opinions of a man who chose not to accept the truth.
In Inherit the Wind, a 1960s film adaptation directed by Stanley Kramer, the battle between religion and science was tested, portrayed through the Scopes Trial of 1925. In the trail, John Scopes, a high school science teacher, was accused and convicted of teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, curriculum that was forbidden by Tennessee state law. It is clear that a focal point of the film was the discussion of whether religion should be the driving force behind education, or if science and empirical study is a better alternative. This discussion is alive and well in 2017, crucial in a time where Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is a known believer in theories of ‘intelligent design,’ a theory that suggests divine guidance in the
Recently, in Georgia, the persisting question 'does evolution have a place in our schools?' was again brought up. The state wants to remove the theory of evolution from the curriculum. The children would still be taught mathematical theorems, classical literature, chemistry, and biology; but the teachers would be depriving them of a scientifically accepted theory of how the world began. The children cannot be made to believe anything that they do not want to, therefore teaching them the valuable philosophy of evolution would help to expand their minds, rather than shrink them. Evolution as a science is particularly beneficial. Most young children, stereotypically boys, are very much into playing with dinosaurs, and watching TV shows and movies about dinosaurs. As they get older they learn about fossils and how many archeologists believe that modern birds are descendents of enormous winged birds of the Mesozoic era. This might strike them as strange if they were not taught about how all things evolve. Learning about animals from billions of years ago would not destroy their belief of God, it might, in fact, glorify Him even more; because God is so talented and powerful that he is still coming up with new ideas for species on our planet. Evolution fits into the biological category of the sciences. This is significant due to the fact that without at least one class in biology, a high school student would not be able to graduate and move onto higher learning. I remember my biology class my sophomore year of high school. My teacher, a first year teacher, blatantly said to the class, "I don't believe in Evolution, but I have to tell you at least a little about what it is, because I guess it matters." I...
How is it that this age old question of evolution versus creation can turn otherwise friends and colleagues against one another? Much of it has to do with the very fact that we are discussing the matter and how it relates to children. It seems that much of the controversy that is stirred up by this issue revolves around how children will perceive Darwinian “social teachings” or social Darwinism. Will studying evolution corrupt the morals of school-aged children? I began my research pondering the following: Can children that look at website-based material learn the latest material from both a scientific and biblical perspective? Some sub-questions that emerged are Can students learn about both sides in order to form their own opinions? Are creation-based websites dangerous because they make students believe that in order to be good “Christians” it is their duty to turn only towards “the truth” and away from science or anything that might shed doubts upon their beliefs? After researching three main websites and speaking to two of the three website originators I’ve become convinced that teaching children to stop questioning once they’ve been taught the answer is a dangerous position. In no other subject in life do we encourage children to stop their minds from growing once they have attained a certain belief of the way things ought to be. Why is it that we often teach religion without question?
From the early 20th century onward, teaching biological evolution in the public schools has been a contentious issue. Although a series of federal court decisions has upheld the proper place of biological evolution in the curriculum, the struggle over evolution in the curriculum continues. Recent conflicts over the content of science education standards in many states have arisen precisely because evolution was awarded its proper status as the fundamental theoretical construct underpinning modern biology. So the underling question is, why is it important that evolution be taught in school?
In the articles “Critiques of Darwinism Evolution Should Be Taught in Science Class” an “Intelligent Design Should Not Be Taught in Science Class” they point out why they think evolution should/shouldn’t be taught in schools. In the article “Critiques of Darwinism Evolution Should Be Taught in Science Class” shows how Stephen Meyer and John Campbell think that evolutionary theory should be taught in class because it is the only perspective on how life was originated over time. They state that they (science teachers) are just educating students on the world. They aren’t bashing religions or trying to tell the students to go against their beliefs an...
Evolution needs to have its place in the school curriculum because it lays the foundation for understanding human sciences, and by not exposing students to the theory it is hurting US science and innovation. According to Gary Bates, chief executive officer of Creation Ministries International, if evolution is going to be taught in schools then creationism needs to be taught too. Bates also says that creationism is not a religion, although that might have some truth, it was found in a the supreme court case of Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) that teaching creationism in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. But just because creationism isn’t allowed to be taught doesn’t mean we should ignore evolution too.
Faith is trust or belief in a deity without conscious reasoning. Faith is instinctive, untaught, and intrinsic that some people view it as a way to see the truth regardless its lack of proof. In fact, people base on faith to determine whether they know or not know certain matters. According to “On Evolution, Biology Teachers Stray Away from Lesson Plan” by New York Times, 15-20 % of teachers teach creationism while 60% refuse to endorse neither evolution nor its unscientific alternatives (Bakalar). The problem of teachers teaching creationism doesn’t lie in ignorance but their conscious decisions to reject the scientific explanation. All biology teachers have learned about evolution in college before they could teach and understand that teaching creationism in public schools is unconstitutional yet some still choose to advocate for creationism. In this circumstance, people who support evolution see the matter through both experiments with specific DNA data and physiological evidence and analytical observation of the history of human development. On the other hand, creationism lacks scientific proofs and analytical evidence. Still, it has meaningful connection to personal belief, psychological mind, and intuitive
A study done in the Institute Creation Research reported 5.2% of people wanted evolution to be taught, while only 18.9% wanted creation to be. On the other hand, only 64% of people wanted creation and evolution to be taught and 11% of people didn’t want evolution or creation to be taught. While this data is limited, it provides a good sample of what adults feel is fair and proper for public schools. This study was written by Richard Bliss in his article “A Comparison of Students Studying the Origin of Life from a Two-Model Approach Vs. Those Studying from a Single-Model