I personally think it shouldn't be, but there are those who say it should. Personally I do not care what some one's religious beliefs are, but they should not be forced on the student's who are not of that faith, or who are not religious. What do you guys think?
2006-11-19 05:49:04 · 27 answers · asked by Phoenix Summersun 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I understand how most of you feel, but I left Christianity a long time ago now, and I completely understand how it is wrong to teach a religious principle in a science class. Eri, I agree with ya.
2006-11-19 06:06:17 · update #1
nah...just science shtuff..
2006-11-19 05:50:22 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 2⤋
No. Genesis can be neither proven nor disproven, therefore it is not science. There is nothing to prevent a public school from teaching religion, as long as it is limited to a literature or its role in society (this came from the same Supreme Court ruling throwing Bible readings out of the classrooms), it cannot be a theology class, though.
I agree with the poster above about two versions of Creation in Genesis. I studied religion in college and the first version (Genesis 1:1-2:4a) is called the Elohist version, because the word "God" appears as "Elohim" in the original Hebrew. It gives the version most people are familiar with (six days, etc.).
The second version (Genesis 2:4b onward) is called the "Yahwistic" version because "God" appears as "YHWH" in it (this is why "Lord" appears in all caps in many translations, it actually reads "YHWH", often translated as "Jehovah"). It states that man was made before plants because "there was no one to till the soil" (Genesis 2:5). God then made man and the animals, and then woman. This actually conflicts with Genesis 1:11 & 1:26, which has plants being made on the third day and man on the sixth day.
2006-11-19 06:12:59 · answer #2 · answered by The Doctor 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No way. Genesis should not be taught as science. It's religion and faith, not proven science. Frankly, far as I'm concerned, science has disproved it as, last I checked, a single couple could not sustain, let alone give birth to, an entire species.
Not sure of the exact name of this principle, but I've heard of it when it comes to why we have endangered species. Why if a species falls below a certain number of fertile, mating pairs, a species is doomed because they can't keep the numbers up to combat mortality rates.
Secondly, depending on your version of the Bible(the one I have is the NRSV, and I've spotted this in my own copy), there are two versions of Creation. Good luck choosing which version to go with. And then, there's Lilith, who isn't mentioned but in one fleeting vague passage in my NRSV Bible and as far as I know, is generally omitted from most Christian bibles. I believe she may be mentioned in the Jewish Torah(any Jewish folks, feel free to clarify this as I haven't read the Torah yet personally).
At any rate, Lilith was supposed to be Adam's first wife, cast out of Eden because she wouldn't submit to him sexually. Take that into account, we've got a third version of Creation. So which version do we use? Two versions of Adam and Eve, and a version including Lilith.
Thirdly, Creation is a Judeo-Christian thing, at least the whole Adam and Eve story. To teach it in a public school, let alone a science class, is to promote Christianity over any other religion, which is something a public school can't do as a government institution. Thank the First Amendment for that.
So there's no way, on scientific, religious, and legal views, that Genesis should or even could be taught in school, let alone science class.
2006-11-19 06:00:26 · answer #3 · answered by Ophelia 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Religion is not Science. Therefore, it should not be taught in Science or any other class for that matter. Kids go to school to become educated on the world and learn how to function in real life. If, at a later time, you decide to study religion, that's fine. But children that are still impressionable and are still learning how the world works should not have religion forced upon them.
2006-11-19 06:25:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely no way. In religious class yes but why on earth would it be taught in a science class. A two thousand year old scripture can't be the basis for teaching modern science.
2006-11-19 05:52:33 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
No, no and no. Its not science. And to those who say don't teach evolution either, that would be like trying to teach mechanics without Newton's laws of motion, or chemistry without the periodic table. Last time I checked, the whole of modern biology rests on evolution, before darwin there was no biology, just natural history.
2006-11-19 06:03:00 · answer #6 · answered by Om 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Science is good...but it has also been proven to be wrong sometimes. If we teach our children that science is always the answer, we will have children believing the world is flat...get my meaning? But you are right, the bible should not be taught in science class, but evolution (where we came from apes and single cell organisms) should not be taught either...it is only speculation and not fact. Bible study should be taught in a class of its own. You are right that it isn't fair for children to be forced to believe one way or the other.
2006-11-19 05:55:09 · answer #7 · answered by jamiasl 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
No. Because genesis has nothing at all to do with science and everything to only do with Christianity. Considering that not everyone is Christian, that would be forcing Christianity on others. And last I looked, the US was about freedom of religion, not about forcing Christian dominance.
2006-11-19 05:54:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
Yes, but don't hold your breath. I think Genesis and the science books should be taught, one by a man or woman of God and the other by a teacher.
2006-11-19 07:25:32 · answer #9 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Nope. Why? It's not science. It's religion. As a scientist, I feel the need to teach children ACTUAL science, so they won't grow up thinking that they should depend on their horoscopes for good advice, or that 2+2=$10,000 if they really believe it enough, and so they can make informed decisions on science policy when voting.
Edit: I don't care if your faith says science is wrong. Take your kids out of school if you don't want them getting a real education, but don't comprimise the education of the other kids by introducing fairy tales as fact - kids can't tell the difference.
2006-11-19 05:52:49 · answer #10 · answered by eri 7 · 6⤊ 2⤋
I don't think anything on religion should be taught in schools.no matter what it is.this year in my school in history class i had to learn the teachings of other religions.I am a very religous Christian and I don't think children should have to learn about other teachings.Even though I am a Christian and I read the Bible and I also read the Book of Genesis I still don't think I should have to learn about my own religion in school
2006-11-19 05:55:21 · answer #11 · answered by paul 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋