Why do people think Christians don't know all about the Evolutionary Theory?

Question

please tell me

Answer 1

Because christians tend to either slam evolution, ask stupid questions, or botch facts in order to make the T.o.E. look stupid. Oh and for all those people who just keep saying that evolution is just a theory, gravity is also a theory so I guess that gravity isn't real and we're all just being held down by a bunch of ghosts or something.

Answer 2

Oh, gee, let's see...
Here are things christians have told me about Evolution:
"I refuse to believe I evolved from a monkey" (evolution says no such thing -- it shows that humans and monkeys had a common ancestor)

"Evolution can't be true because the earth is 6,000 years old" (patently and provably false)

"God put fossils in the ground when the earth was created to confuse people -- there were no dinosaurs." (patently and provably false)

"I accept micro-evolution, but not macro-evolution." (complete ignorance -- there is no difference, "macro" evolution is just "micro" evolution with more time)

"Evolution is wrong, there have been no "intermediate form" fossils found ever." (patently false -- there have been literally hundreds found)

"Darwin was a christian." (patently false, but even if he was -- so what?)

"Even if evolution is true, it couldn't have started without a designer." (there is no evidence of any kind that a designer is required, or that any such being had any part in evolution)

Should I go on? There are hundreds more...
The fact is that many christians are told that evolution is "lies from the devil," and as such they are to assume it is evil and not study it. That just breeds ignorance. I'd have a lot more respect for *any* christian who would actually study it, and want to discuss the real points of debate within the scientific community regarding evolution (these have to do with little details, NOT the validity of the theory, which is accepted as fact). But there are very few of those kind of people out there.

Answer 3

Probably because so many of them either make absurd claims or ask inane questions. Not only do they not understand it, but they don't even know what the terms mean.

As an example of what I mean I looked up the first previous answer on evolution by "Gary" who above says he knows all about evolution. He says he even "taught it". In a previous answer he says "evolution is still just a theory " which shows that he clearly does not know the definition of the word "theory" in science.

If you don't even know the vocabulary then of course what you say is going to look foolish.

A hypothesis is a tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation.

A fact is a statement about reality for which the evidence is so strong that to disbelieve it would be simply foolish.

A scientific theory is "a coherent group of general propositions used as principles of explanation for a class of phenomena" [Random House American College Dictionary]. The term does not imply tentativeness or lack of certainty. For instance Human Sexual Reproduction is the theory that explains where babies come from.

A scientific theory does not change into something else. A theory remains a theory. A theory explains facts. Evolution is both a fact (the fact of evolution can be easily demonstrated ), and a theory ( The Theory of Evolution consists of propositions which explain why the fact of evolution happens.

When Christians such as Wolfgame below and Gary above do not even know what the most basic words in science mean one is led to question the value of their opinion on other matters as well.

Answer 4

Not many people in general know "all" about the theory of evolution.

However many Christians, or fundamentalists of any religion, tend to be completely ignorant of T.o.E, because it is a threat to their beliefs, or so they perceive it.

I have known very few christians that could accurately explain the theory, even of those who accept it.

Wolfgame:
"People of above average intelligence Know that there are problems with Evolutionary Theory"

Name one.

Answer 5

I'm sure many Christians do. In fact, I have a Christian friend who is currently working towards a PhD in evolutionary biology at Cambridge. However, many of the questions asked by many (apparent) Christians on here appear to demonstrate fundamental misconceptions about the theory.

Interestingly, many also exhibit a significant lack of understanding of, say, the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

Answer 6

Well, most of the people who claim to not believe in Evolution often do not, in fact, know what it is, or how it works. Some of these people are also clueless as to what a "theory" in the scientific vernacular entails, exactly. Most of these people also claim to be Christians.

Obviously, this is not true of all Christians. My own MOTHER doesn't believe in creationism, for god's sake. But the loudest opponents to Evolution do tend to be Christians, at least in this country.

Answer 7

There is no "think" about it.... I KNOW many(not all) christians(and other religious people) are sorely lacking in knowledge about evolutionary theory. As you can see from several of the replies to your question, the majority of Christians dont even know the meaning of the word "theory" as applied to science.

Excerpt from Wikipedia... The word theory has a number of distinct meanings in different fields of knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. It is more broad

In common usage, people often use the word theory to signify a conjecture, an opinion, or a speculation. In this usage, a theory is not necessarily based on facts; in other words, it is not required to be consistent with true descriptions of reality. True descriptions of reality are more reflectively understood as statements that would be true independently of what people think about them.

In science, a theory is a proposed description, explanation, or model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise falsified through empirical observation. It follows from this that for scientists "theory" and "fact" do not necessarily stand in opposition. For example, it is a fact that an apple dropped on earth has been observed to fall towards the center of the planet, and the theory which explains why the apple behaves so is the current theory of gravitation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many people also seem to look at evolutionary theory with Tunnel-vision, (Tunnel vision is a metaphor for narrowmindedness, particularly in describing those who pursue an investigation with their conclusion already decided and proceed by only accepting evidence that supports their conclusion and excluding any evidence that contradicts their assumptions.)
Leading them to say things like... Living fossils discredit evolutionary theory, or that fossils were planted by satan/god in order to decieve or test mankind, or state that micro-evolution occurs but is not the same as macro-evolution (macro is comprised of micro therefore this statement is erroneous)

Other display complete ignorance of phylogenetics, ecological/sexual/artificial selection and speciation by such statements as... "If we came from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys?" or "If we evolved from monkeys/apes, then why havent monkeys/apes turned into humans yet?" or "If evolution occurs then why dont we see crocodiles turning into sharks, or people turning into monkeys?"

Its not just religious groups that are ignorant these days... it seems like our whole society has turned into one big cesspool of ignorant assumption... Very few people care to question what they are told or seek knowledge through curiosity... people simply repeat what they have heard without ever bothering to do any kind of intellectual inquiry or research.

Answer 8

Tell you the truth i have no idea. Evolutionary THEORY has been taught in our public schools for years. Athiests, Muslims, Christians or other has been taught the same thing about it for years.

People of above average intelligence Know that there are problems with Evolutionary Theory. Those that are on the fringes one way or another Totallly disbelieveing it or Buying into it because its a SCIENCE theory, are not using their minds.

Do your own research into the subject ask questions. Know the Difference between a Scientific THEORY and a Scientific FACT.

Answer 9

A great many Christians believe the creation story in Genesis. They claim that evolution is a lie, and they ask a lot of questions aimed at discrediting evolution, which clearly show that their comprehension of it, and even of the word "theory," is flawed.

.

Answer 10

I don't think "Christians" don't know about it, but I'm CERTAIN that some Christians are staggeringly ignorant of it, labeling questions about the age of the universe or the big bang as "evolution".