Why are students indoctrinated with evolution?

Question

I mean, there's more evidence against it than for it! Teachers teach it as if it were a scientific law, and call it "the Theory of Evolution" but in reality it's neither! It never left the stages of being an unconfirmed hypotheses!

Answer 1

Ory ...

The ONLY people who say that "there's more evidence against it that for it" are religious fundamentalists (like THA) who have very few credentials in science, much less biology. Scientists are pretty unanimous that the evidence for evolution is overwhelming. (And THA, notice that Dawkins said "SERIOUS (my emphasis) scientists.")

And you know this. If I were to ask you to cite this "evidence" against evolution, all of your sources would be religious fundamentalist web sites. Few of them will have degrees in science, fewer still will have PhD.s (except in fields like Christian Education), and almost none with PhD.s in biology. Yes you will find a handful of biologists or biochemists working in some obscure lab or university (and if so it is a Christian university), but these will be dwarfed by the tens of thousands of biologists from such institutions as Oxford, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, etc.

You will of course reply that this is some sort of "conspiracy" among the science elite to exclude creationists. My reply would be that there has NEVER been, in the history of science or the history of the world, a worldwide conspiracy by scientists to conceal ANY fact. Scientists make lousy conspirators. They are skeptical of each other by nature ... they are not secretive by nature ... there is a HUGE reward structure (prizes, awards, professorships, raises, jobs, and eternal glory) for scientists to disprove the reigning hierarchy ... and there is a HUGE punishment system (relegation to the dustbin of history) for hiding or fudging evidence ... they talk, they publish, they go to conferences, they do everything in the open ... they don't have special secret meetings where they agree to disregard all the creationists and their "evidence". There just isn't.

Why would there be? Why would they all be convinced by some guy named Darwin? Are they all just mesmerized by his pretty eyes?

So why is it taught in the schools? For the same reason the Newtonian physics is taught, or Rutherford's atomic model of matter, or Mendelian genetics, or Einstein's relativity. Because it is the reigning theory accepted by the vast majority of scientists. That's it.

Teachers should not teach it as if it were a scientific "law". My teachers didn't. A law is a very different thing in science than a theory ... not because a "law" is more "true" (a common mistake made by creationists), but because a law is a short statement that describes a single observation, and a theory is a body of many statements that explains a lot of observations. A law doesn't explain anything. A theory does.

But it's also way way way past an "unconfirmed hypothesis". The scientific evidence (which is described in all the scientific sources) has repeatedly confirmed evolution.

So you can make a statement that "there's more evidence against it that for it!" without providing a single source ... because you know that any source you provide will not be from a reputable scientist or university, but from a Christian fundamentalist web site. This undermines your position. It does not support it.

Answer 2

You have been lied to kid. Evolution is supported by an overwhelming pile of evidence, from across science, and none against.

I suggest you pay particular attention to secretsauce's answer, look up what a SCIENTIFIC theory is, what a SCIENTIFIC law is, check the pseudo-scientific sounding babble you are told by ignorant creationists, and most of all, try to develop a more than a child-like understanding of the Bible.

Because the easiest lie to fall for is the one you want to believe, especially when you are extremely ignorant.

Answer 3

Read this article about your Creationist Nonsense from the Scientific American website.
http://tinyurl.com/26h87x

I know it's not going to change your mind, but maybe you and your kind will stop asking the same questions over and over.

And by the way, when did the Bible become a reputable source? I've always thought of it as a set of guidelines on how to live your life, though it's even flawed at that.

Answer 4

Evolution is the main theoretical paradigm of biology. In science theory is an explanation that best describes the facts. Scientific laws and facts support theories.

Evolution is supported by several different convergent lines of evidence in seperate fields of biology, such as biogeography, population genetics, comparative morphology, immunology, paleontology, ecology, developmental biology, organismal biology, systematics, etc. The burgeoning field of molecular genetics has been called the ultimate forensic proof of evolution.

Evolutionary theory is widely accepted by biologists and taught in all major colleges and universities because all known facts in biology support the theory; there is not one known fact that contradicts the theory.

Answer 5

Students are taught evolution for the same reason that they are taught the law of gravity, because it is a fact. No one except the most backward people calls it a theory any more. I am sorry to say that the people who have been teaching you are not doing you any favors in the real world.

Answer 6

I don't really know if indoctrinated would be the right word to use ?
I believe that came about when a rights group( don't remember which one) decided that teaching creation in public schools violated the separation of Church and State, since public money is used to fund public schools. Rather than doing away with teaching creation, the schools added evolution. This would give each theory equal time and make everybody happy. If you have to take this class, just deal with it...it's an easy A. You don't have to believe it.

Answer 7

Evolution is Based In Fact, Whereas Religion is Based In Magic.

Answer 8

obviously you need to take an evolution class

Answer 9

Because the scientific and academic community has built their foundation upon its belief. Much like religious doctrine, it matters not if its accurate but more if it is adhered to as not to disrupt hierarchy built upon it!

Answer 10

come out into the light, my son.