Evolution: what's the big deal?

Question

I am from Europe and I am hearing in the news that there is a "battle'' going on in USA about whether the theory of evolution is ok to be taught in schools. I don't understand. Isn't school suppose to teach science and church to teach religion? Don't people want to believe in God not because of luck of information and ignorance but because they choose to believe?

Answer 1

You poor silly European. Nope, we're stuck in this debate because our president doesn't even have the backbone to stand up to the creationist idiots. The most powerful man in America...is afraid to just say "you gotta keep that non-science in your churches". Frightening. Can I come work over there for a while?

Answer 2

Well for the wonderful fundies in the USA, they don't see the point in teaching people things that aren't right. They are of the belief that some cloud designed the world etc. and why would you teach someone such an obvious lie as evolution.

But just because some idiot in Texas thinks it right doesn't mean it is. you are right. Evolution should be taught in science, along with all the other scientific theories and laws. Religion should be taught in either religious studies or the church.

Answer 3

First, I must compliment you on your opinion, and say that I envy you greatly for the fact that you live in a place where this idiotic arguement is not going on...

The religious right has an agenda. They want to destroy science, because they percieve it as a threat to their bubble of fundamentalist ideas. So they try and slip their religion into schools edge-ways by calling it "Creation Science" or "The Theory of Intelligent Design". Of course, this is malarky and in fact not real science. It does not employ the scientific method. They started out with their creationist idea, then gathered circumstantial evidence and holes in the theory of evolution, while ignoring the overwhelming evidence pointing in the other direction.

Then they make the absurd claim that Darwin himself later came out saying that he had made a mistake, when in fact he didn't even have his findings published until he was on his deathbed because he was afraid of retalliation from the church for disagreeing with them.

Anyway, it just so happens that the religious right currently has the advantage in an imbalance of power here in the states. So they have the power to make this an issue when the majority of the country sees it as an abomination to science and science classrooms.

edit
The support to Intelligent Design and the such also uses the arguement that since we don't know all the details, the whole thing is false. They seem to get this idea from the fundamentalist "all or none" mindset, where one hole or flaw shatters the whole thing. No, we don't yet know how life started from non-life, and we don't know what happened before the big bang. But that, my friend, is not evolution. Evolution is simple life becoming more complex. We don't claim to know exactly how life happened in the first place, so stop saying we do. Anyway, believe in your God of the Gaps if you'd like, but don't try to make it out like us not claiming to know something that we don't know (that really has nothing to do with evolution in the first place) makes evolution bunk.
And my dear inquirer, this edit was really more targeted at the previous poster, but it does offer insight to how such nonsense makes its way into our lives.
/edit

Answer 4

The fact that evolution theory provides for no first cause, no source for the matter, energy and motivation of any thing that exists, to me makes it a religion.

String together all the fossils you want, you still have no answer to the beginning of all existence.

Until evolution preachers can come up with a plausible explanation for where the stuff that was in the big bang (that sounds so silly to me), God is just as reasonable.

If your gonna say, matter always existed, well then fine, life always existed and God always existed.

What, You and I CAN exist, but God CAN'T? Please.

So hurry up and Prove your evolution or get it out of the classroom unless it's a mythology class.



Oh, by the way, evolution has never been proved by the scientific method. They can't prove it any more than I can prove that there is a God.

Answer 5

Not only do christians want to take evolution out of our public schools, but they want to replace them with Christian beliefs. As a matter of fact Georgia will be having bible courses in public schools starting next year. These new courses will include the study of the New Testament and the Old Testament. Senate Majority Leader Tommie Williams (Republican) is the one who sponsored this. Not only is this unfair to Atheist taxpayers, but a very dangerous subject concerning indoctrination of children who dont have the maturity to think for themselves. Teaching God is another scheme to keep a master at power and sheep to follow his laws. You can be born on an island secluded from religion and you might not believe in god or your imagined god would be totally different from theirs. I cant bear imagining a political leader changing our secular laws to religious laws and using propaganda to form a new government theocracy. I cant imagine the day they get in power and nuke us all for the sake of armagedon.

Answer 6

I absolutely agree with you. Right now evolution is very highly thought of and accepted in the scientific world. I think it is fundamental for all students around the globe be exposed to this because it will help them to learn and understand the world. If a child is only presented with one side of the argument how can he ever decide which side he likes??? Hopefully this ridiculous battle will be resolved the right way, keeping church and education separated.

Answer 7

Sadly, religion and scientific ignorance have become linked...and is even a badge of honor. As plainly evidenced by some of the posts here.

How the Creationists are even able to function in the world is difficult for me to understand. How they manage to be so well-funded as to build a 27 million dollar "museum" for their nonsense is beyond me. Evidently scientific literacy or logical thinking are not nessecary to prosper.

And that's sad.

Answer 8

You have to understand in the states, we have a lot of people who don't understand what you just wrote. The think evolution is completely false with no reason to be in school. And they argue if evolution is taught so should creationism. A lot of American's refuse to even study evolution.

Answer 9

Yes, church and state are suppose to be seperate, but If evolution is taught in school and in some peopls mine proven then they are dis-proving the bible and they do not want that ever to happen.

Answer 10

Evolution is a theory, without any proof. Creation is stated in a very straightforward manner by God, in His Word, the Bible. There are some believers to think that if Darwin's theory is every convincingly proved (which it is far from being), then it was at least guided by God. The thing is, all the intricate, exquisite design of the world and creation is just too wondrous to have "happened" by "accident".