Isn't it funny how many evolutionists don't even realize they were indoctrinated into their beliefs?

Question

"I used to ask myself why [my students] believed what I taught them.... I finally concluded that most students believe me because they trust me, they feel that I have their best interests at heart and that I would not deliberately deceive them by teaching things that I myself did not believe. They also trust the institution that awarded me a physics PhD, and the university and the physics department that hired me and allow me to teach them. And I use that trust to effectively brainwash them. We who teach introductory physics have to acknowledge, if we are honest with ourselves, that our teaching methods are primarily those of propaganda."

~Mano Singham "(For the record, I am perfectly comfortable with the standard scientific models of cosmology and evolution, and am not a closet creationist.)", associate director of the University Center for Innovations in Teaching and Education, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio
http://www.asa3.org/archive/ASA/200011/0029.html

Did anyone actually read the details- or better yet, the link- before responding? Or even the question, where I specifically said "many", not "all"?

"I've found that most people have to slog their way through all the lies and propaganda about evolution and read up on it for themselves."
First, I didn't say "all", I said "many". Does everyone who believes in evolution "read up on it for themselves"? Second, from who did they read up on it from?

""I was indoctrinated by no one. I have studied evolution completely on my own...."
Same as above, I never said all evolutionists, I said "many". And just how did you manage to study it "COMPLETELY" on your own?

"Indoctrinate isn't a dirty word."
But it certainly has negative connotations. Or am I missing something when some, if not most, atheists around here contend "We're different from Christians. They indoctrinate children whereas atheists teach them to question everything [even methodological materialism?]"?

"Our genetic link to the great apes has already been illustrated by Ken R. Miller and associates."
On the contrary, they've only shown there's similarity between the two. How much similarity is still being debated.

"Apes have 48 chromosomes; humans 46. Within our genetic make-up is a FUSED pair of primate chromosomes which accounts for the difference."
And did Miller happen to observe this fusion? Or did he happen to presume that evolution must have happened and therefore, fusion was the most likely explanation?

"Geology shows that fossils are of different ages. Paleontology shows a fossil sequence, the list of species represented changes through time. Taxonomy shows biological relationships among species."
You are confusing analysis of the data for the data itself. The dating of fossils, fossil sequence and taxonomy all come from the former, not the latter.
"Good science should be independent of race, nationality, colour, politics, or religion."
Agreed. Christians aren't saying that creationism isn't true for just them, but for everyone. So this is merely a strawman.
"Science should be understandable by anyone with the training and knowledge...."
Question begging as you are assuming that only evolution is understandable to anyone, and creationism is not.

Answer 1

You hit the nail on the head here my friend!! I was taught not only Creation but ALSO evolution and am called brainwashed and stupid to believe the Creation model fits more closely to what I can see with my own two eyes. Here is an interesting quote from a book that I have recently read..."The idea of evolution has come to be so firmly entrenched in our educational system that most people merely assume it is true. Scientific facts are placed within this interpretive scheme. End of discussion! Remember and repeat. Never mind the fact that no one has ever seen evolution take place, nor have the fossils documented evolutionary trends in the past. Scientific law refutes the whole idea, and it's contrary to logic. Many people intuitively suspect it's not true, but still "believe" it anyway, because it's all they've been taught. "All educated people believe in evolution," they're told. "Only ignorant, bigoted, Christian fundamentalists still deny it." I guess that explains why Creationists are always called ignorant (and fundies)...that's what they've been taught to call us =) Well A+ to them

To Bula'ia Aratyme...one marker on one gene of DNA? that is what you base common ancestry on? Wow, do you have ANY idea how MUCH information is in just one strand of DNA? One marker doesn't amount to a hill of beans!! And how many other things are out there with 46 or 48 chromosomes? That is a fun study you might want to pursue before you start quoting about it =)

Answer 2

Actually, I did my own research and made up my own mind.

Geology shows that fossils are of different ages. Paleontology shows a fossil sequence, the list of species represented changes through time. Taxonomy shows biological relationships among species. Evolution is the explanation that threads it all together. Creationism is the practice of squeezing one's eyes shut and wailing 'does not!'" - [e-mail]


Good science should be independent of race, nationality, colour, politics, or religion. There is no such thing as science for Buddhists and science for Baptists. There is no such thing as Jewish science or atheist science. There is only science. Science should be understandable by anyone with the training and knowledge, you shouldn't need to "see the light" or "accept Christ" to be able to understand it." -
I woudn't presume to know anything and the data is what we have. Analysis of data is how we get a scientific theory.

Answer 3

i've got faith your element is purely too harsh. a new child isn't mature sufficient to make his/her very own decision. that's like asserting, ought to I permit my new child not get an coaching because of the fact he would not appreciate it yet could quite bypass interior the song marketplace? coaching faith and faith is as much as the guy decision. i replaced into raised Catholic. I discovered and that i even nevertheless my ideals conflict, I nevertheless stored my analyze (by end of school). gaining know-how of roughly different religions is likewise a good element (that does incorporate the territory. in case you be taught approximately Christianity, you already be taught approximately some fundamentals of Judaism). i in my opinion discovered approximately diverse faiths (though i replaced into raised Catholic and *indoctrinated* as you prefer to apply, into that concept). My little ones are doing precisely an identical I did. and so as that they be taught approximately my ideals besides as others. that's for this reason ethical and does instruct values (even with what some human beings might have faith). Parochial colleges case in point, quite in my section have a brilliant curriculum and childrens do be taught self-discipline (in comparison to what we see in as we communicate's public device) and respecting others.

Answer 4

I am too intelligent to be "indoctrinated." I studied biology and chemistry in high school and in college and made up my own mind about the evolutionary theory. I don't care what that guy from Case Western Reserve University said; he makes a spurious point. If students in college only accept what they learn because they "believe in" their teacher, then the entire higher educational system is dysfunctional. When I was in college, it never occured to me that I should "trust and believe in" my professors. They earned that trust when it came because what they taught me turned out to be the truth.

Answer 5

So, what is your point? The definition is this:

Main Entry: in·doc·tri·nate
Pronunciation: in-'däk-tr&-"nAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -nat·ed; -nat·ing
Etymology: probably from Middle English endoctrinen, from Anglo-French endoctriner, from en- + doctrine doctrine
1 : to instruct especially in fundamentals or rudiments : TEACH
2 : to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle

Indoctrinate isn't a dirty word. Religions indoctrinate their follwers, as do politicians, militaries, cults, boy scouts, and charities.

Answer 6

Weird... I've found that most people have to slog their way through all the lies and propaganda about evolution and read up on it for themselves. What is THAT? Self-indoctrination?

*chuckle*

You can't just toss the word "indoctrination" at people who understand evolution and hope it sticks. It doesn't work that way.

Answer 7

It is true, unfortunately, that much of the population believes in science in the same way ancient peoples believed in the magic formulas of medicine men. They believe in it without really understanding it, just because they've been taught to believe it.

Answer 8

I was indoctrinated by no one. I have studied evolution completely on my own, out of a genuine interest and curiosity.

Edit..Ya, I read your question. "Isn't it funny how many don't realize" does not suggest you think some, not all, evolutionists were indoctrinated; rather, that many of them don't realize it, and it's that funny....

Answer 9

yeah. totally. actually they don't realize a lot of things.;)

Answer 10

Don't you just love it when most of the answers given here proves your point?