Why is Darwin's opinion more valid than any religious opinion?

Question

When I was a child there were 9 planets. Now there are 8.
Both of these are opinions, and both are probably wrong, but there are generations of Americans who believe one of these opinions to be fact.
The same could be said about any of the various creation myths, including Darwin's evolution theory, and the current "big bang" theory that is the commonly acceptable scientific opinion.
All cultures and traditions have creation stories. Why is one "fact", later to be debunked, and all the rest, invalid, and not to be taught.
The purpose of an education is to teach people how to learn, not what to learn.
I think that the current "thought police" who are determining what is taught in school, are as bad as the Church was in the middle ages, when it was considered heresy if you didn't believe that the earth was flat, and anyone who allowed for any othere possibility, was likely to be burned at the stake.
So much for our evolution as a spiecies.

Darwin's THEORY is called a theory because it is not proven.
A theory is an opinion. There may be indicators, but it isn't proven by scientific method or anything else.
Many scientists may believe it, but many scientists used to believe that our physical health was governed by the four humors too. Just because they believe it, doesn't make it fact. The fact that a few of these "scientists" are willing to impose their beliefs on the rest of us, and enforce their right to do so, is in my opinion, dangerous.
When universities are firing people who disagree with current accepted opinion, they are prohibiting the "free flow of ideas" that used to be the mark af any truly enlightened institution of learning.

Shaz: What a long winded explanation of why you don't agree. You are entitled to not agree, and I will even defer to your greater knowledge of the subtle differences in the word theory, versus Theory. I really don't see the difference, but as I said, you are entitled.
What has been called scientific fact, has changed many times over the course of history, and I have come to believe that it is the height of sophistry to think we have all the answers.
If it is comforting to you to believe all the latest and greatest data, backed up by someone smarter than the average, go ahead.
I prefer to acknowledge that I don't know, and I would rather my children knew that I don't know, and neither does anyone else. Perhaps they can then develop their own theories, or Theories.

Answer 1

to your detractors i say then prove it ,unequivically. once and for all, and beyond the shadow of any doubt.....,i didn't think so.

Answer 2

Well to start there are now 8 planets because they reclassified Pluto as a Dwarf Planet...nothing about it has changed in any way except it's classification (it was that or add like 5-10 more planets).....so it is not an opinion..it is a classification..like ties not being footwear...just is..not opinion.
(also fun fact did you know originally Earth was NOT a planet but the sun+moon were? So this is not 1st time we have redefined the word planet)

Now you are WAY WAY WAY confused about the difference between (T)heory and (t)heory.
(T)heory refers to a scientific term which is an idea, explaining why certain proven facts operate as they do, proved valid by multiple trials and having a large amount of evidence behind it, subjected to peer review and after numerious tests a general scientific consensus is achieved....so it is WAY beyond an opinion..it is a tested and validated hypothesis. (you could be of opinion that sun is black..you would be flat out wrong but you could have that opinion).
(t)heory refers to an idea or opinion of the layman with no proof or tests done...just what a person may think without any need for reason.

So you have confused the 2 and that right there kinda invalidates your question's assumption.

Schools are there to teach FACTS and KNOWLEDGE and later on how to go about teaching yourself. So things that were considered facts that have been proved false are no longer taught. That is how education works...it is how we have progressed from learning that Earth was flat to a sphere, from thinking Earth was center of universe to just a planet orbiting the sun.

Now we do not teach creation myths not only because we have a seperation of church and state but because by their very definition the creation myths cannot be tested by the scientific method...so they are NOT SCIENCE, and just like all the other subjects we don't teach stuff in science classroom that does not deal with that subject.......or do you want Math taught in English class and Spanish taught in German class or Engineering in European History?

Subjects teach what is relevant to THAT SUBJECT...no one questioned this until the "thought police" you refer to decided that we should make "Jesus did it" the answer for all questions...which is so familiar..oh yeah the DARK AGES that you yourself referred to.

This whole conflict arose because the Creationist, ID crowd could not follow the scientific method and provide the proof that the scientific community has been waiting for...because their very ideas cannot be tested by definition.....so since they cannot follow the chain of command they want to CHEAT and have their ideas placed in equal standing by government decree....you might as well say the swimmer who used a power boat is just as valid+good as the one who actually swam in the water

To sum up if you want those myths (which are not facts by any stretch) taught in public science classroom then go experiment, gets lots of data that prove they are right via the scientific method, have a scientific peer review done and submit your data and reviews to obtain a general scientific community positive consensus...then it will be included in classroom....until then keep your non-science out of the science area of I will go on a crusade to have scientists posted in churches to teach that God really did not create stuff during Mass.

PS...the Vatican accepts Darwin's Theory of Evolution as fact


Scorpio> Nope..because they are not equal or even in the same area...again you would not insist learning Japanese in an American history class because they are 2 totally different subjects

joe c> you mean like the Theory of GRAVITY..yeah we should throw that idea out as well..it is just a theory...besides Evolution has been proved valid for over 100 years...up to YOUR side to get off your butts and prove your side or be silient

Answer 3

Your question presupposes that God and evolution are incompatible. They are not. I went to a religiously affiliated college with a great science department where they taught evolution like any other good science department. Evolution explains how humans have come to our present state during the time of the existence of the earth but it doesn't answer the ultimate why questions or explain the ultimate origins of life. In the end, science and religion answer different questions and are not incompatible. Here is a good article.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/03/collins.commentary/index.html

Answer 4

You are labeling many things as "opinion" obviously you have missed the early lessons of classification. You probably also missed the point of the lessons taught about scientific method as that would show you why it is not "Darwin's opinion" that is being taught.

While you seem to have a good intention about how to learn, you certainly have seemed to have not done a good job at it.

Answer 5

Both Creationist and Evolutionist theories should be equally represented to students in the classroom. Let them decide which to believe. That's what education is all about.

Answer 6

Darwin was a real person and it can be proven. God can't be proven. I'm not saying I don't believe in God, because I certainly do, but there are plenty of people out there who are skeptics. Who knows who wrote the Bible...was it the apostles, or was it a bunch of schizophrenics?

Answer 7

What scientists 'know' is minor when it comes to what there is to know. According to religion. God made man from clay. And someday the scientists may duplicate that. But when they do will they have made their own clay?

Answer 8

I prefer Darwin's theory myself. It makes more sense and there is valid evidence to support it.

Answer 9

Darwin's theory is more valid because it had scientific proof to back theories.

Answer 10

it isnt!