J-IAMU
LD
Battalion
O PINION
Page 9 • Wednesday, March 3, 1999
rate apji’i
ditionaiS
d to qua•
In the beginning
1 God created the whole world,
an created in his own image
TES
i many class-
looms across
JVmerica, evolu-
ior is taught as
act when it is only
■implicated and
proven theory,
■volution pro-
nqtes atheism by
ironing God,
Iting the mon-
Christina
BARROWS
and degrading man. Schools need
pegin presenting both sides of the
bate and teach students the theory
treationism.
'reationism is the doctrine that
|n. Earth and the entire universe was
[ated by God, rather than exploding
rom nothingness and evolving over
onsider this superbly crafted plan-
i with its vital atmosphere and sea-
onal rotation around the sun. Think
§pll the unique plants and animals,
ortant metabolic reactions such as
frtosynthesis and the information
:omained in one molecule of DNA.
Ir 11 of this originated from nothing-
3 Ks? Happened by chance? People
iu„ l3 ;ihould be in awe of God, not presump-
m-w uo.is and skeptical.
^’^■Evolutionists claim millions of years
-wed by»ft many chemicals were swirling
' upjo-rBynd in a lifeless sea here on earth.
lilen lots of time a “primordial soup”
TcTTradually formed containing amino
f :| o a c ' : tclds. These, in turn, got hooked to-
llm oc jejher to form simple proteins, the
bi ilding blocks of life.” At some point
ftse proteins happened to get con-
tectec
BS
ted in just the right way, and a
is veirs i hreshold was crossed where the pro-
ins started reproducing themselves,
I natoraV 1 fid simple life was “born.”
counseiimj During uncounted eons, this simple
ft gradually became more complex as
itaboiiMSighncg modifications of the original
j«s Sa ™8i#teins combined with external condi-
ludedi 69i| ns 0 f moisture, temperature, food
:hecksa iipply, etc., to eventually produce all
varied and complex life forms seen
jing Cei
Texas
rTAMU
75-2463
This is all taught in schools as fact,
en in scientific reality the theory is
ossible. It is similar to building a
computer by putting all the parts
bag and shaking until done.
That such complexity could arise
a a “primordial soup” by random-
mce chemical reactions is statistical-
md biochemically impossible. Ron
tie, a member of Oregon’s “Design
ence Association” for the study of
ation/evolution issues, states there
too many connections in a DNA
lecule to ever occur by chance, no
tter how much time is allowed.
According to Lyttle, some bio
mists have managed to produce
pie amino acids in simulated
up” by carefully controlling the
ditions. But there was nothing
ndom” or “chance” about the
cess, and the leap from simple
ino acids to a protein molecule is
thematically impossible,
his information about proteins can
found in any advanced biology
k and yet students are still taught
lution as if it is a proven fact, when
simple mathematical statistics prove it
is impossible.
Why does this evidence point to
creationism? Because people seem to
be searching for a more concrete expla
nation, while science and biology
prove things through like protein syn
thesis there is no other possibility for
creation except the divine hand of a
much greater being.
Several evolutionists admit evolu
tion is only a theory with numerous
unexplainable clauses. Professor. H.H.
Newman, in his article “Readings in
Evolution” said, “Reluctant as we may
be to admit it, honesty compels the
evolutionist to admit that there is no
absolute proof of organic evolution.”
Evolutionist C.B. Conklin of Prince
ton University admits, based on Biom
etry and Mendel’s Inheritance Law, hu
mans need not go further back than
200 generations to the time of Noah
(The Great Flood, Genesis 6-8) to find
a common ancestor of all mankind.
Noah, therefore, must have been the
head of the race, implying people de
scended from this historical and bibli
cal man, and not from the ape (a pre
dicted 60,000 generations back).
Another point against evolution is
the lack of evidence in the develop
ment of any new species. Based on sci
entific journals posted on several dif
ferent Websites (all links from
www.creationism.org), approximately
three million species of plants and ani
mals have supposedly developed over
the last 60 million years. If evolution is
a fact and we are continuing to evolve,
then slightly over 2000 new species
should have arisen or matured within
the last 6000 years — an average of
one new species every three years.
Canadian geologist Sir William
Dawson said, “No case is certainly
known in human experience where
any species of animal or plant has
been so changed as to assume all the
characteristics of a new species.”
This further proves God created all
things at one time in history because
creation has remained the same for
6000 years, which is the approximate
time the Bible documents creation.
Far from being a logical or scientific
explanation of the origin and develop
ment of life on earth, evolution ap
pears to be a belief system held togeth
er by as much faith as any other creed.
To believe in evolution, a “scientist”
must throw out the scientific method,
ignore his common sense and twist the
facts. Evolutionists are not open-mind
ed seekers of the truth, but instead
they appear to be closed-minded, “de
fenders of the faith.” Did life “just hap
pen?” Is it fair for professors and teach
ers to teach one side of such a
controversial issue?
If children are taught evolution in
class, then they need to be taught all
the facts and other theories. This
would include creationism and the his
torical accuracy of the Bible because
science clearly points to the hand of
God.
... there was the bigbang life
evolved from cosmic elements
I
n 1925 the
United
States be
came an inter
national joke
when teacher
John Scopes
was put on
trial for teach
ing evolution
in a Tennessee
public school.
Brendan
GUY
Christina Barrows is a sophomore
English major.
A lesser nation might have
learned something from that ex
perience, but somehow, as
ridiculous as it seems, the issue
of creationism being taught in
the public schools keeps coming
up. How is this possible?
The Supreme Court ruled in
Edwards vs. Aguillard that cre
ationism can not be taught in the
public schools (that darn First
Amendment).
The National Academy of Sci
ences has blatantly stated, “Evo
lution must be taught in the pub
lic schools if children are to
understand biology at all.”
Even the Catholic Church has
more or less accepted evolution
with Pope John Paul II admit
ting, “knowledge has led to the
recognition that evolution is
more than a hypothesis.”
Despite all this, religious fun
damentalists keep trying to
sneak creationism back into the
public schools. It would be
laughable if it was not so dan
gerous to the well being of this
country. Creationism has ab
solutely no place being taught in
the public schools.
By itself, there is nothing
wrong with the book of Genesis.
It is a beautiful work of prose
poetry and perhaps it even has
allegorical value. But it does not
have any scientific value. There
is no scientific evidence to sup
port creationism, which means it
has no place in a science class
room.
Teaching creationism in pub
lic schools would be like teach
ing that the sun revolves around
the Earth or lightning comes
from Zeus throwing thunderbolts
or that the world was hatched
from the goddess Tiamet’s egg
(other religions have creation
myths, too). It would mean re
placing reason and logic with su
perstition and dogma.
Creationists generally have a
two-pronged method for justify
ing their position. They suggest
evolution is just a theory and
their views deserve equal time in
the classrooms. On the first
point, yes evolution is just a the
ory, but it is a theory that has
withstood rigorous scientific
testing for over a hundred years.
It is a theory that fits all the
available evidence on how life
developed on this planet. It is a
theory that is nearly universally
accepted by the scientific com
munity. Evolution is a theory in
the, same way gravity is a theory.
As for the second point, sorry,
but not all views deserve equal
time. Aside from the fact if all
viewpoints were given equal rep
resentation, people would have
to live to be 300 just to get
through elementary school, there
is the fact that some ideas just
are not worth being taught. No
one would expect a history class
to teach that maybe the Holo
caust did not happen, because to
do so would be to represent a
viewpoint that flies in the face of
all existing evidence and is clear
ly absurd.
Creationism is not as intrinsi
cally harmful or as intentionally
hateful as Holocaust revisionism,
but it does fly in the face of all
existing scientific evidence. It is
a belief that can only be justified
by faith, because it certainly is
not justifiable by evidence,
which means it has no place in a
secular environment like the
public schools.
There is absolutely no reason
to be afraid of science. Science is
not a belief system, nor does it
pretend to be one; it is strictly reli
giously neutral. Science is nothing
more than a way of reasoning, a
methodology based on observa
tion and repeatable experimenta
tion. Science enables humanity to
understand and master the physi
cal world, making human life
longer, more comfortable and
more meaningful. And science
must be taught if this country is
to continue to grow and prosper.
The best available scientific evi
dence states that evolution is al
most certainly the correct expla
nation for the origins of life; is it
really so absurd to believe science
classes should just teach science?
There is nothing wrong with
teaching religious doctrine as
long as it is done in the proper
place (churches, homes, private
religious schools). Religion does
play a useful role in society and
there are certain questions it can
answer that science cannot — at
least not yet. But while religion
does have its place, that place is
not the public school system.
Public schools are designed to
educate students about the secu
lar, physical world and schools
will not accomplish this if they
can be held hostage by the lu
natic theories of religious funda
mentalists.
This issue should have been
settled in 1925. The fact that it
has not, proves our society has
not evolved as much as it should
have.
Brendan Guy is a senior political
science and history major.
MAIL CALL
;thus Christian
/mbol, not pagan
onse to Glenn Janik’s
linion column.
\ believe there are a few dis-
pancies that need to be point-
out regarding his article.
The fish (properly called an ic-
s) was not a pagan symbol,
rather used as a means of
recognizing other Christians.
It is an outward symbol of
Christ, merely a display of the
God of Israel that Christians
choose to follow (though Janik
was right by implying that God is
love).
In reference to the word
“truth,” he defines irony in his
statement, “could the Jesus fish
folks pick a more insensitive, in
tolerant, and inflammatory
word?”
He seems to be highly intoler
ant and insensitive to Chris
tians. Also the “inflammatory”
fish of Darwinism is disrespect
ful to the meaning of the Christ
ian symbol, despite the fact that
Darwin himself recognized his er
ror before his death.
As for the icthus with the
word "truth” inscribed therein,
this symbol devouring the Darwin
fish represents that Jesus is the
truth (John 14:6) and that the
truth will conquer the sins of this
world (John 16:7-13).
Janik’s claim is incorrect that
Christianity professes a belief in
tolerance. We are taught to toler
ate people in relationships
through love and patience, just
as Jesus did.
But in regards to sin and mis
lead religious groups, the Bible
specifically says we are to
preach the Gospels to all peo
ple in all nations (Matthew
28:19-20).
More research should have
been done into a Christian’s
“professed belief in love, toler
ance and understanding” before
writing an article fueled by
loathing and lacking in bedrock
knowledge. Seems like we are
all intolerant about something.
Angie Bingham
Class of ’01
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