This week’s topic at Surfnetkids.com is Human Evolution. As I was penning it, I thought a lot about my readers, many of whom, might teach creationism instead of evolution. Since comments on not enabled on that section of Surfnetkids.com, I decided to open up the discussion here.
So, my question to you is, as a parent or a teacher, do you teach evolution or creationism? Feel free to leave a comment, but please be civil.
I know this section of the blog is not the place for my correspondence but I did not find a place for general comments. I know that there are limitation on the website and people do not always have control over ads that are run. I thought you may want to know, however, that the very first thing that popped up when I went to the kids surf site was an ad picturing a half naked lady and advertising erotic movies.
I thought a site for children would be better monitored?? Maybe you are not aware of what is showing.
We can build a virtual world on our computers in a few days, create people and play out scenes, ‘The Sims’ for eg, we give them free will and watch them, we play at God.
But we think a higher power couldn’t possibly create a world in six days.
We still haven’t found the missing link.
Yet we mankind lives on a tiny speck in our vast universe which we agree is expanding, what is it expanding into when there has to be more room for it to expand?
We have only searched a fifth of the world’s oceans, which may house creatures we thought were extinct.
The fact is we don’t know much at all, when we start saying Evolution is a fact we are being arrogant, it is only a theory, and if we are to advance in Science we need to teach children to ask questions, because then they will be the great Scientists of the future, and I hope that they put us to shame, because Evolution is an old theory, which a lot of Scientists I know find laughable, and they are not all creationists, you only have to search the internet, it’s time to start discovering more about our world, other than filling in gaps with dark matter!
Big bang started from nothing. A matter that exists from the nothingness needs a Creator.
Creation is done through evolution. We do not remain primitives, since God loves us human beings, He continues to create and recreate us making us even better than our ancestors. If God created us already perfect, there is no more room for improvement.
I cannot believe that it is 2011 and anyone would teach creationism unless required by law! Just my opinion.
I would like to know if the people teaching creationism are public or private school as I would not want my tax dollars to be spent on teaching creationism. I believe the public schools are places for Science, English, Math, Arts, etc. and that religion is best left to the home and/or church, or a private school.
The battle is not one of young earth vs. old earth, or billions of years vs. six days, or creation vs. evolution—the real battle is the authority of the Word of God vs. man’s fallible opinions. … The leading humanist of Darwin’s day, Thomas Huxley (1825–1895), eloquently pointed out the inconsistencies of reinterpreting Scripture to fit with popular scientific thinking. (ref: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/couldnt-god-have-used-evolution ) The world knows the battle better than we do, Huxley stated it well. Change one section at will and changing others becomes easy.
Science has again and again proven that we (humans) didn’t evolve from pond scum or any other slimy film and science has proven that the earth just appeared at some point in history. I teach creation, but have explained evolution as well. Yes, we as humans have evolved, whether for good or not, but we did not evolve from some slimy film into amphibians, into apes, into cavemen and into humans we we know them today. We were created as humans and have evolved as humans to what we are today.
I would agree with Liza – I did take the poll, but felt uncomfortable with the options. I happily teach my daughter both creationism and evolution, but with the scientific evidence that they both require a leap of faith. Nuff said…
I always find it interesting how people describe this question based on religious belief. Some will try and say that science pushes them in one direction or another which cannot be true since the scientific method precludes the origen of life being scientifice (no observation, no ability to reproduce the event in a controlled area, no notes on chemical breakdown over the centuries on the same substances used to try and determine age). So the decision is based on one’s belief, not one’s ability to be scientific.
I teach creationism and show how archaeology has always verified creationism. I also teach evolution and how it constantly changes and is a hypothesis at best. But kids need to know how to articulate both in order to be able to be educated.
Innovation is natural but if you can appreciate that and encourage new ideas. That would be great!
I’d like to quote my favorite author here who says it much better than I could.
“According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, humans evolved from aquatic-plants to aquatic-animals. Then, they moved to live on land and eventually trees. Again on land, they became apes, and in the end evolved into modern humans with culture and thought. Based on that calculation, it has not been over ten thousand years since the actual emergence of human civilization. Looking further back, there was not even notekeeping through tying knots. Those people were dressed in tree leaves and ate raw meat. Looking back still further, they were completely wild or primitive people. They might not have even known how to use fire.
Yet we have found a problem. A lot of cultural relics in many places of the world date back far beyond the history of our human civilization. These ancient remains have quite an advanced level of craftsmanship. In terms of artistic value, they are at quite an advanced level. Modern humankind is simply imitating the arts of ancient peoples, and their arts are of great artistic value. They are, however, relics from over 100 thousand years ago, several hundred thousand years ago, several million years, or even over 100 million years ago. Think about it, everyone: Aren’t they making a mockery of today’s history? It is, in fact, no joke, for humankind has always been improving and rediscovering itself. This is how society develops. The initial understanding may not be absolutely correct.
Many people may have heard of “prehistoric culture,” also known as “prehistoric civilization.” We will talk about prehistoric civilization. On this earth, there are continents of Asia, Europe, South America, North America, Oceania, Africa, and Antarctica. Geologists call these the continental plates. From the formation of the continental plates to this day, several tens of millions of years have passed. Namely, many continents have emerged from the ocean floor, and many continents have also sunk to the sea bottom. It has been over tens of millions of years since they stabilized at the present state. Under the water of many oceans, however, some tall and large ancient architecture has been discovered. These buildings were crafted very beautifully and are not the cultural heritage of our modern humankind. Then they must have been built before sinking to the ocean floor. Who created these civilizations tens of millions of years ago? At that time, our human race was not even apes. How could we create something of such great wisdom? Archaeologists around the world have discovered an organism called trilobite that existed between 600 and 260 million years ago. This kind of organism disappeared 260 million years ago. An American scientist has discovered a trilobite fossil with a human footprint on it; the footprint was clearly printed on the fossil by a person in shoes. Isn’t this mocking historians? According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, how could there be human beings 260 million years ago?
In the museum of the National University of Peru, there is a rock engraved with a human figure. Upon investigation, it was determined that this human figure was engraved thirty thousand years ago. This human figure, however, is dressed in clothes, hat, and shoes, with a telescope in hand, and he is observing the celestial body. How could people weave cloth and wear clothes thirty thousand years ago? More inconceivably, he was observing the celestial body with a telescope and had a certain amount of astronomical knowledge. We always think that it was Galileo, a European, who invented the telescope, giving it a history of only over three hundred years. Yet who invented the telescope thirty thousand years ago? There are still many unsolved puzzles. For instance, there are frescoes engraved in many caves of France, South Africa, and the Alps that appear realistic and lifelike. The figures therein engraved look remarkably exquisite and are colored with a mineral paint. These people, however, all don contemporary clothes that look something like Western suits, and they wear tight pants. Some people hold something like smoking pipes, while others carry walking sticks and wear hats. How could the apes of several hundred thousand years ago reach such an advanced artistic level?…
According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, humans evolved from aquatic-plants to aquatic-animals. Then, they moved to live on land and eventually trees. Again on land, they became apes, and in the end evolved into modern humans with culture and thought. Based on that calculation, it has not been over ten thousand years since the actual emergence of human civilization. Looking further back, there was not even notekeeping through tying knots. Those people were dressed in tree leaves and ate raw meat. Looking back still further, they were completely wild or primitive people. They might not have even known how to use fire.
Yet we have found a problem. A lot of cultural relics in many places of the world date back far beyond the history of our human civilization. These ancient remains have quite an advanced level of craftsmanship. In terms of artistic value, they are at quite an advanced level. Modern humankind is simply imitating the arts of ancient peoples, and their arts are of great artistic value. They are, however, relics from over 100 thousand years ago, several hundred thousand years ago, several million years, or even over 100 million years ago. Think about it, everyone: Aren’t they making a mockery of today’s history? It is, in fact, no joke, for humankind has always been improving and rediscovering itself. This is how society develops. The initial understanding may not be absolutely correct.
Many people may have heard of “prehistoric culture,” also known as “prehistoric civilization.” We will talk about prehistoric civilization. On this earth, there are continents of Asia, Europe, South America, North America, Oceania, Africa, and Antarctica. Geologists call these the continental plates. From the formation of the continental plates to this day, several tens of millions of years have passed. Namely, many continents have emerged from the ocean floor, and many continents have also sunk to the sea bottom. It has been over tens of millions of years since they stabilized at the present state. Under the water of many oceans, however, some tall and large ancient architecture has been discovered. These buildings were crafted very beautifully and are not the cultural heritage of our modern humankind. Then they must have been built before sinking to the ocean floor. Who created these civilizations tens of millions of years ago? At that time, our human race was not even apes. How could we create something of such great wisdom? Archaeologists around the world have discovered an organism called trilobite that existed between 600 and 260 million years ago. This kind of organism disappeared 260 million years ago. An American scientist has discovered a trilobite fossil with a human footprint on it; the footprint was clearly printed on the fossil by a person in shoes. Isn’t this mocking historians? According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, how could there be human beings 260 million years ago?
In the museum of the National University of Peru, there is a rock engraved with a human figure. Upon investigation, it was determined that this human figure was engraved thirty thousand years ago. This human figure, however, is dressed in clothes, hat, and shoes, with a telescope in hand, and he is observing the celestial body. How could people weave cloth and wear clothes thirty thousand years ago? More inconceivably, he was observing the celestial body with a telescope and had a certain amount of astronomical knowledge. We always think that it was Galileo, a European, who invented the telescope, giving it a history of only over three hundred years. Yet who invented the telescope thirty thousand years ago? There are still many unsolved puzzles. For instance, there are frescoes engraved in many caves of France, South Africa, and the Alps that appear realistic and lifelike. The figures therein engraved look remarkably exquisite and are colored with a mineral paint. These people, however, all don contemporary clothes that look something like Western suits, and they wear tight pants. Some people hold something like smoking pipes, while others carry walking sticks and wear hats. How could the apes of several hundred thousand years ago reach such an advanced artistic level?
Li Hongshi
Zhuan Falun
From a series of lectures given in China
I agree with Bill Daughtridge, and many others. I don’t think evolution and creation are contradict with each other. Creation explains the world’ coming into being from the spiritual perspective using different termiology, and evolution is a pretty convincing theory of the world’s coming into being from a physical perspective.
In the most recent cycle of a perennial battle in the ongoing culture war in our country that goes back at least as far as the infamous Scopes Trial and the Modernism Controversy of the 1920s one hears almost exclusively the voices of either the Young Earth Literal Six Day Creationists or the equally dogmatic Atheist Materialist Darwinian Evolutionists. Few people know that there is a third alternative: Old Earth Creationists who see no necessary or inherent conflict between all the known facts concerning the origins of the universe in a Big Bang 12.5 billion years ago and all the known facts concerning the origins of life and humans on our planet much longer than 4,000 years ago. If anyone is interested, I recommend any of the newer books by Hugh Ross or older ones by Eckelmann and Newman, all men with earned doctorates in science from respected secular universities, who do not accept the false dichotomy of the two choices mentioned above that most people think are their only options when it comes to Creation “or” Evolution.
I believe that God created the heavens and the earth, as recorded in Genesis chapters one and two. I recommend the book, “The Case for the Creator,” by Lee Strobel, for a thorough explanation of this point of view. Thanks for a great site!
Hi, I’m a teacher in Australia.
If there ever was a big bang, who or what caused it to occur? I believe that God, who has always existed (yes, hard for our finite minds to comprehend) created the world perfect at the start (how could a world so wonderful in it’s design not have had a designer?). I make a point to expose students to both ideas, though.
Thank you, Barbara for all you share. 🙂
I teach evolution. I don’t teach myths.
I am a stepmother of a adult daughter. Her father and I have been together for more that 25 years. She was 3 when we got together. Our families are not religious, but we believe there is a higher power guiding us somewhere. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in
evolution, it just means there are two ways of looking at the beginning of life. With evolution, there are scientific facts and evidence around the world proving evolution exists. Religion, to me, is a need to believe there is life after death. I believe in the spiritual world. I believe in the paranormal. Evolution is species changing, evolving, growing into something that can survive and adapt to their environment. We came from primordial soup as a creature of water. Evolved into a creature of land. We die as a creature of earth. Life is a circle. That’s what I believe
To state whether or not one “believes” in evolution is to misunderstand evolution, science and the scientific method. In science it does not matter whether one “believes” in it or not: it matters what can be empirically demonstrated and replicated by following the scientific method. There is a difference between a hypothesis, which is an educated estimate of what may be happening/have happened, and which is developed solely for the purpose of testing it against external and measurable reality, and a belief, which is developed to answer subjective and philosophical questions related to the meaning of life, the meaning and origins of that which we can feel and perceive within ourselves, but which cannot be subjected to external measurement and cannot be replicated under controlled conditions. Science is about testing theories; religion is about believing theories. They operate in separate realms, and so they are not mutually exclusive, as amply demonstrated by the fact that some scientists hold (varying) religious beliefs, and some hold none.
As a science teacher (retired) and a parent and grandparent I am glad to address science as science and mythology as mythology. They each have a place in culture. Science seems to be poorly understood by many people in the USA, which some consider to be the most advanced country in the world. The phrase “only a theory” fails to celebrate the wonder of science – to never be fooled into thinking it is finished or completely correct. The self-correcting effect of scientific method leads to knowledge that becomes useful to the degree it is free of error. Congratulations to Barbara for proceeding with this page.
Great discussion! Thanks for chiming in.
To be truly educated, a person needs to know what both theories teach. They should then be taught to weigh the pros and cons of each, objectively. They then should form an opinion based upon what they believe with facts behind it They should be able to see what they agree on, how they differ, and what, if any the consequence of each is. Too many today, have not been liberally educated in the classic sense. They rely on em0ting. ad hominin attacks, and the vilification of those they do not agree with. They do not know how to counter an idea and persuasively convince others. They bully, name call, and a few resort to violence. See Hirsch’s What Every Child Needs to Know curriculum. You cannot be educated, nor can you make a difference , it you are ignorant of the beliefs of others. Nor, I would say is your belief supportable or rational. Today’s problems need thinkers.
I teach both. Students should be exposed to both. I believe in creation. Evolution is such a wild story, to the point of being unbelieveable. There are several problems with believing in evolution hook, line and sinker.
Both, as well as ID, but I believe in evolution (as a fact). If you had been born as a Muslim, you’d believe in their version of the creation story, same for any of the other hundreds of creation stories by hundreds of other religions.
Rather teach children how to think than what to think thus indoctrinating them – expose them to all.
The topics of anthropology or paleoanthropology are great to learn from a Christian scientist perspective. No science theory should exclude all possibilities.
Evolution. Teaching about how Yahweh, or Allah, or Shiva, or Odin created the universe is better left to spiritual teachers.
Hello,
I did not vote in the pole, because I believe in creationism, but will teach evolution. However, I teach creationism is the Truth and that evolution is not correct. Therefore, I didn’t feel that the pole properly reflected my opinion. So I have sent in my “vote” this way. 🙂
Thank you for your wonderful, *free* resource that you email us every month. What a blessing it is.
Liza
I did teach in a public school where evolution is taught. However, the principal and the faculty all believe in creation, which is not what the state teaches. So whenever I taught evolution, I would always premise it by stating that it is a theory and that many will not agree with it and may attend church like I do. They should talk to their parents about what they believe. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom of a two-year-old, I plan on teaching her, and have already begun, about creation. Eventually, we’ll talk about evolution because it’s out there and there’s no way to avoid it. I will let her know about the many holes of evolution.
Teaching that these ideas never really answer the bottom line question of how did any of these ideas start is a very big topic even with high school students as with us as adults.
Evolution doesn’t have an answer to where we started “big bang” where did the matter come from to start? Creation or ID has the same issues, where did God come from or the designer? So I think it is only fair to explain both ideas to older students who can even have these big thoughts and have many years to discuss with them openly. Younger kids need security and teaching what you believe to them will give them that and being open to questions and discussions as they ask will give even more security and help you earn respect.
Teaching as fact…that is one of my biggest frustrations about Science….it is a lie…teaching how scientists come to their conclusions is a better way to get kids thinking for themselves. History is the same way. There are many facts out there to talk about and many discussions to be had on what those facts really mean.
Hello !
I’m a schoolteacher in France. So in my country we teach evolution.
Only a few people believe in creationism in France.
Thank you for your magnificent site !
Claude
Evolution: The Creation Myth of Our Culture
http://www.trueorigin.org/evomyth01.asp