Here’s a viewpoint you don’t see often: An engineer urges Christian schools to be sure they teach evolution, and he makes a pretty good case.
It’s a twist on the usual position, where religious fanatics argue that science should be watered down in public schools, or that some form of creationism should be taught to cast doubt on the science.
The essay was published at a blog called An Evangelical Dialogue on Evolution. An engineer named Gordon Glover argues that evolution should be taught, first, because it’s good science. Second, he says teaching evolution “enhances” critical thinking — a point I agree with; in my experience, students get more creative when they study and understand the real creative work of real scientists, and students become much more discerning about what is good science and a good argument.
Third, for private Christian schools, Glover argues that teaching evolution opens another opportunity to discuss Biblical inspiration.
The first reason is the most powerful. Sticking to good science also presents an opportunity to stand up for good ethics.
Take a look at Glover’s arguments. Is he right? What do you think? Should scientists argue for including evolution in religious schools where it is avoided now? As always, comments are open.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Remi writes:
Let`s just teach our children that`s G-d`s words are lie!
Since the theory of evolution doesn’t say that God is a liar you’re blowing smoke. But if you believe that God created this world then by refusing to accept the facts of how this world came to be you are the one calling God a liar. Because the Bible, child, was written by humans and therefor is neither the inerrant nor the literal Word of God.
Secondly, one teaches science in science classrooms. The theory of evolution is science..it forms the basis for modern biology. Creation’s mutant heretical bastard child Creationism is not science. It barely qualifies as religious belief and it sure isn’t Christian since at its base the foundation of Creationism is that God is a sociopathic liar.
One does not teach religious belief in the public schools. You want your kids to learn Creationism that is your responsibility to take care..not Ed’s, not mine not anyone elses. And certainly not the public schools.
And I say this as a lifelong Christian..if you were my kids teacher and you tried teaching them Creationism in their public school classrooms you losing your job would be the absolute least I’d do to you.
The worst I’d do to you is bankrupt your sorry ass and make damn sure you never taught in any school ever again.
Your rights to your religious beliefs, Remi, do not grant you the right to force feed them down anyone elses kids.
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Good evening, Remi!
I applaud your obvious devotion to faith in Christ and in the Bible. I share your faith. I’ve had what Evangelicals call “a personal relationship with Jesus” for many decades now.
I am also more convinced than ever that evolution is a theory far more rooted in scientific fact and logic than the Genesis creation story. And I am hardly alone. Leaving aside my honorable atheist friends, no small number of dedicated religious people — including some Evangelical Christians — are also persuaded of the veracity of evolution.
For ten years, Dr. Francis Collins was head of the Human Genome Project. He is now Director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Collins is also a committed Christian, firmly convinced that authentic, Biblical faith is not in conflict whatsoever with the theory of evolution. Here’s a link about him…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Collins_(geneticist)
I’d cheerfully supply other names, too. And I can also offer you the names of Evangelical Colleges and Universities whose science programs teach evolution as the most likely explanation for human origin. Indeed, they are becoming the majority these days. Even Billy Graham’s alma mater, Wheaton College, has a science faculty that is wholly evolutionist.
I hope you realize that the Genesis account, clearly inspired by God, was given by God in the form of a story the simple but good Hebrew people could understand. Just how does Almighty God, whose mind contains all knowledge, explain to a nomadic people six thousand years ago just how it all came to be? Evolution hardly supports an atheistic outlook, though it certainly does not diminish one either.
Perhaps, if you pray about it, think hard about it and then do some serious research, you will come to believe in a God who is capable of anything. In fact, I would ask you which is the greater, more wondrous “miracle”: God creating the world in six, 24 hour days in a way simple, primitive humans can fully grasp? Or God creating the world over the course of six million…six billion or six trillion years…using the most delicate and intricate instruments the Divine mind can conceive? And savoring every moment of it?
Indeed, Remi…I wonder if we Christians who are still so reticent to embrace the science of evolution feel as we do because we want a God we can “manage”.
Think about it, friend. And welcome aboard.
Jim
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1. Nowhere in the Christian Bible is there a statement against evolution. Genesis contains language that would fit nicely into a Darwinian description of of how living things reproduce and evolve, ‘after their kind” (see, for example, Genesis 1.11-12, 21, 24, 25). Living things do not produce clones, but offspring “after” the parents. That’s a key part of the observations that led Darwin to discover evolution, and it’s still true.
One could argue that the Bible tends to support evolution, but nowhere is there a statement against evolution.
2. Even, and especially, the Bible waffles on creation and how long it took. Nowhere is there a claim in scripture that the “periods” of creation in Genesis (in Hebrew, not “days”) were 24 hour periods. Nor is such a concept mentioned anywhere else in scripture.
In the meantime, the Bible is contradictory if we were to assume any of the six or eight creation stories is literal. Genesis 2 contradicts Genesis 1; the story of creation told in Job is completely different (from a different tradition). The story in John is even more poetic, but ambiguous enough that one cannot say it opposes evolution in any way, and one could claim with just as much support that it supports Darwin 100%.
Have you ever studied scripture, seriously? Have you ever studied Christian theology on the issue of creation? No major sect of Christianity holds that any part of scripture contradicts Darwin.
Remi, to which cult or sect do you refer for your interpretation?
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Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed. Antoine Lavoisier
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Let`s just teach our children that`s G-d`s words are lie!
God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
Num 23:19
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 1 Cor 1:25
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness 2 Tim 3:16
Let God be true, but every man a liar. Romans 3:4
According to the bible, evolution is a lie, not science. If he said he created it in 6 days, and rest the seventh, it is true, and if you do not believe it, you can`t be fallower of Jesus. You can`t said he lied, then how would you know what was true? There is no debate.
Train up a child in the way he should go,And when he is old he will not depart from it. Pro 22:6
Teach your child to trust in man and he will go in the broad way. Teach him to fear the Lord and he will know him
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Yes, DNA can be altered, and often is.
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SO, let us just boil this creation/evolution thing down to real BASE science…. Can DNA be altered?
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E. I., the real Open Market of Ideas for scientific ideas is the scientific community. As Kenneth Miller notes, anyone is free to join, but they need to come through with evidence if they want to be taken seriously, or be preparied to have their claims eviscerated if they don’t stand up to scientific scrutiny. I expect any good teacher to be prepared to answer honest questions that children have; in science class or otherwise. At the same time, creationists pushing tracts filled with bogus objections to evolution is largely a waste of time, although it may present a good opportunity for excellent science teachers to show students how evolution is substantiated by evidence, while creationist objections are bogus, and in violation of the biblical injunction against bearing false witness.
From what I’ve read and discussed with knowledgeable people, among christian schools, Roman Catholic schools generally do a very admirable job of explaining scientific topics to their students, including evolution. The fundamentalist evangelical churches seem to do the worst, and their choice of poor textbooks (such as A Beka Book, Bob Jones University press, etc.) reflect this. Fortunately, there are a few scientifically literate evangelical christians who work to promote the science of evolution (Keith Miller of KS comes to mind) among their fellow congregants, but they are too few and far between.
E.I., perhaps you could share with us as to what articles were banned from the classroom, and why, and we can see if the claims stand up to scientific scrutiny, or if they were bogus claims that the teacher recognized as such.
Wayne, care to cite your sources? Most of your website seems to rely heavily on fundamentalist wingnuts as sources, but surely you’ve studied what the scientists have to say as well, given your keen interest apparent from posting on this topic.
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As in all the sciences, bring your skepticism — every point is challengeable, and should be challenged in the course of instruction.
No one said we know everything. Whatever makes you think there is any authoritarianism involved in this process? Never taken a science class?
No one knows for certain where DNA came from originally. The astrobiology program NASA runs has established that some RNA spontaneously arises and self-replicates. Was that the origin for DNA? Yet to be determined.
Have you ever looked at the astrobiology program?
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Does teaching science still include testing of ideas?
A 100% Belief or Disbelief in anything closes our minds forever from information that could lead to truth. 99.99% is fine.
If any part of the 150 year old theory is wrong does not make sense are we still talking about questioning it at a .01% level of critical thinking? Or are we required to have 100% faith belief in the authority of what is being taught?
If we know everything about how we came into being, why fund additional research into ideas such as DNA came from space. Come on now we already know DNA came from the ocean in a low oxygen hostile environment.
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Anyone can question evolution at any time.
I suspect that the stories you’ve heard don’t involve kids asking questions about evolution, but instead involve adults trying to sneak nonsense into the schools, the religious dogma known as creationism.
It’s intellectually dishonest to try to do that. Teaching kids garbage is a bad idea, and if it’s religiously-based garbage, probably a violation of their religious rights, too.
But students are allowed to ask even stupid questions. I suspect the stories you’ve heard are inflated a bit.
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We need to teach kids about the theory of evolution. That I agree with.
What I disagree is not being able to question evolution. Students should be able to explore the theory and provide their analysis and thoughts on their learning. They should be able to bring any ideas they seem rational and share them in the classroom – kind of like peer review. That’s it. Open Market of Ideas.
I’ve heard of schools where students are not allowed to bring or read articles that question evolutionary theory.
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