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ccbc-net digest 14 Jul 2005
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From: Donna <druchunas>
Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 11:24:23 -0700 (PDT)
I was reading the messages about "Our Family Tree" and thinking about recent news of states trying to keep the teaching of evolution out of the classroom and I had to add a couple of brief notes.
1) How can anyone say "I don't believe in evolution"? That is like saying "I don't believe in gravity" or "I don't believe in physics". I have a friend who told me recently that her sister-in-law said "It's against my religion to believe in dinosaurs." To me, a statement like this is so out of the ballpark of reason and sanity, that I can hardly understand it. (I can however, just barely comprehend the sentiment, because I have relatives who believe the earth was created in 6 days just over 6,000 years ago, and who scoff at displays at museums that mention things that happened millions or billions of years ago. I think they beleive that God put fossils in the earth and microwave background radiation in the sky as a cruel joke or to test our faith.) To me this kind of ignorance and superstition is dangerous to society because it will eventually lead to the rejection of technologies that can help cure illnesses, save the environment, and so forth. I think we are seeing the beginning of these trends now in the United States. Whatever your religion, it shouldn't preclude curiousity about how the physical world works.
2) Just beause evolution is a theory, doesn't mean it's just some junk somebody made up. I'm sure everyone on this list understands that a theory is an educated conclusion based on the best available evidence. That's what science is about, if better evidence is discovered, we can come up with a more accurate theory.
Donna
Received on Sun 17 Jul 2005 01:24:23 PM CDT
Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2005 11:24:23 -0700 (PDT)
I was reading the messages about "Our Family Tree" and thinking about recent news of states trying to keep the teaching of evolution out of the classroom and I had to add a couple of brief notes.
1) How can anyone say "I don't believe in evolution"? That is like saying "I don't believe in gravity" or "I don't believe in physics". I have a friend who told me recently that her sister-in-law said "It's against my religion to believe in dinosaurs." To me, a statement like this is so out of the ballpark of reason and sanity, that I can hardly understand it. (I can however, just barely comprehend the sentiment, because I have relatives who believe the earth was created in 6 days just over 6,000 years ago, and who scoff at displays at museums that mention things that happened millions or billions of years ago. I think they beleive that God put fossils in the earth and microwave background radiation in the sky as a cruel joke or to test our faith.) To me this kind of ignorance and superstition is dangerous to society because it will eventually lead to the rejection of technologies that can help cure illnesses, save the environment, and so forth. I think we are seeing the beginning of these trends now in the United States. Whatever your religion, it shouldn't preclude curiousity about how the physical world works.
2) Just beause evolution is a theory, doesn't mean it's just some junk somebody made up. I'm sure everyone on this list understands that a theory is an educated conclusion based on the best available evidence. That's what science is about, if better evidence is discovered, we can come up with a more accurate theory.
Donna
Received on Sun 17 Jul 2005 01:24:23 PM CDT
