Creationism support is at a new low. The reason should give us hope.
The creationist organizing the protests is threatening to bring in a militia to thwart installation of the Darrow statue, which she calls an insult to God and Christians. It will take a lot more than that, though, to stop Americans’ growing acceptance of evolution and apparent shift away from the strict creationist view of the origin of the species.
New polling data show that for the first time in a long time there’s a notable decline in the percentage of Americans — including Christians — who hold to the “young earth” creationist view that humankind was created in its present form in the past 10,000 years, evolution playing no part.
According to a Gallup poll conducted in May, the portion of the American public taking this position now stands at 38%, a new low in Gallup’s periodic surveys. Fifty-seven percent accept the validity of the scientific consensus that human beings evolved from less advanced forms of life over millions of years.
Has atheism taken over so thoroughly? No, and that’s why this apparent break in the creationism-vs.-evolution stalemate is significant and even instructive to those in search of creative solutions to our other intractable public arguments.
As the new poll reveals, the biggest factor in the shift is a jump in the number of Christians who are reconciling faith and evolution. They are coming to see evolution as their God’s way of creating life on Earth and continuing to shape it today.
"Science doesn't have to drive people away from faith,” says Deborah Haarsma, president of an organization called BioLogos that promotes harmony between science and Christian faith.
It’s endlessly frustrating to secular and religious liberals, but the creationist view has held strong sway in this country in the decades since the famous Darrow-Bryan courtroom duel. Over recent decades, percentages in the upper-40s have taken the creationist position; the figure stood at 46% in Gallup’s 2012 survey .
Tenacious anti-evolution resistance continues to influence debates over issues including public school curricula, government support for creationist installations like the Noah’s Ark replica in Kentucky , and research access to national parks. A creationist researcher, for instance, claimed religious discrimination in his successful legal fight with the U.S. Park Service over its refusal to grant him access to collect rock samples. His purpose: marshaling evidence in support of the creationist belief that the Grand Canyon was created by a great global flood a relatively recent 4,300 years ago—the same flood that Noah and company are said to have ridden out on the ark.
Creationists will believe what they want to believe. But they should know the consequences. Continued fighting to promote creationism is hurting religion’s credibility in an age when science and technology are perceived as reliable sources of truth and positive contributors to society. Anecdotal and polling evidence implicate religion’s anti-science reputation in the drift away from church involvement—especially among younger adults , nearly 40% of whom have left organized religion behind.
Not surprising in view of our growing secularization, the percentage of Americans taking the strict evolution view — no divine role — has grown significantly since the 1980s, from 9% to 19% in the latest Gallup survey .
But the latest movement in public opinion shows onetime creationists taking refuge not in the “no-religion” zone but in “both/and” position. The percentage of people choosing the hybrid view—just 30% in 2014—was eight points higher in Gallup’s May poll.
These tea leaves tell us that more people are refusing the all-or-nothing choice between faith and science and opting instead for a third way: acceptance of the overwhelming scientific evidence for evolution while seeing a divine role in the process. “Divine evolution” is a term some use for it.
If we were to apply this approach to other stalemated arguments and false binaries, what other possibilities might emerge? Can’t we support Black Lives Matter and police officers who serve conscientiously? Can’t we support the legal availability of abortion and strategies that would reduce its incidence? Can’t we accept the scientific consensus on climate change and acknowledge a role for free-market business innovation as part of the solution? In the ongoing tussle over health care, can't we envision a system that combines the best private and government solutions?
For now, something to appreciate: growing public rejection of an unhelpful creationism-vs.-evolution fight that does no favors for either religion or science. As more believers are wisely accepting, you can embrace both — and both are better for it.
Tom Krattenmaker is a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors, a writer on religion in public life and communications director at Yale Divinity School. His latest book is Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower . Follow him on Twitter: @TKrattenmaker
You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page , on Twitter @USATOpinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter . To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com .
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Pictures/exhibits like shown above make no sense. How long does one think that lone human would survive, if living with the velociraptors? If this was true, humans would have been a YUGE food source for the velociraptors!
I've always thought that evolution was Creator-directed, or God-directed. The point is that evolution makes sense-- and this idea that God created the world in exactly 7 days is not factual, and belies physics, biology, etc. Someday, I hope that people can look at this logically, (me included, I'm'sure). There is so much we don't know, in science, and so much to learn. We're not getting anywhere by denying basic science.
Oh well...
I've got to go run some errands-- I'll be back later!
Photographic evidence of young earth creationist truth.
Hey, I want to ride a T Rex.. no fair!
Hey, I want to ride a T Rex.. no fair!
Oh yeah! Well I want a velociraptor and I don't believe Jurassic Park where the T Rex ate the velociraptor! I'll bet you my velociraptor is too fast and nasty and an take your T Rex in 3 out or 4 falls! So there!
Creationism goes hand in hand with fundamentalist Christianity. Fundamentalists ascribe to a literal Bible , so they have to account for the creation of the world according to the Bible. There are Hebrew texts associated with the Bible that place the creation of the earth at somewhere around 5500 B.C. This time frame simply does not allow for evolution , which takes millions of years.
A 2017 Gallup creationism survey found that 38% of adults in the United States inclined to the view that "God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years" when asked for their views on the origin and development of human beings, which Gallup noted was the lowest level in 35 years. [12]
The biblical fundamentalist cannot give up their denial of evolution and remain in the religious belief that they profess.
I did my master's thesis on this topic. A lot has changed since then. I am glad that most people of faith can reconcile evolution with the creation of earth. It's a shame that everything has to be a battle here. In most of the western world, this is a non issue.
Except on Newstalkers........BTW, on FB today, one of the old Newsviners said that NT was shut down and no longer here. He was always a bit of a pompous ass anyway. I corrected him.
That's nuts Gary. Could you send me the name? I think I know who it was.
Done, check your inbox.
You mean were not shut down? I thought I was just taking too many drugs and thinking I was just pretending to be here. Woooow!
Thanks, all of you, for your nice comments!
I am consistently amazed that people continue to believe that dinosaurs and humans coexisted, side by side...
Well, you saw the size of that rack of ribs Fred got at the beginning of each Flintstones episode......I mean, that didn't come from a cow......
LOL!!!
It is inconceivable to me, that the entity behind the creation of the universe …
… would include in such a creation … something as delusional as a "CREATIONIST"!
And while some will see this as a self-contradictory position …
… I separate myself from that crowd by asking questions like …
Hey, Dudes! What's this?
Does this mean we won't be going on the Dinosaur Ride at the CREATIONIST MUSEUM, Daddy?
But hey Creationists … TAKE MY CHALLENGE.
If you think "evolution" is a Liberal conspiracy (you know, "fake news") … THEN BACK UP THAT BELIEF BY DOING THE FOLLOWING …
1) Consent to being injected with a pathogenic organism
2) When the first symptoms of infection appear, have your physician prescribe an anti-biotic
3) When the pathogenic organism MUTATES AND BECOMES RESISTANT TO THAT ANTI-BIOTIC …
4) Assert your Right-wing/Creationist science-denial and decline any further antibiotics …
5) BECAUSE, WHAT THE FUCK, "EVOLUTION IS A LIBERAL CONSPIRACY FAKE NEWS PHENOMENON"
6) Accept my condolences to your family in advance.
YES! I AM ARROGANT * …
_______________________________________________
* With a degree in Biology.
Wishing you well.
Love,
A.M.
It's inconceivable to me that anyone would believe in a creator without any proof. Man created the creator and it does not exist outside of his imagination.
Dean, I don't care if you believe in God or not, ok? That's your business, completely.
But, even if it IS a myth, formed from my imagination, I take great comfort in feeling that there is a reason and a purpose in the world. To me, looking at giant mountains, seeing the broad Ohio River Valley, with it's undersized river, the mighty Ohio, etc. is the work of God. I view the laws of physics, biology, etc. as God's laws, that we're gradually discovering... I mean, it's been 400+ years since we "discovered" gravity, and we're still trying to understand it, (black holes). I don't expect to have all the answers-- I don't even expect to have all the right questions-- I take a great deal of comfort in feeling like God has all the keys to the universe that I can only wonder at.
To me, looking at giant mountains, seeing the broad Ohio River Valley, with it's undersized river, the mighty Ohio, etc. is the work of God.
You think that's awesome? Just think how awesome those are to an ant! If you were an ant, your heart would burn for Jesus even hotter!
I don't know that an ant can take all that in, at once, with their weird vision-- but I am awed by a lot of it! And my education only contributes to my awe-- I have a good idea what it took to form all that...
Dean , by definition, God is outside of nature and thus beyond our understanding. No one can prove God exists and no one can prove it doesn't. And nothing can ever change that.
That's just your definition. What about all these definitions?
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/humanistplus/2017/07/20-options-god-find/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Nonreligious&utm_content=44
The Supreme Being must exist outside of nature.
If you want to define God as something less than the Supreme Being, that is your concern.
Must exist? Seriously? How about the equally valid conclusion that it must not exist, outside of nature, inside of nature, or integral to nature itself?
I deny the existence of any kind of supreme being whatsoever. To me the very idea does not even rise to the level of being taken seriously.
"I deny the existence of any kind of supreme being whatsoever."
Tell that to Klaatu when he arrives.
I'm not worried. I know what to say: Klaatu barada nikto
Very good. Now Gort will not harm you.
I could take Gort in 3 out of 4 falls (in my dreams)!
LOL. Only if you can get past its disintegrator ray.
Gort never struck me as being really fast. I mean after he blasted the first few people and things the others just sort of stayed in place waiting to get disintegrated too. No one really ducked or ran. I'll bet I could run around him faster then he could turn and get me.
It's inconceivable to me that anyone would believe in a creator without any proof. Man created the creator and it does not exist outside of his imagination.
Right!
And who created Man?
I'll agree that no one knows with certainty and that "faith" implies room for doubt … but until humanity can create a simple one-celled, functional organism from scratch … at least have an open mind …
And by the way, if such an organism is ever created from scratch by a human being …
… we should ask "where'd that scratch come from?"
Who created the thing that created man? We can do that all day.
This falls outside of my field of expertise that's why I linked and rely on the advice of those more knowledgeable in this field than myself like Stephen Hawking.
How fortunate I am that the concept of the Geologic Time Scale is within my area of expertise!
Not that I could even mention it when I did my student teaching...
It's inconceivable to me that anyone would believe in a creator without any proof. Man created the creator and it does not exist outside of his imagination.
I'll be damned! We agree!
Other questions to ask:
1) How do you explain that South America fits into Africa, like a piece of a puzzle?
2) Can you explain the existence of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
3) How do you account for the fact that there are NO human bones found in the rocks that contain dinosaur bones?
4) Conversely, how do you account for the fact that above the iridium layer, there are no dinosaur bones, other than turtles and crocodiles, etc.?
5) What is a day, to God?
6) Why is the ocean so salty?
7) How do you explain that modern day birds have many skeletal similarities with some dinosaurs?
8) How do you account for fossilized sea shells located at the top of many large mountains, including the Himalayas?
9) How do you account for the fact that many of these rocks have the same composition and depositional environment as those found in South Africa and South America?
and on and on and on...
Goddidit.
My POSTMAN came to my door and delivered unto me a creationist lecture, just because I got a certified letter from the KY Geological Survey. I complained, and haven't seen him since. See? God is good...
Great questions!
Young earth answers:
1) How do you explain that South America fits into Africa, like a piece of a puzzle?
God is creative like that.
2) Can you explain the existence of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
God made it by pinching his fingers.
3) How do you account for the fact that there are NO human bones found in the rocks that contain dinosaur bones?
Humans are more careful than dinosaurs.
4) Conversely, how do you account for the fact that above the iridium layer, there are no dinosaur bones, other than turtles and crocodiles, etc.?
You're digging in the wrong place.
5) What is a day, to God?
24 hours. He's really, really, really old.
6) Why is the ocean so salty?
Why are you so salty?
7) How do you explain that modern day birds have many skeletal similarities with some dinosaurs?
The Lord made dinosaurs in all sizes.
8) How do you account for fossilized sea shells located at the top of many large mountains, including the Himalayas?
The Great Flood, duuhhh.
9) How do you account for the fact that many of these rocks have the same composition and depositional environment as those found in South Africa and South America?
God has reallly long arms. They reach across oceans.
And my belly button came from when God was done making me he pulled all of my skin together there and tied it in a knot. I know it's true because that's what my mommy told me!
I bet that hurt...
I bet that hurt...
Not as much as the circumcision I bet...but I don't remember it either! Whew!
LOL, Hal! Love you!
"Hey, Dudes! What's this?"
It's a trilobite. When I was a kid I used to go chipping away at the rocky exposed side of the Niagara Escarpment, which was within walking distance of my home, gathering samples of them.
Trilobites are some of my favorite fossils! They're just so neat! However, I am glad that I didn't have a living one on me...
I'm not sure what kind of discussion can be squeezed out of this topic on this site. I think there are only one or two creationists here, and they probably won't be responding.
That's fine, John. I don't live by page views and comments. I was celebrating the news! Here in KY, I sometimes feel to be in the damned minority, because I believe in evolution. So, YAY, not everyone is buying the illogical creationist theory!
Photo
The Geoscience Research Institute announced on June 5, 2017, that the film "Is Genesis History?" is available on Netflix.
On February 23, "Is Genesis History? " was listed as the most attended movie in United States theaters, with more than 143,000 people attending the showings of the creation film. The film had encore showings in the U.S., as well as a debut in Canada.
[Click here to read article about theater showing.]
"Is Genesis History?" is a well-produced introduction to current science from a biblical perspective. It features multiple Ph.D. scholars in disciplines ranging from geology to marine biology. One featured scientist is Arthur V. Chadwick, research professor of biology at Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas. In addition, an expert in Hebrew explains the original language of Genesis and details why it is a narrative rather than poetry. An archaeologist also reveals some of the archaeological evidence consistent with the Genesis record of history.
One might ask: How can such a scholarly film possibly attract so many viewers? Maybe to actually understand the breadth of scholarship supporting the historicity Genesis. That would be noble, but most viewers will likely be drawn in by the engaging host — Dell Tacket of Focus on the Family — and the beautiful cinematography and incredible shooting locations.
This is a film with everything from dinosaurs to sharks, the Grand Canyon and stars. And it’s about things that are true and beautiful! The editing is fast-paced, the material fascinating. Anyone curious about how the Genesis record of history stacks up against the science and other scholarship has an hour and forty-four minutes of fascinating enjoyment ahead of them now that "Is Genesis History? " is available on Netflix.
— This article was distributed as a news release by the Geoscience Research Institute.
Dear Friend Dowser, and All Other Good Friends Commenting On This Topic: What I am posting may very well be off topic. If so, feel free to delete it for cause.
The topic is popularity of creationism in general society. A lot of this article and its comments address those fundamentalist Christians who take every word of Scripture literally.
I am proudly Orthodox Jewish. I wish fundamentalist Christians, fundamentalists in every religion and spiritual approach to life, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, as I wish all who embrace any humanitarian values and pathways to navigate this life the very best in their journeys.
I wish to share the mainstream of Judaism's view on two aspects of this interchange of ideas. If that makes this an off topic post, please do delete it for cause. It will not hurt my feelings.
I share this only to show that there are many ways to view the same item, each with their own hills and valleys.
I present the central core of my heritage on two aspects this topic because of the diversity of view points. No one should ever change what they are doing because I or anyone else here or someplace else writes about an idea.
There are more than 10,000 Non-Jewish religions and spiritual approaches presently being practiced on this good green earth. There are as many non-religious lifestyles and ideologies.
Diversity is also part of the Divine plan. Diversity of perspective is as good for humanity as is bio diversity for survival of a genus and species. As things change, those who adapt have a future. Others go extinct. Good on diversity, and those who practice it.
I merely share what we in Mainstream Judaism opine so to show that there are more than two options here. There are those who deny science as they perceive it to be in conflict with religion. There are those who deny religion by raising working hypotheses from science to put down religion. There is at least more than a third option here.
See the seminal work of Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, Maimonides, The Rambam. It is Morey Ha Nebucchim (Guide for the Perplexed).
We need not choose one over the other. We can used both, each in their own good time. As it is written in Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, There is a time for this and a time for that. A time for every purpose under heaven.
The initial concern I want to address is the idea that the chronological approach to Creation is temporally the same in all universal human discourse. Namely that if any evidence exists from any science that this world is more than 6,000 or so years of age, that disproves either of the two non identical creation accounts given in Beresheet (Genesis).
Our good friend Dowser raised the question of what does the term "day" mean to G-d? Is it the same as a 24 hour time frame to us here and now? That will be the second time I address here.
Time is not viewed in Scriptural as it is today. Even today there are a number of religious calendars bearing different dates. The year on the Jewish, Mayan, Christian, Muslim, Chinese and other calendars is not the same. The point at which these different ways to track time is not identical. There are religious, cultural and other considerations which focus on various beginning points.
In Judaism, the first sentence in the first paragraph on the first page of Scripture reads thusly. "Bareysheet barah Elohim, vee et ha shamayim vee et ha aretz". "In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth".
Rashi, a great Scriptural commentator asks the following question. "Why is the word "Beraysheet" (In the beginning) used, and not the words "Bah Rishon" (at first)? His answer is that this is not the first creation. To the Biblical mind, calculation of dates begins from time to time based on sufficiently significant events to merit re-setting the clock and starting over again.
Think of it as re-booting a computer when screen freeze occurs. Following the great flood of Noah would be a good example of a re-boot.
Another example is the Yitzeat Mitzayim (Exodus from Slavery in Goshen (Egypt).
In both cases the history of Jewish People takes on a whole new direction, post flood, and entry into the land of milk and honey (Israel).
In Sefer D' Reb Uuloozu (Book of Rabbi Alonzo - another Scriptural commentary) this Rabbi speaks of multiple creation points along the time line of the universe. The question is not how many years since the dawn of time. Rather it is whose perspective is to be used in fixing an initial point, if any exists, in calculating this.
Is a reductionist epistemological model of physicality (Science) is be used? To do this, are we assuming what we are trying to prove? Why the circular reasoning? Where would that get us? Read Alfred North Whitehead, "Religion in the Making". The most interesting thing to note of any system or methodology of thought are its first principles. They must be accepted on faith, or nothing can proceeds. For those very fluent in Hebrew, read any of the works on this topic by the late professor Nathan Rotenstreich. Be prepared for high level ontology and epistemology.
Is it to be a broader metaphysical one like for example a religious view? If so, which religion, movement, denomination, congregation, etc? For whom, and why?
This is all a matter of context.
Those who use material from one view point to prove or disprove another make a category mistake.
Do you fine or penalize a hockey player for not following basketball rules? Why, they are all sports, are they not?
Yes they are.
When playing hockey, stay on the ice. Don't use a back board. Refrain from dribbling the puck. Category errors.
Same thing here.
Context is all important to clear effective communication.
There is no more reason to deny any working hypothesis in science until a better one comes along for purposes of science than it is to deny the value of and meaning provided by the humanities in metaphysical endeavors, using the meta language, and employing the tools that go beyond the physical part of life.
In Judaism we live by the eternal,. immutable, perfect and self fulfilling laws of the G-d of Israel. Other religious, spiritual and humanitarian approaches have their tools.
Use what best works for you.
In the great American tradition of pragmatism, when dong things with which science works best. use them.
Where science fails and cannot succeed, go with either religion and/or the humanities.
The two sets of classes of activities do not address the same challenges and opportunities. There is no conflict when each is used for what they do best.
As a Chaplin who spent decades providing Pastoral end of life care I was rarely brought in when medicine was the best hope. When it had run its useful course, and nothing more could be done, that is when they bring me and those like me to the fore. What is important in life is almost never an either/or choice. Stick with what works best in each circumstance.
Now back to the great question our good friend Dowser previously asked. Is time the same to G-d as it is to you and I?
I recall in a hospice and palliative care unit room. a woman had just passed while her immediate and extended family, Church Pastor and I were there with her at her time of transition from this to the next life.
Her oldest son asked his Minister what age will his just departed mother be in the after life?
The Pastor asked me if I wanted to handle this one.
I asked all to imagine they are on a tar mat at an airport on an airplane. It is poised to take off. It awaits clearance from the control tower.
All the runway it has just traveled is behind it. That is the past. Where it is now is the present. The balance of the runway, what it will speed over as it takes off the future. This is how time looks to us. past, present future.
That is our context.
Now imagine being ready to land. The aircraft descends through the cloud cover. Through the windows passengers can see the runway upon which the plane will set down. They see the runway in its entirety.
They see if begin all its length and its end. They also see what comes before and after the it. They see all the buildings and roadways. They view what is before and after the airport.
That is a very different vantage point and context.
For this recently departed Lady the question of her age no longer is relevant. Her spirit was now free of the fetters of past, present and future was we know they. She was liberated from a failing body. Her spirit liberated to soar as high fast and far as she so wishes. As what a spirit this lovely woman had. She lives as a daughter, mother and grandmother, among other very important roles in this life. Space and time do not mean the same to her now as did they when she was bound to this early plane of existence. Do the words of the Late great Rev. Martin Luther King now resound here? "Free at last, free at last. Thank G-d Almighty. free at last".
What is duration of a day to G-d? 25 hours? Category mistake!
Time and space are relational focus points. They are part of the creation.
G-d comes before and will remain after this creation has run its course.
Most probably our planet and surrounds will be absorbed by the Sirious one. So opine many astronomers.
A day to G-d is not at all the same as to us in our level of being. Neither should it be.
Context.
Use what works best for you.
Don't concern yourself with what others do in their own lives and communities.
As long as they do not impose or disrespect you, live and let live.
Never be a door mat. Refrain from having a chip on the shoulder.
We all get along better when we get along.
Peace, Abundant Blessings, Finding What Is Best For You. Then Using It for the Greater Good.
Enoch, Measuring Time with A Watch that Takes a Licking, and Keeps on Ticking.
Wonderful posting, dear Enoch! It's all relative...
Dear Friend Dowser: It is all relative.
Just like our families.
Smiles.
Enoch.
Thank you, dear Enoch!
Time and space are relational focus points. They are part of the creation.
This is like that movie "interstellar"-- which I don't understand, and probably never will... However, I like the fact that we don't have all the answers!
Dear Raven Wing--
You left a great comment, but I can't find it, so please consider this a vote up!!