Creationists and evolutionists have been gathering across all 50 states in the days leading up to Charles Darwin’s birthday to examine and debate the compatibility of science and religion.
“The goal of Evolution Weekend is to demonstrate that those outspoken fundamentalists who assert that people have to choose between religion and science are not speaking for the majority of religious leaders and religious persons,” said the Rev. Charles Ortman last week to his congregation in Montclair, N.J.
For two years now, educators and members of the clergy have been working together to bridge the gap between science and religion by organizing an annual teach-in, timed to coincide with the Feb. 12 anniversary of Darwin's birth. The event, which began in 2006 as Evolution Sunday, was the product of the 2004 Clergy Letter Project – an open letter organized by biologist and college dean Michael Zimmerman after a Wisconsin school board aimed to pass anti-evolution measures.
The letter, challenging what Zimmerman calls “biblical literalism,” states: “We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests.”
As of December 2007, over 11,000 American clergy have signed the Clergy Letter Project, and some clergy like Ortman of Montclair, have glowingly spoken of the annual pro-evolution event, which this year has been changed to Evolution Weekend "in an attempt to be more welcoming to members of all religions."
“Science can help us understand questions about religion, just as religion can answer questions about science,” Ortman said last week.
Not all clergy, however, view Evolution Weekend as a celebration.
The Rev. Clenard Childress, pastor of The New Calvary Baptist Deliverance Outreach Church, is among many who have called evolution a “farce.”
“The only credible theory of how the world began is in the first two chapters of Genesis. The Bible and science agree,” he stated.
Rob Crowther of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, the nation's leading think tank on the concept of intelligent design, has also been a critic of Evolution Weekend and The Clergy Letter Project.
“Can you imagine if the Discovery Institute issued a list of clergy opposing Darwinism? We don’t think there is anything religious at all to the theory of intelligent design,” he stated in a 2006 interview, referring to the idea that the creation of life and the universe are results of an intelligent “designer” and not by chance as evolution theory suggests.
More recently, Ken Ham, evolution critic and President of Answers in Genesis USA, opened a 60,000 square-foot museum that features the Bible’s literal account of Creation as aligned with natural history.
The Creation Museum, located in Petersburg, Ky., just outside of Cincinnati, has attracted over 300,000 visitors since its opening in May and is packed with high-tech exhibits that include animatronic dinosaurs and a huge wooden ark. The museum’s founder, like many other Young Earth creationists, believes dinosaurs appeared on the same day God created other land animals.
“The argument we make is this: When you believe in millions of years of evolution and add it to the Bible, you actually have to change what the Bible clearly says,” explained Ham in a past interview with The Christian Post. “You have to reinterpret it. That unlocks the door to say that you don’t take this as written. You reinterpret it from outside influences, which means that you tell the next generation that you can’t take the Bible as written. So you just undermine biblical authority.”
In November, Ham also co-wrote the book "Darwin's Plantation: Evolution's Racist Roots” with Charles Ware, president of Crossroads Bible College in Indianapolis.
The book argues that Darwin’s ideas of natural selection places some "higher on the evolutionary scale" and others "closer to the apes," and are ideas that were precursors to the policies of Hitler and Stalin’s murderous regimes.
"Although racism did not begin with Darwinism, Darwin did more than any person to popularize it," Ham writes in his book.
According to a November 2007 Harris poll, more Americans (62 percent) believe in a literal hell and the devil than in Darwin’s theory of evolution (42 percent).
Christians, however, were far from a homogenous group and a break-up of respondents based on Christian traditions showed discrepancies in their level of belief.
Only 16 percent of born-again Christians said they believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution compared to 43 percent of Catholics and 30 percent of Protestants.
Comments
something else: a scientific dissent from darwinism.
check this out: http://www.discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/100ScientistsAd.pdf
and if you really search for truth, Lee Strobels series on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw-_rDZ76Z0&feature=related
"...these are seperate theories all together. "
Big Bang explains its believers where the material came from that is supposed to be evoluted afterwards. To me this relation is quite clear, even though the theories don´t match, they have a common ground. No God needed, or allowed.
I can only repeat myself, why do you fight here for your thoughts?
What is it that drives you, engaging for this topic? Educating stupid Christians? There is no hope, I fear. All of these EvoBanging-Theories lack of proof. There is much to much lying and false or half information around it. But clear minded I can only reject all these theories.
Again, if I am wrong, who cares, but if you are you lose life.
Hey maybe you want to check out this christian research page. Take some of the information and check it with non believing information.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/does-c14-disprove-the-bible
Do you know Ravi Zacharias? Check him and his teachings as well. A brilliand mind.
You owe this to yourself.
"All comes together the question where all came from (big bang) and the question how we got it this way today and where this all will go - how can someone seperate these questions?"
The big bang explains the expanding of our universe and as such falls into the realm of Cosmolgoy, while evolution with only deals with biological living systems falls into mostly biology, genetics, paleontology. these are seperate theories all together.
I made a stupid mistake, by really thinking my words would apply to a change in someones thinking. Would make a change in someone opening his eyes to see what is right before one eyes. I neglected that this discussion is going for years and years now and will ever go on untill that day we all will know.
Especially when talking about the origin of the bible and just taking the predictions pointing towards Jesus and Jerusalem, I find it overwelming that it is true.
When looking at all Creation on this planet, this huge amount of diversity, the accuracy things run and the fact that human kind is about to ruin it all - besides the nature itself that runs out of time - I can not believe how someone sees truth in things evoluting.
All comes together the question where all came from (big bang) and the question how we got it this way today and where this all will go - how can someone seperate these questions?
This is all just trying to deny the God of the bible, also a thing that was predicted more then 2000 Years ago.
The bible says about itself to be foolish to the non believer and life for the believer so my words wont make a change, only God can make this change.
To me the Bible is 100 % accurate and becomes more and more true to me dayly, the more I ask for God the more I get into things. Even though there are plenty of things I don´t understand and can not explain.
Ever heard of expelledthemovie.com? It´s not only christians questioning...also some "blind" non believing cientists...
“I´m interested in sites for C14 and other methods, that show that these methods can reach far behind 4-5000 years.“
Got to Wikipedia, or the Online Brittanica. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dating
“If first is true, I don´t care about the second. If second is true, I don´t care about first, because this would say the bible lies.”
Well, hate to break it to you, but the bible is hardly 100% accurate with regards to what Science shows, so perhaps you should be more apologetic in that regard and consider from whence the bible came from (3000 YO) and over how many centuries it was written, re-written, edited and compiled before assuming such things. The science we have describes how the universe has expanded (big bang) and how life changes over time (evolution). These are two totally different realms of science entirely and don’t negate the concept of god at all.
"The "proof" that is there is missinterpretated. This is what I strongly believe. God made creature, each of it´s kind. And they did develop and change, yes. But now creature chenged it´s kind. There is no proof. "
Well, like i said consider whece the bible came from and who wrote it and why before assumiing it's some defacto word of imutable truth.
"Why they died out, even though there is a Creator?
Because this earth is just a slight shadow of what is was like when God made it."
Nice rationalization. First you argue all living things are intelligently designed and when I point out how 99% of them are dead you appeal to some notion of a 'fallen world' from your religion.
"From icr.org - Institute for Creation Research "
Oh great. ICR, AIG, Dr. Dino (kent hovind) and the like, oddly enough NONE of them publish any of their work under scientific peer review and yet many of you so easily lap up their work.
Two more things I found for the willing reader.
From icr.org - Institute for Creation Research
There are so many strong and clear evidences of the perfect and unique truth of Christianity that those who remain skeptical were said by the great Apostle Peter to be "willingly ignorant" (II Peter 3:5), and by the Apostle Paul to be "without excuse" (Romans 1:20). The great king David concluded that only "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 53:1), and wise king Solomon asserted that, "The fear of the Lord" is the very "beginning of knowledge" and "wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10).
In adition to these claims of the bible you can get deeper into things with this article, from the same source:
http://www.icr.org/home/resources/resources_tracts_scientificcaseagainstevolution/
There´s nothing more I can say to that and no doubt left in my head, Jesus is the way and the truth.
I don´t have that many videos, but this is an interesting one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr6uvUNJLww
Thanks for this big answer agent.
I´m interested in sites for C14 and other methods, that show that these methods can reach far behind 4-5000 years. Obviously ou know more then any scientist I´ve herad before.
I will also check the vids you gave me.
To me evo and big bang relates a lot. If first is true, I don´t care about the second. If second is true, I don´t care about first, because this would say the bible lies.
The bible reveals itself to me to be true. How it was put together, how loads of prediction got fullfilled, especially about Jesus Christ our Saviour and last becasue God reveals himself to the seeker personally as he did to me.
So the only answer I can give is, there are two believe systrems that collide and only one can be true. There can me no mixture, absolutely impossible, for God does not lie.
I´m no educated scientist and I guess you are the same, sorry if I discredit you in this.
The "proof" that is there is missinterpretated. This is what I strongly believe. God made creature, each of it´s kind. And they did develop and change, yes. But now creature chenged it´s kind. There is no proof. They take the proof out of fossiles of creatures they don´t have today and say look here are the gap fillings.
Why they died out, even though there is a Creator?
Because this earth is just a slight shadow of what is was like when God made it.
We destroy it dayly and He will fullfill this destruction totally and rebuild it all perfectly for eternity for those who love and trust him.
This is my believe system and I know, that I don´t represent the majority.
You can mail me more infos about the obove mentioned topics if you like, prodriver[at]email.de - thx in advance
prodriver,
"All Evo-Theorie is based on 1 thing that cause the so called "big bang" and if you want to take that away now, go ahead.”
Noooo. Evolutionary theory only deals with living organics, biologically systems. While the Big Bang is a theory explaining only the evidence that demonstrates the expansion of the our Universe. Two totoally unrelated realms of sciene and both have their own evidence for themselves and will succed or fail based on said evidence. One deals strictly with biology, while the other only deals with cosmology, how hard is that to comprehend?
Science is anything that can be physically tested, using hypothesis based on evidence and using confirming evidence to conform to a given theory. (see Scientific Method) So how does Evolution not work in an evidence based manner?
“C14 can not be used correctly after a period of time longer than approx 4-5000 years, this is fact.”
Actually carbon dating (C-14) is accurate up to about 55,000 years, (however a newer version of Carbon dating will raise that to 75,000 years shortly) however it alone is not precise and is best used alongside other radio metric dating methods. We have nearly 4 dozen dating methods for dating material, so carbon dating is hardly the only method. I will site my claims if you'd like and I would expect you to do the same for yours.
“What was there before anything was able to evolute? Where did it come from?”
Well evolution only deals with life changing over time, it doesn’t deal with origins of life, nor does it deal with the origins of the universe. No wonder you don’t understand it. Where did it come from…well ultimately all matter, it all came from the same source post Big bang.
“EVERYTHING points to a desingner. It simply doesn´t many any senSe why there is this diversity of creatures in this world, knowing that most of creature already died out.”
Ok, well then explain why some 99% of all species have gone extinct, to me that’s not intelligent design at all. When 99% of all the things one could make fail, that’s not proof of any designer that's proof of ineptness. You do realize in Dover in 2005 ID was deemed not a Science right?
Try me, what do you find so hard to understand regarding evolution?
Here are only 2 pieces of evidence out of millions that support evolution. It will help if you have a basic understanding in biology to comprehend these vids, alas educate yourself.
Evidence of Common Ancestry: ERVs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=De-OkzTUDVA
Evidence of Common Ancestry: human Chromosome 2 fusion
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-WAHpC0Ah0
Ken Miller on Human Evolution as it relates to the Dover trilal.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zi8FfMBYCkk
I have posted many other links on evidence for evolution on this thread, feel free to go back a page or pages and refer to them and then try to tell me no evidence for evolution exists.
my friend, thanks for the english lesson for free. Well there is life for free, sponsord by Jesus Christ, but I guess you don´t accept that as much as I did your lesson...
All Evo-Theorie is based on 1 thing that cause the so called "big bang" and if you want to take that away now, go ahead.
Sience is what you can see, reproduce and examine. Evolution doesn´t belong to that.
C14 can not be used correctly after a period of time longer than approx 4-5000 years, this is fact.
What was there before anything was able to evolute? Where did it come from?
EVERYTHING points to a desingner. It simply doesn´t many any senSe why there is this diversity of creatures in this world, knowing that most of creature already died out.
Believe what you want - to me it is obvious that true scientific evidence is interpreted falsely when you conclude to evolution. But this is just me
"All the rest of evolution doesn´t make any sence to me. "
Like what? fyi , it's sense, not sence.
"All material erose from nothing."
Where in Evolutionary theory is this uses? Nowhere! Besides, it sounds like you're getting the origins of the universe confused with evolution, which are after all 2 totally different realms of science.
"All this diversity came from 1 non existing thing."
Uh, no. Scientists actaully have evidence for a YUCA that existed some 3.85 billion years ago. so that firt life form was certainly existing.
Yes you are right. This is what I believe. Well there are others that believe different and I can stand that, but the bible that is truth to me says abput 6000 years.
All the rest of evolution doesn´t make any sence to me.
All material erose from nothing. All this diversity came from 1 non existing thing.
Evolutionists explain everything with time - Creationists explain everything with God - and my brain says the God story is the only reasonable to find.
But I can live with you believing different.
prodriver,
WHY can't the age be true? what...let me guess, you think the earth/universe are only 6000 years young right?
"He is 1.6 million years old..." well, this can hardly be true but even here on Christianpost we are already told this stuff.