>You might also add the large number of people that may have an open mind on
>the matter. I think that many people's belief in YEC is rather soft -- they
>believe it because they don't know of an alternative that also takes a high
>view of Scripture (I have personal experience on this matter). They are
>also very ignorant of the weakness of the YEC's attacks on evolutionary
>science. For instance, people all the time tell me, "there aren't any
>transitional fossils" or they have believed unjustified (and often
>dishonest) attacks on radiometric dating.
I fully agree here. I think what the YEC's REALLY want is a view of the
Bible which retains its historicity. I am a former YEC having published
numerous things in the CRSQ and having ghost written the evolution section
for Josh McDowell's _Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity_.
It is for the reasons you outline that I really am excited about the book of
mine which was reviewed this month in Perspectives by Bill Hamilton. I offer
the YECs an absolutely historical scripture in all the doctrines they claim
are important. But I also accept all of modern science. I have seen several
YEC's change their mind about the issues and that has been very satisfying.
>
>Far too many people seem to believe that there *must*, at the end of the
>game, remain *some* part of the Creation process that we will *never* be
>able to explain. At its basis, this is "God of the gaps" thinking.
There is also the tendency to wait for the future to bring us solutions to
the problems we have today. I will guarantee you that in the year 20,567
A.D. some people will still be saying, "Yeah I know we have problems but in
the future we will find the answers which give us a young earth and global
flood.
glenn