Allen Harvey wrote:
> It has been pointed out many times that, as Christians, we should not allow
> heathens like Richard Dawkins to dictate the metaphysical *meaning* of any
> science. As long as so many Christians accept the Dawkins-like theology
> that natural explanations exclude God from the picture (as opposed to a
> Biblical theology that recognizes God's sovereignty over nature), they will
> be forced to oppose evolution with every argument they can muster, be it
> the irrational rantings of Harun Yahya or the somewhat more rational work
> of the Discovery Institute. So much strife, and harm to our witness among
> the scientifically literate, because rather than defending the God of
> healthy Christian theology (ultimately revealed in Christ), Christians are
> defending the God (of the Gaps) that Richard Dawkins doesn't believe in.
>
Some of this may be perceived fear about what children will
think after being confronted with extremist literature.
Of course, many such people _are_ atheists and they often
do seem to use evolution as a platform for their faith. So
the association of evolution (as a doctrine of atheism) is
an easy one to fall into.
Most of this fear is probably imagination and may be more a
reflection of how we see ourselves. Moreover, I suspect that
it is more likely for children to be drawn into cults who
promise the "easy way", rather than to be drawn into atheism.
In that regards, our honesty as Christian believers weighs
more heavily on children's attitudes, and I suspect that
a good portion of those who fall into atheism are the victims
of the false promises (and sometimes out and out fraud) that
has been done on the part of us so-called honest believers
(note that I include my own name in the "us").
It might be fair to demand that public schools (K-12) be free
from "theology" including "a-theology" which is also a kind
of faith. In that way, books that insist upon a particular
position in regard to RELIGION (of which atheism applies)
are strictly out of rule. That goes with the US constitution
on separation of church and state at least.
Note, I am NOT saying "evolution is not to be taught".
I am simply saying that _both_ atheism and theism are
out of rule when taught in the K-12 public schools.
by Grace we proceed,
Wayne
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Oct 20 2001 - 01:50:16 EDT