At 01:07 PM 22/05/02 -0400, Walter Hicks wrote:
>Jan de Koning wrote:
> > The term "evolution" does NOT evoke purposeless. I don't know were you got
> > that idea from. Nothing is purposeless in this world. Everywhere and in
> > every subject, God is involved. Just taking one word out of context to say
> > it is involves purposeless and is therefor against God is very
> > dangerous. It might mean that other words are for God? We know
> > better. We know that none of our works is sinless. I find the searching
> > out one word, and saying it is against God a dangerous business.
> >
> > Personally, I find it extremely dangerous when certain Christians take out
> > one theory and declare it against God and His Christ, and by doing so
> > estrange many students from the Christ of Scriptures. I met several of
> > these when I was still teaching, who were on their way out of the church,
> > and thus out of community with Christ, because somebody told them that they
> > were not Christians if they "believed" in "Evolution." My answer took
> > weeks of talking, but came down to: "Do you believe, that our faithful God
> > is trying to fool us in nature?"
>
>It is often said to me that people "talk past" one another on this list.
>I certainly have to agree with that. I did not make up the notion that
>random mutation plus natural selection was the evolutionary theory. That
>was Darwin's idea, not mine. In talking about the secular world, I like
>to use secular documents. They are ones that are used to teach our
>children in public schools. Here is a quote from an encyclopaedia on the
>web:
It appears to be somewhat ironical, that you are willing to quote
unbelievers when talking about what you call the "secular" world. If you
mean "public schools" say so. My children were sent to Christian schools,
where they learned about evolution as well, but from a Christian point of
view. You show the reason, that every Christian should send their children
to Christian schools. Everything in life is subject to what we believe,
and I strongly believe "All of life is religion." We have to serve God and
His Christ everywhere, in schools and sending our children to schools as
well. So the teaching of "our children in public schools" is
unfortunately true for some Christians, but if you follow Christian
education from elementary school you don't have to be afraid of what they
teach in public schools. On the contrary, you as a parent must arm your
children against the awful influences of secular education.
Another point is that what Darwin said about "evolutionary theory" is
fortunately not the last word. Your
encyclopedia fortunately specifies that the theory of
evolution is Darwin's, not the theory of everybody else. For me it is
somewhat immaterial what an unbeliever says about "evolution" and
Darwin. So I delete it.
>You really do miss my point, Jan. I am trying to say that if the above
>theory is what is taught in schools (and it is), and then Morris and
>other Christians accept that definition, the ball game is lost. The
>correction has to be a scientific one, acceptable for non-Christian
>schools --- not a theological one that cannot be taught in public
>schools. There is adequate scientific reason to do so, but it will
>happen only if we try.
It is not only tried and it has been taught by Christians at secular
universities as well. See my explanations and read the report I quoted
from in the other posting. Some of the things that Christians must live is:
All of life is Religion: No where in life you are not the child of the
Lord and nowhere in life will you find a place where secular thinking has
not infiltrated.
Also, you make it very clear again that a responsible Christian education,
which is scientifically up to date as well, is necessary. I must admit
that much of the education in N.America is too one-sided, but that only
means that more work must be done to establish truly Christian schools,
where they teach and live that nothing of life is excepted fro serving
God. It is not so, that you serve God on Sunday, and serve your secular
boss the rest of the week.
You may be frustrated, but so am I. It is not the first time I say these
things on this forum. If you had wanted to convince me you should have
quoted a believing Christian, teaching biology or geology. I still might
not have agreed, but we might have a better basis for discussion.
Jan de K.
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