Re: [asa] YEC social dynamics

My own experience is different. I came across YEC at L'abri after working as
a geologist, so the vast age of the earth was a given (with absolute
evidence, of course). As I uncovered the falsity of YEC (in a few hours) I
was appalled and I could not and cannot cope with the fact that otherwise
devout Christians can support something which is ultimately dishonest.
Charges that writers like Morris misquote like mad were met with disbelief
and results in polarisation, creating a bad situation.

One thing it has resulted in has been a scepticism of all things
evangelical. Hence I can understand those who as a result question much of
the bible. Fortunately in the 70s YECs were very rare in the UK and no one
at seminary had heard of them, despite it being evangelical. I was also put
onto the whole principle of accommodation etc which was saved me from being
concerned about concordism or literalism, both of which get you in a mess.

I am afraid Randy's experience is repeated time and again and it's getting
worse

Michael.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Randy Isaac" <randyisaac@adelphia.net>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2006 2:36 AM
Subject: [asa] YEC social dynamics

> This ongoing discussion about the various outlandish claims touted and
> believed by AIG and other YEC'ers has led me to wonder more about the
> psychology and group dynamics of the whole business. Back in the 60's
> when I was a YEC, and I presume it is still the case, part of the whole
> paradigm was the "they vs us" perspective. Growing up in an isolated
> Christian community that tended to shun "the world" it was easy to believe
> the story that the world was characterized by Galations 5:19-21. Lying
> was an expected characteristic of "the flesh" and it made sense that the
> world would flaunt an untrue objection to every aspect of the creation
> story. Meanwhile, the "fruit of the Spirit" crowd would never tell a lie.
>
> Hence, every shred of evidence or logical argument presented against
> creationism was surely a lie but well covered up while every argument for
> creationism was surely correct and all objections were evidence of "the
> big lie."
>
> One of the biggest hurdles I faced in turning away from YEC was coming to
> terms with whether such a large cross-section of the "spiritual" folks
> could be so mistaken and could perpetrate such a web of inaccuracies. As
> Burgy points out, "they really do believe it." And they believe it's a
> grand play in the "church" vs "the world" scenario. Scientific evidence
> and logic have little impact in such a worldview.
>
> Forgive the analogy but I couldn't help but see some point of analogy
> while watching the classic movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" this weekend. A
> jury of all white men is not at all swayed by evidence or by logic when
> it's the word of an African-American vs that of a white. Gregory Peck is
> merely a turncoat. Similarly, evidence and logic hold little sway in the
> face of our task of helping the church to stand fast against the world.
> Those of us who claim to find compatibility between the doctrine of
> creation and an old earth, let alone evolution, are simply turncoats and
> can't be trusted.
>
> I rejected YEC intellectually many years before I could reject it
> psychologically and emotionally. Then I had to deal with the emotional
> backlash I felt.
>
> This leaves us with a question of how best to deal with the situation.
> Evidence and logic continue to be important. Some will recognize it and
> be convinced. But it isn't enough to help the ordinary churchgoer believe
> that such a large segment of the church is caught up in a fantastic tale
> of science fiction. What else does it take?
>
> Randy
>
>
> Burgy commented:
>
>> Bob commented on AIG's argument:
>>
>> "Have they no shame?"
>>
>> I think the argument they present, in the context of their worldview, is
>> fairly persuasive. Certainly it appears they believe it. So "shame" is
>> not involved unless you posit that they are being deliberately
>> untruthful. From my discuusions with Morris and Gish and Ham back in 1988
>> that does not appear to be the case. Tey really do believe this crap.
>
>
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Received on Tue Sep 5 12:22:47 2006