Re: [asa] dialog with YEC brethern

This topic makes my head spin just a bit. =20

On the one hand I know, from 25 years as a research geophysicist in
the =
oil industry, with as much certainty as one can have about a
scientific =
fact, that Earth is much older than, say, 1 000 000 years. So I'm =
strongly tempted not to give YEC the time of day and dismiss it =
contemptuously as crap. =20

On the other hand long ago I was a YEC myself, and at that time I
would =
have instantly and forcefully rejected anyone who said the world was =
older than 50 000 years. My faith, weak as it was, depended on a =
literal interpretation of Genesis. That interpretation outweighed any =
imaginable array of evidence to the contrary. Talk about closed-
minded! =
=20

(My eventual, gradual transition out of YEC occurred in a neutral =
environment--US Army--where there was no pressure one way or the other =
on this matter.) =20

So a major issue is how to get past the closed minds. Ted's approach =
(below) is probably as good as one can do. I think most YECs are =
nowhere near as closed as I was, and under favorable circumstances
many =
are even willing to listen. I'd say that any YEC who ventures to this =
forum, knowing that it's dominated by people who accept the findings
of =
science, is likely to be at least a bit willing to listen. --Unless =
he's the type who intends to convert us back to YEC. =20

So a bit reluctantly I also agree with Iain that it's important to
treat =
YECs who venture here with politeness and respect. Harsh treatment is =
likely only to make them reject everything we say and retreat back
into =
their shell. Gentle treatment shouldn't apply, however, to anyone =
generating YEC propaganda based on blatantly false science. =20

Don

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Received on Sat Sep 9 13:46:29 2006