>I resently saw a children's video that was made by a famous American
>minister, who I will not name, that was endeavoring to "teach" children
>about the "errors" of evolution. He leaned very heavily on the bogus
>"dust on the moon" argument as if it was the creationist ace-trump. As
>a Christian, I can say very forthrightly that this kind of tactic is
>wholly repugnant to me. This is not the kind of thing to teach a child
>and pass if off as science.
This I believe underlines one of the reasons for the persistence of
young-earth creationism among some Christians: many of the evangelists of
young-earth creationism are also respected Christian teachers. They teach
Sunday School, they preach, they teach theology, and many Christians rely
on their teaching. To challenge their pronouncements on origins would be
very uncomfortable for many Christians, because it might also seem to
challenge their Christian teaching.
>
>There is, however, a mistake that Naturalistic Materialists make that is
>equally repugnant: the tendency to paint all creationist views into the
>one held by the minister on the video I mentioned--that shared by Morris
>and Gish. It is becoming increasingly clear that the YEC view has begun
>to die, albeit slowly, and will probably eventually be scrapped by most
>Christians. Non-creationists should recognize this shift and its
>implications.
I see a tendency to back off from young-earth creationism among the
Christians I know. At the least, people are beginning to recognize that
this battle will go on for a long time -- during which time it will keep
those Christians who participate in it over much from attending to some
basic Christian responsibilities: preaching the gospel, caring for the
sick, visiting those in jail, helping the poor,...
Furthermore, I think there is some realization that we shouldn't be setting
up straw men which if knocked over would demonstrate the falsity of
Christianity. Of course there _are_ some facts that would falsify
Christianity: for example if someone could show that Jesus Christ didn't
rise from the dead. But to imply that if evolution is true, Christianity
can't be is to set up a criterion for the truth of Christianity that isn't
supported clearly (many of us would say isn't supported at all) by
Scripture.
Bill Hamilton
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William E. Hamilton, Jr, Ph.D. | Staff Research Engineer
Chassis and Vehicle Systems | General Motors R&D Center | Warren, MI
William_E._Hamilton@notes.gmr.com
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX) | whamilto@mich.com (home email)