The subject of Creationism and the people who believe that the world is only 5 or 6 thousand years old just came up on the blog's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/watmab for those of you haven't been there yet) and it got me thinking again about my personal take on the matter. Strict Creationism to me is intellectually lazy and really, when you think about it, it is actually an insult to God and God's infinite power if that is what you believe. I'm not going to go into my exact beliefs here because they are open to change and more complicated than what I want to explain at the moment. However, let us look at those people who believe in Young Earth Creationism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism), those are the most flawed of all.
I remember growing up and being told that's how the world was made and if you thought otherwise, you were basically a God-hating liberal who had been brainwashed by Hillary Clinton and her army of librarians. Yes, libraries were the enemy because they held information which might cause you to question what you had been taught and library cards for kids was part of their secret plan. Kids having access to books without direct parental censorship, that was the goal. Anyhow, back on topic.
YEC (Young Earth Creationism) is really lazy and while I know some otherwise smart and successful people, they hang on to this belief and I don't know exactly why. I have a friend who is one of the seemingly most intelligent, driven and professional people you'll ever meet but he will really get offended and testy if you start talking about evolution, dinosaurs and such. To me, YEC as well as an outright rejection of evolution is putting God in a box. I do not understand how people can state that God is infinitely powerful but then turn around and claim there is no way the world could be 5 billion years old. At the same time, I kind of get why they do it and that's because it's easier for them that way. If that's what you were taught in church growing up and you were sheltered from science and such, it is easier intellectually to just stick with that rather than think deep and hard about how truly insignificant we are in the grand scheme of the universe.
At the same time, if you are one of those people who believe that God is involved with every bit of your day to day life, it would be really mind-blowing that in the massive landscape of space and time, God would be so powerful, and one heck of a multi-tasker, to watch you and the billions of others on this Earth.
So really my point is that accepting the theories of evolution and that the Earth is not a rejection of God's power, it's actually an acceptance and giving God far more credit for being omnipotent. Think about it like that.
danged liberals and their libraries and their liberally-biased learnin's...
ReplyDeletei know *exactly* what you mean..
Great commentary on a taboo topic. I, also, write about such things.
ReplyDeleteWell put!
ReplyDelete"Yes, libraries were the enemy because they held information which might cause you to question what you had been taught and library cards for kids was part of their secret plan." As a student that works in a library... don't be hatin' us (not directed at the author, but at those the author alludes to)! Libraries are treasure troves of all kinds of knowledge!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment of God in a box or not. I've said similar things in discussions with friends. If there is a god that is indeed as powerful beyond the limitations of human comprehension as the followers claim, then I would have to say that Darwin and others work on the topic of evolution should serve as to only cement said power.
I believe in God, libraries cards for kids (I never knew until just now that some people didn't believe in library cards for kids. Sorry that you had to go through that.), libraries, and "young earth creationism." Did you know that libraries contain books written by people who believe in God and "young earth creationism" and that some of these books explain why believing in an omnipotent God and believing in "young earth creationism" is reasonably compatible?
ReplyDeleteYEC has been proven to be false. You can believe in Creationism but the 5 or 6 thousand year bit, not possible. Carbon 14 dating disproves that theory. There's a difference in believing in something that has no scientific evidence to prove otherwise versus believing in something that has been repeatedly shown to be false. Might as well believe the earth is flat even though we have many, many photos from space to show the opposite.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute...you're telling me that the earth is round??? Show me these Space Photos!!!
ReplyDeleteFor many like myself who have been to libraries the idea of evolution is obvious. I am a student of biology and they go hand in glove. The philosophical beauty of evolution is that it explains the process from the most simple origins to the highest complexity. If God, who would be most complex was already there, then the whole appeal is lost. Do I have to completely redefine God
ReplyDeleteMartin
At times Creationists and Evolutionists resemble the "Blind men and the elephant fable". They have each seized upon pieces of the puzzle but neither has achieved the complete picture. The most parsimonious perspective can be found through a semi-dynamic systems approach. Recent studies of the peppered moth suggest that the classic coloration changes are the result of a single hot-spot in the genome. Such constrained elasticity allows organisms like moths and Tanganyikia Cichlids to rapidly adapt to environmental pressures while still retaining the robust basal genome of the taxonomic family. This type of genomic epilibrium is the secret behind the longevity across the millinia.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think you've hit the attitude dead on. Not only is YEC lazy, adhering to it in the face of all the evidence to the contrary is equally lazy. But perhaps the ultimate in laziness is what we see lately. Hating something because you don't understand it and don't care to expend the energy to try to come to an understanding.
ReplyDelete