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Originally Posted by eMTee What makes creation so difficult, that one has so much trouble believing it? |
On the contrary, Creationism is *much* easier to believe. That's because all that's asked of you is to just believe it. You do not have to question it. The only source is the Bible and what your preacher says. What's hard about that?
On the other hand, Evolution is hard to believe in: you have to think, you have to question, you have to do research, you have to look at the pieces and
decide for yourself if its actually the best explanation for everything that you see. Here's just a few things you run into:
Age of the Earth: Creationism: Have a hard time dealing with what 4.5 Billion (with a B) even means? No problem, just listen to your preacher, he'll tell you that its only 6,445 years old and he can show you in the Bible where it shows exactly who was whose great-great-great grandfather and how they were related to Noah.
Evolution: How can you tell its 4.5 Billion years old? Listen to your science teacher explain how carbon dating works, how geographic strategraphy works, how the cosmos is 13-odd billion years old, how solar systems form, why there are "great walls" in the distribution of galaxies, etc. etc. etc.
Evolution of Species: Creationism: God in his infinite wisdom created each creature whole as it is today, and man is created in God's own image. That's why he cares so much about us and makes sure that people who do bad things to us have bad things happen to them in the end. No need to learn about this, its right there in the Bible and the preacher will tell you about it if you can't get through those thees and thous and begats.
Evolution: You need to learn about protiens and enzymes and DNA and all the forms of life and how the show a continuum of complexity in evolving toward higher forms of life. You need to learn about how the fossil record shows evidence of how this works and how the gaps in the fossil record show both continuity as well as punctuated equillibrium.
Social Policy: (okay, its not Creationism, but its relevant)
Creationism: The Bible says what the laws should be (not withstanding the first amendment to the constitution) and the ten commandments should be the law of the land. The Bible says homosexuality is bad so there should be laws against that too. If the Bible is unclear, the preacher will clear it up for you. Vote Republican.
Evolution: What is the nature of right and wrong? What should we do if a good man like Billy Budd kills another man by accident? What should we do about homosexuals? Are they different than other minorities? What rights should they have? Should abortion be illegal? Should contraceptives be illegal? Should auto-eroticism be illegal? All prevent procreation which many people think is immoral. If someone has been in a persistent vegitative state for 15 years, but never signed a living will, should they be allowed to die as requested by their closest relative or should the state force those individuals to vegetate forever with life support?
I'd say its MUCH harder to come to the conclusion that Evolution is more correct than Creationism. It demands that you think. In my travels I've found people do care, they're mostly basically good, are compassionate of their fellow man (although its easier to like your neighbors than the faceless people in the other valley who may threaten your existence because they're different and you're competing for resources) they're smarter than they think they are. But they're mostly just trying to stay alive, put food on the table, and it would be really nice to think that this hard stuff was something that 1) someone else would just take care of and 2) that someone else would come back with the good news that its really all just fine as long as you agree with them and do what they say.
What's most difficult of all with all the polarization created by the religious extremists who insist that anyone who does not agree with them are "godless humanists" and their all going to hell after Armageddon, is to believe in God AND subscribe to Evolution.
Cheers,
Buffy
