Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden vs. Darwin and his apes.
This has been the battle since Darwin went against the
conservative theistic views of the world and looked for a reason
WHY. Darwin wasn't satisfied with the idea that we were made out
of mud. He was not satisfied with the theory of creationism. He
had to discover more. But many people in the world still
believed and still do believe the traditional story of Adam, Eve,
the Serpent and the Apple, or other creation stories of thier
particular religions. Creationist theories should be taught in
schools, specifically high schools, along with evolution.
Evolution is just one theory about how everything got on
this earth. There are many other diverse theories, but that is
what they all are: Theories. None of them can be completely
proven. “The great problem for evolutionists is to prove,
explain, and demonstrate the ‘design and creation’ of complex
biological structures by evolution. . . None of these
requirements for proof of evolution has been accomplished.
Consequently, we are not being ‘unscientific’ by believing in the
God of Creation”(New York Times Editorial 1).
Children who do not receive the various creationist points
of view are missing out. Schools have an obligation to make the
children more productive, open minded, and social members of
society. Because there are still people in the world who do not
believe in evolution, the other theories of creation should be
presented and discussed. That way the children can decide for
themselves, which theory they believe. They can get a more
rounded world-view. They can understand more peoples of the world
and their cultures, and thus become more educated members of
scociety.
Creationism also has place in high school cirriculum because
it can be a very scientific study as well. “Since naturalistic
creationism does not appeal to anyting outside the bounds of
science, it could be a scientific theory,”(Drange 4). Creation
can be studied within the bounds of science becasue it deals with
a question that someone is looking to prove. It deals with
creation, but psychology deals with creativity of the human mind,
and thus creation. Therefore, creation can be studied as a
science for the same reasons that psychology can(Drange 4).
Because creationism is a theory just as evoloution is, it can be
studied as a science, and thus would have place in an academic
class, even a science class in conjunction with evolution.
Furthermore, it is unconstitutional not to teach all ideas
of creation. The constitution states that the government cannot
make laws for OR against any religion due to the freedom of
religion clause in the first amendment. “Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of relgion, or probhibiting the
free exercise thereof;...”(U.S. Government 1). Schools cannot be
told that they have to teach creationism, but they cannot be told
that they can not.
We must take each theory of how everything came into being
on faith. We must come to know what we believe. We must have
the opportunity to learn about what different people believe in
order to yet further our own beliefs. It is unconstitutional not
to give all people this opportunity. In this spirit, Creationism
should be taught in schools along with evolution.