CREATION BITS No 3.
EVOLUTION in the PUBLIC SCHOOLS: WHAT PARENTS SHOULD KNOW
Author: Curt Sewell Subject: Creation Overviews Date: 11/2/1999 |
Why is evolution in the public schools a problem? Christians should be concerned because our children are taught, in most public schools, that “evolution is a fact.” Many parents don’t realize that this teaching is damaging to the religious concepts that the Bible commands us to teach our children. The concept of evolution is based on the idea that there has never been any sort of supernatural intervention in the affairs of the earth — that random forces are responsible for us all. They say that, if there is a God, He doesn’t inject Himself into our affairs.
Where does that leave our belief that God answers prayer? That, as Creator, He has the authority to expect us to obey His laws? That there will be a judgment for our actions? That there will someday be an “End Times,” with the Rapture of the Church, a Tribulation Period, a Millennial Kingdom? What does this do to moral responsibility? How does it affect our belief that the Bible is God’s “instruction manual,” telling us how to gain God’s blessings?
Public Schools are not neutral. The simple truth is that evolution teaches concepts and values that are directly opposite to those taught by Biblical Christianity. If one is correct, then the other must be wrong. If one is a fact, then the other must be a fable. Which one do we want our children to believe?
Evolution doesn’t just concern the development of animals. This is a concept that envelopes everything. It’s not restricted to biology classes. It’s used to explain the development of the universe, our world, all forms of plants, animals, and humans, and also extends into areas of social concern — our behavior, personal responsibility, environmental needs, and how we should view the future.
Cosmological Evolution is said to explain the origin of the universe — stars, galaxies, etc. The Big Bang is the currently popular theory here, but there are signs it’s losing ground to newer ideas.
Planetary Evolution (the solar system) is used to explain our planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.
Terrestrial Evolution explains how the earth supposedly accreted from a cloud of gas and dust, slowly was compacted, heated, and solidified. This is said to have taken 4-1/2 billion years.
The Chemical Origin of Life explains how the earliest life forms came to be, a few billion years ago.
Biological Evolution takes it from there, describing how molecules “came to life,” and gradually grew more and more complex, eventually climaxing in everything we see around us.
Societal Evolution is the natural extension of physical processes. This says that humankind’s behavior is due to leftover development from our primate ancestors. This tends to remove moral concepts.
NOTE: A later “Creation Bits” will discuss the folly of trying to squeeze God into the evolutionary process, by various compromises. They don’t work well.
HOW DID THIS COME TO BE?
Here’s another case of poor logic, driven by belief in materialism and doubt in God. Up to a point, it’s a reasonable development, but it’s been carried to a point of absurdity, as is shown on the next page.
1) The “scientific method” involves formulating a theory, hoping to explain some fact of nature, then performing experiments in order to verify or disprove that theory. Usually there is a chain of repeated experiments, modifications to the theory, etc., leading to its final acceptance as a law of science.
2) But God is not subject to the scientific method, because we can’t get Him into a laboratory to repeatedly study what He does. If He did create the world suddenly, as the Bible asserts, He’s not going to repeat it again and again, just so that we can study how He did it.
3) Therefore it’s correct to say that God is outside of the domain of science.
Here’s where the poor logic comes in.
4) Since God is outside the realm of science, and science is concerned with explaining all of nature, it’s a short step to say, “We must exclude the idea of a God from any theories and explanations. Everything must be explained in purely materialistic terms.” By saying that everything was formed by materialism, and omitting the possibility of a God, this becomes an anti-God secular philosophy.
5) In the public schools, religion is excluded from science classes, by the rulings of several Supreme Court decisions within the last forty-some years. So, again, God is excluded from any explanations. They can’t even publicly admit that many people believe in religious explanations that conflict with their teachings.
6) The theory of evolution depends strongly on materialism and the idea of uniformitarianism, operating through random processes. This is sometimes expressed as “Everything that ever happened in nature in the past happened in accordance with the same “laws of nature” that we see operating today.” Notice that, again, any supernatural intervention is excluded, just as if it never occurred.
7) The California Science Guidelines are specific in saying that “Evolution is a fact,” and also in saying that arguments against evolution cannot be presented in public school science classes, even if they’re true. They say these might confuse the students. But this is indoctrination, not education! This is a case of saying, “Don’t confuse me with facts, my mind’s made up.”
8) The practical effect of this situation is that our public school science classes (and college-level classes also) actually teach an anti-God agenda. If the only explanation involves materialism and excludes God from consideration, then our children are being taught that God, as we know Him, doesn’t even exist!
9) A principal contributor to this situation was Thomas Dewey (1859-1952), sometimes called “The Father of Modern American Education.” At Columbia University’s Teaching Department he trained many of the professors who served in teacher’s colleges all over the country. He rejected the concept of absolute truth in favor of “experimentalism,” which led to moral relativism. He was a founder of the ACLU, and an active member of the American Humanist Society, which opposes religious concepts in favor of secular humanism.
SO WHAT’S THE RIGHT ANSWER?
If we check the Bible, there’s no command for us to make sure the public schools are cleaned up and teach the right material. In fact, there’s no mention of public schools. But we are commanded to teach our children about God. Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” There are many other similar verses, all through the Bible.
If Christian parents are to obey God, we must do more than just send our children to public school. We must learn what they’re being taught there, and we must learn the teachings of God and the Bible. We must become active in teaching our children the difference between right and wrong. We must learn the Biblical and actual scientific evidences that can cancel out some of the bad things our children are learning. We must not just leave their education to others — even to Sunday School teachers — God assigned parents that responsibility.