When it comes to origins, most public schools and universities teach only Evolution. If Creation is mentioned at all, it is usually for ridicule or to suggest the following: “The naive people of the past believed in Creation, but today we know better.” The teaching of Creation Science1 is limited to a small number of private schools. Consequently, most students enter their careers with the following background:
a) Heavy indoctrination in Evolution, and
b) No knowledge of Creation Science
Students tend to believe what they are taught so it is no surprise that half of all Americans believe in Evolution.2 But what if Creation is true?3 Consider these core beliefs of the theories:
a) According to Evolution, people have descended from other forms of life.
b) According to Creation, people have not descended from other forms of life.
Logic dictates that one of these core beliefs must be completely true, and the other one must be completely false. Therefore:
If the core belief in (a) is true, then no harm is being done since public schools are teaching students the truth. However…
If the core belief in (b) is true, then public schools are withholding the truth from students and instead teaching them a false theory (Evolution).
Furthermore, teaching students only Evolution naturally gives them the impression that Evolution must be true. This is a disservice to students since neither Creation nor Evolution has been proven to be true or false.
References and Notes for Chapter 3:
1. When Evolution Science is taught, evidence is examined in only one way: “How can this evidence be explained by Evolution?” But when Creation Science is taught, evidence is examined in two ways:
a) How is this evidence interpreted by Evolution Scientists?
b) How is this evidence interpreted by Creation Scientists?
Creation Scientists obviously favor their own interpretation, but at least when Creation Science is taught students hear both interpretations. Many Evolution Scientists do not want students to hear both interpretations because they know it would cause some students to reject Evolution who would otherwise accept it.
Once as a member of a jury I listened for hours while one attorney presented evidence (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, etc.). He gave us his interpretation of the evidence, and I felt he made a very strong case. I was confident that we would rule in his client’s favor. But when the opposing attorney had his turn to speak, he gave us a completely different interpretation of the same evidence (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, etc.). Surprisingly, this second interpretation sounded even more plausible than the first. It caused me to change my mind, as I believe it did with other jurors. When we went into deliberations we quickly reached a unanimous decision in favor of the second interpretation. I remember thinking that I was glad we were able to hear from both attorneys because if we had only heard the first interpretation of the evidence, we would have likely reached a different verdict.
As with a jury, students should be allowed to hear both interpretations of the evidence so they can make an informed decision on Creation/Evolution.
2. A 2019 Gallup Poll found that only 22% of Americans believe in the naturalistic Evolution that is taught in most schools. However, the same poll found that 55% of Americans believe in some form of Evolution (either naturalistic or God-guided). And to no surprise the Poll also found that the longer students stay in school (i.e. the more they are taught Evolution), the more likely they are to accept Evolution. My experience in school is a good example. It was not until I was in my Junior year in Petroleum Engineering at Penn State that I became a believer in Evolution. I was heavily taught Evolution in my geology courses, especially in Paleontology. All evidence was interpreted through what I now call “Evolution Lenses,” so that by the time I graduated I was 100% convinced Evolution was true. For about 10 years I became very passionate about Evolution. I read about it, talked about it, and tried hard to convince Creationists to become believers in Evolution.
It was while I was trying to convince a Creationist about the “truth” of Evolution that a significant event took place in my life. This Creationist patiently listened to my case for Evolution but then proceeded to loan me a book that he said was written by a Creation Scientist. Out of politeness I borrowed the book even though I expected it to be nonsense since I thought there could be no such thing as a Creation “Scientist.” I put the book aside for about two weeks, as I did not want to waste time reading it. But since the book was only LOANED to me, I had to return it. I knew that my Creationist friend would ask what I thought of the book, so I decided to briefly glance at it. My plan was to read just enough of the book to discredit it. But instead I received the shock of my life! It was hard to put the book down once I started reading. Red flags were going up all over as I read on. I remember thinking “Why wasn’t I shown this, and this, and this in school?” After years of being taught only the Evolutionary interpretation of evidence I was still a believer in Evolution, but this single book made me feel very unsettled about it. I became a frequent visitor to the library to research the subject (nowadays the information can all be found on the internet). My research caused me to have more and more doubts about Evolution, until after about three years I finally admitted to myself that the scientific evidence appeared to support Creation much better than Evolution. It was at this point that I became a full-fledged Creationist.
3. It is a statement of faith to declare that Creation is false because neither Creation nor Evolution has been scientifically proven to be true or false.
OR