Creationists would take us back to Dark Ages
Creationists would take us back to Dark Ages
The Timberjay - 1/25/2006 - original
We live in a wonderful country were even those completely ignorant of science can express opinions on scientific issues. One common tenant of the “anti-science” crowd is that you should say the same thing (even if it isn’t factually true) over and over again and eventually some people might start believing you. This is the strategy Mr. John Fisher uses in his Jan. 12, 2008 “People right to question Darwinism” letter to the editor.
Let’s review. There is no scientific debate about the scientific theory of evolution, just as there is no scientific debate about the theory of gravity. Both of these testable scientific theories remain our best tools for understanding the natural science of our world. The only people “questioning” evolution are people who have a dogmatic belief in the “6-day Creation Story” that some say appears in the Christian Bible. Of course that is only true if you read the Bible as historical fact and not as metaphorical lesson stories. These adherents have recently tried to push the creationist “Theory of Intelligent Design” into our science classrooms. The only problem is that creationism, whatever name you give it, isn’t science— it is a story, more akin to a fairy tale than a testable, measurable scientific tool. But this creationist agenda isn’t as harmless as your average fairy tale. It’s a dangerous idea that says we should abandon testable science and return the superstitions of the Middle Ages when the church, not scientists, decided what was true about the natural world. Remember those days? Church leaders were “sure” that the earth was the center of the universe. Church leaders were “sure” that cats were the agents of witches and the devil and told people to get rid of cats in their homes. The only problem was that when bubonic plague struck Europe, it was carried by fleas on rats. Cats kill rats. But homes without cats had rats and the families there sickened and died of plague. Perhaps for Mr. Fisher, his religious fundamentalism is more important than human health or scientific progress.
He can make that decision for himself. Thank God we live in a country where he can’t make that decision for the rest of us.
Kevin Strauss
ELCA Lutheran
Rochester, Minn.