by nicolaou 77 Replies latest social current
Children should be taught facts.
They should be presented with theories to discuss and analyze.
They should not be indoctrinated or forced to worship the god that their culture endorses.
How they got here is of less importance than what they do while they are here.
We are talking about science not whether someone holds a particular viewpoint and expresses it in discussion. In science people research theories and present their findings to other scientists for peer review. This body of work is then used to inform scientific understanding.
If there have been no papers then what has been discussed is a private viewpoint unsubstantiated by peer review, unproven and therefore an opinion not science. Otherwise any wacko could have an opinion on anything and children would be taught it.
When creationism has been subjected to scrutiny and therories tested then it could be discussed in science otherwise it is a religious topic only.
I don't think Creationism has to be taught in school. On the other hand...
I don't think it would hurt anything to express in some class along the line, that some feel that with the complexities of the material universe and the fact that we have life that is self aware, that there could be some deliberate, intelligent design behind our world. They use this _____ type of examples to illustrate the possibility of a designer. Some feel there is another life form they call spirit, which is self aware, intelligent and capable of thinking, creating, similarly to human beings. Some of the people who support this believe the material world had it's beginning with a designer. They feel their point of view is as legitimate as the theories of the Big Bang and Evolution. Some believe Evolution to be taking place as well. We will not discuss the possible religious aspects of this alternate point of view. (Although, I guess private schools might.) This is something you can find out about in World Religion classes and can investigate outside your school. It is noteworthy to add that a significant percentage of scientists do hold a belief in other self aware, intelligent beings of this spirit type.
That's all that need be said. There doesn't have to be a drawn out course on it.
Alternate, additional ideas don't have to be fleshed out into weeks and months of study.
Nugget, you can't write any paper on a subject without listening to or understanding opinion. Isn't that what education is based on ie how can you be educated without listening to opinion??
Nugget rightly said "When creationism has been subjected to scrutiny and therories tested then it could be discussed in science otherwise it is a religious topic only."
So, it comes down to being "opinion" as do all matters religious.
But as a very small minority only subscribe to full rabid Creationism i.e Young Earth, Evolution is false etc etc I really do not think any more time should be spent on this, even in a religious Instruction class or allied subject, than say the Cargo Worshippers of the South Seas, or similar wacky ideas.
As to ideas like is there a Supreme Being etc these of course can be, and should be discussed as part of discusssions on Belief, but again, a good education will give both, or all, sides of the argument.
Creationism in any form does not form a counter-point to Science.
Science is a process,
Someone does an experiment, it gets written in a paper, published in a journal, reviewed, accepted or denied and then put in a textbook.
We teach kids these textbooks. For simplicity, we have seperated our sciences into Physics, which dictates Chemistry which dictates Biology.
Now please do explain where Genesis 1:1 fits in? ......... I'm assuming we are going with the western monotheism, namely Yaweh, allah is a bit scary hey.
Can we teach star wars in history too?
Ok sarcasm over....
erm btw WE HAVE TAUGHT CREATIONISM in school for centuries, in religious studies.mit is already on the curriculum. But lets keep it out of science class.
Phizzy exactly thats why it should only be included in a educational establishment class or forum as an opinion NEVER fact
Teach it in religion, history, art, literature and philosophy. It's a humanities topic, not a scientific one. Just like you wouldn't teach creative writing or the colour wheel in an algebra class, or how to repair a car motor in English.
Julia that then implies you would not allow a scientific opinion in a religious forum, haven't they both been opinionated on for centuries , otherwise the discussion would be dogma or bias.
