Creationism versus evolution
Both evolutionists and creationists seek predominance in the quest to explain human origins. While creationism is largely faith-based, drawing on holy scriptures for authority, theories of evolution rely on the presuppositions of materialism and the methods of science.
This article outlines the relationship that has developed the advocates of the various branches of creationism, i.e., creationists; and the advocates of various theories of evolution, i.e., evolutionists.
The conflict between the two schools of thought mirrors the encounter between science and religion. The relationship has been a stormy one: very little middle ground exists between the two embattled camps.
Creationism has its conceptual and sociological roots in biblical literalism, which explain why creationism seems to be an exclusively Anglo-American phenomenon. Most advocacy of creationism, in the English language, comes from Christians from England and the United States who regard the Bible as a revelation from God which should not be questioned.
Evolutionists are predominantly scientists working in the fields of biology, geology, and paleoanthropology. They generally begin with the fossil record and reason their way from there via natural selection to various modern theories.
Points of contention
Fossils
The idea that the earth was created about 6,000 years ago, as the Bible literally says, is the basis for "young Earth" ideas. Creationists claim that the Flood during Noah's time created the layers of fossils. Carbon dating evidence indicates that fossil layers arise from distinctly different time periods, which sufficiently refutes the Flood hypothesis. However, most creationists disavow the validity of the technique.
Attempts to bridge the gap
Progressive Creationists accept the fossil record, but attribute the appearance of new species to divine intervention. That is, God deliberately made each new species Himself, right around the same time biologists and geologists say they appeared.
Theistic Evolutionism accepts the theory of evolution as the description of the development of life on earth through descent with modification. [1]
Creation science is an attempt by some creationists to present creationism as a hypothesis worthy of scientific consideration. Some creationists, chiefly fundamentalists try to use the findings of geology to bolster the scriptural claims in the literal account of Creation found in Genesis, Chapter 1. This attempt is largely dismissed by biologists as pseudoscience.
See also intelligent design, List of former creationists who now accept the theory of evolution, List of former evolutionary biologists who became creationists.
Reference material
- James B. Miller (Ed.): An Evolving Dialogue: Theological and Scientific Perspectives on Evolution, ISBN: 1563383497
Referenced By
On the Nature of Things
|
