AU Executive Director Barry Lynn

Americans United for Separation of Church and State on Wednesday urged the Texas State Board of Education to stick to sound science and reject creationist concepts when revising its science standards. The state school board is currently examining the science curriculum, which is reviewed and updated every 10 years. The Seattle-based Discovery Institute and other Religious Right forces are seeking to include loopholes that undermine instruction about evolution and open the door to creationist ideas.

Scientists, teachers, mainstream religious leaders and civil liberties activists want to improve the Texas standards to ensure that the public school classroom does not become a vehicle for religious indoctrination.

“Public schools should educate, not indoctrinate. The Religious Right is exploiting Texas public schools to push a narrow viewpoint and in the process is doing a great disservice to its students, not to mention undermining the mandates of our Constitution.” ~~   Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director.

The battle in Texas is focused on Religious Right-backed language currently in the standards that requires schools to teach the “strengths and weaknesses” of evolution. That wording, experts say, is an invitation to introduce creationist concepts based on fundamentalist religion, not science.

“Let’s just hope members of the Texas school board recognize the ‘strengths and weaknesses’ language for what it is,” Lynn concluded. “If they don’t, they could be inviting public school districts to face some costly litigation.”

In its letter to the board, Americans United makes it clear that litigation may result if religious beliefs are introduced into public school science classrooms.

The board’s decision, which is expected to be made in March, could influence science instruction across the country. Texas is the second largest purchaser of textbooks, after California. To meet Texas standards, textbook producers may include creationist concepts in books that would circulate nationally.

A hearing is scheduled for today in Austin for individuals and groups to testify on the curriculum.

Religious Right groups have already succeeded in pushing through their agenda in Louisiana, which now allows science teachers to use “supplemental materials” to teach the “strengths and weaknesses” of evolution. AU is closely monitoring whether religious beliefs are being introduced unconstitutionally as science by teachers in Louisiana.

The federal courts have repeatedly struck down other tactics used by the Religious Right to push religion in public science classes. In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court in Edwards v. Aguillard invalidated a Louisiana statute requiring science educators to “balance” teaching evolution concepts with “creation science” concepts.

In 2005, a federal district court said in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District that Pennsylvania public schools cannot teach “intelligent design,” a creationist concept that claims the universe and living things were created by an “intelligent cause.” The court ruled “intelligent design” unconstitutional for use in public schools because it is unscientific and religious.

About the Author: Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

Should matters of faith be taught in schools? Of course not. Proponents of Creationism and Intelligent Design have frequently claimed that “evolution” is little more than a belief as well. Some even assert that “evolution is a religion” because of that.

But what is evolution? Put simply, it is “change.” Now, there’s still plenty of discussion on how that change occurs since we learn more information every day. But the reality is that the world changes. Species change. The nature of the earth has changed.

My Christian faith has long been rooted in the grace of God and His love for all of us. However, I do not believe that there is a literal six-day creation period. While some people insist that the earth can not be more than 6,000 years old because “the Bible says so,” I maintain that the Bible is not now, nor has ever been a science book.

For example, the snows of Antarctica have been piling on for countless thousands of years. Every year, the earth’s CO2 emissions spike. The reason for that is that every winter in the northern hemisphere, the leaves drop, and the CO2 emissions increase. Since the vast majority of the earth’s land is above the equator, it’s a clear indicator of a yearly drop and spike of CO2.

So what does that have to do with anything? Simple. One of the best ways to measure long-term CO2 emissions is to drill into the ice at Antarctica. it’s several miles deep. Scientists have drilled deep into the ice and pulled out several ice cores, which reveal a clear history of up to 750,000 years’ worth of annual CO2 shifts. In fact, some of these cores have contributed heavily to the global warming discussion.

Creationist extremes

I’m not going to get into the whole global warming debate, but these ice cores reveal not only the quality of the earth’s air, but also the fact that the earth is far older than the 6000 years that many creationists claim. One of the leading proponents of the young-earth doctrine is Ken Hamm, president and founder of Answers in Genesis. Hamm’s organization not only assembles conferences across the world, but they’ve recently opened a new “Creation Museum” just outside Cincinnatti, just south of the Kentucky border.

Hamm and other young-earth proponents are also convinced that the entire earth was engulfed in a flood exactly as the Bible describes in the book of Genesis, hence the name of his organization. Of course, since the book of Genesis is 100% correct (as they claim), then the earth and universe was created in just six days. He writes:

I want to make it VERY clear that we don’t want to be known primarily as ‘young-Earth creationists.’ AiG’s main thrust is NOT ‘young Earth’ as such; our emphasis is on Biblical authority. Believing in a relatively ‘young Earth’ (i.e., only a few thousands of years old, which we accept) is a consequence of accepting the authority of the Word of God as an infallible revelation from our omniscient Creator.

This is the core root of the Creationist goals: To base our education system on the complete literalist interpretation of the Bible. This isn’t about putting creationism into schools. The ultimate goal is to have our children be taught that the Bible is true whether we believe it or not. Hamm emphasizes the apparent need for Biblical authority:

Why would any Christian want to take man’s fallible dating methods and use them to impose an idea on the infallible Word of God? Christians who accept billions of years are in essence saying that man’s word is infallible, but God’s Word is fallible!

Hamm also claims that for a person to be Christian, they must embrace the complete infallibility of the entire Bible, especially Genesis. Further, he and other young-earth creationists insist that the dinosaurs and humans once coexisted. Such claims are replete in the Creation Museum with several exhibits dedicated to this belief. Naturally, the museum has drawn over 200,000 people in its first six months. Apparently, bad science combined with religious hyperbole is a gold mine.

The splendor and greatness of our universe

To even accept the six-day creation requires one to stretch their imagination and to completely set aside basic laws of physics. According to Scripture, the sun was created after the earth, and the stars were created after the sun.

That’s simply not possible, and what’s more, it’s not what we’re seeing from the Hubble, Spitzer, and other space telescopes:

• HubbleSite – NewsCenter – Vast Stellar Disks Set Stage for Planet Birth in New Hubble Images (02/09/1999) – Release Images
• Circumstellar Dust Takes Flight In ‘The Moth’
• Telescope snaps distant ‘planet’
• Young Planet Challenges Old Theories
• Youthful Star Sprouts Planets Early
  

If the stars were created even within the six-day period, how could light (which has a constant speed) travel hundreds of thousands of light years in just a few days… or even seconds? The closest star is more than four light years away. Was the light from those stars created at the same time as the stars themselves?

Further, we’re seeing evidence of brand-new solar systems which are in formation. We’ve seen the new stars and the dust rings that surround them. We’ve seen the young planets as they orbit amidst these rings. It’s a glimpse into our own past and a picture of what might have been.

Thankfully, Hamm’s group isn’t the only organization out there in regards to Christian-centered science. Hugh Ross founded Reasons to Believe, and has written several books on the topic. Their website says:

Ross has been on the frontiers of making biblical and scientific the case against Darwinism for almost 2 decades. RTB believes that God has miraculously intervened throughout the history of the universe in various ways millions, possibly even billions, of times to create each and every new species of life on Earth.

Ross and RTB have been the brunt of heavy criticism from Hamm and other young-earth creationists, which only illustrates the sharp division among Christians just on this one topic alone. They’ve even posted a page to address some of these criticisms. And before someone starts talking about how “liberal” the folks at RTB might be, consider that the group is endorsed by several well-respected members of the evangelical community including Chuck Colson, Jack Hayford, and John Ankerberg. It’s doubtful that any of these names would be considered “liberal” (as if that would be a bad thing).

Belief in the Bible or in the Creator of the universe?

I’ve often said that everyone SHOULD question their faith. Blind faith actually hinders a person’s spiritual growth. Accepting something just because “the Bible says so” is as immature as it is irresponsible. Some assert that the Bible is clear in its message.

If that were really true, then there wouldn’t be tens of thousands of different denominations and sects within Christianity, would there? The reality is that nearly all of those groups claim to adhere to Scripture properly, while “those other guys” don’t. No, the Bible is NOT clear. It is as subjective as a person’s taste for food.

This is the very reason why teaching Creationism is not appropriate within an earth science class. Perhaps it would be better placed in history or social studies. Religious beliefs are just that: beliefs.

Beliefs are a powerful thing; people are willing to die for them, and in some cases, even willing to kill for them. Beliefs drive splits, tear apart families, and fuel the fires of hate and war across the globe.

Even among those of us who are Christians, we allow each other to be divided by beliefs; when Christ has called us to be One body with Himself as the head. So long as we worship our beliefs and doctrines above the Lord Himself, then we are committing the gross sin of idolatry.

Those that insist that we believe 100% of Scripture, no matter how unlikely it might be, do so because they believe that to question even one verse is to question the entire Bible and its infallibility. After all, if the creation account isn’t accurate, then how do we know its message of salvation is reliable?

This is an insult to Christians and theologians everywhere. If I require Scripture to back up my faith, then my faith is meaningless. The reality is that like most other Christians, my faith is in Christ. If that faith is challenged by a question of infalliblity, then it only shows how weak that faith really is. Christ called for us to build our faith on the Rock, who is Jesus himself. Okay, I wouldn’t know that if I didn’t read it in the Bible, which presents an interesting paradox. But in the end, A book does not define my faith, nor does a single verse within that book. It is defined by the Person of Jesus Christ.

The book can be burned, destroyed, or even invalidated, and my faith would remain. Even Scripture declares that in the end, only three things would remain: Faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love. Christ has called us to related to each other, to have hope in His message, and to have faith.

There are indeed many different doctrines that use the word “Creationism” or “Intelligent Design.” None of them, however, are appropriate in the context of a science class.

So yes, I do believe. I believe in the majesty and splendor of our God. His stunning creation has been concealed for billions of years, and now we’re just beginning to see just how magnificent it is.

What does Scripture have to say? Quite a lot, really:

Psalm 19:1: 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Proverbs 25:2: 2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

God has concealed a great deal from us, especially in this vast universe of creation. With every step, every picture, and every journey that we take in this–the creation of our Lord—in all its splendor—we learn just how glorious He really is.

Common sense should prevail

These are matters of faith, though. It is not science. This is illustrated very well in a response from the RTB website to the 1999 Kansas Board of Education decision, which allowed creationism and evolution to be taught in schools. The response concluded with:

Christians cannot afford to allow history to repeat itself. The Fundamentalist retreat from the university and culture in the wake of the Scopes trial only resulted in Christian ideas being further marginalized. For this reason we find ourselves still embattled in the same culture war 75 years later. Moreover, we must go beyond “evolution-busting” and challenging the atheist’s worldview assumptions – although these scholarly endeavors are important and must be accomplished. At the same time, we need a scientifically responsible model to stand in the old one’s place. The challenge before us is to make a concerted and positive effort to put forth an origins model that can be rigorously and openly researched and tested. Only then will Christians have the opportunity to demonstrate that the God behind the Bible is also the God behind the facts of nature.

I believe Scripture not only declares the glory of God, but it also challenges us to explore the universe around us… His creation is magnificent, stunning even. Yet no matter how staggering a sight might be, we can know that the glory of the living God is far greater. We don’t have to believe in a six-day creation period or even a young earth to know that God is indeed a master craftsman.

Let’s just leave it out of the science classroom.