The Other Side of the COin: Truths About Creationism | Teen Ink

The Other Side of the COin: Truths About Creationism

January 20, 2010
By clumsy_one123 SILVER, Brentwood, Tennessee
clumsy_one123 SILVER, Brentwood, Tennessee
8 articles 1 photo 170 comments

Favorite Quote:
"All daring starts from within." -Eudora Welty


Try to imagine that, millions of years ago, small particles hit together and collided, spinning out of control, till BANG- they created multiple solar systems, stars, and planets. Does that sound reasonable? I think not. What kind of person would believe that? There are many scientists who devote their lives to trying to prove this so-called “fact”, but, of course, have not been able to. Even though there is no real proof, the Big Bang Theory has been taught in schools for quite along with evolution, which also has no solid proof. However, they are only telling one side of the story. In many schools today, evolution and the Big Bang Theory are taught to students, while Creationism is left for "church only". That is not fair. Creationism should be taught in public schools as well.

To begin with, if evolution and the Big Bang Theory can be taught, why not creationism? First, consider evolution. Scientifically speaking, simple life-forms cannot evolve into “more complex life-forms” (Problems), therefore, man could not have possibly come from apes. Also, if man came from monkeys, then why are there still monkeys? Some evolutionists answer this question by saying “Survival of the fittest”. However, that does not account for the weaker apes that are still living on earth. If they were to follow this “survival of the fittest” theory, then they should have died long ago, when man first appeared. In Mark 10:6, the Bible says, “But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female,” thus proving without a doubt that God created man.

Then, of course, there is the Big Bang Theory. There is not a single scientific law or demonstration that can be preformed that supports the “something from nothing” theory. How could two small particles hit together to create the universe and all the life in it, when, technically speaking, those two particles had not even been created yet? “Design demands a designer” (Wood), and it is as simple as that. Take for example the position of the earth. If it was just a little closer to the sun, everything on it would burn up. If it was just a little farther away, we would all freeze (Wood). Also, Earth is the only planet with free oxygen and water in its liquid form (Wood). In other words, our planet is the only one in our solar system capable of sustaining life. How could that have happened by chance? In Genesis 1:1, the Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” so, only God could have done so.

Also, creationism should be taught in public schools because, according to the Bible, God created the earth (Gen. 1:1). So, why would anyone teach anything else? Of course, there are those out there who question the fact that the Bible is God’s written word. They say that it is nothing but a book written by a bunch of different men. The Bible is made up of sixty six books- thirty nine in the Old Testament and twenty seven in the New- written over a time span of 2,000 years, on three different continents (Asia, Europe, and Africa), in three different languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic), however, there are no contradictions. This could only be the work of an all-powerful being. And so it was. II Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…”. So, basically, God told the writers what to say. He inspired them.

What proof is there that the Bible was inspired by God? To begin with, in Leviticus 17:11a, Moses said that, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood…”, yet this fact was unknown even in George Washington’s day (Thompson). People would use leeches to bleed out supposed ‘bad blood’ to help the sick get well. So, how did Moses know? Secondly, in Ecclesiastes 11:3a and Amos 9:6b, the writers both refer to rain falling from the clouds, but the water cycle was not completely accepted or understood until the 16th century. Pierre Perrault, Edme Marriot, and Edmund Halley all made discoveries on and added data to the idea of a complete water cycle. However, the Bible indicated a water cycle 2,000 years before their discoveries (Thompson). Next, in Job26:7, Job says that the Lord “hangs the earth on nothing.” Back in Job’s day, people had different beliefs on what kept the earth suspended in space, such as four elephants on a giant turtle, or the shoulders of an abnormally strong man. Job was way ahead of his time by suggesting that the earth “hung on nothing” (Thompson) (Job 26:7). How could he have known when everyone else was wrong? And finally, in I Corinthians 15:39, the apostle Paul says, “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.” Paul is right! All four of these fleshes have a different biochemical makeup (Thompson). But how did he know? All of these situations point to one solution: God told the men what to write. Therefore, there is no possible way that the Bible could be made up by men because of the advanced sciences used in it. Given the sufficient evidence, Creationism should be presented alongside other theories of creation.

There are those in this world who say that allowing creationism to be taught in schools is a breech on their First Amendment rights. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”, however, this does not mean that it is against the law to say “One nation, under God,” in the Pledge of Allegiance, print, “In God we trust,” on money, or teach creationism to students in school. It merely is saying that the Government will not make an established religion. One can believe in and worship anything or anyone they want. But, men can preach and teach about their religion to others. It is only fair.

In addition, the First Amendment was added by the founding fathers to keep the church from controlling the government, and they had good reason to be fearful of this. “Early settlers” in America wanted religious liberty; however, they refused to grant it to others (Gay). They set up the Anglican Church as the main religion (Gay). Others set up their own churches, but, they still had to pay taxes for the maintenance of the Anglican Church, even though they did not attend there (Gay). Laws demanded people to attend church (Gay), and if they did not, they could be fined, and even imprisoned. Other rules covered clothing, business conduct, education, and recreation (Gay). “Only members of the… established religion were allowed to vote (Gay)”. It is no wonder James Madison was careful about how much control the church would receive. All in all, separation of church and state was established to keep government control in the proper hands, not to forbid the teaching of creationism.

In conclusion, creationism should be taught in public schools because, even though some say it cannot be proven, it is the most reasonable solution to the creation of the world, and, if evolution and the Big Bang Theory can be taught, why not creationism? It has not been proved either. If schools are going to teach unproven theories, then why not add creationism to the list? One might as well tell both sides of the story if they are going to tell it at all. Besides, if Evolutionists are so sure that man came from monkeys, then what are they afraid of?



















Bibliography
“Evolution.” The American Colledge Dictionary. 1964.
Gay, Kathlyn. CHurch and State. Brookfield: The Millbrook Press, 1992.
The History of Man. Sanford: Riebers.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1982.
Isaak, Mark. “Five major misconceptions about Evolution.” Talkorigins.org. 1 Oct. 2003. 18 Jan. 2009 <http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-misconceptions.html>.
McIntosh, Kenneth, and Marsha McIntosh. Issues of Church, State, and Religious Liberties. Broomal: Mason Crest Publishers, Inc., 2006.
“Problems for atheistic evolutionists.” Creationtips.com. 10 Nov. 2008. 18 Jan. 2009 <http://www.creationtips.com/evoluwrong.html>.
The Reality of God. Sanford: Riebers.
Roberts, Hill. The Second Law of Thermodynamics. 1986.
Suggs, Bill. “When did the U.S. Government pass a law dictating the separation of church and state? Where can this law be found?” Christiananswers.net. 18 Jan. 2009 <http://www.christiananswers.net/q-wall/wal-g004.html>.
Thompson, Bert. Scientific Evidences of the Bible’s Inspiration. Montgomery: Apologetics Press, Inc., 1981.
Wood, James. We Believe. 2005.





Works Cited
Gay, Kathlyn. CHurch and State. Brookfield: The Millbrook Press, 1992.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1982.
“Problems for atheistic evolutionists.” Creationtips.com. 10 Nov. 2008. 18 Jan. 2009 <http://www.creationtips.com/evoluwrong.html>.
Thompson, Bert. Scientific Evidences of the Bible’s Inspiration. Montgomery: Apologetics Press, Inc., 1981.
Wood, James. We Believe. 2005.



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This article has 347 comments.


on Nov. 13 2011 at 10:22 pm
clumsy_one123 SILVER, Brentwood, Tennessee
8 articles 1 photo 170 comments

Favorite Quote:
"All daring starts from within." -Eudora Welty

i am not ignoring what you've written in your argument. i just simply do not consider your argument truthful. in my defense, you haven't really listened to my argument either. so perhaps since neither of us is going to convert the other to their own beliefs we should call it a draw and stop arguing. (and for the record, i did resopnd to your argument on the appendix and carbon dating, but it wouldnt post, and i didnt feel like typing it all out again. sorry)

on Nov. 10 2011 at 8:04 am
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

You still haven't mentioned the appendix argument or carbon dating. Also, didn't I specifically say that evolution has NOTHING TO DO with the origin of life? And that it has NOTHING TO DO with atheism or agnosticism? That's why it's taught in Public schools while creationism isn't. Plus, who says that the Apocrypha is false? The same people who said that the Earth was the center of the Universe for centuries, even when confronted by opposing facts? The same people who say that the stars are nothing more than little balls of light that will fall down to Earth once Jesus returns? The same people who slap a male, anglo-saxon, Pro-American face on an omnipotent and omniscient being? If you're going to completely ignore what I've written in my argument, then I'm not going to particiapate in this any longer.

on Nov. 9 2011 at 4:30 pm
clumsy_one123 SILVER, Brentwood, Tennessee
8 articles 1 photo 170 comments

Favorite Quote:
"All daring starts from within." -Eudora Welty

precisely. if science classes are to teach one, they need to teach them all.

on Nov. 9 2011 at 4:28 pm
clumsy_one123 SILVER, Brentwood, Tennessee
8 articles 1 photo 170 comments

Favorite Quote:
"All daring starts from within." -Eudora Welty

there's a reason the Apocrypha isn't found in most bibles... it's because they have been ruled false. so no dur they're full of contradictions to the bible. also, evolution COMBINED with the big bang theory explain one side of the origin of life, thus making it the alternative side to creationism. and since evolution attempts to explain where man came from, i would call that the origin of life... just saying. and finally, creationism does not just relate to christianity. it is also a part of judaism and islam, the other two most common religions in the united states. so it's not like there would be huge groups of people protesting. a lot more people dont belive in evolution if you're going to pull that card...

on Nov. 7 2011 at 7:40 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

Please ignore this post. Instead look at the one below this. The second one has more stuff in it.

on Nov. 7 2011 at 7:39 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

Part 2

Also, you failed to even mention the Appendix argument or Carbon-dating, which are probably the strongest points for evolution and the first thing you would need to disprove for empiricists to take your argument seriously. Instead, you relied on quotes from the Bible, to show us how scientifically savvy the old goat farmers of Jerusalem were. However, there are also several scientific INaccuracies in the Bible, and this also makes your "No-Contradictions in the Bible" argument start to falter. First of all, the Bible makes it very clear that the stars are nothing more than little balls of light that will fall from the sky once Jesus returns. Also, it says that the Earth was made before the sun. Both of these flatly condradict several LAWS in astrophysics. Then you've mentioned your science, but forgotten your history. After the fall of Rome, Western Europe fell into the Dark Ages, and a lot of the scientific accomplishments and discoveries made before then were lost, including the stuff found out during Biblical times. What wasn't lost was subject to slander and libel as "Heathen" or "Satanic" by the Anti-Byzantine and Anti-Abbasid Catholic Church. And then we come back to the "No-Contradiction" argument. During the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church managed to keep people under their thumb by fear and guilt. (Those charmers) Anyone or anything that contradicted them was burned into ashes, never to be seen again. You want biblical contradictions, examine the Apocrypha, a whole slew of contradictions to the Bible. Oh and please, don't pull the "Intelligent Design has just as much right in the schools as evolution". As I said before, evolution has nothing to do wiith religion or the origin of life, while Creationism does. As such, teaching something that pertains to a specific religion in public schools is an infringement on the multitude of other creation myths that other people believe in. If it really means that much to you, there are Private schools established specifically so as to teach good education alongside Christian theology. Public school is for all religions, and all viewpoints. Finally, you've probably noticed that I haven't mentioned anything about the Big Bang Theory. So, let me ask you this: Don't you think it is far more glorious, and far more interesting, to think that there was a being so omnipotent and so omniscient, that it was able to plan out something as complex and wonderful as the creation of matter and energy and atomic bonding and suns and planets and micro-organisms, which in their attempt to carry on more and more valuable traits, starting procreating with other micro-organisms to create more and more complex organisms, which eventually evolved into macroorganisms which evolved into quadrupeds which evolved into bipeds which evolved into humans, all just from something as simple as two atoms colliding?


on Nov. 7 2011 at 7:36 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

Part 2

Also, you failed to even mention the Appendix argument or Carbon-dating, which are probably the strongest points for evolution and the first thing you would need to disprove for empiricists to take your argument seriously. Instead, you relied on quotes from the Bible, to show us how scientifically savvy the old goat farmers of Jerusalem were. However, there are also several scientific INaccuracies in the Bible, and this also makes your "No-Contradictions in the Bible" argument start to falter. First of all, the Bible makes it very clear that the stars are nothing more than little balls of light that will fall from the sky once Jesus returns. Also, it says that the Earth was made before the sun. Both of these flatly condradict several LAWS in astrophysics. Then you've mentioned your science, but forgotten your history. After the fall of Rome, Western Europe fell into the Dark Ages, and a lot of the scientific accomplishments and discoveries made before then were lost, including the stuff found out during Biblical times. What wasn't lost was subject to slander and libel as "Heathen" or "Satanic" by the Anti-Byzantine and Anti-Abbasid Catholic Church. And then we come back to the "No-Contradiction" argument. During the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church managed to keep people under their thumb by fear and guilt. (Those charmers) Anyone or anything that contradicted them was burned into ashes, never to be seen again. You want biblical contradictions, examine the Apocrypha, a whole slew of contradictions to the Bible. Oh and please, don't pull the "Intelligent Design has just as much right in the schools as evolution". As I said before, evolution has nothing to do wiith religion or the origin of life, while Creationism does. As such, teaching something that pertains to a specific religion in public schools is an infringement on the multitude of other creation myths that other people believe in. If it really means that much to you, there are Private schools established specifically so as to teach good education alongside Christian theology. Public school is for all religions, and all viewpoints. Finally, you've probably noticed that I haven't mentioned anything about the Big Bang Theory. So, let me ask you this: Don't you think it is far more glorious, and far more interesting, to think that there was a being so omnipotent and so omniscient, that it was able to plan out something as complex and wonderful as the creation of matter and energy and atomic bonding and suns and planets and micro-organisms, which in their attempt to carry on more and more valuable traits, starting procreating with other micro-organisms to create more and more complex organisms, which eventually evolved into macroorganisms which evolved into quadrupeds which evolved into bipeds which evolved into humans, all just from something as simple as two atoms colliding?


on Nov. 7 2011 at 7:36 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

Part 1

Okay, this is a response to both your original post and several comments and resulting arguments following your post. First of all, let me clarify to everyone exactly what the theory of Evolution is, because there seems to be some misconceptions going on about that. Evolution is the idea that, as millions of years pass, traits in organisms that support the most likely chance for survival and procreation will continue, while less valuable traits will eventually be dropped or rendered obsolete. For those of you that say "Well, Evolution doesn't explain the origin of life, therefore it's false." It's not supposed to explain the origin of life, it never was. Evolution is merely supposed to explain the origin of species, thus the title of Darwin's work. Contrary to popular belief, evolution has nothing to do with agnosticism or secularism. It is the result of empiricism, which is the train of thought that states that truths in this world can be discovered through experimentation and observation. Another uncommonly known fact: Darwin never thought that the ideas of evolution and creationism were mutually exclusive. Nay indeed, he thought that he had found scientific proof of God's grace by discovering why we have differing species in differing locations. Yes, Darwin eventually gave up the idea of evolution, but that was because he was constantly tormented and bullied by both the scientific community and his wife after proposing it, especially after the death of his daughter Annie. Can you imagine what it must have been like, to be bombasted every waking minute by the idea that you killed your own daughter for having a radical idea?


on Nov. 7 2011 at 7:34 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

Part 1

Okay, this is a response to both your original post and several comments and resulting arguments following your post. First of all, let me clarify to everyone exactly what the theory of Evolution is, because there seems to be some misconceptions going on about that. Evolution is the idea that, as millions of years pass, traits in organisms that support the most likely chance for survival and procreation will continue, while less valuable traits will eventually be dropped or rendered obsolete. For those of you that say "Well, Evolution doesn't explain the origin of life, therefore it's false." It's not supposed to explain the origin of life, it never was. Evolution is merely supposed to explain the origin of species, thus the title of Darwin's work. Contrary to popular belief, evolution has nothing to do with agnosticism or secularism. It is the result of empiricism, which is the train of thought that states that truths in this world can be discovered through experimentation and observation. Another uncommonly known fact: Darwin never thought that the ideas of evolution and creationism were mutually exclusive. Nay indeed, he thought that he had found scientific proof of God's grace by discovering why we have differing species in differing locations. Yes, Darwin eventually gave up the idea of evolution, but that was because he was constantly tormented and bullied by both the scientific community and his wife after proposing it, especially after the death of his daughter Annie. Can you imagine what it must have been like, to be bombasted every waking minute by the idea that you killed your own daughter for having a radical idea? Also, an idea doesn't get to be called a "theory" unless there is a reasonable amount of proof behind it, and the scientific definition of a theory is an "if this-then that" statement. Creationism is not a theory because it doesn't make any predictions. Also, the Discovery Institute, which is the leading organization on Intelligent Design, promotes but doesn't research their ideas. They have no real standard for determining if an something is "Irreducibly Complex". Just saying that something is too complex to be created by evolution isn't science at all, merely a statement. Now, for your actual argument. The problem with trying to prove Intelligent Design is that there are only two really peer-reviewed papers, as it were, of Intelligent Design out there. There's the Bible, and there's Stephen Meyer's lovely little presentation to the Ohio School Board of Education. You seem to be relying almost exclusively on the Bible, and right there is where flaws start to appear in your argument. Any piece on any subject is target for bias, that's why we always research differing ideas. However, it seems that even your differing sources are merely secondary sources to the primary source of the Bible. Even if the Bible is the most pious piece of literature in the world (which I'm sure you'd say it is), you unfortunately cannot create a valid argument based exclusively on it, because it's just that, a single piece of work. Any bias that could be present can only be speculated at, and even if there is no bias in it, there's still that nagging little feeling of doubt. Bias kills arguments.


on Nov. 7 2011 at 6:37 pm
clumsy_one123 SILVER, Brentwood, Tennessee
8 articles 1 photo 170 comments

Favorite Quote:
"All daring starts from within." -Eudora Welty

the appendix actually does have a use... We can just live without it, the same as we can live with only one kidney. the misconception that organs like our appendix or our tonsils are useless is false, according to more recent studies. Just google "uses of appendix"...

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-appendix-does-have-a-use--rebooting-the-gut-396277.html

As to the question about Cain, the Bible doesnt say God didn't create more people. He could have, if he had wanted to. Or Cain could have married his sister (the Bible does say that Adam and Eve had more children than just Cain, Abel, and Seth). So that is also a possibility.


on Nov. 5 2011 at 7:48 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

Thank you. Oh and please tell me, if we were, as you say, molded from dirt by God, then why do we have an appendix? And where did the humans that Cain married into come from?

on Nov. 5 2011 at 6:59 pm
clumsy_one123 SILVER, Brentwood, Tennessee
8 articles 1 photo 170 comments

Favorite Quote:
"All daring starts from within." -Eudora Welty

all good :)

on Nov. 5 2011 at 2:53 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

Blast it! Something's gone all screwy with the computer and I've commented on the wrong person.

on Nov. 5 2011 at 2:52 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

And Clarence Darrow, one of the greatest oraters of all time said "Do you, good people, believe that Adam and Eve were created in the Garden of Eden and that they were forbidden to eat from the tree of knowledge? I do. The church has always been afraid of that tree. It still is afraid of knowledge. Some of you say religion makes people happy. So does laughing gas. So does whiskey. I believe in the brain of man. I'm not worried about my soul."

on Nov. 5 2011 at 2:48 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

Oh, my bad. That was supposed to be a comment to clumsy_one123's argument with John S. over whether or not God can do whatever he pleases, not an original post. I apologize to everyone for my clumsy falter.

on Nov. 5 2011 at 2:45 pm
The_Earl_of_Zerces PLATINUM, Waukesha, Wisconsin
36 articles 0 photos 106 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
-Sigmund Freud

If that's true, oh clumsy_one123, then he isn't a god, but a devil.

on Oct. 28 2011 at 5:09 pm
dolphin13 BRONZE, North St. Paul, Minnesota
1 article 0 photos 125 comments
I agree with you 100%! If they want to teach evolution, they can go ahead, but don't label it as the truth. If they are teaching one theory then they should  teach all possibilities, so creationism should be included. There is no solid scientific proof on any of the theories on how the world was created.

on Sep. 25 2011 at 3:29 am
The.King SILVER, Golden, Colorado
9 articles 1 photo 69 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A story's beginning is a sudden event. The start, a happy accident; the end, the fate for which it's meant. A story that never ends is a sad fate."-Miss Edel

Broski, your scientific ignorance was reveled in the first sentence.

 

To clear up your Big Bang fallacies, watch...

 

htt p: //w ww.youtube.c om/watch?v=ANt psunRYIs&feature=ch annel_video_title

 

Regarding evolution, watch the series "Foundational Falsehoods of Crationism" from start to finish.


ambnyc SILVER said...
on Aug. 22 2011 at 9:33 pm
ambnyc SILVER, Rego Park, New York
6 articles 0 photos 133 comments

Favorite Quote:
You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. - Dr. Seuss

Agreed. Apologies if my comments sounded offensive (particularly the first). Take it as constructive criticism. :)

on Aug. 22 2011 at 8:06 pm
clumsy_one123 SILVER, Brentwood, Tennessee
8 articles 1 photo 170 comments

Favorite Quote:
"All daring starts from within." -Eudora Welty

I'm sorry we don't see eye-to-eye.