I love a good debate. I enjoy hearing the "other side" and the reasons why people believe the things they do. I admire people who can debate intelligently and almost convince me (and once in a blue moon actually convince me!) to change my mind because they have valid and well-constructed arguments to present. But I have a visceral and unpleasant reaction to arguments based on fear or manipulation. Or a complete distortion of the facts. So when I received a Creation Science newsletter with the following statement in it, I just wanted to scream.
Evolution "education" is poisoning our society, beginning with our youth. Believe it: There is research that verifies this statement. Charts illustrating data collected by Educational Research Analysts show a rise in child abuse, divorce rates, illegal drug use by youth, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), unmarried couples, unwed birth rates, and violent crimes. Declines in scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs) are also charted. All have happened since government began funding the teaching of evolution through textbooks in the late 1950s.
Wow! Who knew that ALL of the evils in our society are all because evolution is taught in schools. I guess I should be glad and thankful that this person was smart enough to figure that out.
Seriously? Just so you know, I am not going to be converted to your way of thinking if this is the best you can do. I am taking my computer and going to play with the people over there. You know the ones - the ones who think that maybe there is a step or two between a textbook and a life as a high school drop-out, drug using, child abusing, single mom, prostitute with 10 kids who is robbing a drug dealer at gunpoint. I'm just sayin'...
6 comments:
Blood pressure rising! I think I'd mail the newsletter back and ask to be put on the no-mail, no-call list. But then, hey, I'm just one of the scummy bottomfeeders who grew up believing in evolution and who brought her kids (only two) up the same way. To calm myself, I shall now return to looking at the photo of your cutie playing with the bagworms. That's my kinda kiddo there!
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Probably I should do both.
Hee!
Sob.
I'm kind of in the same boat as Kelli. Those folks really expect other people to drink that kool aid? Wow. That is narcissistic of them.
I've been thinking about this so I'll leave a comment, too. I appreciate your post. I am fed up with both sides- or anyone who pushes an adgenda rather than just the facts. I'd like to see the data that shows specifically that evolution caused the moral decline.
The evolution scientists have made a fool of themselves as well at times.
In response to the facebook religion vs science discussion, I think this is tricky because I know some people won't believe in God because of evolution. I don't think this conclusion was based on evidence based science, since no one was here thousands or billions of years ago, it was not observed. But then, I'm not a biologist :)
As for the moral issue, common sense tells me that believing that God created me for a purpouse will increase my sense of morality. If I am an accident, who really cares? But I don't think you can prove that with stats. Thanks for sharing, Kara!
Jean - It is actually an email newsletter I subscribed to on purpose, frighteningly enough! I kind of feel like if I am going to have an opinion about a debatable subject, I better understand both sides of the argument!
Kelli and Amanda- You know we are all on the same page!
Wendi- I totally agree with you that some evolutionary biologists have made complete fools of themselves. No argument there!
I will say that after lots of years of interacting with biologists and scientists, I don't personally know a single person who does not believe in God because of evolution. I know atheists who will use evolution as an argument for not believing in God, but they would tell you they were and would be atheists anyway. I would argue that anyone that could have their entire faith shaken by the fact that allele frequencies change over time did not have much of a faith in God in the first place. I don't believe that God and evolution are mutually exclusive and I have yet to find anyone who has been able to convince me otherwise.
As far as statistics and how they are used to manipulate and mislead...that is a whole other can of worms!
Okay, after spending the last hour and a half writing down my comment, as I went to post it, I got a "Blogger Error" and half of my response was somehow deleted. You are spared the boredom of reading it for now. Tomorrow maybe I'll have the energy to write it all down again.
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