… The various arguments Christians go through in trying to get creationism taught in the schools follow a predictable pattern.
• “We are a Christian nation. The country was founded on it.” Yes, the grip religion has on humanity was too strong even for the Founding Fathers to free us.
• “It should be Christianity’s myth because that has been our tradition in this country.” Slavery was a tradition in this country, too, as was every form of bigotry and oppression.
• (Implied, but not stated) “Evolution is only a theory.” Yes, like the atomic theory or theory of flight, and like them, you can challenge and revise any part of it, and if the argument you propose stands up to the light of reason, it becomes part of the science. What’s the review and revision climate like among Christian fundamentalists?
Creationists call it the wedge strategy. They know they have to get to the children before their worldview solidifies in their teen years — college is too late and besides, they know there’s a conspiracy among almost all scientists and university educators to spread atheism and humanism, so the children have to be exposed well before then. So it is a part of the mission to continue to hammer away at the schools to teach creationism and plant that wedge.
Finally, the vocal among them wants to denigrate those who'd like public education to be free of religious bias. Those voices happen to belong to one narrow band of just one single religion, a religion that permeates our culture and monopolizes our politics and yet whose followers think they are a put-upon minority. I guess it should be of little surprise when those folks try to foment hatred by dehumanizing those who would free our minds and saying they "are evil to the core." That's the hallmark of the imprint of religion when applied to the child too young. DOUGLAS FALKNOR, GREENVILLE
Why not teach everything as theory?
The two sides of this classical brouhaha almost always miss one central point: The big fuss could be alleviated by an understanding that our educational system would teach everything as theory. I once suggested this point to a friend who taught school. His mouth dropped open. He asked if I would teach the multiplication table as theory. I said I would most especially teach the multiplication table as theory, and I wouldn’t hesitate to throw in some supporting evidence.
"Why present evidence?" he asked. As a footnote, I replied, "Let us refrain from persuasion, lest we propagate into yet another millennium the melodramatic cant of Tennessee vs. Scopes." LAURENCE KOSSMANN, WASHINGTON TWP.
Constitutional rights aren’t being infringed on
I read with interest the debate in the July 7 newspaper on teaching creationism versus evolution. There are several things I’d like to point out.
First, contrary to the statements of one letter writer, the constitutional rights of Christians are not being infringed on. They are free to practice their faith in their own homes and their own churches without interference. What they are not free to do is drag their religious beliefs into the classroom and force them down other people’s throats as scientific fact.
Contrary to what a lot of these people have been taught to believe, there is a lot of evidence to support evolution over numerous years and in numerous scientific disciplines, including astronomy, geology, biology and archaeology. It is only still called a theory because the details of evolution are still being discussed, not its basic truth.
As for the Bible, there are two separate versions of creation in the first two books of Genesis alone. And it further goes on to discuss "the daughters of men" marrying the "sons of God." Who is to say God didn't use evolution to create? But that is a theory while evolution itself is an established fact. As is the Constitution freeing people to follow their religion without imposing it on others. BARBARA ANDERSON, HUBER HEIGHTS
Evolution is real and happening still
Springboro’s proposal to teach creationism alongside evolution, at first glance, seems to promote students’ critical engagement with all sides of an issue. Upon deeper inspection, it’s clear the proposal has the unsound intention of promulgating religious teachings in public school.
Under the proposed curriculum change, Springboro students would be learning that evolution is a controversial topic "up for debate." Evolution is not controversial; it's real and happening still today. However, many quick information sources suggest evolution and other topics, including global climate change, are contested among scientists. "Sound bite"-style news reports paint a picture of controversy when, in reality, evolution and climate change are well documented, widely accepted, and not in dispute at all. Most scientific professionals (and anyone who has taken a college science class) agree that evolution and climate change are occurring. The true debate going on is not if evolution and climate change are happening, but the specific mechanisms, instances and consequences of how they are happening. VIRGINIA FULFORD, OAKWOOD
Speak up
For the last five years of my full-time teaching career, with the full knowledge (and dismay) of state and county school officials, as well as the ACLU, I demonstrated to my students that mathematics proves beyond the shadow of doubt that evolutionism is nonsense. The students saw that the evidence clearly shows that every item associated with humans, animals and plants are Intelligent Designs and Intelligent Design is science. I always let the students figure it out for themselves and allowed them to believe what they chose, but at least they were exposed to the scientific facts that extremists want to censor from the minds of public school students.
Creationism is embraced by those weak-spirited Christians who see their Creator as a sort of David Copperfield, and for whom evolution isn't miracle enough.
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