> To a large extent, creationists are to blame
> for this perception. The highly visible ones
> like Morris and Gish for example have given
> scientific creationism a 'bad rap'.
Most assuredly this is correct. There was a knee-jerk backlash to
Darwin during the 19th century that was altogether unwarranted. There
is nothing that Darwin said that really posed much of a problem for
basic Christian faith. The doctrines that were cooked up to "defend
against Darwinian heresy" have done more harm than good since then.
Examples of bizarre "scientific" ideas persist interminably.
I resently saw a children's video that was made by a famous American
minister, who I will not name, that was endeavoring to "teach" children
about the "errors" of evolution. He leaned very heavily on the bogus
"dust on the moon" argument as if it was the creationist ace-trump. As
a Christian, I can say very forthrightly that this kind of tactic is
wholly repugnant to me. This is not the kind of thing to teach a child
and pass if off as science.
There is, however, a mistake that Naturalistic Materialists make that is
equally repugnant: the tendency to paint all creationist views into the
one held by the minister on the video I mentioned--that shared by Morris
and Gish. It is becoming increasingly clear that the YEC view has begun
to die, albeit slowly, and will probably eventually be scrapped by most
Christians. Non-creationists should recognize this shift and its
implications.
Russ
Russell T. Cannon
rcannon@usa.net