The struggle between evolution and creation: an American problem

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HistoryUpdated May 13, 2008 2:34 PM by Faith-Science News…

Survey after survey confirms that most Americans accept some form of scientific creationism - the claim that the early chapters of Genesis are good scientific guides to the origins of our world. Today, one often hears talk of so called intelligent design theory - the claim that, on scientific grounds, much of life is irreducibly complex, inexplicable through blind law, and hence necessitates the invocation of a miraculous, intelligence-driven creation. However, for most people in the USA, this position is simply blocking for a biblical literalistic reading of origins where the Earth was created 6,000 years ago, where organisms were formed miraculously in six days (with humans last), and where some time later nearly everything was destroyed by a universal flood.

Of course, none of this is genuine science - the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and organisms evolved slowly through the process of natural selection - but I believe the big mistake is to think that the real motivation of American literalists is ultimately scientific. It is not. It is much more a concern with moral issues.

Literalists do not see the battle as simply one between rival accounts of life’s origins (evolution or miracles). They see the scientific debate as merely the froth on a much larger issue - the moral soul of humankind. All varieties of creationists feel that the real enemy is atheism, often in the guise of materialistic humanism, something that promotes abortion, homosexuality, premarital sex, feminism and much more. It is something that pits...
Michael Ruse Online
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