Issues with school teachings

[Eclyps19]

I'm just curious if any of you have had issues with school teachings and what you did about them.

For example, public schools typically teach that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, dinosaurs were around millions of years ago, etc. How did you handle these ideas that conflicted with your christian views? Did you go with the flow and just satisfy the teacher/professor, or did you voice your views? What was the outcome?

 

[Lukaris]

It might be good to illustrate that science and Christianity are not necessarily at odds. For a couple of personal examples: Isaac Newton was a believer and in the present day there is the example of the priest and physicist John Polkinghorne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Polkinghorne and not to mention Gregor Mendel who pioneered genetics. Often it is the science of devout Christians that gets hijacked by those who pursue an anti Christian agenda.

 

[Eclyps19]

While that may be true for some christians, there are many others who believe that the world is no older than 6,000 years or so, fossils are a test, and carbon dating doesn't work.

Regardless of whether or not any of these are true, public schools often teach things in science that go against some christian beliefs.

Trust me, I'm not trying to say christians ignore science. I'm just saying sometimes science taught in school and christian beliefs disagree

 

[Bryan519]

While that may be true for some christians, there are many others who believe that the world is no older than 6,000 years or so, fossils are a test, and carbon dating doesn't work.

Regardless of whether or not any of these are true, public schools often teach things in science that go against some christian beliefs.

Trust me, I'm not trying to say christians ignore science. I'm just saying sometimes science taught in school and christian beliefs disagree

I hadn't actually conscisously accepted my faith until I was almost out of high school. I was still a very young christian, not yet fully educated in theology and doctrine. So simply stated I didn't know any better to question that.

As for now, yes I do contemplate those questions, often. I completely understand the atheist point of view and often have the same questions that atheists have. I am constantly challenging my faith and my beliefs, I personally don't think anything is wrong with that as long as it is done in the spirit of seeking the truth. I'm looking forward to reading the responses.

 

[unkern]

When i was in high school, and they began to teach that I couldnt figure out why they were allowed to teach evolution without creationism. I believe its not even safe to send your kid to a regular school anymore, in california your forced to take a class on homosexuality. Its only a matter of time before these things happen else where.

 

[Eclyps19]

When i was in high school, and they began to teach that I couldnt figure out why they were allowed to teach evolution without creationism. I believe its not even safe to send your kid to a regular school anymore, in california your forced to take a class on homosexuality. Its only a matter of time before these things happen else where.

hmmm I find it hard to believe that gradeschool children are required to take a full class on homosexuality. I wouldn't be surprised if it was touched on in health class or something though. Besides, they aren't teaching people to BE homosexuals, just about homosexuality. Is that really so bad? Should we not be taught about would war 2 because hitler was a bad person?

 

[unkern]

its actually a class on how to accept homosexuality

 

[Eclyps19]

its actually a class on how to accept homosexuality

wow... really weird... with the amount of homophobia still present in the world, I'm amazed there hasn't been a huge uproar about this.

 

[Polycarp_fan]

I'm just curious if any of you have had issues with school teachings and what you did about them.

For example, public schools typically teach that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, dinosaurs were around millions of years ago, etc.

Just go past a teacher in school like you would a babbling, drooling street walker. Giev them a smile, but when they think you are encouraging them, stop talking to them and walk on. But keep smiling. This will get yoy passing grades in college or high school, with no need to become debauched.

How did you handle these ideas that conflicted with your christian views?

How do those ideas "conflict" with Christian life? They are just opinions and nothing else. They only hur the people that follow evolution to atheism to abortion to embracing other perversions. No one "forces" you to believe the mythology of the teachers. Just grin and bear it. Or, better yet, smile and bear it. They too shall pass.

Did you go with the flow and just satisfy the teacher/professor, or did you voice your views? What was the outcome?

Appeasing an egotist/elitist ALWAYS goes well for their captive audience. Teachers love praise heaped on them far more than they do the truth. Just get an A in the class and move on to reality. Never, though, forget the experience.

(Of course, with today's society poisoned the way it is by the kinds of teachings, you won't be able to anyway.)

I hope I was of some help.

Have you ever been in a room full of polite people when "one" of them "passes wind?"

Same thing.

 

[Eclyps19]

Have you ever been in a room full of polite people when "one" of them "passes wind?"

Polycarp, i don't appreciate your lies...



Everybody knows polite people NEVER pass wind...

 

[Lukaris]

While that may be true for some christians, there are many others who believe that the world is no older than 6,000 years or so, fossils are a test, and carbon dating doesn't work.

Regardless of whether or not any of these are true, public schools often teach things in science that go against some christian beliefs.

Trust me, I'm not trying to say christians ignore science. I'm just saying sometimes science taught in school and christian beliefs disagree

Sorry for not replying but my internet connection failed and perhaps others have answered this already. However, I do not feel that there need be conflict since science is not inherently in conflict with Christianity, rather,it is the understanding of some scientists towards Christianity. For ex, where it says in Genesis that creation took 6 days and God rested on the 7th; that is the word of God in an explanation He saw fit to give. St. Peter later said 1 day to God is like 1000 years to us (2 peter 3:8), so precision is not known by us here & faithful acceptance of what we "know in part" per St. Paul 1 Corinthians 13:9 is our rule. Science says the universe is billions of years old & light speed verifies this and still we only "know in part" of a truth. Secular science says matter is neither created or destroyed; but the Christian would say it is created and then operates within the bounds of science within a created universe according to the same physical laws. Again, there does not need be any conflict since an atheist and a Christian scientist should still be able to be colleagues in day to day matters. We see creation as temporal and partial and the scientific operation within it "scientifically" "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." (1 Corinthians 13:10) and that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

 

[Eclyps19]

I love asking these questions, as all the responses I get are incredibly interesting, yet they all seem to be so different. I always thought christians had the same beliefs straight from the bible. While the core beliefs are typically the same, ambiguous passages are interpreted very differently. I haven't discussed religion with many christians, so this could be my own ignorance, but I was under the impression that the general christian population believed the earth was no older than 6000 years, was created in 6 days, and dinosaurs never existed (at least not in the ways we are taught about in school).

A good example would be a thread I made yesterday. One of my questions was regarding homosexual christians. some said you can be gay and go to heaven as long as you don't act on it. some say that because you're gay, you will not go to heaven, regardless of whether or not you engage in homosexual activities. I know others who say that homosexuality is fine. It seems like there is so much ambiguity in the religion itself. How do you know if you've got the right idea when half of the religon agrees and another half has a different idea?

 

[Sketcher]

Most of the time when I was in school, I was a Christian who leaned toward evolution. I didn't have an issue with biology class because the teacher did not speak against the Christian view of creation, but rather various pagan views. Found out sometime later that he was a churchgoer himself.

By the time I swung back to a more literal account of creation, I was done with biology so it wasn't an issue as far as that was concerned.

 

[Sketcher]

A good example would be a thread I made yesterday. One of my questions was regarding homosexual christians. some said you can be gay and go to heaven as long as you don't act on it. some say that because you're gay, you will not go to heaven, regardless of whether or not you engage in homosexual activities. I know others who say that homosexuality is fine. It seems like there is so much ambiguity in the religion itself. How do you know if you've got the right idea when half of the religon agrees and another half has a different idea?

How do I know? I try to base my beliefs on what the whole of Scripture says. A lot of the unbalanced views out there don't take all the passages regarding the subject into account. There's also personal opinion and biases that affect the more liberal doctrines out there.

There are also some truths that are absolutely essential, some truths that are merely "important," yet indispensable, some truths that are mysteries, and some others where there is actual room for disagreement.

 

[Bryan519]

How do I know? I try to base my beliefs on what the whole of Scripture says. A lot of the unbalanced views out there don't take all the passages regarding the subject into account. There's also personal opinion and biases that affect the more liberal doctrines out there.

There are also some truths that are absolutely essential, some truths that are merely "important," yet indispensable, some truths that are mysteries, and some others where there is actual room for disagreement.

Well said. I was going to reply, but I think you summed it up nicely.

 

[mpok1519]

Im Christian, but I'm pretty sure the science teachers know what they're talking about.

creationism = symbology
evolution = science.

So what if a class taught about accepting homosexuality? Im in college, and took an Anthropology of Love and Sex, and a Philosophy of Love and Sex class; the issue of homosexuality definately was within the ciriculum, and the facts were separated from the myths about homosexuality, and we learned the facts. Now, did the class force us to accept homosexuality? no, of course not.

The point of a class you've paid your hard-earned money for is to give you the facts, not to lie to you, or confuse you, or decieve you. Its my opinion that a Church will confuse/decieve you before a teacher will; I doubt Harvard university would go out of its way to tell you lies after you've given them your hard earned money in exchange for an education.

 

[arunma]

I'm just curious if any of you have had issues with school teachings and what you did about them.

For example, public schools typically teach that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, dinosaurs were around millions of years ago, etc. How did you handle these ideas that conflicted with your christian views? Did you go with the flow and just satisfy the teacher/professor, or did you voice your views? What was the outcome?

For the record, I should state that I do not believe the earth is 6,000 years old. And I am by no means a liberal Christian (for example, I believe that God sends people to hell for not believing in his Son, as well as all of the other "offensive" doctrines of Christianity). But your question still remains valid: precisely how do I deal with widely held academic beliefs that disagree with the doctrines of Christianity? This is indeed an important question for someone like myself. I am a physicist, and in academic physics the culture leans quite strongly against Christianity. To be honest, my colleagues' and professors' views on issues such as evolution trouble me very little. Rejection of evolution and belief in ex nihilo creation never saved a single soul. Only faith in Jesus Christ can save anyone.

I am of the opinion that most common objections against Christianity are meant to divert attention away from the more important issues of sin and justification. The Bible declares that all people are sinners, and can only be saved by being justified through faith in Jesus Christ. Consequently, all who reject Christ will peris in hell. It's easy for people to have a debate on creationism, because at the end of the day the unbeliever isn't faced with the possibility that his beliefs will incur the eternal wrath of God. Thus, I don't take part in debates on creationism and evolution. I'd much rather challenge an unbeliever's false religion (or atheism, in the case of most people I work with) than his belief on how the universe was created.

I love asking these questions, as all the responses I get are incredibly interesting, yet they all seem to be so different. I always thought christians had the same beliefs straight from the bible. While the core beliefs are typically the same, ambiguous passages are interpreted very differently. I haven't discussed religion with many christians, so this could be my own ignorance, but I was under the impression that the general christian population believed the earth was no older than 6000 years, was created in 6 days, and dinosaurs never existed (at least not in the ways we are taught about in school).

A good example would be a thread I made yesterday. One of my questions was regarding homosexual christians. some said you can be gay and go to heaven as long as you don't act on it. some say that because you're gay, you will not go to heaven, regardless of whether or not you engage in homosexual activities. I know others who say that homosexuality is fine. It seems like there is so much ambiguity in the religion itself. How do you know if you've got the right idea when half of the religon agrees and another half has a different idea?

Yes, there are many different ideas in Christianity, as there are in every religion. But fortunately, we also have the Bible, which clarifies many of these issues. Any denomination can be judged on how faithful it is to the Bible. Many American churches, for example, have found the Bible's teaching about false religions to be offensive, and have thus abandoned Biblical teaching in favor of universalism (the belief that non-Christians can be saved). But it is possible to read the Bible for oneself and determine how closely any denomination's teachings resemble the faith once given to the Apostles of Christ.

 

[Staccato]

In addition to what others have already said, I must also stress how there does not need to be any conflict between scripture and science. An awful lot of people tend to get hung up on the creation v evolution debate as though it is the defining point of Christianity. It isn't, and it is a sad day when people turn away from the light due to a non-problem that they perceive to be a 'deal breaker' as it were.

In answer to your question, I had a public school education in the UK, during which I did advanced level biology. In the curriculum was the topic of evolution, which comprised of a good third of a single module (we were given a thorough grounding in it so to speak). We were taught only the science, taught how it was established fact in the scientific community without a viable alternative, shown multiple cases of evidence to this effect and no-one batted an eyelid. In my class were fellow students from multiple religions and denominations, as well of those of no religion at all.

In the US this would apparently be a matter of great upset, no doubt a case to be brought up at a PTA meeting and complained about endlessly. I have little doubt that, in some cases, many parents would threaten to remove their children from the education system and homeschool them, or demand that the 'controversy' of ID or creationism itself were taught to balance out the scales.

I risk a flame here, but I must say that, in my opinion, creation and ID has no place in the science classroom. It has a place in religious education class, where children should be taught about it without further ado. Evolution is scientific fact. Which makes it part of God's almight creation. I do not see the issue. The world is created by God. Evolution is a fact of the world. Therefore we can assume that God created evolution, and it continues with his guidance and blessing. That many atheistic scientists (as well as religious scientists) believe it to be true does not make it false. And this is before we even go onto the idea of abiogenesis or similar (something which, I believe, science does not have the answer to). Creation and ID do not have scientific proof to their theories (which does not make them WRONG, but does make them UNSCIENTIFIC) as of yet.

Many have had problems with the education system in the US. I experienced what many of them would consider to be their 'worse nightmare'. And I loved every minute of it.

 

[ebia]

I'm just curious if any of you have had issues with school teachings and what you did about them.

For example, public schools typically teach that the earth is 4.5 billion years old, dinosaurs were around millions of years ago, etc. How did you handle these ideas that conflicted with your christian views? Did you go with the flow and just satisfy the teacher/professor, or did you voice your views? What was the outcome?

Like the vast majority of Christians outside the US I don't have a problem with any of those. I did have an atheist Religious Education teacher at one point - I rapidly came to the conclusion he was an idiot (not simply because he was an atheist, but he really didn't have anything worthwhile to say) and pretty much ignored him.

 

[Eclyps19]

Like the vast majority of Christians outside the US I don't have a problem with any of those. I did have an atheist Religious Education teacher at one point - I rapidly came to the conclusion he was an idiot (not simply because he was an atheist, but he really didn't have anything worthwhile to say) and pretty much ignored him.

that's a shame. I'll be taking a biblical literature class sometime in the next year or two. I hope my atheism doesn't force me to have nothing worthwile to say during that class

@mpok, I was assuming the homosexuality class was in public schools, which would certainly cause issues in the US. In college, however, it wouldn't be an issue. I have some gay friends who are awesome and fun people to be around. In fact, one of my favorite professors is gay. Smartest man I've ever met.

Thank you arunma and staccato. Both were very good responses.