Why is evolution taught in our schools?

[Neostarwcc]

You know, in my christian homeschooling curriculum, I was taught creationism instead of evolution. Looking at the creationist hypotheses that I learned almost 2 decades ago vs. the hypotheses put forward now: they are new and completely different. It's like the old ideas weren't panning out, so they just tossed them out and drew up something new.

I've had to go out of my way to research evolution as an adult, and I find it interesting how new evidences found only prove to strengthen their argument. It seems that many different fields of science outside of evolution only serve to bolster the claims biologists make, as well (such as geologists and the evidence for the age of the earth, and the different eras the earth has undergone that influenced life through the ages).

Still, with this said, there's nothing that shows that god still isn't the creator, or the designer. I think what people find under attack isn't god at all, but their interpretation of the bible, IMO.

You were lucky. My parents were too poor to send me to Catholic school so I was educated in public school. Although my mom wanted to send me to Catholic school. My sisters kids are much more fortunate. Both of my nieces go to Christian schools. Although I don't think either of them believe in God yet.

 

[Speedwell]

It was nonsense. I'm ashamed to admit that I believed it at one point. But yeah a lot of what I was taught has been disproven by science.

A lot of what you were taught was never science at all.

Except for things like Germ Theory which has been proven by science.

Including, evidently, what a scientific theory is and how it is verified.

 

[Neostarwcc]

There is a cable channel we get called "Destination America" that has a series on it called "Ancient Aliens."

Not one that I ever watch.

Interesting. I think I might of heard it on TV too but I was too young to really remember.

 

[sfs]

How do you "know" humans are not a separate act of creation?

The same way I know that I am not a separate act of creation two weeks ago. My existence is adequately explained by the normal processes of human reproduction, and there is plenty of evidence that there was nothing unusual about my origins -- even though I cannot reproduce my own birth in the lab. Is it possible that I was created two weeks ago with all of my memories intact, along with all of the accompanying evidence of my birth and childhood? Sure. But the same kind of possibility exists for everything else we "know" too, including things we replicate in the lab.

How about you -- how do you "know" that your mother gave birth to you?

 

[Neostarwcc]

A lot of what you were taught was never science at all. Including, evidently, what a scientific theory is and how it is verified.

Well we know Germ Theory is true because it can be replicated in a lab. Just like DNA is true ..etc. I still believe in DNA and whatnot because it's science that has been proven. Evolution hasn't been proven IMO.

 

[expos4ever]

IF you cannot repeat it, then you do not "know" it.

You believe it based on FAITH.

Are you serious?

No, really, are you serious?

This so patently misleading it us hard to take seriously.

 

[expos4ever]

Actually that would have been Himmler and Eichmann.

Hitler (may his name be blotted out) set the direction, but they masterminded the HOW. He wanted it done. They devised the means to actually do it.

Not the point and you know it. You conveniently evade the key point: something need not be repeatable to be reasonably understood as “fact”.

How is this not painfully obvious?

 

[VirOptimus]

Right I agree with you but we didn't evolve from them. When I was in school I was taught that we evolved from them because at the time scientists thought we did.

But yet there are many scientists out there trying to prove the existence of God. I'm not saying magic is real though. Magicicans deal worth illusion and don't actually have any magical powers.

All apes share a common ancestor, thats a fact.

I think you know nothing about science or theology, because your posts are very ill-informed.

 

[Galdrun]

You were lucky. My parents were too poor to send me to Catholic school so I was educated in public school. Although my mom wanted to send me to Catholic school. My sisters kids are much more fortunate. Both of my nieces go to Christian schools. Although I don't think either of them believe in God yet.

I'll... disagree. See, the education I had received was very skewed. It espoused that segregation was a good thing. Lincoln was the aggressor from the north who invaded the south when the confederacy just wanted to practice their own independent rights (things such as Alexander Stephen's cornerstone speech were never mentioned). Anything outside of their interpretation of the bible was a lie from satan. In the end, I didn't even get a high school diploma from them, and I had to go and get my GED later on.

I don't blame my parents, as they never really looked too deeply into the curriculum to see how bad it was. They just trusted that the curriculum their church had recommended was good, and they didn't want to see me get into a lot of the trouble that my brother got into while he was in public school. The funny thing was that I ended up getting into a lot of trouble anyways (in many ways, worse trouble), though they still don't know about it to this day.

 

[Neostarwcc]

I'll... disagree. See, the education I had received was very skewed. It espoused that segregation was a good thing. Lincoln was the aggressor from the north who invaded the south when the confederacy just wanted to practice their own independent rights (things such as Alexander Stephen's cornerstone speech were never mentioned). Anything outside of their interpretation of the bible was a lie from satan. In the end, I didn't even get a high school diploma from them, and I had to go and get my GED later on.

I don't blame my parents, as they never really looked too deeply into the curriculum to see how bad it was. They just trusted that the curriculum their church had recommended was good, and they didn't want to see me get into a lot of the trouble that my brother got into while he was in public school. The funny thing was that I ended up getting into a lot of trouble anyways (in many ways, worse trouble), though they still don't know about it to this day.

Oh. Well it could have just been a bad school I didn't go there so I don't know. I might agree with you too that if I had gone to Catholic school like my mom wanted I probably still wouldn't have been a Catholic since I don't believe in many of the teachings of the Catholic church. So it makes no difference in our general education. I don't see anything wrong with getting your GED It's still a diploma and is better than getting an IEP. But... yeah. I see your point I guess.

 

[mark kennedy]

Why is evolution taught in our public schools? Should it be? Why or why not? I dont think it should be. I'm not saying creationism should be taught in our public schools even if I believe in creationism and think its a good idea in a perfect world. No Satan doesnt want creationism taught to our children so it will never be. I'm just saying that a theory that hasn't been 100% proven shouldn't be taught in our schools as scientific fact.

I mean around 18 years ago when I was in high school it was taught to me that we evolved from monkeys and it was taught to us as if it was a proven fact. Yet science has proven recently that we didn't evolve from monkeys scientists now think we evolved from something else. Well which is it? If evolution is such an ironclad piece of science than why did scientists get it wrong? When teaching evolution why not say that nobody knows exactly where we came from and that evolution is one theory that explains the origins of life?

I mean to an average scientist evolution has been proven and they deny that a God created the universe and to an average Christian scientist creationism has been proven and it's been proven that not only did a God create the universe but it was their God. Do you see what I'm saying? They can't both be right on the origins of life. Either we evolved or Christ created us. But I still argue that you cannot teach a theory as scientific fact and then when parts of it are proven false then say "It's still scientific fact we just got part of it wrong."

I seldom heard anything about evolution as natural history in school, I have no problem with it being taught but discuss it and move on. As long as its not an affront to creationism or Intelligent design I could care less. I would prefer biology class focused on cellular architecture, organs, ecological systems and vital processes. When I took Biology in college the Professor discussed haw cells and systems function almost exclusively. The class was more about lerning a vocabulary the some mythical apelike ancestor. Evolution, sure, but how adaptive evolution works in the real world. Not some convoluted stone ape man myth. And I dont think it should be used as a pretense for ridiculing religious convictions reqarding creation.

 

[Galdrun]

Oh. Well it could have just been a bad school I didn't go there so I don't know. I might agree with you too that if I had gone to Catholic school like my mom wanted I probably still wouldn't have been a Catholic since I don't believe in many of the teachings of the Catholic church. So it makes no difference in our general education. I don't see anything wrong with getting your GED It's still a diploma and is better than getting an IEP. But... yeah. I see your point I guess.

I would agree that it was the school itself, and not homeschooling in general (though, it was southern baptist). Having to learn everything from scratch after the fact (science, history, and math especially) wasn't that bad, in the long run. It's instilled a love of learning for me.

As for the GED, when I took it the test had changed. Before one needed a fifth grade education to pass, but now it goes into college levels of knowledge for sure. If you pass highly enough, you even get college credit.

Anyways! Sorry to go off topic, education is just something I'm passionate about, and it doesn't take much to send me on a tangent. =)

 

[46AND2]

Right I agree with you but we didn't evolve from them. When I was in school I was taught that we evolved from them because at the time scientists thought we did.

Are you not paying attention to how others are responding to your claim that "scientists used to think...but now think...?"

Several times you have been corrected that science still says, and has for 150+ years, that we DID evolve from apes. Nothing has changed about that in the time since you went to school. Heck, nothing has changed about that since your GRANDFATHER went to school.

 

[JackRT]

And a scientific theory is what according to you?

See my post #4 in this thread.

 

[Neostarwcc]

All apes share a common ancestor, thats a fact.

I think you know nothing about science or theology, because your posts are very ill-informed.

I never went to college for science no but, I did get my high school education so I do know a little about science and it depends what part of theology you're talking about. I know about the relevant parts of theology. But you don't have to have a college education to know that it's been proven by science that humans didn't evolve from apes. But anyway... I'm not arguing with you. The point of this thread was to discuss why evolution is being taught in schools as scientific fact when it is a scientific theory.

But, anyway I did state that I believe in DNA and germ theory and much of the science that's been discussed in this thread because it can be proven and replicated in a lab. But, Evolution has not been proven and cannot be replicated in a lab. When evolution can be replicated in a lab and has been 100% proven be sure to give me a jingle and I will probably believe in it. But, I might start believing like the other Christians do that God caused Evolution to happen. But, just because I believe that humans didn't evolve but Jesus created the heavens and the Earth and all we see around us doesn't mean that I'm any less uneducated than you are. It's true, you don't believe that but just because you believe differently than I do does not give you the right to call me uneducated. After all this is a country with freedom of religion. You have just as much of a right to be an Atheist as I do to be a Christian. It doesn't make us any less uneducated just because many Christians don't believe in the theory of Evolution.

 

[Neostarwcc]

Are you not paying attention to how others are responding to your claim that "scientists used to think...but now think...?"

Several times you have been corrected that science still says, and has for 150+ years, that we DID evolve from apes. Nothing has changed about that in the time since you went to school. Heck, nothing has changed about that since your GRANDFATHER went to school.

Orly? Where?

 

[46AND2]

Orly? Where?

What on earth are you talking about? It's been known for far longer than 18 years that humans and monkeys share a common ancestor. That ancestor is something we would call a monkey if we saw it alive. Nothing about that has changed in the last 18 years.

Humans are apes by definition.

All apes share a common ancestor, thats a fact

 

[VirOptimus]

I never went to college for science no but, I did get my high school education so I do know a little about science and it depends what part of theology you're talking about. I know about the relevant parts of theology. But you don't have to have a college education to know that it's been proven by science that humans didn't evolve from apes. But anyway... I'm not arguing with you. The point of this thread was to discuss why evolution is being taught in schools as scientific fact when it is a scientific theory.

But, anyway I did state that I believe in DNA and germ theory and much of the science that's been discussed in this thread because it can be proven and replicated in a lab. But, Evolution has not been proven and cannot be replicated in a lab. When evolution can be replicated in a lab and has been 100% proven be sure to give me a jingle and I will probably believe in it. But, I might start believing like the other Christians do that God caused Evolution to happen. But, just because I believe that humans didn't evolve but Jesus created the heavens and the Earth and all we see around us doesn't mean that I'm any less uneducated than you are. It's true, you don't believe that but just because you believe differently than I do does not give you the right to call me uneducated. After all this is a country with freedom of religion. You have just as much of a right to be an Atheist as I do to be a Christian. It doesn't make us any less uneducated just because many Christians don't believe in the theory of Evolution.

Tl;dr.

There is no ”belief” in the ToE.

 

[Neostarwcc]

I seldom heard anything about evolution as natural history in school, I have no problem with it being taught but discuss it and move on. As long as its not an affront to creationism or Intelligent design I could care less. I would prefer biology class focused on cellular architecture, organs, ecological systems and vital processes. When I took Biology in college the Professor discussed haw cells and systems function almost exclusively. The class was more about lerning a vocabulary the some mythical apelike ancestor. Evolution, sure, but how adaptive evolution works in the real world. Not some convoluted stone ape man myth. And I dont think it should be used as a pretense for ridiculing religious convictions reqarding creation.

I guess my school was unique. I don't have a problem with Evolution being taught as a substitution to creationism. I mean after all someone already pointed out why it isn't taught in our schools its because this country has freedom of religion and creation science is Christian science only. So... That's why it isn't taught in school but when you're taught that its fact its just not proper education you know?

 

[mark kennedy]

I never went to college for science no but, I did get my high school education so I do know a little about science and it depends what part of theology you're talking about. I know about the relevant parts of theology. But you don't have to have a college education to know that it's been proven by science that humans didn't evolve from apes. But anyway... I'm not arguing with you. The point of this thread was to discuss why evolution is being taught in schools as scientific fact when it is a scientific theory.

But, anyway I did state that I believe in DNA and germ theory and much of the science that's been discussed in this thread because it can be proven and replicated in a lab. But, Evolution has not been proven and cannot be replicated in a lab. When evolution can be replicated in a lab and has been 100% proven be sure to give me a jingle and I will probably believe in it. But, I might start believing like the other Christians do that God caused Evolution to happen. But, just because I believe that humans didn't evolve but Jesus created the heavens and the Earth and all we see around us doesn't mean that I'm any less uneducated than you are. It's true, you don't believe that but just because you believe differently than I do does not give you the right to call me uneducated. After all this is a country with freedom of religion. You have just as much of a right to be an Atheist as I do to be a Christian. It doesn't make us any less uneducated just because many Christians don't believe in the theory of Evolution.

A philosophy of natural history known as Darwinism is what is being taught. Its a presuppositional worldview based on an assumption of exclusively naturalistic causes. I didnt need secular scientists to believe God raised Christ from the dead, nor do I need their permission or approval the regect universal common descent. I know what the present as evidential arguments and found them unpersuasive, not that this in anyway diminshes my confidence that adaptive evolution is a real phenomenon.