Why I think that Creationists are dangerous.

Creationists prey on the weak. They use the superstitious fears of the uneducated to buoy up their cause. The whole point of creationism, and its slicker half-brother Intelligent Design, is not to introduce a competing theory to explain how everything came to be. The whole point of Creationism is to protect Christianity. The abiding fear of these crackpots is the too much knowledge places their faith in danger. And they create a pretend conflict of scientific theories to create doubt.

But they start the debate with a lie.

Creationists and evolutionists, Christians and non-Christians all have the same evidence, the same facts. Think about it: we all have the same earth, the same fossil layers, the same animals and plants, the same stars,the facts are all the same.

The difference is in the way we all interpret the facts. And why do we interpret facts differently? Because we start with different presuppositions. These are things that are assumed to be true, without being able to prove them. These then become the basis for other conclusions. All reasoning is based on presuppositions (also called axioms). This becomes especially relevant when dealing with past events. Go to this site for more

That sounds reasonable doesn't it? But it is wrong! Science does not start with a presupposition. Science starts with a question. Not an answer.

Science looks around to find evidence. When a scientist finds something, he struggles to make sense of it. He gathers more evidence and compares it to the original evidence. He asks colleagues for their input. He publishes his findings in scientific journals which are read by other scientists. These other scientists look for more evidence that either supports the first scientists conclusions or contradicts them. If the scientists find evidence to support the first scientist they share it. If their evidence contradicts it, they publish it, and gain fame and more money to do further research.

Now the above paragraph is pretty simple but if you need help maybe your mommy can read it to you. Now let's look at Creationism.

Creationists start with a book. The Bible. They believe that the Bible is the source of all truth. The Bible is not a scientific textbook. Its findings have not been vetted by other scientists. The Creationists believe that the information in the Bible came from God. Therefore they are not allowed to question its veracity. Or they will go to hell!

Now the Creationists do not look for evidence. They take the findings of the scientists and they look for inconsistencies, or things that they cannot accept because it does not match the information from the Bible. They use other science from geology, or physics, or mathematics to attack the conclusions of the scientists who they do not agree with. They misrepresent the definitions in science and attempt to impugn the honor of the men who do the research. They accuse these men of creating their own religion called "Secular Humanism". This is a trick to level the playing field. Now instead of a battle between science and faith, it becomes a battle between competing faiths. This is very disingenuous.

What they rarely tell their followers is that there are scientists from a variety of faiths, including Christianity, who find no conflict between their faith and science. Creationists continue to attack science and restrict their adherents access to the information to the detriment of us all. Knowledge is power in our modern world, and the more our children learn the more advances we will enjoy.

I personally hope that we will answer some of the most important questions of our origins in my lifetime. But with these science haters in the world it helps to slow down our progress toward reaching those answers. Which, by the way, is their goal.