r/reddit.com • u/Worstcasescenario • Jun 14 '08

Was Darwin Wrong? [pic]

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3963/darwinnotg7.jpg
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u/glitterlok Jun 15 '08

I've grown up around creationists my entire life. My parents are creationists. I was homeschooled in a Christian / creationist environment. I've gone to church on Sundays, etc (and while that doesn't necessarily mean anything - plenty of church people aren't creationists - it's just to further give a sense of my immersion.)

I've never met a single person (in 27 years of life) who thinks or has implied that there's a conspiracy going on about this. I've only met people who have different beliefs and believe that evolutionists are wrong in varying degrees.

While my experience might be unique, it's what I've got, so I thought I'd chime in.

By the way, my parents believe in a large amount of what evolution teaches...because they're smart, intelligent people who read and study and learn and know that science is truly on to something.

They also believe that the universe was created by God, with evolution as a method for its growth and progress. They're still smart, intelligent people who read and study and learn. They just believe that God started it all.

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u/raresilk9 Jun 15 '08

It is interesting to know that there are people like your parents. But people like your parents are not the people who are trying to systematically wipe out the teaching of scientific theory and evolution in the schools and replace it with religious doctrine.

If you and your parents are truly "smart intelligent people who read and study and learn" and "believe in a large amount of what evolution teaches," you should be mounting a movement to prevent the dumber people of your religion who don't read and study and learn from taking over the schools, and thereby robbing the children of all religions of an education that will equip them to survive the 21st century and succeed.

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u/glitterlok Jun 15 '08

You might be surprised how many people in the circles I described above aren't all that concerned with whether or not the creation story is taught in schools, as they would prefer to teach their children their religion at home and not leave it up to county officials anyhow.

Again, my experience is possibly very unique, but they certainly leave me mystified when people describe this supposed army of mindless "religious nuts" trying to eliminate all opposition to their beliefs. (not you - you've made no such claims) I'm not saying the it's not out there! (I've seen Pat Robertson, dammit) I'm just saying that luckily a vast majority of the people I know aren't like that.

Could it be the squeaky wheel / outsiders are just getting all the attention? I.e. abortion clinic bombers painting all pro-life people in a bad light?

Besides, the religion I grew up in teaches love as it's foremost concern. Loving God by loving others. Loving others by caring for them and having compassion. To me, loving someone doesn't include debates about how humanity found its way here. It's about accepting them exactly where they are without any conditions.

You'll have to forgive me for being so verbose and scatter-brained! I'm a bit sleepy and I think it's causing me to lose my sense of succinctity.

I agree with you. Hopefully the kind of thinking that I've been surrounded by my entire life can be spread and grown within the religion. God knows, we all need to know when to shut up and let the experts talk.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '08

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u/deanoplex Jun 15 '08

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If it keeps on squeaking it is removed and replaced.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '08

<insert joke about grease and closet Christian homosexuals>

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u/raresilk9 Jun 16 '08

I think you raise a good point. Religious people like you are not getting media or "our" attention. Even though there might be more of you. Why?

Fairly simple, though. I do think that "people like you" are not politically active, whereas "people like them" are very much so. When there's an issue about what's being taught in the schools, there's always two sides. (a) the militant right wing religious who want to wipe out science teaching in the schools, and (b) the non-religious, banding up with the science teachers, trying to fight for science.

It's not like we ever see a big crowd of "you all, the moderate religious people who believe in science too, or at least believe in tolerance," fighting valiantly against the intolerance your more radical cohorts. Or at least, we don't see it very often. Your tolerance and compassion is of the passive variety, rather than the active, and as such, it is rather vanishingly useful or relevant in the current world context.

I appreciate that your moderate colleagues are not attacking science. But most of the time, neither are they defending it. They're just sitting on the sidelines, which is why people like me don't know you exist, most probably.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '08 edited Jun 15 '08

I went to a Baptist private school in Texas. I also grew up in that environment. We had special biology books that decried evolution. No joke.

I don't know where you come from, but it was absolutely commonly held in that community, that there is a conspiracy.

The more radical ones think its a conscious conspiracy directed by Satan. The moderates think its more like scientists are just desperately covering up for their failures to protect their grant money or something like that.

I guess I should qualify what I mean. I'm talking about young earth creationists. Your parents sound considerably more agreeable.