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Creationism is the Belief that Human ity, Life , the Earth , and the Universe were Created in their original form by a Deity or deities (often the Abrahamic God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam), whose existence is Presupposed . In relation to the Creation-evolution Controversy the term ''creationism'' (or ''strict creationism'') is commonly used to refer to rejection of Evolution . The wide spectrum of such beliefs includes Young Earth Creationism holding a very literal interpretation of Genesis , while Old Earth Creationism accepts Geological Findings but rejects evolution. The term '' Theistic Evolution '' has been coined to refer to beliefs in creation which are compatible with popular scientific opinions on evolution and the Age Of The Earth . Creationism in the West is primarily based on Creation According To Genesis , and in its broad sense covers a wide range of beliefs and interpretations. Through the 19th century the term most commonly referred to Direct Creation Of Individual Souls , in contrast to Traducianism , but in 1929 in the United States the term became particularly associated with Christian Fundamentalist opposition to Human Evolution and belief in Flood Geology .1 Several states passed laws against the teaching of evolution in Public School s, as upheld in the Scopes Trial . Evolution was omitted entirely from school textbooks across the United States until the 1960s. Since then, renewed Efforts To Introduce Teaching Creationism In Public Schools in the form of Flood Geology , Creation Science , and Intelligent Design have been consistently held to contravene the Constitutional Separation Of Church And State by a succession of legal judgements. Creationism/ID, A Short Legal History By Lenny Flank, Talk Reason The meaning of the term creationism was contested, but by the 1980s it had been co-opted by proponents of creation science and flood geology. When scientific research produces conclusions which contradict a creationist interpretation of scripture, the strict creationist approach is either to reject the conclusions of the research,http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v18/i1/earth.asp its underlying scientific theories,http://www.creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/tj/v17n1_proteins.pdf or its methodology.http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/2480 The most notable cases concern the effects of Royal Society (PDF file)From the American Association For The Advancement Of Science , the world's largest general scientific society: , AAAS Denounces Anti-Evolution Laws OVERVIEW The term '' creationism'' is generally used to describe the belief that creation occurred literally as described in the book of Genesis (for both Jews and Christians ) or the Qur'an (for Muslims ). The terms ''creationism'' and ''creationist'' have become particularly associated with beliefs about the time frame of creation, conflicting with scientific understanding of Natural History , particularly Evolution . This conflict is most prevalent in the United States , where there has been sustained Controversy in the public arena, centering over the issue of the science curriculum in public schools. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Less-direct Anecdotal Evidence of the popularity of creationism is reflected in the response of IMAX theaters to the availability of '' Volcanoes Of The Deep Sea '', an IMAX film which makes a connection between human DNA and Microbe s inside undersea Volcano es. The film's distributor reported that the only U.S. states with theaters which chose not to show the film were Texas , Georgia , North Carolina , and South Carolina : : "We've got to pick a film that's going to sell in our area. If it's not going to sell, we're not going to take it," said the director of an IMAX theater in Charleston that is not showing the movie. "Many people here believe in creationism, not evolution." Evolution Reference Hurts Volcano Film The western world outside the United States Most vocal strict creationists are from the United States, and strict creationist views are much less common elsewhere in the western world. According to a Taking these claims at face value, Young Earth Creationism is very much a minority position in Western countries. In , former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi wanted to retire evolution from schools in the middle level; after one week of massive protests, he reversed his opinion. We put the clock back a 1000 years (German language) . According to a study published in '' Science '', a survey over the United States, Turkey, Japan and Europe showed that public acceptance of evolution is most prevalent in Iceland, Denmark and Sweden at 80% of the population. (See the chart ) Of particular note for saw a major controversy over creationism in 2006 when the deputy education minister, Mirosław Orzechowski , denounced evolution as "one of many lies" taught in Polish schools. His superior, Minister of Education Roman Giertych , has stated that the theory of evolution would continue to be taught in Polish schools, "as long as most scientists in our country say that it is the right theory." Giertych's father, Member Of The European Parliament Maciej Giertych , has however opposed the teaching of evolution and has claimed that dinosaurs and humans co-existed." And finally... ", Warsaw Business Journal, 18 December 2006. In the False Dichotomy on the subject in an attempt by the news organization to demonstrate the extent of the controversy. As the poll lacked nuanced Survey Techniques and Equivocated On Origin Definitions as well as forced participants to make choices as though there were only three options, its results do not necessarily indicate the views of the general public concerning mainstream science or religious alternatives. Britons unconvinced on evolution BBC Survey On The Origins Of Life There continues to be scattered and possibly mounting efforts on the part of religious fundamentalists throughout Europe to introduce creationism into public education. ''In the beginning: The debate over creation and evolution, once most conspicuous in America, is fast going global'' , ISTANBUL, MOSCOW AND ROME, Evolution and religion, The Economist, Apr 19th 2007. In response, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council Of Europe has released a draft report entitled ''The dangers of creationism in education'' on June 8, 2007. ''The dangers of creationism in education'' , Committee on Culture, Science and Education, Rapporteur: Mr Guy LENGAGNE, France, Socialist Group, Doc. 11297, Parliamentary Assemble Council of Europe, June 8, 2007. CRITICISM The Christian critique In March 2006, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams , the leader of the world's Anglicans, stated his discomfort about teaching creationism, saying that creationism was "a kind of category mistake, as if the Bible were a theory like other theories." He also said: "My worry is creationism can end up reducing the doctrine of creation rather than enhancing it." The views of the Episcopal Church, the American branch of the Anglican Communion, on teaching creationism are also the same as Williams. The Guardian, Archbishop: Stop teaching creationism, Williams backs science over Bible See transcript of Guardian interview for primary source In "Intelligent Design as a Theological Problem", George Murphy argues against the common view that to write, "What meets our eyes denotes neither a total absence nor a manifest presence of the divine, but the presence of a God who conceals himself." In the ''Heidelberg Disputation'', Martin Luther referred to the same Biblical verse to propose his "theology of the cross": "That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened ... He deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross." Luther opposes his Theology Of The Cross to what he called the " Theology Of Glory ": :A theologian of glory does not recognize, along with the Apostle, the crucified and hidden God alone Cor. 2:2 . He sees and speaks of God's glorious manifestation among the heathen, how his invisible nature can be known from the things which are visible Rom. 1:20 and how he is present and powerful in all things everywhere. For Murphy, Creationists are modern-day theologians of glory. Following Luther, Murphy argues that a true Christian cannot discover God from clues in creation, but only from the crucified Christ. Murphy observes that the execution of a Jewish carpenter by Roman authorities is in and of itself an ordinary event and did not require Divine action. On the contrary, for the crucifixion to occur, God had to limit or "empty" Himself. It was for this reason that Paul wrote, in Philippians 2:5-8, :Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Murphy concludes that, :Just as the son of God limited himself by taking human form and dying on the cross, God limits divine action in the world to be in accord with rational laws God has chosen. This enables us to understand the world on its own terms, but it also means that natural processes hide God from scientific observation. For Murphy, a theology of the cross requires that Christians accept a ''methodological'' naturalism, meaning that one cannot invoke God to explain natural phenomena, while recognizing that such acceptance does not require one to accept a ''metaphysical'' naturalism, which proposes that nature is all that there is.Murphy, George L., 2002, "Intelligent Design as a Theological Problem," in ''Covalence: the Bulletin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Alliance for Faith, Science, and Technology'' Scientific critique See Also: Creation-evolution controversy As creationism is based on religious faith rather than evidence acquired through experiment and observation, it falls outside of the mainstream scope of scholarly science. As science does not attempt to address issues of supernatural intervention in natural phenomena, the consensus of most scientists is to reject any teaching of creationism as science.10 SEE ALSO
REFERENCES ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
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EXTERNAL LINKS
Organizations Talk.origins maintains an extensive list of general links relevant to creationism and a full list of creationist websites . The following are links to the main organizations espousing a variety of viewpoints: |
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