"You know that's impossible right?" Explaining to kids the comments of creationists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people realize not all Christians believe in literally seven days creation, right? That some believe the seven days means seven periods of time, not 24 hrs. Also, it's possible to be a Christian and believe God created the universe but not know HOW he did it.

Also I take "science" with a grain of salt. Afew hundred years ago science just knew the earth was flat. Scientists are still human and basing their findings on what they know or what they wish they knew. They learn more and more all the time and are constantly debunking what they thought they knew.

Bingo!

Actually, the Ancient Greek scientists were aware that the Earth is round and calculated its size with a high degree of accuracy. Only after the middle ages, and the suppression of science by the Roman Catholic Church, did the shape of the Earth become an issue.

The evolving understanding that science provides is a reason to value it over religion. Science questions and tests its knowledge. It creates better ideas when new date presents itself.

Religion doesn't.

Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth about 2300 years ago. Science provides us with an organized, rational way of discovering how the universe works. New theories revise older ones, when empirical evidence uncovers more knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another poster from page 1. Creationism aside, God aside, science vs. faith aside (and not totally sure why the two have to be mutually exclusive), whatever you believe, why do you feel the need to foist those beliefs on your children? Why are you afraid of them making up their own minds when they are able to?

Anybody going to at least try and answer this one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another poster from page 1. Creationism aside, God aside, science vs. faith aside (and not totally sure why the two have to be mutually exclusive), whatever you believe, why do you feel the need to foist those beliefs on your children? Why are you afraid of them making up their own minds when they are able to?

Anybody going to at least try and answer this one?

Sure, I will try to answer. I tell my kids that I do not know if there is a God or not. Some people believe in God, some people do not. I want them to learn about religion and make up their own minds about whether or not they believe in God. Religion is a matter of faith. However, not everything is a matter of faith or opinion. A virus causes influenza. The earth is not 6000 years old. Creationism is not a valid or rational idea. The Sun is a G-type main sequence star, it is not a God that rides across the sky in a four horse chariot. People cannot flap their arms and fly like a bird. These are not things you "make up your mind" about whether or not to "believe" in them. We should educate our children, not simply leave them in ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another poster from page 1. Creationism aside, God aside, science vs. faith aside (and not totally sure why the two have to be mutually exclusive), whatever you believe, why do you feel the need to foist those beliefs on your children? Why are you afraid of them making up their own minds when they are able to?

Anybody going to at least try and answer this one?

So by this reasoning, surely you must be teaching your children the creation myths (er, sorry... facts) of ancient Sumeria, and the Greeks and Romans, Indians, etc. alongside Christian creationism, and the scientific theory of evolution, and then letting them make up their own minds, right? Because wouldn't you be some kind of hypocrite if you are trying to foist your beliefs on your children by only teaching them about Christian creationism and evolution and letting them make up their own mind based on incomplete information?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another poster from page 1. Creationism aside, God aside, science vs. faith aside (and not totally sure why the two have to be mutually exclusive), whatever you believe, why do you feel the need to foist those beliefs on your children? Why are you afraid of them making up their own minds when they are able to?

Anybody going to at least try and answer this one?

So by this reasoning, surely you must be teaching your children the creation myths (er, sorry... facts) of ancient Sumeria, and the Greeks and Romans, Indians, etc. alongside Christian creationism, and the scientific theory of evolution, and then letting them make up their own minds, right? Because wouldn't you be some kind of hypocrite if you are trying to foist your beliefs on your children by only teaching them about Christian creationism and evolution and letting them make up their own mind based on incomplete information?

Love how it's always about "Christian hypocrisy" and never about the other Abrahamic faiths which share the same creation stories. Says a lot about this poster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another poster from page 1. Creationism aside, God aside, science vs. faith aside (and not totally sure why the two have to be mutually exclusive), whatever you believe, why do you feel the need to foist those beliefs on your children? Why are you afraid of them making up their own minds when they are able to?

Anybody going to at least try and answer this one?

So by this reasoning, surely you must be teaching your children the creation myths (er, sorry... facts) of ancient Sumeria, and the Greeks and Romans, Indians, etc. alongside Christian creationism, and the scientific theory of evolution, and then letting them make up their own minds, right? Because wouldn't you be some kind of hypocrite if you are trying to foist your beliefs on your children by only teaching them about Christian creationism and evolution and letting them make up their own mind based on incomplete information?

Oh! The evangelical athiest is back. Welcome!

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I think it's 2-3 angry atheists who post over and over. And over. And over.

You're right though. It does seem awfully evangelical of her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another poster from page 1. Creationism aside, God aside, science vs. faith aside (and not totally sure why the two have to be mutually exclusive), whatever you believe, why do you feel the need to foist those beliefs on your children? Why are you afraid of them making up their own minds when they are able to?

Anybody going to at least try and answer this one?

So by this reasoning, surely you must be teaching your children the creation myths (er, sorry... facts) of ancient Sumeria, and the Greeks and Romans, Indians, etc. alongside Christian creationism, and the scientific theory of evolution, and then letting them make up their own minds, right? Because wouldn't you be some kind of hypocrite if you are trying to foist your beliefs on your children by only teaching them about Christian creationism and evolution and letting them make up their own mind based on incomplete information?

Why do atheists always seem so angry, like this one?

And what's with the inability to separate (a) creationism from (b) religion? You do know that not all Christians - and let's not forget the other types of belief - are creationist. Right? You know this, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people realize not all Christians believe in literally seven days creation, right? That some believe the seven days means seven periods of time, not 24 hrs. Also, it's possible to be a Christian and believe God created the universe but not know HOW he did it.

Also I take "science" with a grain of salt. Afew hundred years ago science just knew the earth was flat. Scientists are still human and basing their findings on what they know or what they wish they knew. They learn more and more all the time and are constantly debunking what they thought they knew.

Bingo!

Actually, the Ancient Greek scientists were aware that the Earth is round and calculated its size with a high degree of accuracy. Only after the middle ages, and the suppression of science by the Roman Catholic Church, did the shape of the Earth become an issue.

The evolving understanding that science provides is a reason to value it over religion. Science questions and tests its knowledge. It creates better ideas when new date presents itself.

Religion doesn't.

You make my head hurt. Have a beer.
Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth about 2300 years ago. Science provides us with an organized, rational way of discovering how the universe works. New theories revise older ones, when empirical evidence uncovers more knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another poster from page 1. Creationism aside, God aside, science vs. faith aside (and not totally sure why the two have to be mutually exclusive), whatever you believe, why do you feel the need to foist those beliefs on your children? Why are you afraid of them making up their own minds when they are able to?

Anybody going to at least try and answer this one?

So by this reasoning, surely you must be teaching your children the creation myths (er, sorry... facts) of ancient Sumeria, and the Greeks and Romans, Indians, etc. alongside Christian creationism, and the scientific theory of evolution, and then letting them make up their own minds, right? Because wouldn't you be some kind of hypocrite if you are trying to foist your beliefs on your children by only teaching them about Christian creationism and evolution and letting them make up their own mind based on incomplete information?

Much of religion is culture. I have no knowledge of most Creation myths, so i will teach my kids the one i know, along with how we interpret it. That's not hypocritical, that's Parenting 101 to teach your kids what you know and believe in the world. I grew up in a Protestant faith, with my father a much more conservative person believing the earth to be a few thousand years old and the dinosaur bones a test of faith from God, and my mother a much more normal faith. I was a pretty vocal creationist until I was about ten, at which point my mother made the point that "Christian" and "scientific" were not 100% mutually exclusive, and didn't the story from Genesis sound an awful lot like the Big Bang and evolution in a few lines?

Frankly, I'm not sure what kind of angry fishing trip you're on. I'm pretty much a private atheist myself, but the fact that people have faith doesn't bug me. Now that some of those people of faith try to ram their particular version of religion and science down everyone's throats (cough cough *Texas Textbooks* cough cough) pisses me off.

I would have explained to my kids right in front of the lady if it felt appropriate. There are many wild eyed Creationists who would sooner go on a ten minute harangue about the evils of atheism and I'd probably like to avoid that if I could.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another poster from page 1. Creationism aside, God aside, science vs. faith aside (and not totally sure why the two have to be mutually exclusive), whatever you believe, why do you feel the need to foist those beliefs on your children? Why are you afraid of them making up their own minds when they are able to?

Anybody going to at least try and answer this one?

So by this reasoning, surely you must be teaching your children the creation myths (er, sorry... facts) of ancient Sumeria, and the Greeks and Romans, Indians, etc. alongside Christian creationism, and the scientific theory of evolution, and then letting them make up their own minds, right? Because wouldn't you be some kind of hypocrite if you are trying to foist your beliefs on your children by only teaching them about Christian creationism and evolution and letting them make up their own mind based on incomplete information?

Why do atheists always seem so angry, like this one?

And what's with the inability to separate (a) creationism from (b) religion? You do know that not all Christians - and let's not forget the other types of belief - are creationist. Right? You know this, right?

I don't think they do. It's okay. Those of us who grew up with strict religious strictures know lots of people who were damaged by their faith's upbringing as practiced by their parents and who vocally go the other way to compensate. Doesn't hurt us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why do atheists always seem so angry, like this one?

And what's with the inability to separate (a) creationism from (b) religion? You do know that not all Christians - and let's not forget the other types of belief - are creationist. Right? You know this, right?

I don't think they do. It's okay. Those of us who grew up with strict religious strictures know lots of people who were damaged by their faith's upbringing as practiced by their parents and who vocally go the other way to compensate. Doesn't hurt us.

I dunno, is it OK? I'm not doubting for a second that some angry atheists were damaged by their upbringing. (And others, like some members of DH's family, were never exposed to religion and come off as ignorant blowhards all on their own.)

Here's the problem. I'm pretty sure that PP gets the distinction about creationism and religion.But if damage is the problem, as you suggest, then is lashing out, blindly and furiously, the best way to deal with it? She's picking fights with anonymous posters using "facts" she knows to be wrong. It seems unhealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went out of town this weekend. Went to a place where there was a geological formation. The plaque mentioned that it had taken 2 million years for this particular formation to come about. A woman behind us was reading the plaque out loud to her family. She then stops and tells her kids, "You know that's impossible right?"

My kids were confused and asked me why she said that.

How would you have responded? Would you have responded right then while the woman and her family were in earshot or would you have waited till they left?

Thanks.

I would have told them the truth - that some people believe the world was made in 7 days. Others - like us - take a different approach, looking to science for answers.

How often are you in situations like that anyway? Make it a learning moment, I say!

Yes! Agree.

[Anonymous]

YAY a thread about religion and God! I bet we all changed our minds after reading our opponents' beliefs, didn't we?

[Anonymous]

So God may exist but there's 100% absolutely no way anyone could possibly make any valid argument that the earth is not a billion years old?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
No. As science continues to solve the mysteries of creation, more evidence of what the truth MIGHT be will come to light. Unlike the Bible, which will have its talking snake forever.