Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Lost Cause
"No amount of scientific evidence will convince an ardent creationist of the validity of human evolution or that the Earth is billions of years old," writes Tom Krattenmaker, a specialist in religion in public life and member of USA TODAY's board of contributors.
The rejection of scientific evidence, says Krattenmaker, "threatens not only their version of the world's origins, but also the credibility of their religion itself. Because by attempting to marshal empirical evidence in support of their beliefs, they enter the debate on the scientists' terms - terms that cannot possibly work in favor of a literal reading of the Bible. By playing in this arena, haven't the creationists already lost the argument?"
The rejection of scientific evidence, says Krattenmaker, "threatens not only their version of the world's origins, but also the credibility of their religion itself. Because by attempting to marshal empirical evidence in support of their beliefs, they enter the debate on the scientists' terms - terms that cannot possibly work in favor of a literal reading of the Bible. By playing in this arena, haven't the creationists already lost the argument?"
