 Religion/World View "Creationists know their a priori conclusions in advance, independent of any scientific inquiry. They then massage their superficially scientific assertions to justfy their desired answers to match their religious doctrine. The circularity and philosophical bankruptcy of this perspective is obvious." - Lee Salisbury, Essayist,
Editor's Note: We all have teachers in our lives, some living and some dead. Many years ago ... counted in terms of one man's life, one older than I, in years, learning and experience, introduced me to one wiser and more poetic than he. His teacher and now mine, was a prophet. When we hear the term, "prophet", we tend to think of the future. Loren Eiseley was such a man, but only because he was a student of the past ... the long past, a past not measured in years, decades or centuries or even millenia, but of eons. Loren Eiseley was born into poverty in the Great Midwest of North America. He lectured at universities like Harvard, Colombia and the University of California and was recognized by his peers as one who had reached the pinnacle of understanding the origins of life. Eventually he headed the Department of Anthropology at University of Pennsylvania. Much more could be said of his life and work. He was a "bone hunter". He has been for years and continues to be one of my teachers. In 1946, based on a body of man's scientific research that spanned more than a century, he wrote:
Loren Eiseley did not fabricate this story, The Immense Journey, from a baseless imaginative mind or from a background as science fiction writer. Rather, this and his many other poetic writings were fruits of a lifetime devoted to a courageous, scientific reach into humanity's distant past. He was one of those early paleontologists whose curiosity drew him back into geological time to learn about our origins as Homo sapiens. It is from this same understanding that Lee Salisbury, former Christian Minister, Axis of Logic Columnist and Founder of the Critical Thinking Clubs writes the following analysis of the modern day creationists and their attack on the body of knowledge that has accrued from the work of Eiseley and others in the world's ancient fossil fields and laboratories. - Les Blough, Editor
The Creationism Farce and Its Dangerous Implications Ceationism seems to be gaining credence far beyond its actual influence in the world of science. Even American presidential candidates reject evolution in favor of creationism. Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson and possibly Mit Romney embrace creationism. President George Bush suggests students ought to hear all sides of the argument, as if creationism or its bastard offspring Intelligent Design is a science topic worthy of mention. In spite of the pro-evolution 2006 victory in Dover, PA, creationists press on seeking to influence and intimidate uninformed school boards in Ohio, Florida, and Texas. This is clearly a culture war with biblical literalists leading the anti-science, pro-creationist charge. Creationists have two basic assertions: 1) that they are the ones who know true science and 2) that it is they and they alone who are the guardians of true faith in the written and revealed word of their deity. Both are of concern as surely as they are false, but it is the first assertion that we must deal with here. Creation “science” rejects every fundamental precept upon which actual science functions, from empiricism to falsification. Creationists reject empiricism, the very heart of science, and instead embrace fanciful biblical legends of a 'talking snake' and a 6,000-year-old solar system all in a vain attempt to justify their immutable doctrinal beliefs. Creationists know their a priori conclusions in advance, independent of any scientific inquiry. They then massage their superficially scientific assertions to justfy their desired answers to match their religious doctrine. The circularity and philosophical bankruptcy of this perspective is obvious. They beg the question, presuming to be true the very thing they claim. In other words, they are going to believe what they are going to believe regardless of the facts, i.e. religious fanaticism. Over the past 149 years since Charles Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species, scientists of relevant disciplines such as cosmology, astronomy, geology, biology, zoology, and paleontology repeatedly confirm evolution a valid theory having the same reliability as the theory of gravity. According to a 1991 Gallup Poll there were about 480,000 scientists working in the relevant fields of earth and life sciences. Of those, only about 700 consider creationism valid. This means 98% of relevant scientists accept evolution and less than 2% of relevant scientists consider creationism good science. In the world of science, creationism does not even qualify for fringe of the fringe. Scientists arrive at their conclusions by the scientific method of extensive trial and error testing of hypotheses until results produce a verifiably testable theory, in this case the theory of evolution. In contrast to creationist/religious theory, scientific theory is always tentative and subject to change as new evidence dictates. It is bad enough that creationist churches are freeloaders, taking advantage of the public’s good will by skirting their fair share of real estate taxes. But, worse yet, they use creationism as a rhetorical facade, as a lever through which to gain political and personal power. Creationists exploit the faith of well-meaning Christians (and those of other religions) to further their own purely political, financial and otherwise selfish goals at the expense of reality. Creationism is a tool crafted to a very specific end; it is nothing more than an ancient regurgitated ideology bereft of merit, and loathsome in its intentions. America’s 29th ranking in science education can, in part, be laid at the feet of our biblical literalists parading as those righteous souls who would never "bear false witness." James Madison saw through the charade saying, "During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution. Enquire of the Teachers of Christianity for the ages in which it appeared in its greatest lustre; those of every sect, point to the ages prior to its incorporation with Civil policy." A Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments, addressed to the Virginia General Assemby, 1785. Make no mistake, creationism intends to redefine science, and replace it with a hollow shell of supernatural speculation and deceit. And why, you might ask? The answer is not hard to fathom. Religion has ever been a crutch of despots and all those who seek to secure their eminence at the expense of all others. History is unequivocal in teaching this lesson, and yet as blind as we are we seem to have failed to learn it. The creationist attack on the teaching of evolution devalues science, cheapens theology as well as condemning America's students to an inferior education, ultimately hurting their professional opportunities, not to mention diminishing America's leadership in science and technology. Creationists aim to not only destroy science in an effort to protect their creationist fairy tales, they mean to redefine the United States of America, eviscerate the Constitution, and effectively dismantle American democracy, by instituting religious indoctrination in the schools and halls of public policy making. They mean to supplant all of these things with a form of oligarchy wrapped in the shrouds of a redefined science and legalistic religion. And if one doubts this, one need only consult the publications of such notable creationist organizations as the Institute for Creation Research and the Discovery Institute to name but a few. Creationists are quite explicit in their stated goals, and there is little room for doubt as to their true intentions. This is what creationism is. Thus revealed, the need to fight it on all fronts, scientific, philosophical, theological, administrative and judicial, is made even more clear. There is no higher imperative if we mean to preserve America's intellectual freedom. © Copyright 2008 by AxisofLogic.com This material is available for republication as long as reprints include verbatim copy of the article its entirety, respecting its integrity. Reprints must cite the author and Axis of Logic as the original source including a "live link" to the article. Thank you! Read the Bio and Additional Articles by Lee Salisbury |