CREATION SCIENCE

Dean Dowling

(Investigator 78, 2001 May)


Mathematician Stephen Leacock said in the New Scientist 4.12.80 that nowadays people say science, philosophy and theology have all come together. So they have, but as three people to a funeral. The funeral being that of Dead Certainty. Mathematics was now added to the list of mourners.

Creationists are looking for certainty, but the only knowledge that is certain, is knowledge of your own toothache.

All theories in science have problems (e.g. in Quantum Physics, and in sexual reproduction, a problem for Darwin as it is so wasteful). But you don't solve the problems in science with religious fairytales.

The theory of evolution will stand or fall by what scientists do, not what Creationist fundamentalist Christians say. I recommend people read Genesis (it is mercifully not long) to see two contradictory stories, the P and J.

The P source Gen. 1:1 to 2:4 has men and women created simultaneously as the final creation from a watery waste in the famous 6 days. In the J source Gen. 2:4(b) to 25 man is the first creation from the dust of a waterless waste and brought to life with Yahweh's breath into his nostrils (Gen. 2:7). Then the Garden of Eden, then the animals and birds and last comes woman created out of Adam's rib. No time is given. Eve seduced Adam to eat the fruit of knowledge and her punishment was childbirth pain. Then comes Noah's Ark to wash away Man’s sin.

Neither the P nor J stories mentions the Second law of Thermodynamics or entropy.

There are internal contradictions within each story e.g. in Gen. 1:3 Day 1 "Let there be light and there was light" but the Sun and stars only appear on day 4 in Gen. 1:14. Creationist Peter Sparrow said the contradictory P and J stories were resolved by saying the P story is God’s Revelation but the J story is Adam taking over. Another example of religious infallible beliefs (see June 1990, January 1991 Humanist Posts).

I wouldn't mind a couple of lessons on Genesis in a standard science course (more than two is a waste of precious science time) to expose biblical falsity and absurdity.

(Previously published in SA Humanist Post 1998 July)


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