A new survey by the Pew Research Center and subsequent
article in Huffington Post claims that a “Surprising Number Of Americans Don't Believe In Evolution.”
Their findings show that 33% of Americans or one in three don’t believe in
evolution. Their survey was based on a representative
sample of 1,983 adults and included a 3% margin of error. The basics of the article included that 60%
believed that humans evolved over time and that 25% of those holding to belief
in evolution also believed that the evolution in question was guided by a
supreme being. The numbers then are as
follows: 33% do not believe in evolution, 15% believe in evolution guided by a
supreme being, and 45% believe in evolution, leaving 7% apparently on the fence or
not responding.
These numbers are sad, but they are not
surprising. I officially joined a church
and began following God my freshman year of college. I was confused on this subject myself and did
not know what to think. I must confess
at that time I only really knew about one “truth” and that was the one peddled
by the public education system. The
theory of evolution is one taught as 100% fact in all science classes in the
public education system, and there seems to be no doubt in their minds as to the
truth of the “evidence.” These teachings
of course guided my opinion and knowledge of how things came to be, but as I
grew and learned to think for myself I began to question these “facts.” People, plants, animals, the Earth, and the
solar system were too complicated in my mind to be accidents and books like the
Bible, Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel, and the Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan
Manning helped me to see the truth.
The main evidence for evolution stems from proof
or microevolution. Microevolution
research shows that over time people and animals change or have slight
variations at a very basic level. There is
plenty of proof to show that we gradually change in small ways. The problem is that scientist have taken this
idea of small changes and applied them to macroevolution saying that protoorganisms developed into everything from giraffes to
roses to people. They also are not
really sure where these protoorganisms came from. The problem comes in that even in their “facts”
they have had to ignore a lot of evidence to the contrary and bridge gaps where
there is no facts or data leaning in their direction.
This disgrace to the real scientific
method and research has led to the problem we have today, which is 2/3 of our
country is lost to a belief that has no substance. The scary part is that about half of the
mainline Protestants and Catholics surveyed believed in evolution due to
natural processes. That means that about
half of our congregations in churches across the country do not even believe in
the teachings in the Bibles they carry.
What can we do to help fight this lie?
First, we need to pray more for a
stronger faith and guidance from the Lord and read our Bibles. Second, we need to become better educated in
the truth and facts about what Christian Scientists and Creationists are saying
and writing. Third, we need to learn how
to better discuss the finer points of both creationism and evolution. There is a lot out there disproving evolution and a lot of evidence for a Creator. We just need to learn the real facts and be able to intelligently present them when given the opportunity.
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