Introduction
See Also...

• The Wild, Wild World of Creationism
  
• From the Mouths of Creationists
  
• Creation Science and the Fact of Evolution
  
• Maculate Deception: The "Science" of Creationism
  
• The Kiwi Question
• Half a Wing and No Prayer
• Reversing Science
• The Rock of Ages and the Ages of Rock
• Is Creationism Science?
• Did Noah's Flood Happen?
  

Introduction

Some people claim that "Science doesn't have all of the answers" when it comes to the business of life. They are right. Science is less a body of "facts" than it is a method of establishing verifiable claims about the universe -- claims which can be tested and measured, reviewed and evaluated. Science cannot tell you if a certain ethical decision is correct, or make judgments about abstractions such as beauty or justice. Even so, it can tell us much about the planet we inhabit, how we evolved, and how much of the universe functions. We can know "for certain" many things, or at least be reasonably sure of their truth. We know that the earth moves in an elliptical orbit about the sun, not the opposite as was believed for many generations.

As scientific knowledge has expanded, it has confronted numerous religious doctrines and beliefs. To varying degrees, religionists have been uncomfortable with these new revelations. The more" fundamentalist" types -- that is, those who seek Absolute Truth in the pages of holy books such as the bible or Koran -- are left in a bit of a bind. How do they reconcile their beliefs and theistic interpretations with a growing body of scientific evidence?

It isn't easy.

While most religionists today may not believe that the earth is a flat surface resting on the back of an enormous turtle which swims through the firmament, they cling -- to varying degrees -- to religious notions about how the universe operates. Angels, for instance, have never been detected or examined in a scientific inquiry; but a shocking percentage of Americans (about 65% according to some surveys), believes that these supernatural "pais" exist, running errands for god, or helping people in time of need. This whole belief system constitutes a throwback to earlier times in human history, when the world was "enchanted", populated with mystical and religious entities of all sorts. It's existence today is a shadow land of arcane beliefs which co-exist with our more enlightened views about the universe. For most people, their view of the world rests with one foot in the present, and the other deep in the past.

One of the more curious artifacts of this murky realm of supernatural belief is so-called Scientific Creationism, a Quixotic quest to balance the fundamentalist interpretations of the Judeo-Christian bible with the findings of modern science. Decades after the famous "Monkey trial" which debated the pros and cons of evolutionary discovery, we are still repeating this argument in the nation's public schools.

The Bone Pit is our "take" on the evolution-creation debate which now rages in the United States, and elsewhere. It is tied to other issues, including prayer in schools, indeed the role of religious instruction in the classroom and other civic institutions.

It is also a highly charged, emotion-laden debate. Creationists see evolution as part of a larger agenda aimed at religious belief itself. In a peculiar way, they may well be correct. But as with any debate, we should weigh the empirical evidence and examine the raw facts as dispassionately as we can. Does the creationist view of the universe make sense? Is it a scientific claim, or a religious creed? And do the "facts" of modern science require the existence of a deity (specifically, a Judeo-Christian god)? Read on...

See Also...

• The Wild, Wild World of Creationism
  A Lecture by Frank Zindler.
  Creationism's advocates espouse more wacky ideas than you would imagine -- but they are winning the fight for the education of the next generation.
  
  
• From the Mouths of Creationists
  How far out CAN you get?
  
  
• Creation Science and the Fact of Evolution
  In the words of Harvard biologist-paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, "Creation science is an oxymoron." An oxymoron (lit., "a wise fool") is a contradiction in terms. Just as it is impossible for a fool to be wise, so too is it impossible for creationism to be science.
  
  
• The Kiwi Question
  Just how did those flightless, non-swimming birds get from Turkey to New Zealand?
  
  
• Maculate Deception: The "Science" of Creationism
  Frank Zindler points out a few outright deceptions of "Creation Scientists."
  
  
• Reversing Science.
  The "Creation Scientists" reverse the procedures of real science.
  
  
• The Rock of Ages and the Ages of Rock.
  The creation scientists' "theory" of a young earth just doesn't agree with the evidence.
  
  
  
• Is Creationism Science? Transcript from a radio debate between Frank Zindler and Duane Gish.
  
  
• Did Noah's Flood Happen? Transcript from a televised debate between Frank Zindler and John Morris.
  
  

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