On ‘Darwin Day,’ many Americans beg to differ | csmonitor.com — There will be a lot of Darwin stuff going on for this anniversary.
This Thursday, celebrations are under way worldwide to mark Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday. From Argentina to Australia, people are gathering for film screenings, quiz contests, and museum exhibits on “Darwin Day” – along with at least one “survival of the fittest” cake-eating contest.
In the US, though, Darwin remains a controversial figure. Two centuries after the famed naturalist’s birth, more than 40 percent of Americans believe human beings were created by God in their present form, according to recent polls from Gallup and the Pew Research Center – a view impossible to reconcile with evolution propelled by natural selection.
Such creationist beliefs lack scientific merit, educators say, and in classrooms evolution reigns supreme.
You have to wonder what is wrong with this picture if evolution has been taught in the schools without complaint for 50 or more years, how only 60-percent think it is true and 40 go with creationism which is not taught at all.
Others born on Feb. 12 listed here include, oddly enough, Abe Lincoln and footballer Lincoln Kennedy.
I wonder how far the idea for a holiday would get?
A holiday in the United States? Har.
The Vatican might even support the idea in Europe – acknowledging some understanding of scientific history.
Biblethumpers and politicians alike – in the GOUSA – avoid science and history with as much diligence as they do ethics or honesty.
People that take the bible literally are funny. The theory of evolution explains how all life evolved and it is beautifull in itself.
If you believe that all that is printed in the bible is true, than Adam and Eve’s kids had to have incest to procreate…. And how DID Noah get all those millions and millions of animals in that tiny boat? Logic leads to the bible’s answers giving me more questions, science just gives me plain answers.
More literature justifying a ruling class elite.
..how only 60-percent think (evolution) is true and 40 go with creationism which is not taught at all?
Because many parents like to have their children believe in fairy tails and unicorns. To reinforce that, preachers tell them what they want to hear – all for a small ‘contribution’. It’s a virtuous circle.
If a parent tells their baby that a certain thing is true from the time they are born to the time they are able to think for themselves, then that child will believe whole heartily that the thing is true. Even if it is not.
I don’t believe the statistic is correct. Maybe, at the top end, 30% would be stretching it.
The Gallup question was poorly framed. The first two questions for the respondents used “god” in the questioning and stated that “god” was present. That unfairly biases the poll towards a “god” answer.
You can lead an ape to knowledge but you can’t make him think.
Anyone notice that Google.com is not celebrating Darwin, but google.ca is?
I don’t care if some people go to church. I don’t care if some people believe in Obama. I don’t care if some people believe in Scientology. Fools are always plentiful. I know what I believe in, and others think I am a fool. So? Who cares? I have read “The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man Through Sexual Selection”. How many of you can say that?
Their is more than one “theory of evolution”.
Calling it Darwin’s Theory is like calling the catholic church “The Church”. Have you ever heard of Carleton Coon?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carleton_S._Coon
We athiests have been craving for a holiday of our own for years. Christians get Easter and Jews get Hanukkah. When’s my day off? I’m reminded of a joke. It ends like this:
“The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said ‘Obviously your client is too confused to know about, or for that matter, even celebrate the atheists’ holiday!’
“The ACLU laywer pompously said: ‘We are aware of no such holiday for atheists. Just what might that be, Your Honor?’
“The judge said, ‘Well, it comes every year on exactly the same date—April 1st!’ “
“..how only 60-percent think (evolution) is true and 40 go with creationism which is not taught at all?”
Not taught at all? It is taught every day in Catholic Schools, and every Sunday in churches around the world.
#10, sam,
Coon has been thoroughly discredited as an out and out racist. He also did not offer anything to the Theory of Evolution.
Since it has been several decades since he was discredited, I can only assume you must be a racist to still be promoting such crap.
Clearly Darwin’s genius is evident is his work. It’s a shame that most people fail to see that Darwin discovered that God created us (and other creatures) to evolve. What a grand design indeed!
those who believe that the bible should be taken literally actually believe that god is only capable of complexity that scribe 2000 years could comprehend.
i, on the other hand, look at the wonders our scientists have uncovered and see how woefully humble we must be in light of the universe’s grandeur.
trying to dumb down god’s creation, in my opinion, is worse than those who built the tower of babel, and borders on heresy.
#8 You are wrong..it comes up everywhere around the world including the USA. Yours must be cached.
@2 “People that take the bible literally are funny.” …
They are not, they are sad and to some extent dangerous.
even the catholic church is cool with darwin
The Vatican has admitted that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution should not have been dismissed and claimed it is compatible with the Christian view of Creation.
link to article
16,
Nope. When I go to http://www.google.ca I see the Darwin logo… When I click the goto google.com link I get the standard lettering. And it’s NOT cached, since I never browse to google.com by default due to geographic regions. I’m going to search the internet for this…
BRB
http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2009/02/googleca-celebr.html
Another source.
One important thing to note about evolution is that it’s not confined to the species living on earth. God himself has undergone remarkable evolution — truly radical change — since those earliest days when he created the universe. Even his ideas of what constitutes immoral behavior has evolved to an amazing degree.
Fortunately, it’s all well documented in the Bible, so we know it’s true. It’s not like some poorly-sourced science book that plays fast and loose with the facts.
#19 Named,
I just checked and google.com does have the logo. The logo is not seen with google.com/news or entering a search.
Is there a debate here? Or is everybody fine with calling 40 percent of the population (at least according to this obviously weak survey) “Biblethumpers”, “believe in fairy tails and unicorns”, “all for a small ‘contribution’” (ie greedy), “…whole heartily that the thing is true. Even if it is not.” (ie liars), “dangerous”, “plays fast and loose with the facts.”, etc.
Is there a debate here? Or is everybody fine with calling 40 percent of the population (at least according to this obviously weak survey) “Biblethumpers”, “believe in fairy tails and unicorns”, “all for a small ‘contribution’” (ie greedy), “…whole heartily that the thing is true. Even if it is not.” (ie liars), “dangerous”, “plays fast and loose with the facts.”, etc.
As an aside, isn’t it much higher than 40 percent? All the surveys that ask if you believe God exists put the number in the 80 percent range. Someone find that out for us.
I think what’s really interesting to talk about is the hard philosophical questions that can’t be explained by evolution.
Is it true that atheists all take evolution for granted? I ask because it seems that any time evolution is the topic all the atheists make comments and tend to religion bash in the process.
#23, good,
Who said we need a reason to bash religion?
I think what’s really interesting to talk about is the hard philosophical questions that can’t be explained by evolution.
Then this is the wrong park. Evolution is a Scientific Theory, it is not a philosophy or religion. It is based upon evidence and demonstrated tests. It is not based upon faith or belief.
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let’s not turn this into a simple religion vs. evolution thread. There are tons and tons of religious people who have absolutely no issue with evolution and there’s nothing inherent in evolution that is anti-religious.
While I recognize my opinion is not popular among some atheists, I think Darwin Day is a bad idea. We have no need of atheist saints, which is exactly how many are treating Darwin. Yes, he was a brilliant man that had a great insight into the workings of the natural world, but modern-day evolution bears little resemblance to what Darwin understood 150+ years ago. It’s the Theory of Evolution, not the Theory of Neo-Darwinian Evolution. We cannot discount Darwin’s contributions, but attaching his name to the modern theory doesn’t help anyone, it simply makes the idiot creationist’s job easier by allowing them to imply that we haven’t learned anything in the past 150 years, or that anything Darwin didn’t understand or got wrong somehow has dire consequences on our modern understanding of evolution.
Instead of celebrating Darwin Day, how about putting more effort into the National Day of Reason? I fail to see why Darwin deserves his own day of festivities when other scientific luminaries don’t get theirs. Let’s not turn Darwin into a saint, he was a man, a brilliant man to be sure, but just a man, who had a good idea.
Mr. Fusion,
Ok, the first question to answer then is what is the theory espousing? Is it an alternate explanation of how the universe came into existence? Or is it just to explain the observable processes but without trying to explain how the universe came to be?
So, philosophical was a bad choice of words, conceptual would be better. I’m on board with number 2.
BTW, a true believer (so to speak 😉 would not care whether anyone believed in a religion knowing that they are empty. That leaves bashing religion because you think it’s dangerous and needs to be combated, right?
#29, good,
…is it just to explain the observable processes but without trying to explain how the universe came to be?
There are many things science has yet to explain. The origin of the universe is just one. There is no answer for what happened before the “big bang”. There is even less of an answer on where “god” came from.
What was observed and not understood when religions were formed are now observed and generally understood. We no longer need religion to explain how things happen.
Our child did not happen because “god blessed” us. Our child came about because I fertilized one of my wife’s eggs. It was that fertilized egg that became our daughter.
My niece didn’t get spina bifida so “god” could test her. She got spina bifida because her “god fearing” mother didn’t consume any vegetables or folic acid supplements while carrying her daughter.
Now, can I explain the universe? No, I am not an expert. I do know enough, however, that there is no supernatural being pulling our strings.