> -----Original Message----- > From: Michael Dinowitz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 11:59 PM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: Letter to dangerous bible nutz > > > Of course at a certain point this becomes nigh impossible. > > > > How could such a course be constructed, for example, to appease biblical > > literalists? Was the Earth created 4 billion years ago or 6 thousands > > years > > ago? > Does it really matter? I mean lets be real here. If your a geologist or > paleantologist then maybe, but otherwise....
Do you mean does the question itself or the teaching of it matter? I think it does matter in both cases. I prefer my kids to have a sense of the world they live in. One of the truly wonderful things about science in general is the wonder of the universe it brings. I think it's a common myth that people feel that "trying to understand everything" makes it less wondrous and that's simply wrong. In teaching - well, this is the kind of stuff that gets taught in science class! An ancient Earth is required for so much else to make sense - it matters a great deal to have the proper foundation, that the proper stage be set. If not it really doesn't make any sense. > > And, as arguments I've heard go, God created the Earth 6,000 years ago > to > > LOOK four billion years old what's the point of bringing it up? > Or the flood squashed things to make it seem like aging to the science we > have now. Or our measurments of time are off (they have been reworked a > few times already). Tweaked perhaps, but still within a vaster scale than biblical literalists would ever accept. There is simply no way the science can be SO wrong as to suddenly find evidence tomorrow that Earth is 600 years old. (By the way, this is also a scientific theory: the "Theory of the Ancient Earth" - and like evolution is considered true by scientists). You can't gloss over these foundational topics and expect to teach anything properly. Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Special thanks to the CF Community Suite Gold Sponsor - CFHosting.net http://www.cfhosting.net Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:140140 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
