They also talked about how gradeschoolers shouldn’t be taught evolution, because “at that age, they are so impressionable that they believe everything they are taught.”
Ok, fine.
If you want to use that logic, they shouldn’t be taught creationism, either.
Because you are still indoctrinating a child who is too young to think for themselves.
I don’t care if you think that ‘there is more scientific and historical evidence’ for creationism.
That is not the point.
If you think that kids should ‘think and arrive at their own conclusion” you fucking don’t indoctrinate them with any philosophy. You simply provide facts (without the ‘lol some stupid people believe this’ bias) and the kid will eventually come to his own conclusion.
And, if he comes to the conclusion that Evolution is more factual than Creationism, it does NOT mean that he is ignorant, rebellious, running away from God, or caving into peer pressure.
A person who is an evolutionist is NOT “ignoring the concrete evidence”. We simply take the same evidence and arrive at a different conclusion. And, just because we may not be able to provide an answer to every single one of their idiotic ‘gotcha’ questions, that does not mean that, in the future, they will remain unanswered. Because science is constantly moving. Because they are LOOKING for answers. And, if concrete proof for Intellegent Design (no, ‘the world is so complex it must be created’ does not count) ever surfaces, any GOOD scientist/thinking person would be willing to adjust their theories.
But evidence is always interpreted differently depending on the person. And there may NOT be a right or wrong answer. Or maybe there is no way to tell for sure.
And, while we are at it, Intelligent Design is in NO WAY the same thing as creationism. Although I am an Atheist, perhaps some kind of Intelligent Design is possible. However, that does not point to an Abrahamistic God, merely some form of higher intelligence that set the laws of the universe into motion. I do not think this is probable, but merely that it could be a plausible explanation.
And no, my dear fellows, Atheism is not the ‘easy, safe’ route. I don’t know where you come off saying that. We DO NOT ‘throw away the evidence that makes us uncomfortable’. If anything, the move to Atheism is MORE uncomfortable, because for me, it means throwing away everything I believed from the time I was very young.
Further, we are not born with morality, and thus it does not come from God. The sense of right and wrong is purely societal, and passed down from generation to generation. Just because I don’t believe in God does not mean that I don’t care about the welfare of other people. If anything, I care more.
This is the only life we get. This is the only planet we have.
Why, wouldn’t I want to make this very short life a bit better for those around me? Why wouldn’t I want to try and leave it a better place than I found it? If there is no afterlife, then this life should be the best it can be, not just for me, but for all human beings.
Are were just hunks of meat on a rock hurtling through space?
Yes.
But this is what makes life so important.
Because this rock is the only thing we call home. And these sacks of meat are are only companions. And so we have to cling together as we look up at a beautiful, terrifying universe.
We are very small.
The universe does not care if we live or die.
But we care for each other. And that is enough to make our little lives worth it.
