ID=I Determine
August 14th, 2005 by natalie
In light of a comment (thank you to whoever posted - it helped me think through this issue in more depth!) posted in response to my post on the ID Movement, I want to clarify a few things. First, let me say that I believe in a literal 7-day Creation as recorded in the book of Genesis and presupposed throughout the remainder of the Bible. Second, I believe the ID Movement is the wrong battle for Christians to be fighting. Let me explain.
Having spent 5 years teaching Character First! Education in the public schools, I had the opportunity to observe first-hand some of what actually takes place therein. One thing that became undeniably clear to me is that evolution is not merely taught to its captive audience, it is assumed. On one occasion, I was grouped with some 5th graders to listen to them read their literature book for the day. It was a book on the history of writing. I don’t remember many of the details, other than to recall that it was very clearly written from an evolutionary view of history (millions of years, ape men, etc.). As the book was concluded and the students were preparing to return to their classroom, having absorbed, more or less, the information in the book as fact, I stopped them. I asked if they believed that the book was true. They looked at me unresponsively. It had not even occurred to them to question the information as presented in the book. A few answered in the affirmative. I pressed them further. Did they always believe everything they read? How could they know if something they read was true or not? By what standard could they measure the things they read? These concepts were foreign to them, but it got their attention, generated a bit of discussion and, hopefully, encouraged them to think for themselves, something which, I dare say, is not often promoted in our public school system.
Here is the key to my argument against the ID Movement: Evolution is not relegated to the teachings of science. Evolution is pervasive. It, or perhaps more specifically, the underlying humanistic philosophy upon which it is founded, infiltrates every realm of our public education system. Indeed, the system itself was designed to further that very philosophy! I would submit to you that every area of learning, not just science, hinges on one’s belief regarding the origin of life. If one denies the existence of God, or even allows room for some other form of “Intelligent Design,†they deny the authority and infallibility of the Word of God. This, in turn, is reflected in the teaching of language, art, music, math, government, etc.
We cannot successfully combat the teaching of evolution by merely introducing an alternative view of the origin of life in a set of science standards. Sure, let them add the theory of Intelligent Design to the list of scientific beliefs that some hold to as the explanation for the origin of life. But unless all education stems from a belief in the God of the Bible as the Creator and Originator of life, it will only further fuel the secular humanist worldview which places man at the center and bestows upon him the right to determine his own truth.
