Bill Nye: Creationism Is 'Raising A Generation Of Young Peop

[doggie]

so true. death them what to think not how to think. how to think is a fundies worst nightmare. we see that so much in the duggers. it's like the family shares about 1/4 of a brain.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/1 ... 17148.html

The biggest danger creationism plays, according to Bill Nye the "Science Guy," is that it is raising a generation of children who "can't think" and who "will not be able to participate in the future in same way" as those who are taught evolution.

Speaking on MidPoint, Nye said he blames an older generation of evangelicals "who have very strong conservative views" and who are "reluctant to let kids learn about evolution." Their presence on school boards leads to debates over curriculum, Nye argued, which further inhibits schools' ability to teach facts.

"Religion is one thing. People get tremendous comfort and community with their religions," Nye said. "But whatever you believe, whatever deity or higher power you might believe in, the Earth is not 6,000 years old."

Nye, who has a new book out titled "Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation," recently participated in a debate with creationist Ken Ham, which some argued was a moment of embarrassment for the science community.

University of Chicago evolution professor Jerry A. Coyne called the debate "pointless and counterproductive." The Guardian's Pete Etchells wrote:

Scientific literacy is crucial for society to function effectively, which means that we can’t afford to be messing around with the way that it’s taught in the classroom or wasting our time with fruitless public debates.

Nye stood by the debate, however, saying he "stepped into the lion's den" in order to spread awareness about the academic opportunities children are denied by being creationism.

"They will not have this fundamental idea that you can question things, that you can think critically, that you can use skeptical thought to learn about nature," Nye told MidPoint. "These children have to suppress everything that they can see in nature to try to get a world view that's compatible with the adults in who they trust and rely on for sustenance."

[IronicallyMaeve]

I misread the title as "Bill Nye: Creationism Is 'Raising A Generation Of Young Poop"

I love Bill Nye.

[doggie]

crap I thought it got it all well hell. Bill Nye: Creationism Is 'Raising A Generation Of Young People Who Can't Think

well too late to fix it now.

[IronicallyMaeve]

Naw, it's pretty accurate as it is.

[formergothardite]

Being raised to believe that you can't question anything really does make it hard to think critically, but plenty of former fundies show that it is possible to overcome being raised a creationists. I thought the debate was good because even though fundies claim they "won" the debate, it exposed fundie children to ideas that they had never been exposed to before and I think that is important.

[Peas n carrots]

Being raised to believe that you can't question anything really does make it hard to think critically, but plenty of former fundies show that it is possible to overcome being raised a creationists. I thought the debate was good because even though fundies claim they "won" the debate, it exposed fundie children to ideas that they had never been exposed to before and I think that is important.

Agreed! At the very least it may spark some curiosity in kids who aren't exposed to evolution.

[Howl]

From reading various Web sites (like HomeSchoolersAnonymous, Julie Ann, etc.), I've learned that many homeschoolers were trained in debate. I'm clear that this training was to defend the fundie world view, yes? However, I'm curious. Might there be an unintended consequence: could skillful debaters be more likely to "get" the truth in Bill Nye's points, or in general, be more open to other ideas as they grew older? Might those families that valued debate be more focused on education in general, allowing kids to go to college and thus be exposed to more ideas? Just wondering.

I live in Texas, a key state in the school book wars. Fundies have infiltrated the board that chooses textbooks for the state and issues concerning science (evolution), history and culture generate serious battles over content. This is significant because Texas orders so many textbooks, publishers will use this content for all of their books, which in turn are used by other states. James Leininger is definitely involved in this process, although behind the scenes.

I have to admit that fundies have a highly effective strategy that plays out on multiple fronts with great effect: indoctrinate the masses, infiltrate school boards, state offices, national offices, and train people in public policy and law.

For example, Oak Brook College of Law and Public Policy, a correspondence school, "is a Christian law school providing education and training in law and government policy in the context of a Biblical and historical framework."

You might be thinking that a correspondence law school is a joke, BUT

"While small in size, it has the highest bar passage rate of any distance-learning or correspondence law school. Since its beginning almost 20 years ago, over 78% of the Oak Brook College graduates have passed the California Bar Exam, with a first-time passage rate of over 57%." This is a better passing rate than many brick and mortar schools. It is also incredibly inexpensive (as in cheap):

Tuition and fees for each year of the two-year program are:

$1,875 tuition

$100 registration fee (nonrefundable)

$150 technology fee (nonrefundable)

They also have a 1-year paralegal program

Sounds a lot better than paying between $20,000 and $50,00/year for a bricks and mortar school, right? My point is, they are making it possible for people to get a legal degree for cheap and have a good chance of passing the bar in CA, as they are generating appropriately indoctrinated lawyers to further the fundie agenda.

If you want to know what they are up to: http://www.obcl.edu/

IIRC, the Pennington Point dad just completed his law degree through Oak Brook College.

[BrownieMomma]

I saw the episode where the Duggars went to the Creation Museum, not sure if that's the correct name but it is Ken Hamm's museum. It was utterly embarrassing when the kids were later asked about creationism and they literally just stammered out things like "But the Bible says...."

Taking the Bible too literally is a serious fundie flaw. I liked it so much better when I went to Catholic Church for awhile and out of Sola Scriptura, which my guess is most Protestants don't even know that phrase.

The idea that the Bible is different types of literature was mind-blowing but such a relief.

When I was in college for my sciences I took geology and astronomy, both of which I had the best professors, meaning they loved their work and it showed plus they could actually teach. It was really interesting learning to identify all the layers in geology, how old they are, etc. The course also covered big bang theory, as did astronomy.

Geology I took in my 20's, astronomy when I went back in my 40's. I wish that in my 20's I'd had real exposure to other Christian thought than just Southern Baptist-flavored. I think it would have saved me a lot of angst but it had been so ingrained in me that the Bible was literal, and then I could never reconcile things like when Cain went off after murdering Abel and there were other people on the planet. Never ever once got a satisfactory answer from a preacher or pastor or any kind of minister about it either.

Anyway, I think it's important, IMO, to teach what other people think and believe, even if it's from a "know thy enemy" perspective. All these years later, those two science courses push me closer to "God must exist" than "it's all a happy accident."

I am all for education, all the education any person can get. I don't see science and faith as separate and exclusionary things, in my house we love science and it's generally a big topic of discussion. So much to learn.