tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19722540.post2446783073641207290..comments2023-09-09T07:28:35.681-04:00Comments on Science and Religion: A View from an Evolutionary Creationist: A Biochemist Speaks Out:Jimpithecushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10143519573877156940noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19722540.post-77979989991100595122009-01-28T19:00:00.000-05:002009-01-28T19:00:00.000-05:00I'm not sure I understand your wife's position, do...I'm not sure I understand your wife's position, do you mean mankind's realization and teaching of evolution has been negative?<BR/><BR/>I'm also totally in the closet, at least around my church friends. I talk about it at work at lot and of course participate online, but otherwise don't advertise. I was open about it to the leadership of my church through my pastor since I myself was in a small leadership role. Eventually we mutually agreed I should step down though it wasn't exclusively about my belief in common descent but that I think that and much other evidence besides calls into question the historical nature of the Bible (obviously Gen 1-11 and to be honest quite a bit farther into those early books). <BR/><BR/>My wife grew up in a fundamentalist environment where evolution was evil and the biggest lie, so she lives with a small amount of fear that the secret will come out and we will be judged (though our church here is nothing like the one she grew up in). <BR/><BR/>It is a little awkward since our church stresses training up new leaders in order to grow as fast as we possibly can, and I have somewhat ruled myself out of that, and worse, have been moving backward from their perspective.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19722540.post-50492270056351647432009-01-28T16:50:00.000-05:002009-01-28T16:50:00.000-05:00Thanks for that personal story, Pete. For us, my ...Thanks for that personal story, Pete. For us, my wife is convinced that, yes evolution has happened but that its effect on society has been measurable and negative. She thinks that science has walled itself into a corner and cannot think out of the box. I try to assure her that scientific techniques reveal the glory of God but she thinks that I am guilty of compartmentalization. As far as our friends are concerned, I just lay low. Cowardly, I know, but at the moment I am not sure how to address it. Most of our friends are not scientists and view evolution not as a theory to be evaluated but rather as a corrosive influence. The problem is that they do not have the science backgrounds to realize that the YEC arguments are junk. One of my friends came back from the Creation Museum and said "Wow, I learned a lot!" A lot of nonsense is more likely.Jimpithecushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10143519573877156940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19722540.post-28572739133219061522009-01-28T13:27:00.000-05:002009-01-28T13:27:00.000-05:00I am firmly convinced about the reality of evoluti...I am firmly convinced about the reality of evolution. My wife on the other hand is not much interested in it beyond the ramifications of our relationship to our church community, some of which has already been felt. What to tell the kids has been a difficult subject, and was forced on us all of a sudden when my oldest daughter (who always selects science texts about animals, especially dinosaurs) brought home a book on prehistoric life which included int he final chapters drawings of early hominids. My daughter was instantly drawn to that page! <BR/><BR/>Anyway, I wasn't in the room when it took place, but overhead the tail end of their discussion where my wife tried to make it as palable as possible but kept qualifying it with "some people think so" and "there isn't very much evidence" and the worst one "its just a theory". I want my daughter to think critically and learn things by examining evidence as opposed to being told, so I don't mind presenting it like it needs to be examined. But why was my wife making it sound like nobody was really sure. Well I got my answer later. When I asked she stated the very first sentence said that evolution of humans was highly debated among scientists. I tried to explain that this meant "how it happened is debated" not "whether it happened" but had a hard time getting through to her.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com