The so-called Creationists, who maintain that the biblical account is scientific truth, make me very angry. Their total misunderstanding of the real truths at the heart of the Creation stories of Genesis simply bring faith into disrepute and invite scorn, feeding those who dismiss all religion as irrational nonsense.
Even worse is the hijacking of the phrase "intelligent design", making it synonymous with the Creationist fallacies. Throughout all human history, including our own time, the vast majority of the world's peoples have believed in an intelligent mind behind all things. Indeed, many scientists believe that the underlying unity of the universe which they are progressively uncovering, can only be explained by a purposive hand.
Of course, the existence of a Creator cannot be proved - or disproved - by scientific methods, but it certainly sheds light on much that would otherwise be obscure.
Evolutionary science deals with the questions "how" and "when". The Creation account in Genesis was not written to answer these questions and, properly understood, is not in any conflict with that science. The Genesis account seeks to answer the fundamental questions "why" and "who". For what purpose are we placed on this earth? Who are we? These questions of identity and destiny are the real truths which the myths of Genesis were written to convey, and they are truths which are by definition outside the legitimate scope of science.
The Creationist and the evolutionist both make the same fundamental error, of treating the Creation stories as claiming to be scientific truth - one to defend it as the very word of God, the other to dismiss it as a fairy story. The Creation account deals with questions that science does not, and, indeed, intrinsically cannot, address.
I would be horrified if the Creationist's views were taught in our schools as an alternative to evolution. I would be even more horrified if an education system that is meant to help young people understand and reflect on the fundamental questions of existence, did not present the real case for a Creator, and the message of the biblical stories conveying truths about who we are, and why we are here.
Canon Kenyon Wright, 4 Katrine Crescent, Callander.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article