English 121 CL-03
Jon Lindsay
Should Schools Include Creationism in Their Curricula?
The US government is a nation with so many citizens and immigrants with differing religions, such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism, not to mention parents and individuals who are atheists, agnostics, etc. In government-owned educational institutions, some stakeholders have grappled over the idea of whether or not to include or exclude creationism in the school curricula because of constitutional and religious issues. Indisputably, in private, sectarian educational institutions, religion is automatically a part of the curriculum. Most teachers in those schools may have similar religious background; thus, they may be required to teach the subject called Creationism. However, the controversial question remains: “Should all public schools include Creationism in their curricula?”
Aggravated by conflicting socio-political views about religions, and the fact that schools should not use as an approach to teaching indoctrination, which does not offer the use of critical thinking, it is difficult to provide directly an answer to the polemical question mentioned above. Moreover, even when some people have sufficient and necessary knowledge of biblical truth, there are those who are not in favor of hearing the Word of God (e.g., atheists). Likewise, some teachers, instructors and other professionals, whose major is not religion, do not have the required credentials to teach a subject matter / topic as delicate as Creationism to their students who have distinct background. Further, some students (not to mention other adults), who are mature enough to think for themselves, will obviously hurl questions, disgusts, insults, or whatever that maybe, about the authenticity and validity of the bible. Hence, schools are beset with problems whether they will include creationism in their curricula.
People who are opposed in the inclusion of creationism in schools say that it is a big hoax. For them, scientifically speaking, the Universe is billions of years old. How could the universe and everything in it were created only in a matter of several days? Despite anything to the contrary, some philosophers, biblical scholars and religious experts argue that a word, such as “day,” can have multiple meaning depending on the context where it was used. The days being referred to in the bible concerning creationism are God’s ‘days.’ Before the creation of the Universe and everything in it, there is nil yet. Nothing has been created yet. Hence, the Creationism days could either be entirely different or the same, one way or the other. As an illustration, here on earth, one day is equivalent to 24 hours, that is, as reckoned from the planet’s single, full rotation on its own axis. The number of hours in a day in all the other planets of our solar system and even beyond, on the other hand, could differ one from the other. Thus, it can also be asked: Where is God when He is creating all things from the beginning? If God’s place is much bigger than any individuals could ever imagine, how many hours does one or several of His days have then? Are His days similar with humans and that they all consists only of 24 hours? Inferably, aside from God’s omnipotence, a day for Him could mean millions or even billions of hours.
For my part, as a Christian, I believe that (without offense to other religious groups, freethinkers, etc.) that Creationism should be taught in schools because it is a topic that is logical and require high-level thinking. Even though people belong to various religious factions, they ought to be tolerant of others’ belief systems. In a nation such as the US that loves freedom of expression and opens to people’s multiplicity of ideas, it is imperative that students should learn how to think independently and critically. For a topic such as Creationism, whoever you are and whatever is your place in society, it is important to realize truth from falsehood – subject to rigorous religious, scientific and/or logical standard.
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