Darwin, genesis and dinosaurs

 

Creationists firmly believe that life on earth is solely created by a supernatural being and that it all happened in six days, literally.

Charles Darwin, who published the ground breaking "On the origin of species" in 1859, is probably turning in his grave as the creationist debate gets increasingly loader.

In the US over 66 of the population believe that the world is less than 10,000 years old. Sara Palin is one of the many firm believers. A staggering 16 percent of biology teachers in America are creationists

Here in the UK, Phil Robinson recently claimed on the last BBC Sunday Morning Live show, that "Genesis is the true historic account".

He also said that "Evolution is based on the fact that cells develop through natural selection. But you can only select from what is already there – where did the rest of the information come from?"

His statement shows that he's missing the very core of Darwin's theory; that the traits that give individuals a reproductive advantage are heritable and passed from parent to child.

Dinosaurs spotted in Africa

The young earth creation club tries to convince us on their website that humans and dinosaurs lived, and still live together. Creatures resembling dinosaurs have been spotted in Africa, they claim... So beware! 

And they refer to "The evolutionism myth" as being used to "promote the erroneous belief that humans and dinosaurs lived millions of years apart from each other". 

They are very concerned that children and adults are "indoctrinated with this 'belief' starting from early childhood with books that teach it", and that it's "reinforced in the public school system, the media and the entertainment industry". 

Don't listen

At the Berkely Art and Letters conference 2009, British ethnologist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins was asked how he would convince creationists that their theories don't hold water.

He explained that if comparing the genes, using modern DNA technique, of any pair of animals or plants, they form a perfect hierarchy - a family tree.

He said, "The only alternative to this family tree would be 'the intelligent designer' deliberately set out to deceive us in the most underhand devious manner.”

The problem, Richard Dawkins said, is that "they don’t bother to listen".

As an example he tells of Kurt Wise, holding a PHD in geology from Harvard, once saying that: "If all the evidence in the universe pointed to an old earth, I would be the first to admit it, but I would still be a young earth creationist, because that’s what the holy bible has taught me."

Like Mr. Dawkins so well put it: "You can't argue with a mind like that."