I have a notion that if these creationists were thrust into the field of ecology for a year there would be likely to be quite a reduction in the number of them pushing views on debate boards such as these. It's amazing what a bit of real education can do for a person!
For example, Glenn R. Morton, who has participated on this forum. He converted in college, learned practically everything he knew about geology from the ICR et al. and authored a number of published creationist geology articles (eg,
quote:
I published 27 articles and notes in the Creation Research Society Quarterly, presented a paper at the first International Conference on Creationism, and ghost wrote the evolution section in Josh McDowell's book Reasons Skeptics Should Consider Christianity.
Graduated from college with a BS Physics and, facing a market that wasn't hiring physics grads, went to work as a field geologist for a petroleum company, even hired several other creationist geologists. Reported at the 1986 International Conference on Creationism how they had to face and work with rock-hard evidence that the ICR had taught them did not exist and could not exist for Scripture to have any meaning and that they had all suffered "severe crises of faith". It was later that he was himself driven to the verge of atheism, but was finally able to find an harmonization that preserved his faith. Though he is definitely no longer a creationist.
His own story is told at:
The Transformation of a Young-earth CreationistWhy I left Young-earth Creationism
He posts other "Personal Stories of the Creation/Evolution Struggle" are posted at
No webpage found at provided URL: http://home.entouch.net/dmd/person.htm
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I have tended to find over the years that most creationists are mind-bogglingly ignorant about most matters in the natural world.
I've had the same experience, though with many who would be on either side of the divide. There's some serious ignorance out there.
Though still, I have found that the surest way to anger a creationist is to take his claims seriously and try to discuss them with him. My first interpretation was that they knew that they were lying and now were finding themselves caught in their lie. But I came to realize that they simply did not know what they were talking about. They were just regurgitating some creationist crap that they had read and understood none of it.