(1) Is the Universe and all that is within it, including human beings, created through purposeful, intelligent design by a Supreme Being, that is a Creator?
As I am a Deist, I believe that there is, or was, a creator. However I am not sure that human life is necessarily a final result or a necessary one, rather that intelligent life is the purpose.
As my answer is a qualified "yes" I will answer both the following questions:
(2) Since the Universe, including human beings, is created by a Supreme Being (a Creator), why is creationism not taught in Tennessee public schools?
The question here, is
where alternative concepts should be discussed in a public school environment.
If we are talking about science class, then we need to teach scientific truth, fact and the theories that help us understand them. This would hold for all sciences being taught in the schools. Scientific truth and fact and scientific theories are easy to identify as they involve the scientific method, predictions and testing, and most importantly falsifiability: they can be shown to be false.
If we are
not talking about science classes, then we can talk about philosophy and comparative religion. I think this would be a valuable addition to any school program, as we can discuss • methods of discerning truth, • what we use to decide whether a concept is valid, • logic and the ability to form valid sound arguments (or determine when an argument involves logical fallacies),
and • compare different concepts of creation that are known to man and how valid or sound their concepts are. We can study the issue of different creation theories from a scientific approach.
We can also discuss the history of religion in the US and the importance of different beliefs in forming basic American concepts and values, religions such as christianity and deism. We can discuss the experience that the founding fathers had with theocracies and the reasons that inspired them to form a more perfect union that allowed for equal freedom for all beliefs. We can also discuss the influence of native americans on helping form basic American concepts and values, such as equality and democracy.
I firmly believe that American kids should be taught these elements of philosophy, religion and american history, and enable them to discern truth from falsehood and apply critical thinking to the learning process.
(3) Since it cannot be determined whether the Universe, including human beings, is created by a Surprme Being (a Creator), why is creationism not taught as an alternative concept, explanation, or theory, along with the theory of evolution in Tennessee public schools?
As discussed in the answer to (2) above, the inclusion of various concepts in the teaching of biological\life sciences would rest solely on the litmus test of being scientific truths and theories, that they would qualify as science, and not where those ideas came from. This would mean that any concept that was derived from observation of life no matter what the source, whether it was fundamental christian creationism, deism, native beliefs, or any other belief, that applies to the development of life on earth and which meets the criteria of being scientific can be taught.
In closing, I would like to say that I welcome the opportunity to discuss these controversial elements of education and how the Tennessee public schools can teach children the truth and remain within the boundaries set by the Federal Government. I am proud to be an American and of the role my personal faith has played in the formation of this special, this unique form of government that guarantees religious freedom.
Thank you, I remain
RAZD
the
Rebel
AAmerican
OZen
[Deist
Edited by RAZD, : clarity
Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)
we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAAmericanOZen[Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.
™ Version 4.2
