“Creationism creeps into NSW Schools”
Evolutionists aghast Scripture teachers teach that their faith is true
by Russell Grigg
Published: 6 July 2010(GMT+10)
“Creationism
creeps into NSW Schools” is the headline of an article by Jodie Minus
in The Australian newspaper of 25 June 2010, which reports on a survey
of religion in schools by Cathy Byrne of Macquarie State University. The article expressed
horror that some children in religion education classes in New South Wales, Australia,
had been given “kits called ‘Creation for Kids’ containing colouring
books, calendars and DVDs deriding evolution, and claiming that the universe was
only 6,000 years old”.
“Creation for Kids” is the name of CMI’s regular children’s
page in Creation
magazine, and we do have a factual and balanced book entitled
Days 1–7: Your complete children’s guide to the 7 days of Creation Week.
This does not “deride evolution” but presents what the Bible says about
the origin of the universe, the world and life, while showing how Creation solves
some of the huge problems involved in the evolutionary explanation. If this is the
material referred to, we would commend those responsible for distributing it, but
we suspend further comment until we see what (else) was involved.
Another cause for alarm to the newspaper was the fact that:
“70 per cent of scripture teachers think children should be taught the Bible
as historical fact and 80 per cent believe students should not be exposed to non-Christian
beliefs.”
Yes, Christians believe that Bible records the true history of the world. Atheists
don’t—and for this very reason we can understand the fervent desire of atheists
to prevent Australian schoolchildren from being taught it. But the parents of these
children have given permission for their children to attend a Christian-education
class, not an atheistic one. So yes, Christian Scripture teachers should teach Christianity
and not other religions like Buddhism or Hinduism … or atheism. Anyway, that
great ‘engine’ of atheism, the philosophy of evolution, is already taught
within the mainstream curricula in the science class.
Secularists have managed to ban alternative ideas, including creation and intelligent
design, from being aired or discussed in science classrooms. Not even any questioning
of the atheistic evolutionary explanation of how the universe, our world, and life
came into being is permitted. Now, it seems those who rule our school curricula
want creation banned from Christian religious education classes as well.
Next, they will want to ban it from being taught in churches. They don’t like
hearing people saying that creation is true and giving reasons for it.
Researcher Cathy Byrne of the University’s Centre for Research and Social
Inclusion is reported as saying: “most parents would be shocked to learn what
goes on in some religious education classes.” This is nonsense. Religious
education is a voluntary subject in Australian schools, and requires the agreement
of both the student and the parents. Any parents who do not like what is taught
are free to withdraw their permission. Ms Byrne and Ms Minus both write as if all
the children belong to them. They don’t.
Now, it seems, those who rule our schools curricula want it banned from religious
education classes as well. Next, they will want to ban it from being taught in churches.
Ms Byrne is further reported as saying: “Most parents and trained teachers
want critical thinking about religion, individual responsibility for moral decisions
and empathy towards others.” Critical thinking? Yes, let’s have some!
And let’s include all subjective beliefs about God, including evolutionary
“science” which assumes, for all practical purposes, that God does not
exist. Yes, the critical faculty is so important to develop in children; why then
does the evolutionary establishment so vehemently oppose the idea of questioning
the theory of evolution?
And what is the basis for “individual responsibility for moral decisions and
empathy towards others” that Ms Byrne talks about once God and His Word, the
Bible, is set aside? There is no basis for morality in evolution any more than there
is in atheism. When the Judeo-Christian ethic of the Ten Commandments is superseded
by the survival-of-the-fittest ethic of evolution, the result is the Holocaust.
It would seem that Cathy Byrne of Macquarie State University is keen to push her
beliefs into the schools; something that should be subjected to critical analysis.
Related articles
Further reading
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