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Homeschooling parents demand evolutionary textbooks

What’s in your child’s science textbook?

sxc.hu/weliton
Published: 13 June 2013 (GMT+10)

Children who go to public or government schools are expected to learn evolution as part of their science education. So, a major reason why Christian parents may decide to homeschool is so that they can educate their children consistently with their beliefs, including in biblical creation. In recognition that a majority of Christian homeschoolers are biblical creationists, a lot of the homeschool science curriculum has been dominated by biblical creation (see the Education Resources section of our site). However, it is important for parents to exercise discernment.

The allegedly Christian publication Christianity Today featured a story entitled “A New Creation Story”1 which reported on a growing number of parents who apparently want to teach their homeschooled children evolution. Until recently, some of these parents reported difficulty finding Christian curricula that presented evolution, but with grants from the theistic evolution organization BioLogos, several teams of university lecturers and professors are writing textbooks that present evolution as a possible Christian approach to origins.

Evolution everywhere

The article even presents anecdotes about biblical creationist parents who are desperate for a curriculum that is less ‘strident’ in its creationism. In a sense, it’s hard to believe that anyone would have trouble finding sufficient sources explaining evolution—everything from video games to TV shows to children’s literature presents evolution as fact 24/7, and now thanks to BioLogos, this view is even more prevalent in Christian circles. Rather, biblical creationist parents are likely to find that there are limited options, if they want curricula that exclusively present a biblical worldview. And by definition ‘biblical creation’ is one that takes the Genesis account at face value and does not apply eisegesis to insert millions of years of evolutionary processes in there.

Evolutionary creation?

Christianity Today continues a trend of popular-level Christian articles that present more ‘tolerant-minded’ Christians who accept evolution in a conundrum created by ‘strident, narrow’ Christians who hold to a historical interpretation of Genesis. BioLogos and those who are using their grants to create evolutionary textbooks are presented as individuals committed to a broader understanding of Scripture.

But what isn’t featured is what evolution removes from Christian theology. The Bible is primarily a book of history, from beginning to end. And the history of Adam, Eve, and Noah, is not so much tied to the history of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as much as tangled up in it. Jesus was ‘the seed’ promised to Eve, “born of woman” (Galatians 4:4). But He was much more; in fact, He was nothing less than the agent of creation Himself (John 1:1–3). His death is able to bring life to those who believe in Him in the same way that Adam’s sin brought death to mankind (Romans 5:12–21), and because He is the Last Adam, those who believe in Him can be sure that we will be raised, just as He was (1 Corinthians 15). His coming will be swift and unexpected, just like the Flood, and at that time (Matthew 24:37–39), ‘the restoring of all things’ (Acts 3:21) will occur, and there will be a ‘new heavens and earth’ (Revelation 21), complete with the Tree of Life brought back (Revelation 22:2), and immediate access to God, just as it was in Eden.

An evolutionary scenario as promoted by Biologos claims that Adam (who never existed) never fell, and Eve (who never existed) was never promised a ‘Seed’. Death didn’t come from the (nonexistent) Fall, because it preceded humans for billions of years. The Flood, if it happened at all, was at most a local catastrophe which falls far short of the cosmic-level judgment that the Bible depicts. So evolution amputates the entire historical precedent from the Gospel.

The evolutionists are right?

It might be a surprise to hear that real biblical creationists and atheistic evolutionists agree about one point—theistic evolution doesn’t work. Richard Dawkins says:

“I think the evangelical Christians have really sort of got it right in a way, in seeing evolution as the enemy. Whereas the more, what shall we say, sophisticated theologians are quite happy to live with evolution, I think they’re deluded. I think the evangelicals have got it right, in that there really is a deep incompatibility between evolution and Christianity … ”2

Atheist Frank Zindler says:

“The most devastating thing though that biology did to Christianity was the discovery of biological evolution. Now that we know Adam and Eve never were real people the central myth of Christianity is destroyed. If there never was an Adam and Eve, there never was an original sin. If there never was an original sin there is no need of salvation. If there is no need of salvation there is no need of a savior. And I submit that puts Jesus, historical or otherwise, into the ranks of the unemployed. I think that evolution absolutely is the death knell of Christianity.”3

In fact, they’re right—if evolution is true, Christianity isn’t, because Christianity presupposes a history that is fundamentally at odds with evolution.

Teach your kids evolution!

Education is not neutral. It shapes a person’s worldview. One of the most serious responsibilities of a parent is to evangelize his or her children. In many cases this has not been happening, so a major part of a child’s education (whether the parent is homeschooling, or supplementing public or Christian school), should be to learn to trust the Bible as God’s word. When parents endorse statements that allow Genesis to be taken ‘nonliterally’, too often children simply hear, “You don’t need to believe the Bible.” And is it surprising that many children heed that message and leave the church altogether?

In light of the above, it may seem surprising that creationists would advise you: make sure your kids know about evolution! But teach them more than they would learn in public school—teach them the problems the Big Bang and evolution, and prepare them to ‘be able to give an answer’ when they encounter evolution being taught as fact, as they inevitably will.

Related Articles

Further Reading

References

  1. Zylstra, S.E., A new creation story, Christianity Today, 29 April 2013; christianitytoday.com, accessed 30 April 2013. Return to text.
  2. Video available at https://creation.com/creation-videos?fileID=BAbpfn9QgGA. Return to text.
  3. Frank Zindler, American atheist, in a debate with William Craig, Atheism vs Christianity video, 1996. Return to text.

Readers’ comments

D. B.
US June 26th, 2013
Today I found myself yelling at the telly. An onscreen physics professor was explaining the laws of thermodynamics--namely, that order diminishes over time and disorder increases. He carefully proved this with several examples, then, having made the case that evolution was impossible, he 'stopped the tape' and inserted the de rigueur defense of the indefensible: Evolution was possible because the universe is a closed system, and entropy is reversible within a closed system. But his examples all started with a high level of order! At this point I began to yell back at the screen: "YOU HAVE TO HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF ORDER ALREADY EXISTING SOMEWHERE IN ORDER TO LOWER ENTROPY ANYWHERE ELSE!!!" Brilliant as he was, he really thought he'd discovered an exception to the rule--only he couldn't see that it wasn't an exception at all.
Andrew W.
CA June 25th, 2013
I like your final point that we should teach our children about evolution. My girls are 5 and 3 now, and it is increasingly evident that we could not possibly stave off evolutionary indoctrination short of keeping them in a bubble. But I'm not quite sure how to go about it. Part of me thinks that we could teach it to them the same way we would teach them about Greek mythology - Zeus and Heracles, et. al. Except it's a bit more tricky: if my daughter talks about the goddess Athena, people will think it's cute, whereas if she talks about evolution as a myth, people will consider it child abuse. So how do we prepare our children for the inevitable reaction? I suppose there is an article about this somewhere too. Anyway, thanks,

Andrew
Pennie S.
US June 22nd, 2013
I have never understood how any true Christian could ever insert evolution or millions of years into Creation. As believers, we must take God's Word at face value, for either it ALL is truth or none of it is truth.
Chip B.
US June 22nd, 2013
It has been my experience that there are generally two schools of thought on evolution; 1) People who really do understand what evolution teaches (scientists, educators, etc.) and are simply in willing rebellion to God. They will defend the hill of their eolutionary ideas with all their might, creating "fairytales" to breathe new life into the dying corpse of evolution. 2) Those people who were schooled in evolution and perhaps have a basic understaning of evolutionary ideas but rely more on group number one telling them it is fact. There is this perception that Biblical Creation is not scientific and these people in group two do not want to appear "uneducated" or ignorant. What ministries such as CMI and us as individual members of the body of Christ must do is to change this perception. We have allowed science to be redefined by people like Eugenie Scott who says that, "science is the search for naturalistic explainations for the universe". What most people don't see is that by taking a position like Ms. Scott's, we preclude the possibility of any discovey of truth that may be "supernaturalistic". I praise God for CMI and other ministries who present a sound biblical creation message and make an appeal to those who don't (Reasons to Believe, BioLogos, et.al.) to remove the stumbling blocks they are erecting, this fight is a difficult one as it is, arranging our firing squads in a circle is not good strategy. May the Peace and Joy of Christ be with all of you at CMI - continue your obiedience to our Lord Jesus.
Jeremy H.
CA June 22nd, 2013
The claims of evolution cannot be demonstraited or reproduced, so it is neither biology nor science. The theory states that it all took place before humans could observe it or record it, so it's not history either. Besides being something that seems to be nothing more than a faith, why does it need to taught at all, or under what category should it be taught?
Mandy D.
NZ June 22nd, 2013
As a Home Educating parent I always look for materials that support a Christian, creationist viewpoint. Sadly most such science curricula are very expensive. Even purchasing second hand can be costly. Thankfully I can attempt to communicate, in a child-friendly way, what I learn from CMI and other sources to my kids.
Denise P.
US June 22nd, 2013
Serious Bible Christians will not demand this & struggle against it. However, as the re-education centers that used to be churches are purposely taken by emergent, NAR, and Purpose Driven philosophy and mysticism ----false gnostic knowledge and strange spirit 'experience' rather than adherence to the Word of God faithfully taught & rightly divided that is able to make one wise to salvation---convicted of sin by the Law & Holy Spirit with God-given conscience receiving the truth witnessed in Creation, followed to the Word seeking remedy & God, is then granted of God repentance by the same grace ----how would they know? Romans 10. We are witnessing the equivalent to the 3 Self Patriotic imposter & what Richard Wurmbrandt warned of, as well as the Word of God--2 Thess 2, 2 Tim 3&4, 2 Peter 2&3, Jude, Revelation, Daniel. The solution is to carry on, repent if not presenting the true & complete Gospel & teaching as Paul outlined to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 ----warning the flock of the community organizers & steerers masquerading as pastors and Christian leaders when they are wolves, haters of God & His Word, and of their father the devil --teaching a false idolatrous 'gospel' and another jesus. May God have mercy on us all who have gone soft on this & bring us to our senses, giving us courage & more fear of offending God than man, and love to risk the ire of men and persecution that more might be saved. 'Christian' home school conventions leaders and publishers & so forth care more for money & false philosophy than Truth. I repent of soft-pedaling & cowardice and calling it 'love' and 'friendship evangelism' ---no more, by the grace and power of God & the truth & power of His Word.
Jerry W.
US June 19th, 2013
Chandrasekaran M., Australia, 13 June 2013
I think teaching kids of evolution is the right thing to do in the sense of making them aware of the enemy that is disguised as science or theology and how to deal with the enemy. I cannot do this job myself well if I do not know the enemy and how to deal with it myself.
Simply study the Bible and know the Word of God and the enemy will stand out like a sore thumb. You do not have to know all the ins and outs of a false teaching to defeat it, just know the truth and the counterfeit will be obvious.
Benjamin F.
US June 19th, 2013
It's beyond sad that Christians are buying into the lie of evolution and are teaching it to their children. And it's beyond exasperating trying to discuss the issue with people who grew up being taught evolution as fact, both in the schools and everywhere in the movies and on TV. "It's a fact, it's a fact, it's a fact" works -- and even with sound reasoning, people tend to believe what they've grown up being told even if it is at odds with reason and objective analysis. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and thank you for people who serve you in such difficult and important ministries such as Creation.com!
Chris R.
AU June 16th, 2013
I agree with those who say that children should be taught the theory of evolution. For a start this removes criticism that they don't understand the theory. Next it allows an opportunity to examine the shortcomings of the theory and why it fails.

I remember in my schooling being taught discarded theories as stepping stones to the (then) current theory on a subject.
David G.
AU June 14th, 2013
Evolution doesn't just 'shape one's worldview'; it is a worldview: a way of thinking about reality that is at odds with the Bible's portrayal of reality and the place of God in that reality.
Christians who double date with evolution end up splitting their world, and it ends up usually with Christian thinking being placed in a corner, to rapidly lose relevance in bringing the gospel to the world.
John L.
US June 13th, 2013
My wife and I homeschooled all of our children. They entered public school in various later grades for a variety of reasons-but not before they had been well grounded in the Christian Faith, and how to problem solve on a variety of issues including relating to other belief systems. CMI, then the Creation Science Foundation, played an important role. There will always be Christian parents that want their children to learn science, philosophy, and religion in an accurate scriptural context. There are many who oppose them doing this, but I encourage CMI and other homeschooling parents-do not waver; "Let God be true and every man a liar" if need be. The weight of glory in seeing your children serve the Lord is worth it.
J. S.
AU June 13th, 2013
Thanks for your article Lita. I'm homeschooling five children and am now facing this dilemma with the introduction of The National Curriculum in Australia. Presenting two cases for existence (creation or evolution) may seem harmless at first
but Satan only needs to cause doubt "..Hath God said?..". God's Word to all parents is "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.(Prov22v6)". I have seen some fulfilment of this verse in my birth family having two sisters who have turned their backs on God and His Word many years ago but still live by Christian principles they learnt as small children to their personal blessing (although they cannot see it that way). Presenting education from a creation/biblical perspective was one of the main reasons we chose to homeschool. If we don't put the error in ( and risk creating a stumbling block) we won't need to waste so much of our life or theirs (which in essence is God's time) in removing and/or reconciling error as has been the case in my own life. We need to present the truth and be diligent in explaining the errors because facts always speak for themselves. Keep up the good work so that my children will have the answers that I did not have access to when I was at school.
Alan S.
GB June 13th, 2013
Amen and Amen to this article. We Christians do need to teach evolution to our children and grandchildren, but to teach it as EE - Evolutionary Error. Anything that detracts from clear Bible teaching is ungodly, unfaithful, and disobedient.
"Revelation 22.18 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
Every blessing for the consistently good work you are doing
Chandrasekaran M.
AU June 13th, 2013
I think teaching kids of evolution is the right thing to do in the sense of making them aware of the enemy that is disguised as science or theology and how to deal with the enemy. I cannot do this job myself well if I do not know the enemy and how to deal with it myself.

CMI has been doing a wonderful job towards this which helped me personally not lose rather strength the foundation of my faith in Jesus the Lord.

Atheist Frank Zindler quotation in this article reminded me of what Jesus said in John 5:46 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.

Of many things Moses wrote, Genesis creation account is an important one. But some believers dismiss this account saying Genesis day is not just 24 hour day. If Genesis creation account is a myth, the first Adam and Eve are myth which means that they did not sin and there was no fall and death has been there from the beginning. So Sabbath day becomes meaningless and Jesus crucifixion and resurrection become meaningless and not necessary.
James T.
US June 13th, 2013
CMI I believe that when your Evolution Achille's Heels comes out, it can hopefully get theistic evolutionists to see that it can't work. I hope one day it can get Christians (like Dr Craig) to open their eyes about evolution and see the errors in it.
Gary Bates
June 13th, 2013
Thanks James. EAH is certainly taking up a lot of our time at the moment. If you haven't done so already please consider supporting us here to help us finish the project. Many thanks.
Roger T.
AU June 12th, 2013
Tragic as this is we should not be surprised. Paul writes in his second letter to the Thessalonians 2:3 " Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first,..."
This should be an encouragement not discouragement that we are nearing that Day and sadly we will almost certainly see worse apostacy than this but Paul also writes "Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might." Eph. 6:10.

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