Youth Ministry Issue:
Teaching young students about the Christian worldview of Creation of the universe versus the secular worldview of evolution
A. Summary and the theology of the issue
Basically, a Creation worldview is one of major topics or concerns for Christian education. Youth is an important period to construct or develop their concrete worldview. However, it is hard for them to have a healthy Christian worldview only through the evolution-centered public school curriculums. Numerous young students are wandering between what they have learned from schools and what they have heard from churches so far. When I asked youth minister of my church some advices for youth ministry issues, he said that a Creation worldview should be considered
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Key tensions or concerns regarding the issue
Regarding the Creation Worldview, the key concern is the meaning of life and purpose. If young students understand that God created whole universe and all of other things, then their life and each human being were created with His intention, love, and with a purpose. However, if all of life is just an event of a random, nonintellectual process, such as evolution, then the meaning of life and purpose disappear. Thus, constructing the Creation Worldview of youth is interconnected to build their identity and firm faith.
The tension existing in teaching youth about the Creation Worldview is that this young generation is accustomed to and tends to choose the concepts of logic, a science, a technology, and a visible material world. In addition to this, both of youth minister and youth easily overlook this issue because they may assume that this issue is a basic teaching material proper to toddlers or little children. By teaching the Creation Worldview to youth, however, they may know that this visible material world is bound to the invisible spiritual
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One example of a weakness for evolution is the lack of fossil evidence to show the slow evolutionary process that lots of scientists claim took place of millions of years. There is very little fossil evidence of hybrid animals as species evolved such as a half-fish and half-reptile or half-bird and half-mammal. A moral argument is another example in order to reveal the weakness of evolution theory. If the world was created by natural causes, there is no explanation for morality or ethics higher than just mere survival. Only a Creator, God, could have designed humans to have a sense of right and
Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron, “Teaching Theories: The Evolution-Creation Controversy,” The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 44, No. 7 (Oct…1982). This article, written by Robert Root-Bernstein and Donald L. McEachron sheds light on the controversy of evolution vs creationism in schools and the validity of each being called a scientific theory. The work was created to answer the questions, “Which of these theories is truly scientific and which is a religious belief? Which should be taught in schools?” The article concluded in favor of evolution as a valid scientific theory that should be taught rather than creationism, but also mentioned the worth of understanding the latter.
Evolution and Creationism are both fact and theory but the question is which one should be taught in schools? Only a few school distracts have approved the teaching of evolution because it has more senitific evidence than creationism to prove that it is true. According to a new Gallup poll, just 39% of Americans believe in evolution. The Gallup polls also show that those Americans with higher education believe in the theory of evolution as opposed to those with only high school diplomas. The polls found that 74% Americans with post-graduate degrees believe in evolution theory compared to 21% of Americans with only high school diplomas. The Gallup polls suggest that the belief in the theory of evolution is associated with education. Evolution should be taught in schools because it has more scientific evidence to support it than creationism does. Also, public schools should not teach things that have to do with God, such as creationism, because the Constitution requires the separation of church and state. Finally, if we do not allow schools to teach evolution it would be a form censo...
In the beginning, God created...the earth and the heavens, or an evolving mass of matter, later to become the heavens and the earth? The conflict between science and religion is a hot topic in many intellectual circles today. One of the more controversial topics is creation versus evolution. How did the world get to where it is right now? How was creation initiated? Is there a Creator or was life created spontaneously? These are some of the questions that boggle minds and set people searching for answers. There is even a conflict within the church: Did God create the heavens and the earth as they are, or did God allow the universe to develop according to natural laws? This conflict between science and religion continues to hold up in our supposed intellectual society. In order to tame this conflict and be true to their faith and science, Christian biologists have an obligation to reflect their Christianity in the realm of biology as well as their biological intellect in the realm of Christianity.
The foundation of a Christian worldview is the belief in a personal God, creator and ruler of the universe. The Christian worldview views the world through God’s word, providing the framework for humanity to live by giving meaning and purpose to life. It defines who Jesus is, human nature, and how salvation is achieved. In essence it is the basis of which Christians behave, interact, interpret life and comprehend reality. A Christian worldview imparts confidence, answers to life’s problems, and hope for the future. In this paper I will discuss the essentials of a Christian worldview and an analysis of the influences, benefits, and difficulties sustaining the Christian faith.
Teaching of evolution has several issues. One of the main issue is that it is unfair to some students with a background of Christianity. Christians believe in Creationism, meaning God created the whole world or if not, most of the world. Darwin's theory of Evolution is complete contradictory of this. In the Bible, it is stated that God made humans in His image while Darwin's theory says that Humans evolved from monkeys. It is basically proving that God, does not exist, violating the first amendment, Freedom of Belief. The first amendment states "..respecting the establishment of religion..." When Christian students listen and are forced to learn the theory of Evolution, it is restricting them to worship without obstacles and is therefore, disrespecting the establishment of religion by defying the existence of God. "If Genesis were interpreted as symbolic, as a myth, fable or fantasy, then the entire role of Jesus would have to be reinterpreted."(http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_school.htm)
In conclusion, teachers who share their worldview with their students and encourage them to also expand and develop their own biblical worldview are giving their students a whole integrated education. The hope of a teacher should be that what their students learn will carry them through life by always seeing everything through the lens of God’s
The only theory of creation that teachers are allowed to teach in public schools is the theory of evolution. No other idea is considered and this is not acceptable. Many people think it is closed minded to only teach one religion, but that is a two way street. It is also closed minded to only teach evolution. Someone may argue the reason why they only teach evolution is because if they teach any religion based theory then it forces religion on people. Teaching evolution forces a different belief on religious people. We need to find a way to teach multiple theories.
In 1859, Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking Origin of Species, which would introduce the seminal theory of evolution to the scientific community. Over 150 years later, the majority of scientists have come to a consensus in agreement with this theory, citing evidence in newer scientific research. In an average high school biology classroom, one may imagine an instructor that has devoted much of his life to science and a predominantly Christian class of about twenty-five students. On the topic of evolution, one of the students might ask, “Why would God have taken the long route by creating us through billion years of evolution?” while another student may claim “The Book of Genesis clearly says that the earth along with all living creatures was created in just six days, and Biblical dating has proven that the earth is only 6000 years old.” Finally a third student interjects with the remark “maybe the Bible really is just a book, and besides, science has basically already proven that evolution happened, and is continuing to happen as we speak.”
Walsh, S., & Demere, T. A. (2000, December 7). Creationism Should Not Be Taught in Public Schools. Facts, Faith, and Fairness. Retrieved March 1, 2011, from Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Have you ever wondered what students are learning these days? There is Algebra, Chemistry, Geometry, and Biology, but are there any classes on Creationism? Speaking of Biology, the main focus in this subject is Evolution. When Evolution is discussed there is controversy. Although most public schools in the United States teach just on evolution, there is a plethora of students that want at least the option to have a creationism taught alongside of evolution.
These days, most of the textbook only presents evolution theory as a fact to interpret the origin of life and the earth. More and more people get to reject creation unconsciously because they had no opportunity to compare and evaluate both worldview in same degree. I interviewed my three close acquaintances and heard a various responses from many people including my interviewees. Some of them had same belief with me, but some people had significantly different opinion with me. As a consequence of evolution theory’s monopoly in education, non-believers and Christians are unconsciously influenced by this secular worldview.
A biblical worldview of the natural world is found with God’s creation. In the book of Romans, God’s divine nature and creation of the universe is revealed. Romans 1:19 states, “Since what may be known about God s plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” The faithful understand and worship God as the creator of the universe and all life. It
The Creation is an open letter E. O. Wilson wrote to a Southern Baptist pastor. With the environment declining, Wilson is desperate in seeking others to help conserve the environment. Therefore, in Wilson’s letter, he pleads to the pastor and any other Christian leaders to engage the community of the importance of saving the earth and its environment. His letter is also specifically aimed to the audience who: strictly regard the story of creation to having no connection with evolution, those who endorse to the “rapture” theological system. He communicates in a way as to persuade the pastor that taking care of the environment is a religious obligation. His persuasion focuses on “Creation” which is referred to as areas in our life which depend on nature and the planet. Wilson goes about this by sharing various examples of how we as human beings have lost interest for nature and have focused more on society. By this Wilson is saying that we have used nature as both a storehouse for resources and a place for garbage. Regardless of how Wilson shares his ideas and his concerns, it is clearly seen that he pleads to create a bridge which includes scientists
The desire to be accepted is prevalent among youth today. In a world that is currently suffering from a famine of love that is intended to be given to today’s youth, more and more we see students that desire to be accepted, yet feel accepted by no one. Because of this we see them decide to reach out, and as they do they become accepted into a group that is not a good influence on them, or simply is wasting their time. Here we will look at what exactly the bible tells us in the issue of acceptance, and how it would look in the average youth ministry today. We will then look into how we will follow up with students past their fist visit and finally what utilizing the idea of acceptance to its full potential will do for a ministry.
REISS, MICHAEL J. "How Should Creationism And Intelligent Design Be Dealt With In The Classroom?." Journal Of Philosophy Of Education 45.3 (2011): 399-415. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 Nov. 2013.