Saturday, February 14, 2009

Americans Believe in Creation

I am constantly annoyed at the snobbish indignation some evolutionists display toward creationists. Their attitude is one of elitism – they are the enlightened holders of true knowledge and they are bothered that they must deal with us backward simpletons. They see it as their personal mission to dissuade us from our beliefs in superstition but their tools are not compassion and understanding. Rather they seek to embarrass us into submission by ridicule and mockery.

Argument by insult is hardly persuasive. If I shame someone into agreeing with me, it is a hollow victory. They may have acknowledged my position only to save face but deep down they remain unconvinced. Let me offer some encouragement to my fellow creationists who have suffered the verbal abuses of militant evolutionists.

First off, remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:10-12:

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

There’s not much more encouragement anyone should need beyond that. But if so, then let me add this: take comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. A recent Gallup poll shows that Americans can be roughly divided into 3 groups:

When asked about their belief in origins, 44% of Americans said, “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.” Wow! 44% of the US is made up of young-earth creationists.

The next largest group (36%) said that, “human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life but God guided this process.” These people are still creationists, just not necessarily of the young earth variety. They would be considered “old-earth creationists” and subscribe to various beliefs such as theistic evolution, progressive creation, or the Gap Theory.

The smallest group – only 14% of the population – believes in a godless creation. Perhaps a small number of people in this group believe in a god (deists), but it would be an impersonal god who has no role in the universe. The majority of people in this group are most likely atheists who do not believe in any god.
Now, I’m not one to commit the logical fallacy of argumentum ad populum but I can’t help but be encouraged by this. When evolutionists loudly boast their superiority, I consider it a squeaky-wheel tactic.

2 comments:

  1. How about the learned scientists who won't step down to talk to the average Joe Schmoe? They expect you to be on their level, and if you aren't then you get treated like the peasant class.

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  2. Terry,

    Thanks for visiting my blog. You're right that many scientists look down on non-scientific people as though we're unable to have an opinion on the subject. It's the old "argument from authority" tactic.

    I suggest you read my blog post titled, "What is the Scientific Evidence for Creation"? The URL address is here:

    http://rkbentley.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-is-scientific-evidence-for_8259.html

    Thanks again for visiting. Please visit again!

    RKBentley

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