Texas Science Standards

Congratulations to those who worked so hard to recently bring about fair Science Teaching Standards in Texas (Evolution News article HERE). Students are now encouraged to critique science theories such as evolution, to evaluate the evidence as it truly presents itself.

The Discovery Institute has encouraged this approach to science classrooms. I can admire it in one way. It avoids the question of religion altogether. And scientific evidence as revealed by current research does show that there are definitely problems with the neo-Darwinian view of small changes through mutation and natural selection.

However much of a problem it is to "bring religion into the classroom," I can't help wondering if there is some way for all of us to deal with science education so that believers can be true to our religions, one of the original goals for our country. Because if religion is denied in science class, sooner or later the cracks will show. For Christians, God is the maker of the world, and therefore science is what God has made. An atheist cannot allow for a cell made by God in any way, whereas a believer can theorize that He made it directly and supernaturally (or at least should consider it as a possibility as compared to an indirect creation by some natural process after the Big Bang). As one of the participants in my last presentation said, God didn't just say, "Let there be light," as in the Big Bang, and let it go at that. According to Genesis, there were acts of creation after that. Whether or not we interpret "day" as 24 hours, it is not unreasonable to believe He directly created the biological cell.

How can that even be discussed when we keep materialistic, naturalistic evolution as the main and only structure which can at the most be picked at here and there? And it still marginalizes all who are Young Earth Creationists, forcing them into home-schooling and speaking against their own religion to pass state requirements for diplomas (as I understand at least some states do).

The Big Bang is looked upon by some Christians as the beginning of God's creation, but scientists speculate what happened beforehand--there is nothing sacred about the Big Bang to them.

Believers and non-believers are still very far apart in worldviews and there should eventually be respect for all people when it comes to our understandings of science. I am glad for progress of the type in Texas, but I don't think we are yet where we need to be.