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Revision as of 22:51, 29 November 2001 by Ed Poor (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The term creationism usually refers to the belief that animal and plant species were created directly by God through supernatural means, rather than through the process of evolution. Creationism in this sense is primarily found among conservative Christians, although conservative members of other religions hold to it as well. In the West today, it is found mainly in the United States, although creationists have smaller presences in other countries.
Among the various schools of thought in Creationism are Intelligent Design (the idea that evolution did happen, but was caused by God) and Sudden Creationism (that all major plant and animal species were created in a short time by God). This article generaly covers the latter. None of these forms of Creationism are part of the commonly-accepted scientific model of the history of life on Earth.
Sudden Creationism refers to more than just the belief that God created the universe; it refers to the belief that He did so in such a way that evolution did not occur, as accepted by science and adherents of Intelligent Design. It is possible to believe that God created the universe and still accept Darwin's theory of evolution; many religious believers hold to this view. One can believe that God created the universe, and life and humans evolved within this creation, without divine interference. Generally speaking, this is related to a deistic conception. However, most Sudden Creationists consider Darwin's view to contradict theirs. One can also believe that God guided the process of evolution (Intelligent Design), and Darwinists will not object so long as this is not put forward as a scientific explanation for it. Either view, while in no way required by the theory of evolution, is not incompatible with it (except for Sudden Creationists). (For discussion of the belief that God created the universe, see Creation.)
- Many proponents of Darwin's theory claim that it's compatible with Christianity, but a substantial number of Creationists disagree, disbelieving that random forces could create new species at all, although ID adherents agree that once created, the species would be subject to natural selection.
It is important to clarify what parts of the evolutionary model creationists do not agree with, and which creationists are doing the disagreeing. Current creationist thinking embraces natural selection and small changes in species, which is sometimes termed microevolution. Creationists do not, however, agree that the major divisions of life were derived through the same process (macroevolution). Typically, they do not believe that all life is derived from a single-celled ancestor, that mammals are descendents of reptiles, or that man and apes descended from common ancestors. A common argument made is that all solid examples of evolution are in fact examples solely of microevolution. Rather than using the term "species", they use the term "created kinds" to describe the boundaries they believe evolution does not cross, but they offer no rigorous (or operational) definition of what a "created kind" is.
Sudden creationism is generally rooted in biblical literalism. Evolution is opposed on the grounds that it conflicts with the account of creation given in Genesis, where the Earth is created by God in six days. However, even creationists disagree on the interpretation of these passages. "Young Earth" creationists believe that the account given is of the creation of the earth, while "Old Earth" creationists believe it only refers to the creation of life on a pre-existing Earth.
Many Christians hold that these passages are not to be interpreted literally, but are rather a symbolic or poetic account of the creation of the universe. Others believe that they are based on the prevailing scientific ideas of the time they were written, and that only the moral and religious, as opposed to the scientific, content of the Bible is inspired. Some, in an attempt to harmonize science with biblical literalism, hold that the six days referred to are not ordinary 24 hour days, but rather much longer periods (of thousands or millions of years); the Genesis account is then interpreted as an account of the process of evolution.
Young Earth creationists who interpret the Bible literally believe that the Earth is somewhere around 6,000 years old and reject many other scientific theories other than evolution, such as the Big Bang. In doing so, they refer to a relatively small number of scientific findings which do appear to contradict an old earth and therefore evolution itself, but reject the much larger set of scientific findings which support both a very old earth and evolution.
Creationists defend their views not only on religious grounds, but with the rise of so-called 'scientific creationism' have taken to defending them on scientific grounds as well. They argue that the scientific evidence does not support evolution, and that creation of the universe by God is the more tenable scientific hypothesis. Most scientists do not accept the creationist's evaluation of the evidence, and reject creation by God as being a valid scientific (as opposed to religious) hypothesis.
Creationists also resort to more philosophical arguments, such as that evolutionary theory is as rooted in faith as their own views are.
See also Scopes Trial, creation
Creationism also refers to the belief that each soul is created individually by God, as opposed to traducianism, which holds that the souls of infants are derived from those of their parents. Another theory of the soul is known as Pre-existence.
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