Do "Young Earth Creationists" actually still exist?

[technodad]

I am interested to know if Young Earth Creationists (who believe that the Earth is only 6000 years old and that evolution did not happen) actually still exist, despite the overwhelming scientfic evidence to the contrary?

I have yec friends in NI who have chosen to homeschool because they don't want their children to get "brainwashed" into believing in evolution!

That should be made illegal. Imagine the disadvantage this could give the children in future life!

I have a friend who is christian & otherwise completely rational & sane, however she does not believe dinosaurs ever existed....Is that who you mean?...

Home education should be made illegal?

Some Christians believe that the behemoth and the leviathan mentioned in the OT are dinosaurs. One Christian I knew told me archeologists had found a fossilised human footprint inside a fossilised dinosaur one suggesting that the two lived side by side for sometime!

TheFallenMadonna said: Home education should be made illegal?

Clearly not. However, providing any child with an education based upon incorrect facts (such as teaching children that dinosaurs did not exist, or that Evolution did not happen) should be illegal.

In the 21 century, it is completely unacceptable for children to be given such an incomplete (let along incorrect) education. How is the child supposed to know to question that they are being taught a load of bollox?

If parents want to teach woo woo to their kids outside schooling, then that is the parents right (although it is a shame in this day and age), but every child is entitled to a good level of education, and there should be safeguards to ensure that home educators have to teach science properly!

Or maybe the fossil doesn't even exist sciencelover? You'd think such a fossil would be newsworthy and force scientists to have a rethink?

or that it was a fossil of a crocodilian (or something else) that still lives today!

I have just been looking at a couple of websites which discuss this whole footprint thing.

I find it amazing that the location of this "evidence" is often listed as "secret" to keep them from being destroyed. I find it amazing that people seem to think that scientists will try to destroy data. If a scientist were to find such evidence, it would be protected as carefully as possible so that it could be verified by other scientists, so that a scientific consensus can be gained by the whole scientific community.

IF (and clearly this is a big IF), the theory of evolution were to be contradicted by scientists (after presentation of this data), then they would not cover it all up, they would refine the theory based upon the new data.

An excellent examples of how this work was recently demonstrated at CERN, when the "faster than light speed particles" were "discovered". The data was published (even though no scientist really thought it was correct and most of them thought it was a measurement accuracy error), then, when the measurement error was found the evidence disproving the "faster than light speed particles" was published. At all times, all data was treated as real until better results were gathered.

How would the footprint be actually inside the dinosaur anyway, even if there was any chance the two did co-exist? Did they suppose the dinosaur ate the foot?

The idea is that you could only get a human footprint inside a dinosaur footprint if:

a) The dinosaur made a footprint, then
b) A human made a subsequent footprint inside the dinosaur's, therefore
c) Proving that dinosaurs co-existed with humans, evolution is a lie, science is wrong therefore PRAISE JESUS!!!

How would you ensure that happened technodad? I'm a Science teacher myself, so am pretty interested in Science education, but I don't think you could enforce such restrictions on home educators.

I've had a lot of very interesting conversations with students who have a creationist viewpoint when teaching about natural selection. That tension between their home experience and what they learn in school is very difficult for some of them. I have also had interesting discussions with students about the co existence of science experience and religious belief.

TheFallen

I don't know sadly.

Yeah sorry chip, it was apparently a human footprint inside a dinosaur footprint. So a big footed dino made a print in soft ground and then while the ground was still soft a human walked over it too leaving their footprint inside the other, and then they were fossilised together.

Kinda reminds me of the start of Godzilla. "What footprint?".

Now I feel stupid!

sciencelover said: I think those kids will eventually learn about it and be able to make their own conclusions, regardless of what their parents teach.

Or they might not, and may turn into fundamentalists, it is impossible to tell which outcome will happen.

With religious teaching, I very often get told "don't worry, they will work it out and make their own choice, what harm can it do" (e.g when I am less than happy with my own DCs being told "god made the world in 7 days - fact" at their village school)

This comment is very annoying for two reasons:

1. Well, it is a waste of educational time - they could be learning useful facts and skills (don't get me wrong, I am not saying that kids should not learn about faiths (quite the opposite), but at school they should only learn about ALL faiths as options, and not one as a fact).

2. If everyone defend religious factual teaching in school by saying "they will work it out when they are older", then the argument can be switched round to say that if schools took an agnostic or secular approach to religion, then children will choose what is right for them when they are ready (instead of being brainwashed when they are very young and impressionable). Unfortunately, when the logic is turned round like this, religious people get upset.... I wonder why?!!!

Sorry science, kids had a sleepover on Weds night. I snatched a whole 5 hrs sleep and was having a bit of a SOH fail yesterday.

If genesis is an allegory then at what point in our evolution, assuming you agree with the science. did god put his spirit in us?

There was quite a long thread on this a little while ago (think it was an AIBU). Quite a few posters said they knew yecs, but i don't think anyone actually admitted it themselves.

Tecnodad - if you haven't yet come across Answers In Genesis it should keep you amused (or horrified) for hours.

HIH: said: If genesis is an allegory then at what point in our evolution, assuming you agree with the science. did god put his spirit in us?

I saw this, which won't help answer the question, but is very relevant: www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19423147

I agree sciencelover. I think all living things have souls.

I personally only know one. He is a nonagenarian mber of the Plymouth Brethren.

However we have some in power here and while the Ulster Museum refused to include anything about YEC, despite political interference to do so, the National Trust pandered to them at the Causeway Visitor Centre.

Shame on you National Trust.[anger]

How did they pander to them, Dione?

They have included an audio exhibit which explains a YEC view of how the basalt columns of the Causeway were created, alongside the scientific explanation.