On CNN, William Sanford Nye (better known as Bill Nye the Science Guy) recently compared teaching creationism to teaching that the earth is flat. He suggested that tax dollars should not be used to forward either claim under the guise of science education. More specifically, when asked about the harm of children learning the biblical creation story, he answered: “Learning the story is fine. That’s great. It’s not science. Tax dollars used for science education shouldn’t be used to teach creationism as an alternative.”
So What?
According to a Gallup poll, 46% of Americans believe in creationism (that God created everything within the last 10,000 years). Nye indicates that this troubling statistic suggests that perhaps he isn’t doing his job as well as he would like.
- What percentage of those within your local congregation would you estimate believe in creationism?
- What educational opportunities does your local congregation provide to help people better understand the role of the biblical creation stories specifically and how to interpret Scripture more generally?