The Problem With Teaching Creationism in the Science Classroom Essay

The creation stories in Genesis, though they tackle similar themes, have different points of view and focuses as to the fundamentals of the creation process. The first story centers on the process by which God creates the universe as a whole. In essence, He imposes order upon chaos: â€Å"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep† (Genesis 1:2, King James Version). From this raw state, He delineates different aspects of the cosmos from the night and day all the way down to man and woman. The second, on the other hand, fixates on the particulars of creating a world for humans to inhabit. Unlike the first story, man is created early in God's process after which vegetation and animals are formed, the former of which for man to take care of and the latter as an aid to man. Later, the narrative turns to philosophical matters, such as introducing the concept of good and evil, in addition to explaining such things as work and pain du ring childbirth. Such ideas are not present in the first story, which, as mentioned, takes less of an interest in the specific impact of mankind's presence in the world and more of one at the cosmic level. These stories find their roots in the cultures that surrounded the Hebrews at the time of their writing. They share motifs with other creation stories of the Near East. The flood account in The Epic of Gilgamesh, when compared with the flood narrative in Genesis, is often cited as an example of such a similarity between Genesis and other Near Eastern texts. However, the creation stories of the first two chapters of Genesis find links with other Near Eastern creation myths. The Enuma elish is a Near Eastern creation myth that contains a god who creates the... ...the Board's ID Policy violates the Establishment Clause† and that â€Å"ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents† (Kitzmiller v. Dover). Leaving aside all personal opinions about religion and issues of biblical scholarship, creationism in the science classrooms of public schools is just not legal. Whether it is right or not, it has no place there; the Constitution guarantees that. It is not a scientific theory; it is a religious belief whether it pretends to be otherwise or not. It has a place in the social sciences if any place at all, not the natural sciences. Works Cited "Kitzmiller v. Dover: Intelligent Design on Trial". National Center for Science Education. October 17, 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2015. Gabel, John B. and Charles B. Wheeler. The Bible as Literature: An Introduction. New York: Oxford U P, 1986.