Why Debating Evolution VS. Creation/Intelligent Design Doesn't Work

First, let me get this out of the way.

Yes, I'm sure I'm not an atheist. No, I don't have anything against Christianity or Judaism. Yes, I'm sure I'm not an atheist. No, I don't think human beings are worth less if evolution is real. Yes, I'm sure I'm not an atheist.

Almost got me on that last one. As a former Fundamentalist Catholic/Creationist I think I may be in a special position to discuss this in a way so that all sides can at least understand what's going on with the evolution/creation/intelligent design debate. Again though, I must get my own beliefs, opinions, views and history out of the way because this debate always turns personal on some level. It's never about the argument, it's about the people making the claims and presenting the evidence. So, in addition to the above statements/claims that I have already made I will go ahead and give you a little background on the guy behind the offensive screen-name.

Hi, I'm Rob, I am a back-slider, I am currently agnostic (subject to change upon physical manifestation of Jesus Christ), I'm pro-life, I'm pro-Christian, I'm a Conservative, I support gay marriage as individual freedom and I deny global warming and believe many of the scientists who propose it to be corrupt. Did I mention that I think the theory of evolution is correct, supported by mountains of evidence by credible scientists? Oh, well I just did.

If you take the Bible, the Koran and the Torah and you read them literally and then make the statement that any one of these books (hopefully you just chose one) is the uninterpreted word of god then right off the bat there is no reason for you to even debate. You have faith. I know what it's like to experience a personal relationship with god, to know...not just think but really know that my soul would live on for all eternity along with my family, friends and benevolent creator. That faith isn't something anyone or anything can change. As long as your faith isn't driving you to murder and torture unbelievers then myself and people of faiths other than yours don't have any real conflict. The conflict between the literal interpreter and the proponent of the theory of evolution comes when the subject of proselytizing comes up such as in the push to teach Biblical creation or intelligent design in the already woefully incompetent public science class.

It is the desire to convert others to your way of thinking, your belief system, that drives this. Instead of demonizing those who would want others to join their faith we must look at the idea behind such action.

If a Christian believes only Christians go to heaven and everyone else in the world suffers eternally in Hell, isn't their only moral decision to try and save non-believers??? The Bible, unlike the Koran, teaches the idea that one must love their enemies, but let's not forget that fact that it teaches also to love your neighbor (fellow man/woman) period. Christianity has been, is and will continue to be an extremely positive force in the world. I can respect their position in this case, but I must oppose it when it comes to getting religious beliefs taught as science.

The literal interpreter also, by definition, must distrust science and those who call themselves scientists. Much of science is contradicted by religious text. So going into a class room where something you KNOW is wrong is being taught, the only logical reaction would be to conclude that the teacher is either lying or unknowingly spreading false information. The lies just keep adding up, scientist after scientist makes impossible claim after impossible claim. The teaching of the theory of evolution must look like some sinister conspiracy against those who believe. These claims must be designed by people who hate god and want to turn people away from religion, mustn't they? (For me, I lost my faith before I found evolution...)

That brings me to the scientists, those without faith and actual pseudo-scientists. Throughout history there have been many corrupt, ignorant and plain evil (Yes, I believe in the existence of evil too) people who considered themselves scientists. There have been false discoveries made by money-hungry morons. People have lied to protect their jobs. Scientists have made unprovable claims to try and shift political policies. I can name dozens of examples, but that does not mean that science itself is wrong or that the scientific method is broken. If anything the same things could be said, correctly, about religion as well. There have been liars, morons, and just plain evil people who used religion to their own ends. This isn't the fault of religion or science. Humans are flawed. That, I think, is something that both sides can agree on.

Humans also tend to focus on ideas and evidence that coincide with their perception of the world. This means that when someone with no fundamental understanding of science but a strong left political leaning hears that humans are creating man-made global warming they are more likely to accept it. Anything that supports their personal views, regardless of its worth, is exciting, fresh and pertinent. Check out any forum and you'll find members guilty of that unbending team loyalty. They might even agree with you on a few subjects but, it soon becomes obvious that they are merely parroting ideas of others and not thinking for themselves. Just because Person A agrees with me on a subject does not mean they came upon the idea rationally. This explains the flame wars so common on the internet. Even if you're reasonable and open-minded, it doesn't mean that the guy on the other side is and even if you're intelligent, reasonable, open-minded and polite it DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU ARE RIGHT. There are plenty of jerks out there who have the same beliefs as you, whether you're a Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic...there is someone with identical beliefs or opinions who is vile. There are rapists who believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins and "scientists" who think that alien lizards are secretly controlling the government not to mention liberal mouth-breathers who believe in evolution and climate change without ever picking up a book or looking at the methodology used to come up with the claims.

There is no compromise through reason, debate, discussion, evidence or anything else you can think of that will defeat the other side. If you are a literal interpreter the other side is full of liars and misguided heathens. If you understand the theory of evolution then the other side is full of pushy missionaries, and pleasant but ignorant lunatics. If you think for yourself than the only person who can change your mind about a) your faith or b) your scientific knowledge is you.