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Not believing in Missouri
Feb. 17th, 2009 08:09 pmSlacktivist is at it again (if you haven't read his essays about the Left Behind series, do so!), this time with a piece about a recent poll showing that 60% of Americans don't believe in evolution.
((I also really like this one.))
When I was growing up, this was something I talked about with mom and dad, but it was never any big controversy as far as either of them was concerned. I remember dad telling me that he believed the whole '7 days' thing was parable-speak, and that God created us and evolution is just the mechanism He used to do it.
Chris and I were both raised as Christians . . . he's still with it, while I'm agnostic. We've had several discussions about how to raise Kaylee with regards to religion. So far we're going with the 'attend church sometimes, have discussions afterwards, and if she doesn't show much interest don't force the issue'.
But the main attitude around here can be summed up by a former college classmate of mine. We were in science class, the book got to its section on evolution, and she says (ostensibly to me, but loudly enough for the teacher to hear), "I don't know why we even have to talk about this. I know I didn't come from any chimp!" and then she elbowed me and grinned like I was going to agree with her. I told her that wasn't how it worked, anyway. And the poor teacher; from the look on her face she'd just gotten an instant headache.
So, yeah. Lot of misinformation going on. Also, have I mentioned, Kansas?
Therefore, my trust in the school system is basically nil. And while I understand the very general basics, I'm far from an expert, so I'm getting to work on gathering information from people who're smarter than me. ;-) I've got those essays above, and we've got a couple of DVDs with various scientists discussing the issue, but I'm just wondering if any of you happen to have any books/movies/articles on evolution that you found particularly good? (bonus points if they're kid-friendly)
Thanks!!
((I also really like this one.))
When I was growing up, this was something I talked about with mom and dad, but it was never any big controversy as far as either of them was concerned. I remember dad telling me that he believed the whole '7 days' thing was parable-speak, and that God created us and evolution is just the mechanism He used to do it.
Chris and I were both raised as Christians . . . he's still with it, while I'm agnostic. We've had several discussions about how to raise Kaylee with regards to religion. So far we're going with the 'attend church sometimes, have discussions afterwards, and if she doesn't show much interest don't force the issue'.
But the main attitude around here can be summed up by a former college classmate of mine. We were in science class, the book got to its section on evolution, and she says (ostensibly to me, but loudly enough for the teacher to hear), "I don't know why we even have to talk about this. I know I didn't come from any chimp!" and then she elbowed me and grinned like I was going to agree with her. I told her that wasn't how it worked, anyway. And the poor teacher; from the look on her face she'd just gotten an instant headache.
So, yeah. Lot of misinformation going on. Also, have I mentioned, Kansas?
Therefore, my trust in the school system is basically nil. And while I understand the very general basics, I'm far from an expert, so I'm getting to work on gathering information from people who're smarter than me. ;-) I've got those essays above, and we've got a couple of DVDs with various scientists discussing the issue, but I'm just wondering if any of you happen to have any books/movies/articles on evolution that you found particularly good? (bonus points if they're kid-friendly)
Thanks!!
