Originally posted by Martin:
Originally posted by Corbett:
Originally posted by Viss1:
Evolution = science
Creationism = philosophy/theology

Teach one in science class, teach the other in philospohy class. Better yet, teach it in church.



I disagree. I think both should be taught with equal emphasis. Then let the student choose which they believe.



Which Biblical Creation story should be taught? If you read Genesis carefully, you'll notice that there are two different Creation stories. The first, (Gen 1:1-2:4) shows God creating the universe in six days. Day 1- creation of light, Day 2- creation of heavens and water, Day 3- creation of land and vegetation, Day 4- creation of bodies of light, Day 5- creation of creatures of heaven and waters, and finally Day 6- creation of life on land and its vegetable food, and finally creation of mankind (both man and woman in his image).

From Gen 2:4-25, we see a totally different Creation story. To sum, it begins with the creation of man (just males, females come later), then follows with the creation of plantlife, then "every animal of the field and every bird of the air". Man found none of these animals fit as a partner, so God put the man to sleep, removed one of his ribs and then made a woman out of it.

I feel that the ancient Israelites, after witnessing the power of God through their exodus out of Egypt, reasoned that God must have been around since the beginning of time. So they utilized stories already known at the time (such as the Babylonian account of creationism) and put their own "spin" on it.



And if you were to read your bible even closer than you claim to have yourself, you'd notice that the second creation story is an indepth examination of the first.
After God created the plant life and animal life, the plants had not yet sprouted or germinated, as there was no rain until God sent a mist of rain...
God then created beasts and man.
God goes on to plant the Garden of Eden. He places man there. He then brings these created beasts to man to name them and let the man find a suitable helper. In Gen. 2:19 there is no language specifying a chronological event. It merely states the fact that God had created these beasts He is bringing before man. You are reading something into the passage that is not there.

I'll close with this explanation by Edward J. Young, from his book, An introduction to the Old Testament
There are different emphases in the two chapters...but the reason for these is obvious. Chapter 1 continues the narrative of creation until the climax, namely, man made in the image and likeness of God. To prepare the way for the account of the fall, chapter 2 gives certain added details about man�s original condition, which would have been incongruous and out of place in the grand, declarative march of chapter 1 (1960, p. 53).

Or how about Howard Johnston's Bible Criticism and the Average Man ?

The initial chapter [Genesis 1] gives a general account of the creation. The second chapter is generally declared by critics to be a second account of the creation, but, considered in the light of the general plan, that is not an accurate statement. Evidently the purpose of this chapter is to show that out of all the creation we have especially to do with man. Therefore only so much of the general account is repeated as is involved in a more detailed statement concerning the creation of man. There is a marked difference of style in the two accounts, but the record is consistent with the plan to narrow down the story to man (1902, p. 90).


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