The series is part of a grant program two university professors received earlier this year.
“Many people think that religion and science don’t need to conflict,” said Dr. Mark A. Teitjen, an assistant professor of philosophy and religion at UWG and one of the recipients of the grant.
During a Carroll County School Board meeting last week, Bob Staples, a member of the Villa Rica Church of Christ and a high school and college math teacher, told the school board members that evolution is taught as fact in schools and creationism is not taught at all.
Staples, who also has a bachelor’s degree in Bible studies, challenged board members to discover the truth of what is taught in the school system, explore the differences in the two teachings and express their personal opinions on the matter.
“Our country was founded on a biblical world view. For a 100 years ... those involved in education had a very Christian view,” Staples said.
When the Darwinism theory of evolution became more prevalent, creationism was removed from the schools, he said.
“Evolution has been raised to the status of operational science. It’s a theory,” Staples said. “I think this issue reflects the way you live your life.”
Kathy Rogers, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning for Carroll County Schools, said evolution is taught for a couple of weeks at the junior high level as required by Georgia standard testing.
Staples would like to see both evolution and the creationism taught in the schools.
“They are mutually exclusive,” Staples said. “God made heaven and earth in six days. Six literal days, not six thousands of years.”
In Genesis, God said animal and man was created on the sixth day, not allowing time for evolution from an animal into a human, he said.
Staples decided to speak to the school board about the issue after teaching an adult course on dinosaurs and man being created on the same day. In the Bible, Job 40 and 41 and Isaiah 27 discuss humans sharing the world with beasts.
“The word ‘dinosaurs’ is not there because it wasn’t coined until 1892,” Staples said.
Dr. Marjorie Snipes, professor of anthropology at UWG, said there is no scientific debate that dinosaurs were on the earth well before humans, with the exception of the remnant reptiles still around today.
She agreed with Staples that there are missing pieces in the theory of human evolution, but there is proof of evolution from one species to a new species.
“We determine new species based on if they can still breed,” she said.
She used the example of when subway tunnels were dug in London, some mosquitoes went underground to feed on the rats. In the process, those mosquitoes became a species that can no longer breed with other species of mosquitoes.
“When science finds out it is wrong, we’re very excited about it,” Snipes said. “Evolution is not considered a theory. It is considered factual.”
She said evolution will be the accepted scientific standard until scientific information comes to light that indicates it is wrong. She does not think people have to believe only in evolution or creation.
“If you have a more open interpretation in the biblical story, they can go together very well. ...To pit them against each other is to not do justice to either one,” Snipes said. “Evolution does not address original creation at all.”
Darwin’s theory of evolution discusses only how life diversifies. Creationism is about the creation of life and diversification.
“Most of the scientists that I have had contact with are very strong in their faith,” Snipes said. “Science never asks why. That’s a faith question. It’s also a human question, so faith provides the answers.”
Lanny Reich, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church and president of the Carrollton Ministerial Alliance, said he does not think evolution or creationism should be taught in schools, but should be addressed by parents and churches.
“If in fact evolution is being taught as fact, then I whole heartily agree that creation should be taught as well. But neither should be taught,” Reich said.
He said if the Christian creation story is addressed in schools, than the creation stories for other religions would need to be addressed as well. With laws requiring a separation of church and state, it would become very complicated.
“I think if you don’t present other stories, other situations, what’s going to happen is you’re going to create huge segregation issues,” he said.
Reich said evolution within humanity is still occurring but he does not think humanity evolved from a single-celled anemia.
Teitjen said evolution is not a theory on how the world came to exist — that is a cosmology question.
“Evolution is just a theory about how life in all of its diversity has come about. For this reason, some people of faith don’t see much of a conflict. They think God somehow created the world, but that in his providence God used evolution to bring about this creation in its fullness,” Teitjen said. “In fact, the prevailing cosmological view, the Big Bang theory, is believed by many people to be consistent with religious faith, because it implies the universe is not eternal, but rather had a beginning, as the Judeo-Christian tradition teaches.”
He said it is important for students to know that some people believe different things about the universe.
He does not think that evolution will be removed from the classroom or that creationism will be added to a science class. He feels creationism should be taught, however.
Teitjen and Snipes are working together to host three science and religion lecture series in August, presented by the Religion Studies Institute of First Baptist Church. The schedule is as follows:
• Aug. 15 at 6 p.m.: “Science & Religion: Friends, Foe or Something Else,” Burns Hall
• Aug. 22 at 6 p.m.: “Charles Darwin & the Evolution of Unreasonable Truth,” Burns Hall
• Aug. 29 at 6 p.m.: “Seeing Good in the Workplace,” Burns Hall.
On Oct. 5., a panel with four UWG science professors of various religions will speak about their views of science and religion.
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