Evolution in the Classroom

Recently I read a book called Intelligent Design by William Dembski, in which he makes a strong case using scientific evidence that there is great reason to believe--based on fact, not just on blind faith--that there in an intelligent designer of our universe. Science alone can not lead us to identify this designer as the God of the Bible of course. But the complexity and order of our universe do support belief in a Creator.

Yet in mainstream America, a belief called "naturalism" (the belief that the universe is all there is; there is no supernatural, no God, etc.) has a strong grip on people's minds. Thanks to Darwin's theory about how all life-forms evolved from some common ancestor, many people today believe that the universe is all there is. They believe it's been demonstrated that life in all its various forms could have evolved over millions of years from the same physical source...So they have cast off the "outdated" need to believe in a God to explain the origin of life.

Darwin's theory of evolution has many holes in it (not least of which is the fact that there have never been any fossils found of creatures that were "in between" breeds--a half man/half monkey, for example). Yet in the academic world of college, it's taught as gospel truth. And as parents of younger children, you need to be aware of how Darwin's theory has trickled down into what your children are being taught in elementary, middle, and high school; what they are seeing on Discovery Kids, etc. If you start to open your eyes and ears, you'll see evolutionary theory everywhere!

For example, in the movie Monsters vs. Aliens (which comes out on DVD tomorrow), there's a cartoon character called "the Missing Link"--a fish with legs (a fossil of which has never been found--thus it's a "missing" piece of evidence to support Darwin's theory). From conversations I've had with parents, their children are being taught in science class that the Earth and the universe are millions of years old, that animal species are as well, that dinosaurs and humans never co-existed, etc. From a young age, children in America are subtly being taught to adopt naturalism as their worldview and to believe evolution--rather than design by a Creator--has brought our species to where we are today.

Just a quick look around the internet today led me to Science News for Kids. And their lead story (which you can look at by clicking here) is blatantly promoting evolutionary theory. Parents, influences such as these are subtly leading our children to believe that science has discarded any need for God. This is subtle, but it's far from unimportant! You need to be aware of what your children are learning and strive to help them develop a view of the world and of reality that is faithful to the Bible--not to Darwin's theory of evolution. This is not to say that we should be afraid of science. Quite the contrary. We just need to be wary of science that claims to have discarded any notion of the supernatural, design, or the existence of a divine Creator.

One place that you might find helpful in helping you answer your own questions and helping your children develop a view of the world that is biblical is Answers in Genesis. You can access their site by clicking here: Answers in Genesis. Funny--as I look at their site, their front story today is very similar to what I'm writing about :)

The Gospel, Children, and Movies

When I was growing up, like most people, I always judged a movie's suitability for viewing by looking at the rating it received (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.). These ratings are provided by the Motion Picture Association of America and are intended to be guides for parents to use in evaluating whether or not to let their children view a certain film. You can read more about these ratings, how they are determined, and the like by clicking here and looking around their site.

It wasn't until recently that I started to rethink this. Why am I letting the MPAA determine what I think is appropriate or inappropriate to view? Here are the things they list on their website that help them determine a movie's rating: "sex, violence, nudity, language, adult topics and drug use." They have more specific guidelines of course. But, are these the only things to consider when evaluating the merit of a movie for our children's viewing? I think all of us would say no.

The MPAA ratings give us a quick reference point for movies we have never seen or heard of, but we need to be sure to do more investigating into the films we let our children watch. Beyond "sex, violence, nudity, language, adult topics and drug use," there are many other things that we should be wary of being portrayed in films. These include: lust, extramarital romance, jealousy, anger, lying, disrespecting parents/authorities, divorce, underage alcohol use, gossip, selfishness, vengeance, etc. (just to name a few)--all of which at one time or another are glorified, or at least shown in a neutral (rather than a negative) light, in films our children might view. This type of content might not raise the eyebrows of the raters at the MPAA, but surely they should raise ours as Christian parents. We are called to train our children in godliness, and it's a subtle but powerful temptation for children to adopt the world's view of these things when the movies they watch are depicting them neutrally or positively.

The example of extramarital romance is one that immediately comes to mind. How many times in movies do we see a spouse who is taken for granted by their spouse (and possibly who has split up with them) find "true love" with someone else who treats them well--almost as if it's courageous to leave their marriage partner for this person? And we almost root for the affair or the divorce if we're not careful. The movie "Definitely, Maybe" is a specific PG-13 example of this for those of you who have seen it...How many times (even if it's not depicted on the screen, but only implied in the storyline) is pre-marital sex depicted as normal, romantic, and even desirable? These are the types of things we must be careful of our children viewing--especially without conversation about them.

Lest I sound like some crazed fundamentalist who just touts what you should NOT let your children view, I want to turn to the flip side of the coin briefly...The positive upshot of this is that we need to teach our children to view and be entertained by what is godly and beautiful and good. Paul says to the Philippians, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Phil. 4:8, ESV). These are the types of things we are to help our children set their mind--and their eyes--on. There is plenty of this in movies out there, as long as we are intentional. Children can see depictions of courage, love, forgiveness, grace, hard-work, purity, etc.--even in movies that are not explicitly Christian. Our goal should be to expose them to these true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent themes that are worthy of praise.

And the motivation behind our choice of entertainment should be the gospel.

We are sinful people who are naturally rebels and enemies of God. Our children (and us) instinctively think in worldly ways and crave worldly things--even in entertainment. We have all done everything we can to rebel against God and earn punishment for ourselves. Our minds are darkened. But God sent Christ to live perfectly and innocently and to ultimately take His wrath on the cross for the sins of people like you and me (sins that include the entertainment I selfishly choose for myself). And if we trust in Him, we are forgiven and made into new people--people with new hearts and new desires and new eyes to see the world for what it truly is. We are people who are called to serve our Savior in every aspect of our lives. There is no neutral ground. So even in our entertainment, we need to evaluate whether our choices are bringing honor to our Savior and leading us to greater obedience to Him--or whether they are subtly leading us and our children to continue down the path of disobedience and worldliness.

Here are a few resources you can use to help you evaluate movies from a biblical perspective:
Plugged In
Planet Wisdom
Reel Discernment

Kideos

www.kideos.com

Parents, check this site out...I think you'll find it to be a better alternative for your young children than the normal version of YouTube....Keep monitoring what they're watching though. Those little eyes take in a lot more subtle things than we realize.