http://old.easternecho.com Eastern Michigan University hosted “Creationism is Not the (Only) Problem: Cognitive Constraints on Undergraduates’ Understanding of Evolution,” a symposium on how students’ religious beliefs affected their acceptance of evolution on Thursday. en-us Gryphon 2.2.1-dsw (woodward)/Foundry5 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:01:44 -0500 webmaster@easternecho.com http://old.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/227 The Old Testament is a collection of stories, parables and accounts dating back over 2500 years. The New Testament is a collection of stories centering on Jesus of Nazareth from about 1900-1700 years ago. NONE of the original writers had any idea of what Science was about, the Scientific Method did not yet exist in that region. Yet today, we have a significant number of “nominally educated” adults who accept the notion that the Bible is somehow a superior source of knowledge on scientific matters. This is sheer nonsense, logically it cannot possibly be true. This minority must come to understand that we all have a religious impulse – which must be understood as a separate part of our cognitive existence. Confusing religious legends with scientific theories is just a careless mistake. But it’s a mistake which could destroy our science and technology based society. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:21:13 -0500 http://old.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/227 http://old.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/230 While I agree with 4Truth on many levels, I would also say that for many this is an emotional issue that spans both religiona and science and therefore must be considered on both fronts. To say we have a scientific/technological based society is a little myopic, as we see from the “news” worthy items we as a culture and society focus on. When our most important issues revolve around stories from Hollywood or the wrongdoings of sport celebrities, then we can not say we have a technological society as many adbvancements in science take back page to such stories. I can say that we need to focus more on our understanding of science as we are just breaking ground on so many new technologies and branches of science, and less on who is sleeping with who. The need to see the world in non-religious fashion is just as detrimental as seeing it only through the lenses of a holy text. Either frame of reference leaves us blind to some of the intricacies of life. But neither religion or science has the right to handicap the other, and I think that was the point 4Truth was trying to make. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:39:10 -0500 http://old.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/230 http://old.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/236 I fear for my country’s future, that so many are so ignorant of scientific facts. For them, belief trumps evidence, and the rest of the world is about to bypass us in business and science. Their beliefs are damaging our country’s ability to perform. Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:01:44 -0500 http://old.easternecho.com/index.php/comment/view/236