What is creationism? Creationism comes in several forms. There is Young Earth Creationism, which argues that the Earth, and everything on it (including man) was literally created 6,000 – 10,000 years ago (depending on which Young Earth Creationist you ask). There is also Old Earth Creationism, which conforms to mainstream Geology in that the Earth is billions of years old. Progressive Creationism asserts that God created life on Earth, in a timeline and sequence compatible with that of evolutionary Biology. Progressive Creationism falls under the umbrella of Old Earth Creationism and shares many parallels with Theistic Evolution, which holds evolution to be true, with a certain degree of guidance from God.
Some creationists generally regard Creationism as science, and honestly believe that the events in the Book of Genesis can be scientifically argued. Others, will openly state that their beliefs are not scientific, but with the added assertion that Evolution is also unscientific. Many if not all Creationists regard Evolution as a religion, and argue that it should not be taught in schools.
Because Evolution is also supported through other fields of science, including Geology, Paleontology, Anthropology, and Cosmology Young Earth Creationist arguments tend to delve into these areas as well. The result is a myriad of arguments aimed to refute the Geologic timescale (also referred to the Geologic Column), fossil findings and the existence of transitional fossils, the validity of the hominids (ie. Homo Erectus, Australopithecus Afarensis, Boisei, Neanderthal, etc), and of course, the Big Bang.
Such ant-evolution arguments are often accompanied by other pro-creation arguments, such as "where do morals come from" or "how can complex systems like the eye arise by chance?" The latter questions also ties into Intelligent Design, which is seen as sort of a 'cousin' to Creationism.
While the vast majority of these Creationist arguments are grounded in the United States, it does exist, to an extent, in other Western Countries and an Islamic counterpart now exists in Turkey. Contrary to what many believe, Creationism is hardly g new. While the term may have a more 'recent' introduction, many of these arguments were being made the moment Darwin unveiled his "Origin of Species." In fact, the 'design' argument can be seen in scripture.
Cecil Cloud has studied the Evolution vs Creation debate for many years and now and continues to study the ongoing debate. He lives in Southern California and enjoys science, reading, history, computers, and writing. Among the various components of the Creation vs Evolution controversy, he enjoys reading about the geologic column, carbon dating, radiometric dating, and the life of Darwin.
Source: www.articlesbase.com
