Evolution Gaining Greater Acceptance in the U.S.

Public views in U.S. are shifting toward support for evolution. I never understood this one. Maybe it because I’m Jewish and the child of a scientist, but I never saw the conflict with Genesis or the Bible. Genesis doesn’t really weigh in on the subject. Even a literalist view (which I certainly don’t have admittedly) could leave a lot of room for alternative interpretation. Opposition to evolution in the developed world is peculiar to the United States and is primarily found among evangelicals. Most others do not share this belief. I would truly like to better understand the reasons for opposition to evolution, because it’s so foreign to me. Perhaps there is a much deeper issue at play. If we could get at that, we might be able to address the real difficulty.

http://www.pewforum.org/2013/12/30/publics-views-on-human-evolution/

Tweet

The following two tabs change content below.

• Bio
• Latest Posts

Mystic Scholar

DR. LAURENCE H. KANT (LARRY KANT), MYSTIC SCHOLAR: Engaged Mysticism and Scholarship in the Pursuit of Wisdom; Discovering meaning in every issue and facet of life; Integrating scholarship, spirituality, mysticism, poetry, community, economics, and politics seamlessly. Historian of Religion: Ph.D., Yale University, 1993 (Department of Religious Studies); Exchange Scholar, Harvard University, Rabbinics, 1983-84; M.A., 1982, Yale, 1982 (Department of Religious Studies); M.T.S., Harvard Divinity School, 1981; B.A., Classics (Greek and Latin), Tufts University, 1978; Wayland High School (Wayland, MA), 1974. Served on the faculty of Cornell University (Ithaca, NY), York University (Toronto), and Lexington Theological Seminary (Lexington, KY). Works in many languages: Ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, English, French, Italian, German, Modern Greek (some Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish). Holder of numerous honors and awards, including The Rome Prize in Classics (Prix de Rome) and Fellow of the American Academy of Rome.

Latest posts by Mystic Scholar (see all)

• ABANDONMENT AND BETRAYAL: HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT AND THE ORGANIZED JEWISH COMMUNITY AFTER THE HAMAS MASSACRE - October 19, 2023
• JEW HATRED - May 22, 2021
• Israel, Gaza, and the Hamas Charter (Covenant) - May 22, 2021

One Response to “Evolution Gaining Greater Acceptance in the U.S.”

1. Susan says:

   May 25, 2014 at 3:09 pm

   Having been anti-evolution until my twenties, I can give one person’s perspective. First, evolution was presented in an antagonistic way to people who were hearing about it for the first time. School systems were legally required to teach evolution and legally barred from teaching divine creation. Those who accepted evolution, at that time, were required to deny the ‘truth’ of the Genesis account of creation, thus turning the debate into a theist versus atheist struggle. In addition, the insistence that evolution was/is an intellectually superior concept than creationism provoked a knee-jerk reaction against the insult.

   Even if evolution had been presented in a more reasoned manner, I believe many who believed in a literal interpretation of Scripture would have rejected it based on simple fear. No one wants to be on the wrong side when it comes to God. When we look into the dark mirror at the things of God (I Cor 13) there is too much chance that we will come to the wrong conclusions, putting at risk our relationship with God. Believing literally in the Genesis myths is the safer route.

   Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.