Any Argument Will Do

Federal Science and Technology Minister Gary Goodyear came under attack recently when a Globe and Mail reporter suggested that he does not believe in evolution. Yes, it was an attack. In a National Post article today, David Asper writes:

A couple of days ago, federal Minister of Science and Technology Gary Goodyear gave a brief interview to a reporter from The Globe and Mail that was supposedly about reductions in funding for scientific research. However, the entire Globe story allegedly chronicling the interview actually contained only a few sentences dealing with those cuts; one in which the Minister defended the actions being taken by the government, and another whereby he suggested that there needs to be a focus on commercialization of research. The bulk of what Globe readers got was a set of sensationalized non-sequiturs under the headline "Science minister won't confirm belief in evolution."

Asper goes on to describe a pattern of attacks on Christian Conservatives.

In July, I noted that Charles Johnson, whose blog Little Green Footballs I have read and appreciated for several years, had begun to attack young-earth creationists. Since then, it has gotten worse, to the point that many of his readers have given up on him. The problem is not that he disagrees with young-earth creationists. It is the aggressive campaign to maintain the atheist/evolutionist monopoly in education. It is the tireless dredging up of misleading and false information. And, as in this case, it is the acceptance of fallacious arguments.

Johnson affirms arguments at a blog by Phil Plait as "some good points." Here is an excerpt of Plait's post that Johnson chose to highlight:

But tell me, how would you feel if the head of your federal science department told you he believes the Earth is flat? Or the Sun revolves around the Earth? Or that he thinks the sky is a great crystal sphere, and he lies awake at night worried that the Voyager probes will smash it and let all our air out?

Those beliefs have just as much basis as young Earth creationism: they are faith-based only, and have no evidence for them, and about a billion solid pieces of evidence against them.

This is a disingenuous argument that has all the impressiveness of demolishing a straw man. Plait declares that believing that the earth is flat and that the sun revolves around the earth have as much basis as young-earth creationism. But what's the difference? Science - at least as it used to be understood. It can be observed - here and now - that the earth is round and that it revolves around the sun. Molecules-to-man evolution, on the other hand, can not be observed. It can not be scientifically proven. So you have to build a framework into which the evidence fits, and then believe it. Johnson's faith is as blind and his approach as religious as those religious fanatics he believes he is opposing.

I find it interesting to read all the references to "believing in evolution" and "believing in creationism". Bible-believing Christians should never accept the latter. In the Apostle's Creed, we confess that we believe "a holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." We believe these things, but we don't believe in them. We believe in God. Similarly, young-earth creationism is not a religion or an object of faith. It's a belief grounded in the Word of God, and consistent with scientific evidence.