I wrote this as an Op-Ed piece for a local newspaper.

Those of us living in the Western world at the end of the twentieth century have the good fortune of being able to look upon ourselves and our collective human history with a vision and an understanding that was not possible at any time in the past. Most of us take this precious gift for granted, but its significance is tremendously important for the future of humankind. We have unraveled many of the mysteries of the physical world and of the living things on our planet. Our technologies are advancing at a phenomenal rate. We have begun to explore the human mind and how it interacts with our cultural creations. We have unearthed the remains of civilizations past and can piece together the forces that led to their demise. We also have a reasonably good picture of the history of our evolution from ape-like ancestors up to the present day, yet many have rejected a scientific understanding of our past in favor of creation myths and stories from thousands of years ago.

The yearning to understand our origins is a deep and fundamental part of human nature. In order to satisfy these questions, creation myths were started and passed down through the ages by peoples all over the world. These myths were intended to serve both as a real explanation of our origins and also to delineate our place in the world. Sometimes they defined the roles of men and women and our relationships to animals. Often they defined relationships between the privileged and the poor, and between the priests and the common people. One thing is certain, these stories reinforced the status-quo and were never meant to change the societies from which they originated.

For almost all of our history these myths were all the explanation of our origins that we could ever hope to get. During the nineteenth century, however, scientific discoveries began to shed doubt on the accuracy of the prevailing creation myths found in the Bible. Naturalists, the forerunners of today´s biologists, began to find troubling discrepancies between the idea of "special creation" found in Genesis and real living (and extinct) things. There were signs that the earth was much older than the 6,000 or so years described by the Bible and fossils of extinct animals were discovered alongside those of early humans. People began to realize that the geology and distribution of fossils were better explained by gradual processes acting over long periods of time than the catastrophic upheavals written in the old testament. Many, if not most, of these eighteenth century scientists were devout Christians and certainly not out to destroy religion. The idea of evolution wasn´t new when Darwin published his famous book, On the Origin of Species , but it was controversial. Darwin provided a simple, yet profound, explanation for how evolution worked and this is what eventually convinced the scientific community that evolution happened.

Since Darwin´s time biologists have learned an enormous amount about living things, including ourselves. The mechanisms of evolution have turned out to be somewhat more complex than Darwin envisioned. However, the fact that life has evolved has been proven by thousands of observations and tests performed by thousands of people all over the world. Many in fundamentalist circles have misinterpreted scientific debate about evolution, either intentionally or through misunderstanding. Debates still rage in scientific circles, but over fine points of the mechanisms of evolution and not whether evolution is responsible for the variety of life on earth.

So if biologists are certain about evolution, why do people still advance creation myths as a reasonable alternative? Since the whole fundamentalist world view is based on the Bible, which they believe to be the infallible word of God, if any part is shown to be false then this is seen as an attack on their entire faith. Earlier challenges to biblical ideas of cosmology haven´t destroyed their faith, however, and most fundamentalists on longer claim that the earth is flat or the center of the universe. Perhaps the creation myths are more central to their faith and are harder to abandon. Also, while evolution is essential to an understanding of biology, it isn´t a part of every day life. The fields of physics and astronomy, while just as difficult to fully understand as biology, have dramatically demonstrated their ideas. The precise predictions of celestial events and the atomic bomb are well known and can´t be denied. In contrast, the proofs of evolution are a little further removed from peoples´ lives.

In their attacks on evolution, fundamentalists have tried to claim that a belief in evolution is responsible for every evil imaginable. Their thinking on these matters is fuzzy at best, and often a belief in evolution is offered as the cause of problems that have been around since the dawn of humanity. These arguments are nevertheless persuasive to people who aren´t knowledgeable enough to see their flaws, or trained to think critically or who want to believe in the infallibility of the Bible. Recently they have been promoting "creationism" as a scientific alternative to evolution. This was started in an attempt to regain a place in public school science classrooms. In order to promote the Bibles´ creation myths as scientific, fundamentalists have to resort to phony "evidence", twisted logic and outright lies. Creationism is not science!

Why is it important to have our children learn about evolution? Because it´s the truth, and no one is served by concealing the truth. Ashley Montagu once said, "The attack on evolution, the most thoroughly authenticated fact in the whole history of science, is an attack on science itself." Because science still can´t provide the answers for all the questions that people ask, is this reason to abandon science altogether? It´s the very nature of science to keep asking questions and pick away slowly at the complex truth of our existence, rather than provide quick and simple answers. Fundamentalism rejects not only the findings of science, but its methods as well. What kind of future would we have filled with people who won´t question beyond the Bible? If you want one chilling and sobering answer to this question, read about the witch hunts and inquisitions of the past. This country isn´t a theocracy, at least not yet, and if people want to shield their children from truths that conflict with the Bible they should choose private schools. Public schools should teach about religion, both the good and the bad, but shouldn´t preach religion.

Does this mean that there can be no role for religion in a society that accepts evolution? One of the fundamentalists´ claims is that acceptance of evolution has resulted in a turn away from religion or requires a rejection of religion. While this isn´t true, evolution and fundamentalism are not compatible. Science and religion, however, can be complementary. Religion and science ask different questions, yet each can help us to understand and improve ourselves. In both it´s important to think critically and to keep asking questions. In the coming years humans will be facing some tough challenges, some old and some we have never faced before. Science and religion can both help in meeting them, but only if we keep our minds sharp and open.

This is from a rebuttal letter.

... Creationism appeals to those who want desperately to cling to myth instead of facing the truth and fundamentalism appeals to those who seek simplistic answers to complex problems. Unfortunately, through our schools and our legislatures the limited and arrogant views of this vocal minority are having an impact on everyone.

I agree ... about the lack of values in our society beyond the business-sponsored ones of greed and self interest. Fundamentalists present themselves as the only alternative to this dearth, but fundamentalism is hardly the solution to our problems. If a fundamentalist belief in the same God was the key to a better world, the Middle East should be a paradise and the Middle Ages would be remembered as a golden period in human history. The truth is that the blood spilled in wars where one fundamentalist group fought another, each believing that their actions were pleasing to God, would fill an ocean. To address the environmental, political and social issues facing us it is necessary that we derive values and a common purpose for ourselves without accepting the narrow and intolerant views of fundamentalism and the "Religious Right."