So I'm sure by now you've all heard the news that a Cape Town science teacher at a private school has resigned because the school wouldn't let her teach Evolution, which is in the syllabus.....
And of course, there have been lots of posts about it already, some more sensible than others. I feel like I'm already treading over ground that overs have covered, but I feel the need to add my two cents. Especially as I'm a science teacher in Cape Town too.
I'm a Christian. I believe the Bible and I believe God. As far as I'm concerned, God made the world and everything in it.
I'm also a scientist. I use scientific principles every day (I would say procedures as well, but that would be lying as I don't actually practice science anymore...). As far as I'm concerned, there is a right and wrong way to go about establishing scientific truth - it involves scientific method and practices.
I see no conflict between the two.
HOW God made the world is still a mystery to me. I accept the principles of evolution, but I'll be the first to say that science still has much to explain on this one.
WHY God made the world is clear to me. He wanted a relationship with someone 'like' himself.
Science doesn't tell me why. Faith doesn't tell me how. To be a well-rounded individual, I believe that I need both science and faith. This is what I teach my kids.
(And before someone starts jumping up and down and saying how dare I teach Christianity in class.... I don't proselytize. I don't talk just about Jesus, because that would be an abuse of the power I have. I talk about faith in general, about believing in a set of moral values, about belief in a higher power who created the known universe (and whatever is beyond) for a purpose (or several).)
For me to NOT teach evolution would be a serious failing, I believe. For me to remain silent about the role that faith plays in life would be, I believe, an equally big blunder. Why this school can't see that, why they can't allow their teachers to show that science and faith can work hand in hand, that they are not necessarily mortal enemies of each other, I just don't know. It makes me really sad.
1 comment:
That is a very sensible and practical approach. We feel the presense of God in nature, but cannot exactly describe in words. Faith still has a role to bridge this gap.
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