Unlikely Allies: Biology Teachers and Creationists
I am writing in response to the article Bridging ideological divides: Why Christians still disagree about evolution and what we whould do about it, by Hans Madueme and Todd Charles Wood, Scientia et Fides 12(1), 2024, 189–213; open access here.
This article is written by two young earth creationists, who take 25 closely argued pages including 93 references to show complete misunderstanding of the relationship between observation and interpretation in evolution science, in order to claim a false epistemic symmetry between this science and the theological perspective which forces them to reject it; a more sophisticated version of the “two pairs of spectacles” thesis that has been with us since George McCready Price. So why am I bothering to review this article? And why, to my own surprise, do I find myself welcoming its appearance?
For three reasons. Firstly, because the authors, unlike “creation science” young earth creationists, accept the validity of the science in its own terms, rather than claiming that it is inferior to their own fantastical offerings. Secondly, because they lay out extremely clearly (and self-revealingly) their own epistemic position. And finally, because their recommendations, made regarding conversations within the evangelical community, are applicable (and indeed to some extent already applied) to the very practical problem of how to teach evolution science in places with a faith-based culture.