This is a religious belief that the Earth and all the life forms, universe, and humanity were all created by a supernatural and not by a natural process. The 19th Century British geologists postulated that the Earth was older than the calculations that were adduced by the scriptures. The misunderstanding between the scientists and religious authorities on creation was characterized by cultural warfare in the United States of America. There was a row over who could provide an authentic American creation story to rival the biblical creationism which had become the standard substitute to scientific suppositions. Towards the end of the 19th century, there was a very sharp contrast between creationism and evolution which borrowed heavily from naturalistic observations, in the American society. Ardent creationist adherents held that evolution did not substantively demystify the earth’s history, diversity and complexity. The Abrahamic faiths like Christianity and Judaism base their beliefs on the biblical pentatauchial reading of Genesis. Evolutionary creationists believe that despite the fact that the nature of the universe is grounded on evolutionary trends, it leads to creator deity. This essay intends to construct a definition of what science is, based on creationism, by providing a summarized overview of creationism, clearly stating whether creationism should or should not be considered as a science.
Proponents of creationism have tried supporting creation myths using scientific backings while trying to water down conventional scientific facts and theories advanced about history of the earth and biological evolutionary trends. Proponents of scientific creationism are the United States fundamentalist Christians. These scientists have been preoccupied with trying to prove inerrancy of the bible while disapproving scientific evidence of evolution. Creation scientists believe that the Earth was created in the last ten thousand years-creation ex nihilo and that mankind and earth’s life forms were created as distinct fixed kinds (Numbers, 2006). They also believe that fossils found on the stratum of the earth were deposited when cataclysmic flood covered the earth’s surface. The position of creation scientists has heavily been challenged by the geologic and astrophysical evidence on the origin and age of the earth adduced by the evolutionary scientists. The evolutionary scientists believe that the positions taken by creation scientists on the origin of the earth and life forms are irreconcilable to theirs. Creation scientists normally refer to evolutionary theory as Darwinian evolution. In as much as creation scientist would want to sanctify their position to absolutism, by challenging historical geology and evolutionary theory, scientific creationism is more religious than scientific, as it is deficient in empirical support. Scientific creationism does not have tentative hypotheses. This is evident in the manner in which it describes natural history based on scientifically untestable supernatural causes. Many creation scientists have defended themselves using mechanisms like inducible complexity in the process of trying to challenge the fundamental evolutionary models and theories. The creation scientists have asserted that biochemical structures are incapable of evolving by gradual step-by-step process as Darwin posited. This argument threatens to destabilize Darwin’s theory if a proof for irreducible complexity can be demonstrated. A demonstration of this complexity is embedded on ability to demonstrate that none of the parts of a complex structure can survive in seclusion from the rest. As a matter of fact, texts and curricula of creation science were founded on literal biblical interpretation and had heavy religious overtones that linked the flood during Noah’s time in the bible to the geological and fossil records.
As witnessed in the scientific creationism, there are a few notable evidences that link creationism to science. Moreover studies are still being conducted that can substantially link creationism to science as seen in irreducible complexity.
Reference List
Numbers, R. (2006). The Creationists: From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design, Expanded Edition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.