Criticisms of the Creation and Evolution Debate
I have observed the Creation and Evolution debate in social media for over twenty years. It is frustrating to watch as both sides continually make the same mistakes, false statements, and misrepresent the opposing position. It might be expected that unbelievers will use questionable tactics to protect their position. As believers, we should be able to raise our standard and give both strong and powerful arguments without falling to such temptations.
With over two decades of debate and research under my belt in this, perhaps my second favorite topic in the Bible, and having read much of what has happened in the last fifty years ... I have grown weary of the countless and continuous waste of time that happens in most discussions on this topic. Both sides of the debate or guilty of the following criticisms. But I can see that much better can be done. If we raise our standard ...
1) Christians Do Not Believe Their Bibles
One of the greatest problems is how much time is spent debating with evolutionists when the vast majority of believers do not believe in the Creation account. According to the statistics, roughly 75% of the world does not even claim to believe in the Bible. Within Christianity (according to a Protestant Poll), 60% have fully accepted evolution while another 30% have some form of mixed Theistic Evolution. That leaves only 10% of Believers and about 2.5% of the world's population that regards Creation as correct. If we can get a much larger percentage of Christians to understand and accept Creation Science, then these topics would be spread much more easily and rapidly. Furthermore, the understanding of Creationism concepts would give a stronger and more sure foundation for their beliefs in righteousness and wickedness as well as the need for salvation. If we cannot believe our Bibles on this point, what other points will be ignored and discarded? This may not directly be a salvational issue, but anything that makes us doubt the Eternal's word and adds barriers to needing a Savior are dangers that need addressed.
2) Scientists Unwilling to Go Where the Evidence Leads
Science should go where the evidence leads ... but that is not the case. If it were true, there would be no Creation Science and Evolution Science ... there would be just science ... science that is free to test theories and see which ones work. The fact that many Creation Models have been tested and found more accurate and more predictable of reality than their respective evolutionary or uniformitarian counterparts ... and they get completely ignored by the secular majority ... shows the bias that exists. There are many cliches that one could recite here. A few include: "history is written by the winner", "the majority silences the minority", "follow the money", and "", "". While I do not want to over-emphasize the impact of these issues on the Creation and Evolution Debate, they must not be ignored either. Propaganda for What Is Evolutionism? such as "biology only makes sense in the eyes of evolution" are untrue and misleading.
3) Falsely Making It a Science Vs. Religion Debate
The creation and evolution debate is often pictured as a science versus religion debate ... this is blatantly false. It is a simple matter to separate the beliefs of Creationism and Evolutionism from the scientific study of Creation Models and Evolution Models. The fact that evolutionists will often scoff at or completely deny the existence of any study or evidence for Creation just shows their desperation to avoid something they disagree with and do not want to be true. This is also true for the Intelligent Design Models which, while admittedly much more conceptual in form, are also jeered and ignored because it points in a direction they do not want to go. Yet, the evidence is there for those who choose to look.
4) False Arguments and Logical Fallacies
False arguments and logical fallacies run rampant in the Creation and Evolution debate.The infamous "strawman argument" is perhaps one of the most common offenders in this list. This can be done accidently or ignorantly as untrained people repeat what they have read. But once someone has been told something is false and given the correct information ... continuing to present that argument, possibly for years on end, becomes purposeful and shows they do not care or that they are doing it on purpose. This is not limited to social media, but even appears in formal debates on stage.
5) Incorrectly Using Terms and Definitions
Another huge problem come from Creationists and Evolutionists not understanding the opposing views and models. Something that frequently occurs, even by very popular speakers, is a misunderstanding between the relationship of Created Kinds with Microevolution and Macroevolution. The confusion caused by such misinformation has hindered genuine debate and discussions for decades and caused countless unnecessary arguments.
6) Using Outdated or Incorrect Information
There are a number of topics that frequently appear for which either or both sides are using outdated information. Entire discussions, sometimes quite lengthy, could be avoided if up-to-date information was available and known. Combined with the other problems above make these debates some of the worst to participate in.
7) Creation Organizations Not Acting Like Ministries
Perhaps my standards are too high ... but I expect that if a Ministry is doing the work of the Eternal, the Eternal himself will make sure that ministry has the funding and resources it needs to progress and do it's work. Charging money, sometimes large amounts, for their products and materials can greatly inhibit the spread of information that could greatly help believers and the general public. I am aware that in the modern age, many 'shorts' or 'devotional' type messages are shared for free online ... but these do not always hold up to the same quality of information that one can get by paying. I am also aware that some of these organizations do a lot of behind-the-scenes work which most of the public will never see. Some allow their materials to be illegally copied and pirated in Communist and Muslim countries where sales are prohibited ... actions which I can applaud. In the end, we can all do better at giving away information and helping those who have lack of access to truth.
8) Creation Organizations Hindering Creation Science
This is a case of the 'church' imitating the secular culture around it. Are Scientific Journals and Peer Review good things? Perhaps it can be. But when a relative few people become the gatekeepers and share only what they agree with (like Evolutionary based Journals), when organizations will not support or review work from researchers that lack a post-graduate degree, when organizations shun researchers who do not meet their own long doctrinal statements, when scientists lose the rights to their work to have the honor of being published in a Journal ... then the system is broken ... and scientific research either does not occur or it does not spread. We need to encourage scientific research ... not stifle it. While we do need to maintain high standards for research, allowing pride, money, and other such matters to influence institutions made to help believers is not appropriate.