A funny thing happened at last week's debate between candidates for the Republican party nomination. When asked for a show of hands on who did not believe in evolution, Mitt Romney abstained and kept his paws on the podium. In other words, he signified that he did believe in Charles Darwin's elegant description of the origin of species.
Well, it is no secret that Romney has been courting Christian conservatives. This past weekend he gave the commencement address at Pat Robertson's Regent University. It's quite a balancing act, really, considering that Robertson's own Christian Brodcasting Network has declared Mormonism a cult.
The candidate and his Christian supporters have been working hard to overcome Evangelical antipathy toward the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose 19th-century founder, Joseph Smith, said he revised parts of the Bible to correct it.But his statuesque demeanor at the debate regarding his views on evolution have caused some evangelicals to seek further clarification on where the candidate stands on the matter of the earth really being only 6,000 years old. In response, Romney's campaign has released a statement:
"Governor Romney believes both science and faith can help inform us about the origins of life in this world."It's classic Romney. Vague, wishy-washy, and will further the perception that he is constitutionally incapable of taking a stand on a controversial issue and sticking to it. The question for the former governor is, what happens when science seems to contradict a matter of faith, as in the case of the age of our planet? Furthermore, how do we decide who is right when two faiths disagree on bedrock cosmological questions? Your evangelical constituents want to know, Mr. Romney.
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 14)
16. Caleb- Yes, Evolution is a theory- a PROVEN theory. If you knew anything about science, you would know that.
Nestea at 4:04PM on May 8th 2007
17. Leaders who are not spiritual and do not practise goodwill, kindness, and decency, and a moral accountability in their daily lives, are not leaders at all and have no emphathy for humanity and all other creatures. Evolution is not separate from religious faith, but also a gift of God. Leaders who have no faith, have no soul, and are much less tolerant of those who DO have faith. Even with extremists in some religious orders, it's better to fight the extremistism than ridicule the faithful. Our nation was founded on freedom of religion. And also, that no government will not establish a "national" religion. Nothing complicated about it.
Jean at 4:10PM on May 8th 2007
18. My wife was a Mormon before she became a Christian, and I remember reading in some of their education materials a passage that seemed to endorse the theory of evolution. Also, although it has been previously discussed in this thread, a theory, by definition, is something that has not been proven. There is no proof that evolution is how life as we know it came about.
Clay at 4:11PM on May 8th 2007
19. Mitt Romney's evolution of the origin of life fits with his Mormon faith where the Mormon church picks and chooses what they want to believe from the Bible. Evolution is NOT a proven fact and that is why they call it the "theory of evolution". My problem with Romney is his "I'll stand for anything that will get me elected" approach. Remember, The Mormon Church and Romney believe that you and I can become a god like our GOD and rule over your planet in a galaxy far-far-away.
JC at 4:11PM on May 8th 2007
20. Caleb,
To answer your question of where does it state "a separation of church and state", you need to look no further than that document that our founding fathers put in place. It's called the Constitution of the United States. I believe that it's covered under the first amendment, along with freedom of speech. It's helpful if you learn that along with our country's history, especially on this topic, to see what ruling on this as it stands. It's a shame that people are so quick to want to live in a fascist, communistic country because it doesn't fall in line with their own religious beliefs. Ah, but that is what is great about America. You have the right to have that opinion and share it with other (even if others wish you would keep it to yourself).
Mickey at 4:15PM on May 8th 2007
21. If by Evolution one means "once man was a tadpole swimming in the sea, and now man's a scientist with a phd." That is stupid. Mutation, Yes! Evolution, No!" Contrary to popular thinking, it is a myth to say there is insurmountable evidence that evolution is a fact. Evolution is theory but has become a religion practiced by humanists who deny the existence of God.
Mike McMahon at 4:16PM on May 8th 2007
22. Evolution ridiculous??? And just out of curiosity, if the earth is only 6,000 yrs old, where exactly have among other things, fossils that are hundreds of thousands and millions of yrs old come from??? Did they fall out of the sky from another planet to embed themselves deep into the earths' crust (which by the way, just the crust dates MILLIONS of years!)? The Bible was a man-written book authored by some 40 ancient writers interpreting (I did say "interpreting"!)history and incidents. I believe fully in God, a higher power has always existed, and Jesus, my Savior. (By the way, the dinosaurs were long dead before him). Educationally speaking, the earth has been around for a VERY long time, but who are you to say that Genesis did not happen post evolution as well? Just maybe interpreted a little differently than what actually happened by the author. You are talking about thousands and even millions of years difference in time. Jesus lived only 2,000 yrs ago, I did say ONLY, because that is just a nanosecond in time really. Stop being arrogant, and stop trying to mix religious and/or scientific belief with politics, folks. It makes for unhappy social parties.
scarey at 4:24PM on May 8th 2007
23. Caleb, Bible Quoters, etc.
Yes, to a scientist, evolution is theory. But so is gravitation, continental drift and relativity - all cornerstones in our understanding of our existence. Labeling something as a scientific theory does not detract from its viability; instead it strengthens it because as a theory, scientists are able to put it to the test, observe it, re-test it and slowly build on it in an objective manner.
Religious theory (creationism, for example) is a totally different "theory" as it relies on religious "scripture" and blind faith. Christians challenge Jews, Hindus challenge Moslems, etc. etc. etc. and all can claim to be right because all have their scripture proclaiming their word as the word of God.
Scientific Theory or Religious Theory? I'll side with Science any day!
BHS at 4:25PM on May 8th 2007
24. The Theory of Evolution is accepted by people so readily because of an idea usually attributed to religion: a desperation to answer the big question of why we are here. So, evolution gives you an "answer" without having any personal accountability. There is one FACT that crumbles the THEORY of evolution: Put your left hand out in front of you. That's 50 million years ago. Now, put your right hand out in front of you, and leave a 3-foot gap in between your hands. That's present day. The fact is that if humans were to have evolved from a hunch-back, knuckle-dragging man-ape (see left hand) to modern day humans (right hand) then EVERTHING in between would be TRANSITIONAL FORMS. Millions and millions of them. A huge majority of remains found on the Earth would be transitional forms. There are none to be found, and any remains that are dubbed as transitional forms are debunked, or are not legit. For instance, if Penguins had died out 700 years ago, and some person today had found the remains of a penguin, then the entire Darwinian populace would be screaming about how it was a "transitional form" - proving that life on earth evolved from birds!
Adam at 4:32PM on May 8th 2007
25. Adam, go back to school. You are in WAY over your head.
BHS at 4:40PM on May 8th 2007
26. Okay,
Mickey, in Caleb's defense, read the first amendment and tell me where it says "separation of church and state". Let me know what you find.
Alonzo at 4:42PM on May 8th 2007
27. The evolution question should be asked of our candidates. The economic future of this country depends on our ability to compete in the global market. This requires that our children be literate in science. There is no debate among reputable scientists as to the fact that evolution through natural selection is the basis of modern biology. A president who does not believe in evolution is not qualified to lead a modern technology based country. If someone wants to practice a faith that ignores knowledge gained through decades of scientific research he is more than welcome to do so in this country. He just shouldn't be president.
jason at 4:41PM on May 8th 2007
28. BHS,
It's very telling that facts don't come from Darwinians...only mockery and insults. The fact is that most of the people arguing here for Evolution are doing so in blind faith, as they have been taught at school and by the media. "Everyone believes in evolution" because if you don't, you are dumb and ignorant. No transitional forms, and never a hint of macroevolution - ever. Microevolution, yes, within a species. But no species has ever evolved into another species. But, by all means, don't let me intrude on your blind faith. Now, BSH, it's up to you to school me. Give me some hard facts, bud.
Adam at 4:50PM on May 8th 2007
29. Mitt Romney was the govenor of Massachusetts and achieved that goal by presenting to the state an open minded liberal message to get elected.
However - Mr Romney towards the end of his career here did a 360 degree change on almost every issue - to better conform to his race for president.
Mr Romney is a fip fop candidate who cant stand grounds on any issue that wont further benefit his campaign. He is fake and artifical and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was very excited when his term was over.
One thing we do know - if you dont like an opionion he has - just wait he will CHANGE it.
Dont be fooled by Mr Romney or his claimless promises- he is no conservative or liberal - he is whatever it takes to become President.
I shudder to even imagine a person of his calibur ever being the President.
buddy at 4:51PM on May 8th 2007
30. Caleb and others-
Being a teacher myself, I would never, NEVER teach anything but the theory of evolution. I do not teach anything having to do with god in my classroom, but I say the Pledge of Allegience because I feel it is a way of taking a minute everyday and thanking those who serve our country and teaching the children about that. When teachng the children about the current president, I tell them who he is, what his job is, and so on, but I do not have them write letters to him. Why have them look back later on in their lives and realize their first grade teacher forced them to write a letter to the worst President in the history of the country?
Getting back to the theory of Evolution, it was taught to me when I was in school, and I am not that old, so am going to stick with it. Dinosaurs are proof that in fact God did not create the earth, I do not teach the kids that their is no god. I simply teach them that whatever their views are they have every right to feel that way as long as it is not hateful. We to have to teach about dinosaurs though, that is in the curriculum. Are we going to have stop teaching about fossils and cavemen and things that are proven with evidence next?
Jenny at 4:53PM on May 8th 2007