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Show GOD & SCI ENCE • AREN'T MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE I he schism between creationism and evolution JONATHAN has become so pronounced in our culture that many people consider the ideas incompatible. Proponents on both sides of the false divide are so uncompromisingly convinced of their own ideas that they've lost the ability to recognize the validity of each other's claims. Ideological inflexibility by marginal groups on opposite fringes of the political spectrum has tainted the national attitude toward God and science and has inhibited our collective understanding of, and appreciation for, both. Tennessee and Louisiana have enacted laws that permit public schools to present the "scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses" of ideas that "can cause controversy."These laws essentially enable teachers to indoctrinate their students with a politically perverted, exclusively creationist worldview. The creationist curriculum unfairly calls into question such widely PARK accepted scientific theories as evolution, the age of the earth and climate change. While creationists argue that their approach to education cultivates critical thinking, in reality it just increases the portion of our population that is ill-equipped to contribute to scientific and social progress. By distorting scientific understanding to make it fit a literal interpretation of the Bible and reshaping history to align with a politically conservative agenda, hardcore creationists give themselves, and God, a bad rap. It's no wonder self-purported intellectuals are so eager to distinguish their ideas from those of believers. However, in the haste to separate science from religion, some proponents of evolution have fallen victim to the same sort of ideological rigidity as strict creationists. Just as radical Republicans frequently use the theory of creation as a recruitment/brainwashing tool, atheists have distorted Darwinism into an instrument for denying the existence of a divine creator. That was never Darwin's intent. He believed it was entirely possible to be "an ardent Theist and an Evolutionist."Yet many modern evolutionists are quick to throw the baby out with the bathwater. In the atheistic portrayal of history, humankind is basically a community of cosmic jackpot winners, with no true rhyme, reason or purpose for being. There was a big bang, and then — "poof." From the petri dish of random chaos emerged an infinitely interconnected planet with the highly specific and incomprehensibly complex conditions required for life to evolve. In my opinion, this is akin to saying that an explosion in a printing press could produce a perfect encyclopedia. I'm not saying that I don't believe the Big Bang theory — I'm just pointing out the improbability of it having happened unintentionally. Why couldn't there be a Big God behind the Big Bang? It's crazy to think that the earth is only 6,000 years old, as hardcore creationists assert. However, in my mind, it's equally crazy to think that our universe came out of nowhere and for no particular reason. We can embrace new scientific discoveries without betraying a belief in a divine being, and on the other side of the coin, we can also foster faith in a Holy God without abandoning reason. In pitting the two ideas against one another and making them mutually exclusive, we inhibit our ability to fully understand and wonder at the awesome world that we have been designed to occupy. letters@chronicle.utah.edu oar FINANCIAL SUCCESS *** *************** ***** For 75 years, A merle.] First Credit Unior's members have wor toget p each other reac financial goals. Our all-star roster of products & services SATIRE includes free checking, mobile & online banking, and TIPS FOR ACING YOUR DORM INSPECTION t is time to start moving out of the FIONA dorms, and most students have a lot of work to do. They've got to help their friends patch the holes in the walls from the time they played roller hockey in Chapel Glen 802 and mask the giant "you-know-what" stain their roommates left on the carpet during that party in October. You have to pass RA inspection to avoid large repair fees and it's time to get your hands dirty. Manny Queso is worried the nacho cheese he spilled under his bed three months ago isn't going to come out of the carpet. "I tried using one of those Swiffer Sweepers, but I think that just made it worse': Queso said. "The RAs are sure to see it, and I have no idea what to do. I might just have to spray it with Febreze until I can't smell it any more. Then I will be in half as BOOMER much trouble as I would have been. It's foolproof:' Ashlee Red says she is ready for the inspection. "My Taylor Swift poster left some blue, sticky stuff on the wall, but I think it will come off with nail polish remover. Or I can just leave the poster up. I mean, it's T-Swift. It should stay up forever," Red said. Red's room seems like it will pass inspection, despite the mind-numbing smell. "My suitemates and I sprayed all our perfume in the room so it will smell nice for the RAs." The students in the Marriott Honors Dorms had the luxury of having their apartment-style dorms cleaned once a month to ensure that the common space and kitchen will be clean for the next group of students. Despite the routine cleanings, students living in the Honors Dorms face large cleaning challenges. Sasha Juicer is worried about the RA inspection. "We had a bit of an accident with our blender last November. Let's just say someone forgot to put the lid on, and there is still banana on our ceiling. Nobody noticed it until it 8 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 } was dried and stuck up there for good. It looks kind of cool, though," Juicer said. Juicer's kitchen looks good, but her bedroom is atrocious. "I never really cleaned my bedroom because I could just escape it by hanging out in the living room. No one ever came to clean our bedrooms, so let's just say I have a lot of work to do," she said. Honors studentJimmy Tidy can't wait for the RA dorm inspection. "I never unpacked when I moved in,"Tidy said. "I used dishes and then put them back into their boxes. I washed my clothes and put them back into their boxes. I kept all of my food in a box on the floor of our pantry and ate it as I pleased. I never hung any posters or slept in my bed. I just slept on the floor in the living room so my room would look just like it did when I moved in. I'm hoping to get an 'A' on my inspection." As if finals weren't enough, moving out may be the hardest test this semester. letters@chronicle.utah.edu LInbeatably low-rate business & personal loans. Being a member of Utah's #1 credit union means you've always mimmemorawsixt got home-field advanta e, so come • oin our team! * E t t. AMERICA FIRST CREDIT UNION Awed to 4u0/mitt (lieu! Er f 1-800-999-3961 americafirst.com NCUA Federally Insured by NCUA. Equal Housing & Opportunity Lender. 9 |