2: Garbage
Wake up folks. The jury is in. Evolution is a scientific fact supported by reams and reams and years and years of observable and proven research. Guess what? The world isn't flat. The sun does not revolve around the earth. And the universe, earth and the life on it were not "created" in six days a few thousand years ago. Life has evolved over billions of years from simpler forms. It's done. Accept it. Facts are facts. We can observe evolution occurring in insect and microbe populations. That's not theory. That's observable fact. Where do you think new flu strains and antibiotic-resistant bacteria come from? The creation story in the bible is based on fables handed down by superstitious Middle-Eastern nomadic tribes thousands of years ago who could not have had any idea of scientific concepts. All primitive cultures have creation myths. Fine: with their limited knowledge they just didn't know any better. But our culture and knowledge isn't primitive anymore. We have no such excuse to propagate ignorance in the world in which we now live. Get over it. Evolution is a proven fact. What - do you think all the thousands of scientists in the hundreds of research institutions over the past 150 years have been just sitting around in their offices, staring at the walls, making this stuff up? And how is it that atomic research, geology, biochemistry and all the other scientific means and discoveries that have come about since the 1800's - which Darwin could not have known about - all support his concepts? Do we know everything about the evolutionary process at this point? No. There's lots more to learn. So what? Just because we don't have all the blanks filled in does not mean the whole concept is incorrect. We don't have all the blanks filled in on other subjects as well, such as subatomic physics. Does that mean atoms don't exist? Of course not. And even if you could somehow disprove that evolution has occurred (and is occurring) that still doesn't mean one particular religious version of "creation" is any more correct than any other one. Those who want so-called "creationism" or "intelligent design" taught in schools should be ashamed of themselves for encouraging the teaching of ignorance to children. By the way, I am a Christian. (Yes, it is possible to be a Christian and not be an ignoramus).
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4: The opposite of war isn't peace. It's Creation.
Open "Creation" to the first full-page double spread. It is the rare children's book that instantly greets you with a pure black page. The word CREATION stands out like granite against the dark. Reading through the story, author Gerald McDermott has drawn this telling primarily from Genesis 1:1 through 2:3 of the Hebrew Bible. Mentioning this in an opening author's note he goes on to explain how he used handmade mulberry-bark paper to create the beautifully colored papers found within. The book is an unapologetic recreation of the Creation story, told in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The narration is from the point of view of God, it seems. The opening reads, "I was before time. I was everywhere. There was nothing. I was there. My spirit moved over the deep. I floated in darkness". The text by and large continues in this vein. The narrator separates light from darkness and out of the sea brings forth the earth. In the end, man and woman are created and the final parting shot is of a single human baby floating in a circle of red with the words, "I am all this. All this I am". There is no fall in this picture book. No serpent and no tree of life. As such, it is a surprisingly satisfying retelling. The text is good, yes yes. But the pictures... oh the pictures. My gut reaction is something along the lines of, "McDermott wuz ROBBED of a Caldecott. Robbed I sayz!". This is an incredibly lovely concoction. Colorful doesn't even begin to describe it. From the deep greens and blues of the seas brimming with creatures to the bright and colorful birds of the sky, one is easily blown away by the depth of the artwork. Those parents uncomfortable with reading a Christian based story to their little ones, take heart. You could easily show how this book is a tight encapsulation of evolution as well. McDermott has this to say of his book: "As in all of my work, Creation is an outer expression of the inner reality that connects every human soul". Enough said.
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