Evangelical Theologian Disputes Creationism's Alleged 'Threat' to Human Rights

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Pastor Dale Morgan

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Oct 11, 2007, 9:25:45 PM10/11/07

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*Perilous Times

Evangelical Theologian Disputes Creationism's Alleged 'Threat' to Human
Rights*

A resolution adopted by Europe's top human rights body last week
declaring creationism as a potential ''threat to human rights'' is
evidence of a secularized culture, said one of America’s pre-eminent
evangelical theologians.

Wed, Oct. 10, 2007 Posted: 08:34:21 AM EST

On Oct. 4, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted 48
to 25 in support of the resolution entitled “The dangers of creationism
in education,” in which the parliamentary body urged its governments to
“firmly oppose” the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline.

The document stated that creationism is promoted by “forms of religious
extremism” and criticized advocates of creationism for seeking to "to
impose religious dogma" at the expense of children’s education.

“For some people the Creation, as a matter of religious belief, gives a
meaning to life,” stated the report. “Nevertheless, the Parliamentary
Assembly is worried about the possible ill-effects of the spread of
creationist ideas within our education systems and about the
consequences for our democracies. If we are not careful, creationism
could become a threat to human rights which are a key concern of the
Council of Europe.”

After reading the report’s attacks on creationism, Dr. R. Albert Mohler,
the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, posted a
response in his personal Web site on Monday, stating that the resolution
is indicative of an increasingly secularizing society.

“When the official human rights institution of Europe has to explain
that ‘some people’ believe that the divine creation of the universe
‘gives a meaning to life,’ this can only mean that Europe (at least as
represented by the Council of Europe) has forgotten even its Christian
memory,” wrote Mohler, who often appears on “Larry King Live” and other
popular news shows representing the Christian voice.

The report, which had been reworked since it was first introduced a few
months ago, also charged creationists with denying the scientific
validity of the theory of evolution.

"They accuse scientists of not providing enough evidence to establish
the theory of evolution as scientifically valid. On the contrary, they
defend their own statements as scientific. None of this stands up to
objective analysis,” the text argued. “The theory of evolution has
nothing to do with divine revelation but is built on facts.

“The total rejection of science is definitely one of the most serious
threats to human rights and civic rights,” added the report.

But even evolutionary scientists wouldn’t agree that evolution is based
on facts, Mohler pointed out, adding that the claim would make most
evolutionary scientists blush.

Furthermore, the Baptist leader challenged the report to provide
evidence of its claim that some advocates of creationism “are out to
replace democracy by theocracy.”

“The group claims that such knowledge ‘has been exposed on several
occasions’ but fails to mention even one such occasion,” stated Mohler.

While the resolution describes creationism as "an almost exclusively
American phenomenon" but that some of its tenets were “tending to find
their way into Europe,” Mohler noted a greater shift at work.

“The Council of Europe's resolution is clear evidence of the fact that a
secularized society desperately needs naturalistic evolution as the
metaphysical foundation of its worldview,” he stated.

“Any threat to evolution is seen as a threat to democracy and human
rights — and democracy and human rights are understood in an entirely
secular framework as well.”

The vote on the resolution is nonbinding but will provide direction to
the assembly as it urges its 47 member states to consider its views.