Why are there still Young-Earth creationists in the world?

[ruffen]

This is something that really puzzles me. It seems that the belief that Earth is only a few thousand years old, is in growth. Particularly in the USA, but also elsewhere it seems the polarity between science and religion is increasing.

But how can this be? Do these people simply not understand the overwhelming amount of evidence that the Earth and the Universe are billions of years old?

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Simple. The Bible is the literal infallible word of God. Obviously those corrupt atheist scientists are lying. Why else would their models change every decade and force me to update my model of reality?

 

[outhouse]

Closed minds are a terrible thing to waist.

People as a whole are not all that bright or educated.

 

[Skwim]

Closed minds are a terrible thing to waist.

People as a whole are not all that bright or educated.

Choosing to ignore facts is sometimes far more satisfying than dealing with them. And self satisfaction is a far more gratifying enterprise than dealing.

Don't knock hedonism if you haven't tried it.

 

[idav]

But how can this be?

Cause an earth that is billions of years old doesn't make us feel special enough.

 

[ruffen]

Cause an earth that is billions of years old doesn't make us feel special enough.

I think we may have a winner here. It is still puzzling though, that people will choose a comforting lie that they deep down inside must know to be false, over truth no matter what it might be.

 

[LuisDantas]

I think we may have a winner here. It is still puzzling though, that people will choose a comforting lie that they deep down inside must know to be false, over truth no matter what it might be.

Never felt miserable, have you?

 

[ruffen]

I do not feel miserable knowing that the Universe is vast and very old, standing on an ancient Earth knowing that prehistoric life forms have lived and died out millions of years ago. And I do not feel miserable when looking at the stars and realizing how small we are.

I also do not feel miserable knowing that this life is the only life we've got. It just makes life more beautiful and a lot more precious.

 

[ruffen]

I guess what I'm wondering is if most young-earth creationists actually are genuinely uninformed or if they choose ignorance willingly.

 

[idav]

I guess what I'm wondering is if most young-earth creationists actually are genuinely uninformed or if they choose ignorance willingly.

I think it is mostly willful ignorance but it could be a case of appeal to the wrong authority like pseudoscience and such.

 

[Quintessence]

Kinship and community, as well as personal experience and meaningfulness, are important aspects. It's not about choosing "ignorance" willingly; that's how the naysayers want to paint it. Looking at it from THEIR point of view, other aspects of life are simply more important.

 

[Revoltingest]

All religions strike me as loopy, some just more so than others. So I can easily accept why YEC types still exist. My commercial leasing agent is one, & he's the best at his job of anyone I've used. So he can attribute whatever powers he wants to his sky fairy...he still has my friendship & respect.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Ignorance is bliss, or at least that's what I've heard. Maybe they're onto something...

 

[outhouse]

Choosing to ignore facts is sometimes far more satisfying than dealing with them. And self satisfaction is a far more gratifying enterprise than dealing.

Don't knock hedonism if you haven't tried it.

There is much more to it then hedonism and wilful ignorance.


It is almost as if one is forced to lie to oneself, just to maintain faith with all the knowledge that exist as "common knowledge" that goes against this.


have you ever seen a YEC that didnt try shoving a round block through a square hole?

When we show them that life on earth is 3.5ish B, years old with credible evidence, they all are caught instantly when their lips start moving.

 

[Skwim]

There is much more to it then hedonism and wilful ignorance.


It is almost as if one is forced to lie to oneself, just to maintain faith with all the knowledge that exist as "common knowledge" that goes against this.


have you ever seen a YEC that didnt try shoving a round block through a square hole?

When we show them that life on earth is 3.5ish B, years old with credible evidence, they all are caught instantly when their lips start moving.

Whatever the machinations of the creationist mind may be, the goal is always the same: "Don't upset the applecart of my religious belief---whatever the cost." And if this entails willful ignorance, lying to oneself, or keeping "the enemy" at a distance, then so be it.

I CAN'T HEARRR YOU
​

 

[philbo]

Closed minds are a terrible thing to waist.

People as a whole are not all that bright or educated.

ISWYDT

What annoys me is the double-standards that YEC-types so frequently show: grasping at any scientific straw that doesn't explicitly disprove their belief and going to extraordinary lengths to ignore or discount things they don't like.

I even had one trying to use an alternative theory that metamorphic rocks such as granite might be able to form in tens or hundreds of thousands of years (rather than millions) as showing the Earth is 6,000 years old. What can you say to someone like that?

 

[Looncall]

I guess what I'm wondering is if most young-earth creationists actually are genuinely uninformed or if they choose ignorance willingly.

I suspect that they are people who outsource their thinking to others and have been taken in by charlatans.

 

[RedJamaX]

Kinship and community, as well as personal experience and meaningfulness, are important aspects.

Sure...
But at what cost? The intelligence level of an entire society is brought to it's knees because they don't understand the basics of science... Science brings us so many good things like medicine, electric power, and global communication... yes, we also get bad things like weapons... but they go hand in hand due to our very nature...

Michio Kaku is a famous Theoretical Physicist who said that if we try to calculate the progression of our achievements to estimate where we would be at some point... we can predict, with a good amount of certainty, that in 100 years we will live a world similar to what is seen on Star Trek... (perhaps the global social structure will take a bit longer, but the technology would be present)

Provided... 1. we continue our scientific advancement at the same pace.... and 2. we don't destroy ourselves with our technology first...

There is simply no way we can expect to make it to that point if we teach our next generation incorrectly... how can we possibly expect them to continue the progress if they can't make heads or tails of any experiments because the data they observe doesn't make any sense when compared to their core beliefs...??

And besides that whole "progress" thing... we don't NEED religion to achieve a sense of "Kinship and community, as well as personal experience and meaningfulness"... Every member of the Clergy Project, that I have read up on or heard about, has said that the members of atheists organizations are far more welcoming and less judgmental than ANY religious group they were ever a part of...

 

[Monk Of Reason]

I love how no YEC have answered yet.

And its on the rise? thats news to me. Everything I have heard said its decreasing. Atheism and general non-theism is massivly on the rise. Islam is on the rise and paganism is on the rise. But christianity and especially evangelical fundamentalist christianity seems to be decreasing rapidly.

 

[ruffen]

I love how no YEC have answered yet.

And its on the rise? thats news to me. Everything I have heard said its decreasing. Atheism and general non-theism is massivly on the rise. Islam is on the rise and paganism is on the rise. But christianity and especially evangelical fundamentalist christianity seems to be decreasing rapidly.

I hope you're right - I was under the impression that Young Earth Creationism was on the rise and that the division between science and religion grows bigger.

Let's jus hope that sanity and reason can win over the other nutty religions as well.

But yes, it is interesting that no Young Earth Creationists have answered at all.