Thesis (M.A.)--Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary, 1992. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 640-718).

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography.

This work examines creation science and its relationship to American Protestant fundamentalism. The thesis argues that scientific creationism is inextricably linked to American Protestant fundamentalism. More specifically, this thesis demonstrates that creation science is a direct historical product of fundamentalist thought, theology, social character, and organizational structure. Indeed, creation science is most clearly understood in light of its historical and social relationship to fundamentalism. Scientific creationism is the newest phase in the fundamentalist rejection of modernist thought and evolutionary theory. The thesis concludes that creation science is not a valid scientific endeavor, and is in instead a form of Biblical apologetics. / Master of Arts

Joseph O. Baker discussed a moving-target strategy of fundamentalist Christians to oppose Darwin’s theory of biological evolution with creationism over the last few hundred years in the United States.

<p>The purpose of this essay is to study the public debate on the subject of creationism, the belief that there is a creator of all life on earth. The study is focused on creationism in different forms in schools and the more general discussion of creationism as an alternative to the theory of evolution. The overall question is what should be taught as the origin of life: Evolution or creationism in various shapes and forms? The essay consists of an overview of previous research in both the USA and Sweden, and an analysis of argumentation on the issue in newspapers. A comparison is made between the USA and Sweden.</p><p>The analysis of newspapers shows that there are some arguments for different forms of creationism but there are considerably more arguments against creationism. The arguments for creationism are less well-founded and the results point to the conclusion that creationism in any form should not be considered an equal alternative to the theory of evolution. Compared to Sweden creationism is more widespread and more widely debated in the USA. This study shows that it is very unlikely that the situation in Sweden will come to resemble the situation in the USA.</p>

The purpose of this essay is to study the public debate on the subject of creationism, the belief that there is a creator of all life on earth. The study is focused on creationism in different forms in schools and the more general discussion of creationism as an alternative to the theory of evolution. The overall question is what should be taught as the origin of life: Evolution or creationism in various shapes and forms? The essay consists of an overview of previous research in both the USA and Sweden, and an analysis of argumentation on the issue in newspapers. A comparison is made between the USA and Sweden. The analysis of newspapers shows that there are some arguments for different forms of creationism but there are considerably more arguments against creationism. The arguments for creationism are less well-founded and the results point to the conclusion that creationism in any form should not be considered an equal alternative to the theory of evolution. Compared to Sweden creationism is more widespread and more widely debated in the USA. This study shows that it is very unlikely that the situation in Sweden will come to resemble the situation in the USA.

Η παρούσα εργασία πραγματεύεται ορισμένες όψεις της αντιπαράθεσης αναφορικά με τη γενεσιουργό αιτία της εμφάνισης και διαμόρφωσης της ζωής στην γη. Η αντιπαράθεση διαρθρώνεται, εκ πρώτης όψεως, στον άξονα του διλημματικού δίπολου Εξέλιξη ή Δημιουργία. Ως κύριες ερμηνευτικές προσεγγίσεις, εξετάζονται κατά σειρά ο δημιουργισμός, η εξελικτική θεωρία και η θεωρία του ευφυούς σχεδιασμού. Συγκεκριμένα, επιχειρείται να οριοθετηθεί το επιστημολογικό και εν γένει φιλοσοφικό πλαίσιο των εν λόγω θεωριών και να επισημανθούν οι κύριοι άξονες της σχετικής επιχειρηματολογίας. / This paper discusses some aspects of the debate regarding the root cause of the emergence and formation of life on earth. The debate is structured, prima facie, on the dipole between Evolution and Creation. The main interpretative approaches are examined: creationism, evolutionary theory and the theory of intelligent design. Specifically, the aim is to define the epistemological and generally philosophical context of these theories and to identify the main points of the relevant argumentation.

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Like few other concepts in the history of science, Darwinian evolution prompted humans to question their most basic assumptions about themselves. Among the theory's most controversial implications, the principle of common descent insisted that humans were kin to other species. As such, common descent challenged the previously unquestioned tradition of anthropocentrism, which held that humans were distinct from and superior to other species. In order to discern common descent's impact on anthropocentrism, I will examine three court cases from an eighty-year span of American history, where resistance to common descent was especially virulent. Courtrooms provided the nation's leading critics of common descent an arena in which to protest the theory's most egregious offenses. As common descent garnered increasing support from scientists and educators, however, anthropocentrists modified their position accordingly. Initially, they stigmatized monkeys and apes precisely because those animals were the most genealogically proximate to humans. As common descent became more accepted, however, this position became increasingly difficult to defend. Accordingly, many anthropocentrists abandoned their obsession with primates and instead engaged the entire tree of life, including its mysterious origin. By the turn of the millennium, even as some anthropocentrists increasingly accepted humanity's kinship to other species, many continued to cite human intelligence as legitimate grounds for anthropocentric behavior. Thus, while anthropocentrism survived the threat of common descent, it had to accommodate the Darwinian onslaught in order to do so. / Master of Arts

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