Coming out as creationists: fear.

[Estro Felino]

Well...at least in my country I have the impression that there are people out there (lay, ecclesiastical...it doesn't matter...) who believe in Creationism, but are too afraid of admitting it publicly, out of fear of being ridiculed.
Statistically speaking, I think almost nobody in the society I live in would say they're proud to believe in creation...the only people who did were a couple of JW's.
Or maybe in the US the Creationist pride is more vivid...while in Europe it's repressed?

Evolution: true or false?

 

[Deeje]

Well...at least in my country I have the impression that there are people out there (lay, ecclesiastical...it doesn't matter...) who believe in Creationism, but are too afraid of admitting it publicly, out of fear of being ridiculed.
Statistically speaking, I think almost nobody in the society I live in would say they're proud to believe in creation...the only people who did were a couple of JW's.

Afraid or intimidated?

I am a proud JW believer in creation but would not label myself a 'creationist' for fear of being lumped in with YEC's.
ID would fit more into what we believe. Intelligent Design is evident in nature. Design is proof of planning and planning requires intelligence. Its not rocket science really.

I cannot support the ideas of YEC's any more than I can support the equally ridiculous accidental process of mindless evolution. There is somewhere in the middle that sits comfortably with both true science and the Bible.

I am proud because I have not been taken in by evolutionists making suggestions about how they think life appeared on this planet and what is responsible for its diversity. Their "mountains of evidence" amount to "molehills of suggestion and supposition" and if you really read the many articles written, you will see how thin the evidence really is.

Their use of derision and insults against those who oppose their view are proof that they have no real evidence for what they assume. If the evidence was real, it wouldn't still be a theory.

For me, its Evolutionary Science 0....and ID 10/10 !

 

[Axe Elf]

If they're not, they oughta be. I'd be embarrassed too.

(I assume we're talking about the extreme ones here, who deny that evolution could even be a part of the process of creation.)

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Not in America.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Man, I thought this was going to be an expose on gay Creationists.
For the OP, what's your view on public acceptance or ridicule of ideas like Creationism?
Happy to split between YEC and other if it makes things easier.

 

[Woberts]

Sorry for making it one of those threads, but I can't resist

If the evidence was real, it wouldn't still be a theory.

You don't know what a theory is, do you?

 

[LuisDantas]

No, not in Brazil.

But the question itself is, well, weird.

 

[Axe Elf]

For the OP, what's your view on public acceptance or ridicule of ideas like Creationism?

I'm hijacking this question to present the ideas of St. Augustine on the matter of public ridicule of willfully ignorant Christians (from his treatise, "The Literal Meaning of Genesis," 401 AD).

"Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men. If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by those who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books. For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion."

 

[Deeje]

Sorry for making it one of those threads, but I can't resist

You don't know what a theory is, do you?

I like the dictionary definition.

theory
ˈθɪəri/
noun

1. a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained.
   "Darwin's theory of evolution"
   synonyms: hypothesis, thesis, conjecture, supposition, speculation, postulation, postulate, proposition, premise, surmise, assumption, presumption, presupposition, notion, guess, hunch, feeling, suspicion; More
   
   • a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based.
     "a theory of education"
   • an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action.
     "my theory would be that the place has been seriously mismanaged"

Funny how science has a different meaning of the word.

I can't imagine why.

 

[Woberts]

I like the dictionary definition.

Funny how science has a different meaning of the word.

I can't imagine why.

Maybe because science acknowledges its mistakes, and knows that some things are likely to be changed or added to. String theory, for example. More specifically, Superstring theory. It ties everything together, but the calculations need 10 dimensions to work.
Edit: Wow, that's a bad explanation for string theory :/

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Well...at least in my country I have the impression that there are people out there (lay, ecclesiastical...it doesn't matter...) who believe in Creationism, but are too afraid of admitting it publicly, out of fear of being ridiculed.
Statistically speaking, I think almost nobody in the society I live in would say they're proud to believe in creation...the only people who did were a couple of JW's.
Or maybe in the US the Creationist pride is more vivid...

Evolution: true or false?

Meh. If you truly believe something, fear of ridicule shouldn't bother you. That said, why do creationists need to "come out" in tge first place? What situation can you imagine where you need to tell anyone else about your personal beliefs outside a consentual discussion?

If, on the other hand, you're going out of your way to tell people about your beliefs, unsolicited, you probably deserve a little ridicule. I don't limit that to Creationists, either. Vegans, crossfitters, anti-vaxxers, gluten-free dieters... there is no imaginable need for you to ever tell me that you belong to one of those groups. If I learn you do belong to one, it's because you decided to tell me, unsolicited. If you're worried about ridicule, just keep your wacky nonsense to yourself, and we'll both be happy.

 

[HonestJoe]

Well...at least in my country I have the impression that there are people out there (lay, ecclesiastical...it doesn't matter...) who believe in Creationism, but are too afraid of admitting it publicly, out of fear of being ridiculed.

I think it’s worth noting that Creationism isn’t really a belief in and of itself but an element of a whole range of different beliefs or world-views. Few, if any, will just be Creationists directly but hold a belief system (commonly though not always religious) that includes some form of sentient creator(s). In that context, I’d expect the answer to your question would relate more to those wider beliefs that Creationism in and of itself. For example, someone who expresses a belief that the universe was created millions of years ago by the Biblical God is going to be treated much differently to someone who claims it was created last Thursday by the Magic Space Pixies.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I'm hijacking this question to present the ideas of St. Augustine on the matter of public ridicule of willfully ignorant Christians (from his treatise, "The Literal Meaning of Genesis," 401 AD).

"Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men. If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by those who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books. For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion."

Not a hijack at all.
Nice post.

 

[SomeRandom]

I like the dictionary definition.

theory
ˈθɪəri/
noun

1. a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained.
   "Darwin's theory of evolution"
   synonyms: hypothesis, thesis, conjecture, supposition, speculation, postulation, postulate, proposition, premise, surmise, assumption, presumption, presupposition, notion, guess, hunch, feeling, suspicion; More
   
   • a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based.
     "a theory of education"
   • an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action.
     "my theory would be that the place has been seriously mismanaged"

Funny how science has a different meaning of the word.

I can't imagine why.

To be fair there are many words in English that change depending entirely on the context they're used in. A consequence of a very specifically intense language perhaps?

 

[lewisnotmiller]

I like the dictionary definition.

theory
ˈθɪəri/
noun

1. a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained.
   "Darwin's theory of evolution"
   synonyms: hypothesis, thesis, conjecture, supposition, speculation, postulation, postulate, proposition, premise, surmise, assumption, presumption, presupposition, notion, guess, hunch, feeling, suspicion; More
   
   • a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based.
     "a theory of education"
   • an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action.
     "my theory would be that the place has been seriously mismanaged"

Funny how science has a different meaning of the word.

I can't imagine why.

It's only Wikipedia, but it should clear things up for you.

Scientific theory - Wikipedia

I was kinda wondering why you wanted to conflate theory and scientific theory, but I kinda know the answer, right?

Still, just in case the idea of words having different meanings in a techincal to lay person sense is problematic, some to look out for include;

Abstract
Bias
Chaotic
Depressant
Exotic
Fitness
Generic

Meh...I was gonna go through the alphabet, but I'll struggle at the end anyway.
X is always a problem.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Titmouse; actually a bird

 

[Estro Felino]

Afraid or intimidated?

I am a proud JW believer in creation but would not label myself a 'creationist' for fear of being lumped in with YEC's.
ID would fit more into what we believe. Intelligent Design is evident in nature. Design is proof of planning and planning requires intelligence. Its not rocket science really.

I really admire your great faith…and I deeply respect it. I was raised Catholic and Catholics never bring up the subject of Creation…but we are taught essentially that what is told in the Bible is an allegory.

Personally I don’t believe in ID, because the chaotic and disordered essence of nature is not compatible, I think with a loving God that sees and provides…so therefore evolution, which is divine and free, takes place randomly and independently from God.

For the OP, what's your view on public acceptance or ridicule of ideas like Creationism?

Well…ridiculing people is childish, and I think nobody should ever cross the line, even if someone like R. Dawkins (that I admire and follow), did use an offensive expression toward YEC Kurt Wise, once.

I’m for sane and respectful debate, and I think freedom of speech must be always guaranteed by the state. On the other hand, Creationists, living in a secular state, should respect the Department of Education, which assures the teaching of Evolution, Darwinism in history and biology curricula.

(I assume we're talking about the extreme ones here, who deny that evolution could even be a part of the process of creation.)

Well…I guess I’m referring both to people who oppose Evolution and to Bible literalists. For example the JWs I was speaking of in the OP, do believe Adam was created out of clay.

 

[Jumi]

Surprised by the Estonian and Czech numbers, I'd have expected them to be closer to the top.

 

[Stevicus]

Well...at least in my country I have the impression that there are people out there (lay, ecclesiastical...it doesn't matter...) who believe in Creationism, but are too afraid of admitting it publicly, out of fear of being ridiculed.
Statistically speaking, I think almost nobody in the society I live in would say they're proud to believe in creation...the only people who did were a couple of JW's.
Or maybe in the US the Creationist pride is more vivid...

I don't think people are ridiculed for simply believing in Creationism. I think the ridicule comes in when Creationists make attempts to ridicule Evolution on a scientific basis.

 

[shunyadragon]

For the most part fundamentalist Creationists are not afraid to come out of the closet. Since it is written in stone in the doctrines and dogmas of their church or religion it hard to hide from the blunt cold facts of belief. The alternative is living in hypocracy of a destructive belief.