But don't let that slow you down. I'm sure your school district is well overfunded & can afford to pay the huge legal fees the first time this old "teach em both!" chestnut is tried and, again, fails.
Is there a reason that the Christian creation myth somehow deserves a place in a science curriculum while voodoo or Native American creation myths do not?
Since you asked, here is another one. (I have quite a few such stories, but no voodoo ones yet.) The Coyote stories are my favorites.
In the beginning, Old Man Coyote stood alone with water surrounding him. Two ducks swam by, and Coyote asked if they had seen anyone else. The ducks said no but thought that something might exist under the water.Coyote asked if they would travel underwater for him and report on what they saw. The ducks did as they were asked, finding nothing. He asked again, and the ducks returned with a root. On the third try, they found mud and Coyote was happy. He told the ducks that they could build with it, and he began to shape and mold the mud into an island. He blew on it, and it expanded. He blew again, and it grew into the earth. The ducks said they did not like the earth's emptiness, so Coyote created grass and trees out of the roots that came from the water.
Coyote and the ducks loved the earth, but it was flat. They wanted rivers, valleys, mountains, and lakes. So it was done. Soon Coyote and the ducks made a perfect earth, but they grew lonely, with only the three of them to sit and enjoy the land. So Coyote molded dirt to form men and then more mud to create many types of male ducks. Soon, they realized that without women, the males could not have children. So with more dirt he made women and female ducks to populate the earth.
One day Old Man Coyote traveled upon the land and was surprised to find another Coyote. When asked where he came from, the younger brother, named Shirape, said he was unsure of his origin and only knew he existed. As the two traveled along, Shirape wanted Old Man Coyote to make other animals, for only ducks, humans, and the two Coyotes had been created. The elder Coyote agreed, and as he spoke the new animals' names, they were created. He said "Elk" and an elk appeared. He said "Bear" and a bear appeared. This is how it was until all animals were created.
I dont see why not all. (Except those that incite their followers to MURDER aka cannibals,headhunters, mooseslimes)
The idea of an intelligent creation vs accidental reverse entropy is a no brainer.
The “facts” of evolution, however, come from an assortment of inaccurate date testing, hoaxes and outright lies. With all the gaps in the evolutionary theory as well all the creatures and organs that evolution can’t explain (such as how the ear evolved or how there is no half an eye) I’m surprised you didn’t see it sooner.
And the reason that Christianity is preferable to the Darwin creation myth is because Christianity promotes a reliable moral code while evolution and atheism teaches racism and cruelty in the name of “survival of the fittest”.
At the moment the public schools are forced to adhere to the religious standards current in the Episcopal church. Not sure that's right. Could be we'll get to see what the Catholic standards are like.
Is there a reason that the Christian creation myth somehow deserves a place in a science curriculum while voodoo or Native American creation myths do not?
There is only one reason why the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is to be believed above all else -- it's because He has given us the truth of the matter. And He has done that because He is the Creator God of the universe and everything that exists outside of Himself.
Only the Creator God (who, by the way, is the same one who gives the "unalienable rights" in the Declaration of Independence -- i.e., He is the one who grants them, so that no government can take away) is the one who is to be believed, because of all that He has shown us to be true, from the beginning.
He has given us the Messiah of Israel, who is the Savior of mankind, the only one who is able to save from the inevitable death (which comes from the sin of mankind, as the Bible says). He has given us everlasting life in His Son, that Messiah of Israel, so that we live forevermore with Him -- on this earth.
He says that there is no one like Him -- that there are no gods besides Him and that He is the only one who created everything and no one else did.
He is either that God (the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) or He is not, and is therefore a liar to us and to all of mankind.
That is why we take what the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob said -- as to how things were created in the beginning -- and not the many other fables that we hear about. In other words, we take the true account, as given to us by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Regards,
Star Traveler