Deconstructing Darwin

Christian schools work to harmonize God, science

October 30, 2005

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - It's been 18 years since the U.S. Supreme Court barred public schools from teaching creationism in the classroom. Every year, however, millions of U.S. students sit in science class and learn that God created the world in six days.

These predominantly Christian school students learn that evolution theory contradicts biblical accounts of creation and is, therefore, a false theory.

Thousands of Christian schools educators across the country challenge evolutionary biology with what they claim to be an alternative theory on the origin of life. Several of these schools operate in the Mat-Su.

Scott Richardson is principal of Matanuska Christian School in downtown Palmer, where God and science are never too far apart.

&#8220The biggest problem in American education is that evolution is presented as a fact, and it is not - it is an unprovable theory,” he said Tuesday. &#8220I think the scientific evidence points to a creator or intelligent designer.”

Christian educators nationwide share these views and hold that religion and science should not be separated. They argue that evolution undermines the dignity of humankind and is incompatible with biblical teaching.

Matanuska Christian School, like other Christian schools in the Valley, uses education materials published by A Beka Book, one of the foremost producers of religious-based curricula in the U.S.

Located in Pensacola, Fla., A Beka claims to provide curriculum material for more than 1 million students in more than 10,000 schools and home-schools across the country.

A Beka's science books present the universe as the direct creation of God, refuting what it describes as &#8220the man-made idea of evolution.” The company's science books state that God is the &#8220Great Designer Š without whom, the design and laws of nature would be inexplicable.”

While A Beka primarily serves Protestant and nondenominational Christian schools, many Catholic schools, such as Lumen Christi High School in Anchorage, take a different position when reconciling science and God.

Lumen Christi principal Jim Yeargan said his school teaches standard evolutionary theory in high school science classes. Unlike some of its Protestant counterparts, Lumen Christi avoids teaching either creationism or its spin-off, intelligent design theory, which is less overtly religious but still proposes that the world is created by an intelligent designer.

&#8220The Catholic church does not have a problem with evolution,” Yeargan said Thursday, shortly after a schoolwide Mass. &#8220What we say is that at some point in time, God had a hand in creation - at some point God gave man a soul, but it is not necessary to mix scientific theory with religion.”

Lumen Christi students take a separate theology class, where they learn that God has a hand in creating the universe. The school does not try to explain scientifically when, where or how that happened.

Protestant and nondenominational Christian schools in the Valley, however, will expose students to evolutionary theory - but only in a qualified context.

Where evolution is mentioned in A Beka texts, it is described as an unproved or false theory. Another leading publisher of religious school curriculum, Bob Jones University Press, states in a seventh-grade science book that evolution is not true science because it contradicts biblical teaching.

Ken Nelson, principal of the Seventh-day Adventist school near the Alaska State Fairgrounds, said his school uses standard science textbooks, but when it comes to evolution, teachers make no attempt to appear impartial.

&#8220We let students see what evolutionists teach. We look at the same facts, but our students are exposed to the theory of evolution through creationist glasses,” he explained last week. &#8220We are very careful to give our belief.”

Valley Christian Schools educator Stephani Pine teaches science to fifth- and sixth-graders. Like Nelson, Pine exposes her students to evolution in a controlled environment.

She said her students find evolution hard to believe once they learn about the intricate complexity in the natural world.

&#8220How could this happen just through an explosion? It does not even make sense,” she said. &#8220Of course God made this. My students look at me like, ‘why would anyone believe evolution?'”

While mixing creationism theology with biology is perfectly legal in private-school settings, the same is prohibited in public education. Proponents of intelligent design, however, are attempting to make in-roads for teaching the idea that an intelligent designer created the universe.

Currently, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is hearing a case in Harrisburg in which a Pennsylvania school district requires science teachers to read a statement to Dover High School biology students saying intelligent design is an alternative to evolutionary theory.

As science teachers and educators across the country watch for the outcome of that intelligent design trial, Christian schools continue with the often-complicated project of reconciling God and science.

Despite the controversy surrounding evolution, Christian schools seem to agree on one thing - evolutionary theory, right or wrong, should be understood by contemporary students.

&#8220I want my kids to be informed,” said Wasilla Lake Christian School science teacher Colleen Hamblen. &#8220To not understand evolution is to be ignorant, and that is never a good thing.”

Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266, or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.