A recent Gallup poll shows that more than 4 in 10 Americans continue to believe that
God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago.
Half of Americans
believe humans evolved, with the majority of these saying God guided the
evolutionary process. However, the percentage who say God was not
involved is rising.
Americans who adhere to a strict secularist
viewpoint -- that humans evolved over time, with God having no part in
this process - has doubled since 1999.
In 2007, 86% of Americans were familiar with creationism. Now, only 76% are familiar.
What does this mean for Children's Ministry? It means we must make sure "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" is an important part of our curriculum strategy.
Scientist Bill Nye, who hosted the children's television show Bill Nye the Science Guy, recently released a video that attacks Biblical creationism and urges parents who reject evolution not to teach their beliefs to their children.
Bill said, "If you want to deny evolution and live in your world that's completely inconsistent with everything we've observed in the universe that's fine. But don't make your kids do it."
The video, titled "Creationism Is Not Appropriate for Children," was posted last Thursday on YouTube and had netted more than 1.3 million views as of yesterday.
Nye said widespread public doubt in the scientific concept of evolution - which holds that human beings and all other forms of life developed from a process of random genetic mutation and natural selection - would hinder a country long renowned for its innovation, intellectual capital and a general grasp of science.
"When you have a portion of the population that doesn't believe in (evolution) it holds everybody back, really," he said.
According to a Gallup poll that surveyed 1,012 adults in May, 46 percent of Americans can be described as creationists for believing that God created humans in their present form at some point within the last 10,000 years.
There is a battle going on for the hearts of children. The enemy seeks to destroy the next generation's faith in God's Word. We must be diligent to teach children that the Bible is God's Word and they can trust it from Genesis all the way to Revelation. We must step up and produce more resources that reinforce the Biblical truth of creationism.
