Bill & Ken: a conversation I probably won't have with my (future) kids

I didn't watch Bill Nye the Science Guy very often when I was young, but every time I did, I found it fascinating.  I don't know why I didn't watch it very much - whether it was a conscious decision of my grandparents or if I didn't really find it as "fascinating" as I remember and I replaced it with such classics as I Love Lucy and the lesser Laverne & Shirley.  I always thought he was cool, though.  I remember watching the episode on planetary distances.  Each planet was set up as the correct size and in relative distance.  Bill Nye rode his bike from one to the other.  It was awesome.  And Pluto was still a planet!  Anyway, I feel now as though I should go back to watch some.

As I'm sure many of you are aware, Bill Nye and Ken Ham faced off for a debate concerning evolution and creation.

As most of you who know me will recognize, I'm a Christian.

Want to know something I keep under wraps - generally because I don't want to deal with the backlash of it?

I don't think it matters how we came into being.  I do think, however, that the debate itself is important.

I know.  I'm a terrible person, right?

Wrong.

I think that one of the greatest pursuits in life is to search out understanding.  I think that we should try our best to speak about the things which bother us, to talk about the things that matter to us, to consider the ideas of others as just as valid as our own.  Now, before you write me off as an idiot, consider this:  although I did abnormally well in the only philosophy class I ever took, the greatest frustration of my academic life was reading into authors' inner meanings and looking into historical events with a more critical eye than that of a "this happened, which led to this" learner.  I'm an English major who struggled through reading and listening to Pride & Prejudice, the whole time wanting to tear out my hair.  I went through the SparkNotes of Lord of the Flies because it was the first book I ever truly hated and the boredom of it put me to sleep.  I did a decent job of following along witht he novels and stories of my English curriculum not because I "liked to read" as so many people who met me during my college career assessed, but because I know this stuff is important, even if I don't like it.  There are authors I love whose books I need to re-read at a different time in my life.  Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat isn't a bad book, but it was a painful one to read when a loved one's life was crumbling due to alcoholism and in the aftermath of my first dealing with death.

So, you see, even if you don't agree, understanding is important.

Last night, when I was making dinner and about an hour and a half into the debate, I started to think about how I came to my "views" on the topic at hand.  You see, my origins upbringing has been a bit unique.  My science classroom time has been pretty evenly split between secular and parochial classrooms.  I learned about Biblical creation in Sunday School, of course, I memorized light years and distances in public school, and at home, when asking to be quizzed on my science homework, my grandmother was appalled by my answers to the questions.  "You don't believe that, do you?"  "I don't know, but I need to know it for my test tomorrow."  Then came the big Midwestern move.  Thankfully, my science teachers here didn't address the origins question.  Unfortunately, my religion teachers did - and if you disagreed, you were done for.

I don't see what all the fuss is about.  You probably think I'm stupid.

Then, while carrying the laundry up the stairs last night, I considered that even if it doesn't matter to me now, what Bill Nye has said in the past and during the debate might someday come into play.  He's still remarkably focused on the future generations, something which resonates with me because I was one of his first "future generation.

What will I tell my kids?

So, as I often do when such questions come up in my muddy and overfilled brain, I played out the conversation in my head.

*          *          *

"Mommy, we're learning about evolution in school."

"Oh?"

"Yes.  In Sunday school, we learned that God made everything."

"Mhmm..."

"And a kid at school said that to the teacher.  And some other kids laughed and someone said he was stupid at recess."

"Well, that wasn't very nice."

"What do we think?"

"About creation and evolution?"

"Yeah."

"Well, sweetie, that's kind of a complicated question.  Luckily, you've been blessed enough to be born into a family that's okay with complicated things.  You're getting pretty big now and I bet you've noticed that there are a lot of things that your Daddy and I don't agree on, but we don't fight about them, right?"

I imagine my future child will then nod.

"Okay.  Well, I tend to lean a little closer to the creation side of things and your Daddy tends to lean a little closer to the evolution side of things.  And a lot of people we know think  that which one you believe or think happened matters a lot.  Do you want to know a secret?"
"Sure."

"Daddy and I don't think it matters at all.  Think about it - we can't possibly ever know what really happened that long ago, can we?  We weren't there.  Something happened and we - and all sorts of wonderful things - are here now.  It's sort of like if you and I were here in the kitchen and heard the doorbell ring, but when we got to the front door, no one is there - but there are flowers by the door without a note or anything!"

"What would we do?"

"Well, I'd put them in a vase in the middle of the table and think how pretty they are and smell them and enjoy them as long as I could.  I think that we could consider who brought them and come up with a pretty good list - it could have been Daddy, Grandma, or someone else - but we might never know for sure.  Unless the person wanted to tell us.  I even think we could ask the people we think it might be and talk about the mystery flowers with other people - they might be able to come up with some more good guesses.  But I don't really see the point in getting mad at anyone else or thinking they're stupid because of what they think."

"Okay.  But what about evolution and creation?"

"Well, I believe that God created everything, but I don't know exactly how he did it - as much as I believe the Bible, I know that there are a lot of things in science and the Bible that I don't understand or fully accept.  I love going to the museum and seeing bones and fossils and I love the story of a loving Creator.  I don't know how it happened.  I don't really think it matters.  But I think it's important to know both sides and to be well-versed in them.  See, you're going to learning about evolution every school year from here on out and about creation at church each year, too!  Believing or thinking either way doesn't make you stupid or more or less of a Christian or the smarty-pants you are.  People just disagree on things - and that's okay.  We've talked about the right way to be before - loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled - right?  I think that all of that rolls into respect and that respecting one another is part of the 'Golden Rule.'  Do you remember that one?"

"Treat others the way you want to be treated?"

"Always keep that in your mind.  We won't love you any more or less if you believe differently or the same.  We'll always love you more than anything."

*          *          *

The hitch, of course, is that I doubt my child(ren) will need such a talk and I'm not planning to force it.  If he/she/they ask(s), I'll answer.  If not, I'm more than willing to bet that they're a lot like their parents.

I think mutual respect is one of the most important things in life.  I think that, with 40 minutes left of this debate to watch, each side has been respectful in its way.  I'll admit it's obvious that neither one is willing to yield.  And you know what, I think it's okay.  I'll not be telling you what to believe or think, but I think that whatever you do ought to be done with respect.