A Truth That Is Higher Than Science

A really interesting article about the teaching of evolution and creationism in schools. (And by interesting I mean it made me really mad by scorning Torah beliefs as ludicrous.)

I always have a hard time with these questions because as a religious Jew I believe that the earth was created 5,766 years ago, but as a student I can understand why teaching creationism as science raises serious questions.

In my high school, after we learned about evolution, which was necessary for the Regents, we had a shiur by a rabbi about what we as Jews believe happened. I know there are schools in New York which don't allow their students to answer the questions on evolution on the Regents, and that strikes me as silly.

We can't pretend that the theory doesn't exist. And probably many of those students will be exposed to some sort of theory of evolution in college -- better that they be taught it with the Torah context when they have the chance.

The point is, though, that evolution is science. It should be taught in the science classroom. Creationism is religion. And that's fine. I don't agree with the author when he calls the belief in creationism ignorance, but I also don't believe that religion should be taught in the science lab.


And while I, when given the choice between science and Torah, am going to pick Torah, I don't think it's our right to call our religious beliefs scientific, nor is it our right to make that decision for others just because we believe in a truth that is higher than science.

But it is our right to believe without being called ludicrous or ignorant for doing so.