literal

It is a troubling thought that four out of every ten people in America believe that the Bible's account of creation in the mythical book of Genesis is literally and historically true. Apparently five of the six  Republicans who are possible candidates for the November election are among those who deny evolution and think mankind was created in the last 10,000 years. What is troubling is that so many Americans in positions of authority - airline pilots, doctors, teachers among them - reject the most obvious findings of science. How can a nation of such massive influence and power live in denial of truth? Not long ago a professor of theology, John Schneider, was obliged to resign his post at a 'Christian' university in Michigan because he questioned the creationists' belief that all humans desceneded from a real Adam and Eve, and denied that the 'fall' of man was an historical event. Evangelical Christians rose up in wrath to demand that he and a colleague should be fired. and he resigned being 'pressured to leave'. America is producing some profound theological thinkers who embrace evolutionary science as the only possible reason for us being here. But they face strong opposition from fundamentalists who insist that Charles Darwin was misguided. The idea that some of the most influential and powerful people on the planet are so opposed to enlightenment science is literally beyond belief. That there is a large element of churchgoing Brits who hold the same blind convictions indicate just how much the church and the education system have yet to do to explain how faith and science can live together in constructive harmony.