BEGINNINGS: SCIENCE AND RELIGION OFFER DIFFERENT ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION OF HOW LIFE BEGAN; PROFESSORS DISCUSS ISSUE OF CREATIONISM VERSUS EVOLUTION

Was it a Big Bang or the booming voice of God that created the planets? Did humankind evolve over eons or did God create man from dust?

How you choose to answer those questions depends on which theory you support: creationism or evolution.

Creationists believe God created all living matter on Earth. Evolutionists believe all species developed slowly over time through a process called natural selection.

In Kansas, students no longer will be asked questions on the theory of evolution on any assessment tests. The state Board of Education voted to eliminate any references to evolution on its state science tests.

The decision was backed by those who support creationism, but it waged the centuries-old debate about the origins of life.

It has been nearly 75 years since the famed Scopes trial in Tennessee when biology teacher John T. Scopes challenged a state ruling that prevented teaching evolution in public schools. It was a trial that polarized the nation and still often does.

Just because you believe one theory over the other doesn't mean there is a right or wrong answer, said a pair of Southeast Missouri State University professors.

Science is good at answering "how" questions, and religion is better at answering "why" questions, said Dr. Andy Pratt, a religious studies professor. "There are a lot of things in life we don't have answers for," he said.

Typically, evolution and creation are presented as a dichotomy, said Dr. Allen Gathman, a biology professor at the university. Students come to college and think if they are Christians they can't believe in evolution, he said.

Students get the idea that "science and religion are in conflict, but they are part of our lives and part of our reality," Pratt said.

They both present different views of the world.

Gathman wants students to be open to other views and look for evidence to support what they believe. "Because of the sensitivity of the issue, they are being taught as if it were just a bunch of received facts. All of science is theory."

Many biology students get their first lessons in evolution theory when they enter college because high schools don't include it as part of the curriculum.

"We start from scratch in biology, teaching in a lot of ways," Gathman said.

Pratt said teachers and administrators often skip over the topic because they are afraid to deal with it.

Not teaching the theory of evolution in schools is somewhat like taking a chemistry course without studying the periodic table of elements, Gathman said. "Everything about biology relates in some way to evolution."

In their course on science and religion, Pratt and Gathman try to explain that Genesis isn't a scientific description of creation but comes from a theological point of view.

You won't find scientific data in Genesis because that wasn't how the book was written, Gathman said.

"It's a theological statement that all that exists came from God," Pratt said. "Christianity is not about providing the answers but providing a relationship with a loving God."