Video by outspoken creationist to screen at Rye
Posted on 04/09/08
Written by Joyce Yip
A Ryerson student group is screening a creationism video seminar that professors call “stupid” and “unscholarly.”
On Thursday, the Ryerson chapter of Morning Star Christian Fellowship will be showing The Age of the Earth, a video seminar by Kent Hovind, an American Young Earth Creationist who is currently serving 10 years in prison for tax evasion and other federal charges.
The video uses evidence from the Bible to prove that the earth was created in seven days and that the planet is only 6000 years old, not billions of years as evolutionary scientists claim.
Eunice Bae, the president of the Morning Star Fellowship, says that by highlighting the key points of the Bible, this video effectively brings creationism into the spotlight for the Ryerson community.
“This way, we can share the Christian beliefs with more people and I’d definitely like for them to have a deeper insight into Christianity after this video,” she says.
However, faculty in Ryerson’s Department of Chemistry and Biology reject creationism as a valid theory.
“I think the belief in Biblical creationism is stupid,” says Mario Estable, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology. “There’s no evidence to back it up. So, if he (Hovind) believes in that then he’s not very scholarly.”
Angela Chen, a second-year Early Childhood Education student supports the seminar.
“Ryerson is pretty much a diverse community with a broad range of cultures and beliefs, so I think the video opens a new viewpoint for students,” she says. “So what if it’s so-called ‘unscholarly’?”
Dr. Ellen W. Larsen, an Evolutionary Science professor in University of Toronto’s Department of Cell and Systems Biology, agrees with Chen.
“Everything I’ve seen so far makes me believe that our evolutionary theory seems to be the correct one, but it doesn’t mean that our version is fully complete. So, I think it’s up to free and open discourse,” she says.
Despite the amount of evidence behind evolution theories, Larsen believes that both science and creationism are valid belief systems.
“I think both should be heard. They make you examine your beliefs, and I think challenging people to understand a belief without evidence is one of the most useful things in university,” she says. “As long as you don’t force it down anybody’s throat.”
The video will be screened in Room 310 in The Student Campus Centre at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 10.
