All language subtitles for Evolution Ep 7 What About God

NARRATOR:
The majesty of our earth,
the beauty of life,

are they the result of a natural
process called "evolution"

or the work of a divine creator?

This question is at the heart
of a struggle

that has threatened to tear
our nation apart.

That's an outdated
religious book.

NARRATOR:
For fundamentalist Christians
like Ken Ham

evolution is an evil
that must be fought.

You can't hold up
your moral here.

Well, I think it's a war.

It's a real battle
between world views.

NARRATOR:
For embattled teachers
in Lafayette, Indiana,

evolution is a truth
that must be defended.

I think they think someone
will come out a victor

and I don't believe that
that's going to be the case.

NARRATOR:
For Christian students
at Wheaton College

evolution is an idea
that is hard to accept.

Where is God's place

if everything does have
a natural cause?

NARRATOR:
For all of us,
the future of religion, science

and science education are
at stake

in the creation-evolution
debate.

Today, even as science
continues to provide evidence

supporting the theory
of evolution

for millions of Americans, the
most important question remains:

"What about God?"

(applause)

MAN:
Well, good evening, everyone.

Welcome to High Mill.

Father, in the name of Jesus,
we thank you for this ministry

for Ken Ham and for the truth
that he brings

to Canton, Ohio, here tonight.

In Jesus's name, amen.

(guitar playing lively tune)

WOMAN:
Thank you.

MAN:
Oh, that sounds real good.

Everybody, here we go.

(people clapping to music)

MAN:
"I don't believe in evolution,
I know creation's true"

"I believe that God above
created me and you"

"So praise his name
for what he made"

"Give credit where it's due"

"I don't believe in evolution,
I know creation's true."

NARRATOR:
Over 140 years after Charles
Darwin first seemed to challenge

the creation accounts in Genesis

many conservative Christians are
more committed than ever

to fighting the war
against evolution.

Today, they have come here

to the High Mill Church
of the Resurrection

for some basic training.

"I didn't crawl out of a pond
or swing down from a tree"

"Adam is my ancestor
and not a chimpanzee"

"God created everything,
in six days he was through"

"So the Big Bang theory's
just a dud"

"And the million years
are, too."

(song ends)

(cheering and applause)

HAM:
If you look at
what the Bible says

if we start with
the revealed word of God

and we build our thinking
on the Bible

it tells us about the history
of the universe

from beginning to end.

It says that God made
everything...

NARRATOR:
Today, Biblical literalism has
no more forceful an advocate

than Ken Ham.

5,000 to 10,000 people visit
his Web site every day.

And his 250 lectures each year
reach over a million people

eager to hear his message

that we need to look no further
than the Bible

to find the truth
about who we are.

HAM:
I think it means Adam took fruit
from the tree, you know?

You see, people say

"You have a particular
interpretation of Genesis."

I don't think so.

I think I just read it.

And what it says is
what it means.

Other people interpret it
and they get into trouble.

That's the problem, I think.

Now, I believe God created
in six literal days

and I believe it's important.

I believe it relates
to the authority of scripture

and the Gospel.

Now, people say to me,
"Well, look, the point is

"the word 'day' can mean
something other

than an ordinary day."

That's true.

I had a pastor once who said

"But the word 'day' can mean
something other

than an ordinary day."

And I said, "But it can also
mean an ordinary day."

He said, "But it can also mean
something other

than an ordinary day."

I said, "But it can also mean
an ordinary day.

"Does the word 'day'
ever mean day?

"Can day mean day
or doesn't day mean day?

"And when does day mean day?

Can you give me an example
when day means day?"

(laughter)

The Bible says God created
the earth covered with water

the sun, moon and stars
on day four.

Well, that's very different
to the Big Bang.

If the Big Bang is true

well, the Bible got it wrong
in astronomy.

The Bible says there was
a global flood.

But today we have a lot
of people saying

"No, there wasn't."

But if the Bible gets it wrong
in geology

and the Bible says God made
distinct kinds of animals

and plants to reproduce
after their own kind

well, today evolutionists
would say

"No, one kind of animal changed
into another

over millions of years."

So the Bible gets it wrong
in biology

then why should I trust
the Bible

when it talks about morality
and salvation?

On this foundation here of
creation, God's word is truth.

"You sinner, repent
of your sin."

People understand.

"Abortion is wrong."

People understand.

"Homosexual behavior is wrong."

People understand.

But on this foundation,
"You, sinner..."

"What are you talking about?"

On this foundation of evolution,
man determines truth.

"Homosexual behavior is wrong."

"No, it's not."

"Abortion is wrong."

"No, it's not."

You see, what has happened

is that this nation has changed
foundation.

And so have other nations
around the world.

NARRATOR:
Ken Ham is not
the first defender of the faith

who is challenging
accepted views of science

to justify a literal reading
of Genesis.

Back in 1925, William Jennings
Bryan capped his long career

as a crusader
for Christian values

by upholding
the state of Tennessee's law

banning the teaching
of evolution

at the famous
Scopes Monkey Trial.

Despite a scathing attack
on his creationist views

Bryan prevailed.

Scopes was fined $100.

Within four years

37 anti-evolution bills had been
introduced in 20 states.

It had a chilling effect
on the teaching of evolution

and the publishers
of science textbooks.

For decades

Darwin seemed to be locked out
of America's public schools.

But then, evolution received
an unexpected boost

from a very unlikely source:

the Soviet Union.

In 1957, Americans were
horrified to learn

that their Cold War communist
rivals had beaten the U.S.

into outer space with the launch
of the satellite called Sputnik.

The Space Race was on.

Scientific education became
a national priority.

And as long-neglected
science programs were revived

in America's classrooms,
evolution was, too.

Biblical literalists have been
doing their best

to discredit Darwin's theory
ever since.

HAM:
I want to teach you something
very special this morning.

The next time somebody says
"millions of years ago"

I want you to put your hand up
and say

"Excuse me," in a nice way,
you say, "Were you there?"

Can you remember that?

Next time somebody says
"millions of years ago"

what do you say?

CONGREGATION:
Were you there?

HAM:
Boy, I couldn't hear that.

Next time somebody says
"millions of years ago"

what do you say?

CONGREGATION (shouting):
Were you there?!

HAM:
And you know what,
moms and dads?

The world scoffs at those of us

who believe in Noah's flood
and Noah's ark.

Why let the world scoff
by putting Noah's ark...

making it look
like a fairy tale?

It wasn't a fairy tale;
it was a real boat, wasn't it?

What happened?

Fountains of the deep broke open
all over the earth

volcanoes, tidal waves.

But of course, all the animals,
including dinosaurs, on the ark

were safe, weren't they?

What happened to those
that didn't go on the ark?

They drowned.

Then what happened?

They were covered in mud.

What would you expect to find?

Fossils.

In fact, as Buddy sang

you'd expect to find
billions of dead things

buried in rock layers laid down
by water all over the earth.

And boys and girls, do you know
what you find?

You find billions of dead things
buried in rock layers

laid down by water
all over the earth.

BUDDY:
"Well, there really was
a worldwide flood,"

"just look at
the stony curse"

"With billions of dead things,
buried in rock layers,"

"laid down by water
all over the Earth."

Real good singing
for the morning.

Let's see if we can make
the whole town hear us.

NARRATOR:
If you've been told
all your life

that the billions of dead things
buried in the earth

got there because
of a worldwide flood

the evidence for an ancient
earth comes as a shock.

MAN:
So we do see evidence of change,
but how that change has occurred

whether it has occurred
through some sort of a...

as Darwin would have said,
some sort of a natural selection

or if it's taken place
through some sort of a design

if God has been directly
involved

in what we see as evolution,
that's a bigger question.

I think it's a more troubling
question

for an awful lot of Christians
as well.

WOMAN:
We actually have a watering hole

that existed here
about 33 million years ago.

And many of the animals
would die in this area

leaving their
carcasses behind.

And that's where we see
a lot of the skeletons.

NARRATOR:
At the Wheaton College
Science Station

in the Black Hills
of South Dakota

the shock of the new has started
more than one student

on his or her way

to an understanding
of evolutionary history.

YOUNG MAN 1:
You said the age of the site was
around 30 million years old?

How did you come to that age?

Like, through what processes
did you decide on that age

and come to that conclusion?

MAN:
When we have independent ages

of, say, about 30 million years
for the ashes

and then we find fossils
that represent

that type of development
evolution-wise across the world

that makes sense.

YOUNG MAN 2:
What do you do when the evidence
is before you?

You're a scientist,
the evidence is before you

and you want to say

"Well, then this completely goes
against my whole upbringing.

"This completely goes
against everything

"I have known to be true
thus far.

Can I toss it out the window?"

That's a struggle
I've gone through this year.

Where is God?

BAIRD:
Here, you look at it
and tell me.

NARRATOR:
Nathan Baird is a geology major

in his final year
at Wheaton College in Illinois.

BAIRD:
I believe we're good to go.

NARRATOR:
This quiet campus is
at the eye of a storm

raging over opposing views
about how life developed.

Wheaton, one of the top 50
schools in America, is committed

to exposing its students
to the discoveries of science.

But as a Christian college,
it is also committed

to preserving their faith
in the God of the Bible.

Students here are part

of the largest religious group
in America,

conservative Christians.

For them, conflicts between
adherence to the Christian faith

and the assertions
of evolutionary theory

are not just political
or academic

they are personal.

MAN:
The emotions are very real

and they do play into
the whole picture, I think

and it's because it's
about something

that's to do with human beings.

It's to do with our very,
very souls, our very existence

and that's what makes it so
important, I think.

NARRATOR:
Wheaton calls itself
a marketplace of ideas.

But some students
inevitably feel threatened

as they confront
ways of thinking

without precedent in the world
from which they came.

BAIRD:
I was definitely, definitely
indoctrinated in...

along those lines of

"This is how Genesis 1 and 2
entails the story of creation.

And this is how it's got to be."

And yes, evolution was portrayed
as an evil, you know;

it was Satan's doing, and it's
something that, you know

is the demise of the Church
if we even listen to it.

As a kid, I had
the questions of...

"Well, how did God create
the earth?"

and, you know, "Well, let's go
back to Genesis 1," you know

"and let's read the account."

And it's: God formed it,
he separated the expanses

he created day and night.

But my mind wants to know
the details;

it wants to know what happened.

He has asked
difficult questions.

Nathan has asked
difficult questions.

But I think that that's
the kind of person he is.

He is not willing just to take
just what everybody else says

or believe it because that's
what everybody else believes.

I think that he is really

the kind of person who wants
to get into the nitty-gritty

and wants to get real...
really understand.

BAIRD:
One thing that I've realized is

in talking with
my mom and stuff, going home

I go home, she's, "So, what,
are you an evolutionist now?"

And it's the great evil.

It's the great unknown evil,
though.

It's not even discussed.

And that's what
kind of perturbs me is

before I came to Wheaton,
one of my Mom's friends said

"Don't let him go there;
that's such a liberal school."

And at first when I talked
to him on the phone one time

I was a little nervous,
and I think I even said to Jim

something to the effect that I
hoped he hasn't lost his faith.

CONGREGATION:
"We cry, 'Holy, holy, holy'"

"We cry, 'Holy, holy, holy'"

NARRATOR:
Long before Wheaton students
like Nathan arrive on campus

the most important lesson
they have learned

is that the Bible is true,
from the very first word.

PATTI:
I think that the reason
why our church is growing,

and our pastor would say
the same thing,

is because he preaches the word
of God, and that's all he does.

He goes line upon line,
verse upon verse, book by book.

And that is the only reason

why our church is growing
as fast as it is.

This world in which we live
has convinced us

that this life is all about

our getting what we want
when we want it

and supplying all of our needs

so that we can enjoy
all of this life.

But the Bible tells us
very clearly

that this life is not
about you and me.

This life that you and I live
is all about God.

BAIRD:
Coming home is
a good thing for me

because I get to be in much more
discussion with my parents

and being reminded that, you
know, I'm one of four kids.

I have a fianc�.

I have a grandma who I go over
and I mow her lawn.

I'm not just a person who sits

and studies physical chemistry
all day.

And that's why, for me

it's always been good
when at Wheaton

to call home and to talk
to Dad and Mom

or when at home to be
in conversation with them.

BAIRD:
Thank you for these times you've
blessed us with as a family.

And we just thank you
for this time, Lord

and for the
beautiful day

and that we could have
a barbecue family time outside

this evening,
Lord.

We thank you for all
you've done for us.

In Jesus' name,
we pray.

ALL:
Amen.

He forgets
Melissa.

And be with my
fianc�, Melissa.

Can I have a little bit
of steak?

PATTI:
Yeah.

BAIRD:
I would say Christians
in general

and myself included

don't know anything
about evolution.

So when we're bashing it
or when we're telling...

just dismissing it
outright

we're not even
understanding what it says.

And to me, to understand
that God created

will never change.

No matter how much
science discovers

God tells us,
and I believe it,

that man's wisdom
is foolishness.

To me, that tells me
if I don't go

and I don't study
to become a preacher

then it's foolishness.

No, no,
no, no.

I know you're not
saying that

but when you say man's wisdom
is foolishness

then why can't
a Christian scientist

come to the conclusions
that evolution is true?

We have to define
what evolution is.

I heard a guy say

that he holds wholeheartedly
to the evolutionary theory

as the best fit
to its data.

What does he mean
from that?

He probably means it started
with the Big Bang, um, and...

Then he has
to be wrong.

And that's
where I would say no.

Why can't God do the Big Bang,
and why can't God...

I can't agree
on that.

Which day
did he do it?

I'm not exactly sure

the whole day stuff
is my cup of tea.

BOY:
Maybe he yelled bang...

What's that,
he yelled bang?

BOY:
On the seventh day.

I'm not saying science is...
is worthless

but if a scientist's goal
in life is to prove

that Darwinism is the way that
we got here

he is going to die
a very disappointed man.

The thing that I don't
necessarily appreciate

about the Christian
community

is the dismissal of all things
of evolution

as being just
a natural evil.

And that's how I feel things
are taught to students,

growing up
in a Christian school

or a Christian church
or whatever,

is that, at the mention
of evolution, you run.

And I think that's almost
ridiculous.

And as a scientist,
as a Christian

I would like to understand
those things.

And I would not like to say,
"Oh, well, God just did it."

That's not an answer, one,
that holds much for me

or two, that will
hold much in the world.

Does that
frighten you, Mom?

No, that doesn't frighten me

because I know he'll have
the ability to search it out.

So it doesn't frighten me.

But Darwin

as I understand his teaching,
maybe I'm wrong,

made a direct frontal assault
to Genesis 1.

And if he is going to say
that man evolved

from some slimy thing
in a stream...

GIRL:
We call it a fish.

I feel it's appropriate
for me to tell...

to tell him he's wrong

because I know
man didn't.

Okay, because...

BAIRD:
I don't know
if man did or didn't.

Then you're saying that
we had one slimy thing

and he...
and it created Adam.

Another slimy thing
created Eve.

And it's
from Adam and Eve...

That's such a gross, um...

gross simplification
of evolution.

I understand.

But that's the most
important element...

But God's infusion of His self
and of His spirit into...

Mom, help me out here.

...into humans was
a supernatural thing

no matter how we look at it.

Whether he picked up dust
and like the Snickers commercial

where you used to have peanuts
in your hand

and you get
a Snickers bar

whether it was dust
and man.

And then God says, "Poof,"
you know

"I'm in you"...

So you're saying God created
the elephants and the giraffes

and...
and he created man.

He looked around
and said

"Which one do I think
is the best

to represent my nature?"

And he said,
"Oh, it must be man.

"So we'll make
man intelligent

and give him the ability
to reason and to think."

I don't know.

GIRL:
Oh, yeah.

BAIRD:
As I've tried to open up
and tried to at least catch

what is true
and what is not true

I want my dad to be open
to that, too.

He's... he's a...

I wouldn't say stubborn,
but he's a firm man.

But I wanted him
to at least consider

and have an open mind
towards the things

that I have an open mind towards

such that I can go ahead
and say with freedom

the things that I would consider
a possibility.

Well, the only thing
I have a concern about

in his exploring evolution,
as I understand it

is that if Nathan spent
his life work

trying to explain creation

he would come one step short

and that's
the miraculous element

that God introduced
that no man can explain.

So if his hope
and his dream in life

is to explain creation

he is going to die
a disappointed man

because you can't explain
the miraculous.

He was laying down the line
where he would stop

and I was just trying
to tell him

"I'm not sure
I would stop there.

"I might go over the hill

"go over the ridge
a little bit further

to explore and see
what God has over there."

(bell chiming)

NARRATOR:
But back at Wheaton

exploration beyond the limits
imposed by parents and pastors

can take students
to some very disturbing places.

Some of the most
troubling questions

come not just from science,
but from the Bible itself.

WOMAN:
How do we make sense
of sin coming into this world?

If we evolved from apes

did just one day an ape woke up
and decided that he had...

God said, "You are humans now

"and so I'm going
to give you a soul

"that is responsible
to know right from wrong

"and who my son,
Jesus Christ, will die for

"after you've populated
the whole planet

with your little humans"?

So, the...

There's that to deal with

and when you look at some
of the family trees in the Bible

they all go back to Adam or
refer to a descendant of Adam.

So we seem to think
that Adam was an actual person

and I don't know
how to make sense of that.

NARRATOR:
Emi Hayashi is studying
to be a veterinarian.

She went to a Christian
elementary school

but a secular high school.

At Wheaton,
she is struggling to reconcile

their opposing lessons.

In high school,
they automatically

discounted the Bible

versus, in my Southern
Baptist church

they automatically discounted
evolution.

So these two paradigms
were just completely separated.

High school, it was...

It was tough, and yet
at the same time

I think it made my faith
a lot stronger

because I was constantly tested
on my faith.

People expected me
to be a Christian

and they didn't know
what a Christian was.

I usually take
the defense of evolution

only because I get annoyed
when I hear a Christian say

"Well, it has
to be six-day creation.

The Bible says so."

Of course, I just flip
to the opposite side.

And I play the devil's advocate

and that's not necessarily
a good thing to do.

But it's more fun,
it's intellectually challenging

to be able to think
from a point of view

that you might not necessarily
agree with.

MAN:
If you look at the Bible,
if you look at scripture...

NARRATOR:
But for most Wheaton students

this is more
than an intellectual challenge.

Debates over creation
and evolution

go to the very heart
of their ideas

about who they are
and why they exist.

And no part of Darwin's theory

is more troubling
for conservative Christians

than the claim
that we have descended

from nonhuman ancestors

and not from Adam and Eve.

I'm leaning
towards the idea

that at some certain point
in hominid evolution

God gave his spirit to hominids,
making us human.

I don't believe early hominids
were human.

I believe that we're
categorically different

and that we do have a soul
and we do have a relationship

to the creator of the universe.

But I don't know
where that happened.

I don't know
if there was one Adam

or if it was a group of people.

I haven't decided that yet.

Well, I was going to disagree

with your Adam being
a group of people.

I haven't decided
about that.

What do
you mean?

Well, I think theologically

Adam has to be an individual.

Paul basically says flat out

since sin came through one man,
and he means Adam

so salvation, redemption comes
through one man, Jesus Christ.

And so personally,
I'm all... I'm all...

WOMAN:
Like, do you
think he was...

he was, like, one of a group or
there was just one?

Depends on how you
interpret "man"

to take that paraphrase
of the...

NARRATOR:
At Wheaton today,
students are free to argue

the possibilities
of a literal or an allegorical

or a multiple Adam and Eve.

But for their professors

open debate on this subject
is impossible

thanks to the controversy
stirred up

by one man's remarks
almost 40 years ago.

MAN:
At that time,
I had hardly been on the campus

of a Christian college before.

I had an entirely
secular education

but I had been a Christian
for a long time.

So being on a Christian campus
was kind of new to me

and I'm not sure
I knew exactly how to behave

and probably didn't
behave very well.

NARRATOR:
In 1961, at a Wheaton symposium

on Christianity
and human origins

Walter Hearn told the crowd

that the same chemical processes

that bring each of us
into existence today

could have produced
Adam and Eve.

When the news got out, Wheaton
found itself under attack.

What had happened
is that some reporter

for a very conservative
Christian paper

which was called
The Sword of the Lord,

which you can tell
from the title of it

that it wasn't exactly,
you know, a peacemaking outfit,

this guy had been really upset

by my remarks or by the style.

NARRATOR:
"It is time for all of us
to be shocked!"

thundered The Sword of the Lord.

"Wheaton has swallowed
a wholesale dose of evolution

"by allowing
such men as Walter Hearn

"to express their wild viewpoint

"on the campus
of a Christian college.

"Untold numbers
of Christian people

are seriously concerned
about Wheaton."

Fundamentalists
flooded the school

with hundreds of protest letters

including one from the mother
of a Wheaton student.

WOMAN (dramatized):
"Twice I have heard that
the college is growing liberal

"that they teach evolution
at Wheaton...

"What grieves me most

"is that our daughter
may lose her faith at Wheaton.

"Is this possible?

"If her faith should be
shattered or even shaken

I'd rather see her dead."

NARRATOR:
To reassure concerned alumni
and parents

Wheaton ordered
every member of the faculty

to sign a statement of faith
affirming their belief

in mankind's direct descent

from two real people
named Adam and Eve

who had been created by God.

Today, every professor
at Wheaton

is still required
to sign this statement.

MAN:
The reason why,
as I understand it,

that Wheaton College continues
to maintain the existence

of a historical Adam and Eve
in its statement of faith

is simply because the existence
of those two people

occupies a key theological role

in everything else
that we believe.

Evangelical Christians and,
indeed, all orthodox Christians

believe that Jesus had to come

and sacrifice himself
on the cross

and then conquer death
by rising from the dead.

Why did he have to do that?

He had to do it
because all of humanity

was in bondage to universal sin.

And then that leads
to the question

of where did that come from?

Well, that in turn came

from what Christians
have historically believed

was a historical fall
by two human parents who bore,

in a sense,
carried along with them,

bore with them
the rest of the human race

in what happened.

And so Adam and Eve, in fact,
play a very strategic role

in all of the theology

of what Christians have
historically believed.

(bell ringing)

NARRATOR:
40 years after Walter Hearn
shook the campus

with his shocking remarks

Wheaton is ready to try again.

MAN:
The branching tree of life
constructed from the DNA...

NARRATOR:
To help their students take
a fresh look at the evidence

Wheaton professors asked

Kansas State University
geologist Keith Miller,

a devout Christian

and advocate
for the teaching of evolution,

to give the keynote address
at a symposium

on the fossil record
in geologic history.

MILLER:
So my response was

to come to present myself

as a strong advocate
for the teaching of evolution

and for the centrality
of evolution

as a unifying scientific theory

and at the same time

make very clear my evangelical
Christian position.

Many evangelical Christians
like myself

and historically, again,
since the time of Darwin

have seen no necessary conflict
between the two.

What does the fossil
record tell us?

Are there transitional
forms preserved in
the fossil record?

And my answer is
a resounding yes, lots of them.

But first we have to know
what is a transitional form

and I'll go back
to Darwin's definition

of a transitional form.

NARRATOR:
Keith Miller's message
to these Christian students

is that all the evidence,

from the ancient fossil record
to the latest DNA analysis,

compels us to accept
the evolutionary theory in full.

But for some Wheaton students

the implications of our descent
from a common ancestor

are still troubling.

How do you connect
the Genesis account

of man being unique
in God's eyes

and we're made
in the image of God

with us descending
from a common ancestor?

I think understanding
what it means

to be made in the image of God

is a very, very
important question.

Um...

I personally do not believe

that the image of God
is connected

to our physical appearance

or our origin

as far as how
we were brought into being.

YOUNG WOMAN:
This is kind of a weird question

but do you think
he just picked an organism or...

and, like, said, "Okay, I'm
going to put my soul in him"?

MILLER:
I think one possibility is

that God chose Adam and Eve

out amongst the other humans
that existed at the time

and said, "I am going to make
you a soulful, spiritual being

in communion with me."

I think that's
a viable possibility.

YOUNG WOMAN:
Thanks.

I found it very, very good.

I mean, I really...

I thought to myself
what a freeing thing it is

that he would say
very unapologetically

"This is my position.

"I buy completely into
the theory of evolution.

"This is the way it is.

This is the way
it's going to be."

Just from what I heard
from Dr. Miller

I talked it over
with my roommate afterwards

and what was refreshing,
she and I think a lot alike

so this wasn't
terribly surprising,

but for us it was
incredibly refreshing

to have someone come
and blatantly say

"I am an evangelical Christian
and I believe in evolution"

and to not blink.

That was very exciting
for both of us.

Because I feel
that sometimes

the professors here
may believe that

but they can't openly come out
and say, "This is what I feel"

because it's like coming out
of the closet almost

in our interpretation.

You don't want to do that

because then
someone may label you

a liberal,
you know.

God forbid.

(blows note on pitch pipe)

NARRATOR:
The symposium may have reassured
students like Emi Hayashi

that Christianity
and evolution can coexist.

But not everyone on campus
feels so comfortable

with Darwin and his theory.

YOUNG MEN:
"...Turning and turning"

"We come round right..."

NARRATOR:
Peter Slayton is
an anthropology major, a singer

and, he says, a Texan born
in the Bible Belt.

For him, the arguments
for evolution

still aren't strong enough

to overcome the convictions
he brought with him to Wheaton.

(singing a round)

SLAYTON:
At this point,
I'm still asking questions.

Like, I don't know...

If I had to pick a side

I would probably pick
young Earth creationism

just because that's
what I grew up with

that's what
I'm comfortable with

and, so far,
nothing in evolution

has been able to convince me,
like, soundly

that this is
the way it happened.

One, two, three.

"The gift to..."

Why don't you
play with this

after we're
done singing?

Yeah, after we're done singing.

SLAYTON:
I think what upsets me
about the issue is

the fact that,
one way or another

you're called
to reinterpret something.

Like, if you pick sides, the
other side's going to accuse you

of either doing bad science
or doing bad theology

and, like, either way, it's
like a lose-lose situation.

You can't really pick sides
and do everything right.

What bugs me the most is, um,
students or maybe people

who, um, don't know a lot about
the issues, try to threaten me

by saying, "If you
believe this," you know

"you're not really believing
the Bible is true" or whatever.

NARRATOR:
Beth Stuebing, a premed student
in her final year at Wheaton

is the daughter of missionaries.

She grew up in Zambia,
surrounded by nature.

STUEBING:
We lived kind of outside of town
in the forest

and we just kept
all sorts of pets

like chameleons, bush babies,
snakes, you name it.

So we were always kind of
surrounded by nature.

And I didn't really grow up
with the baggage of, you know

"Six-day creation is
the only way to go."

And so, from an early age

I was just taught to be open

to a lot of different ideas.

And I think that was
really beneficial.

Point two.

Point two.

STUEBING:
One of the things that
I've thought a lot about is

just how God works in us,
where is God's place

if everything
does have a natural cause?

And it's been difficult for me,
especially being in science

to think about that
in an intellectual way.

HAYASHI:
So, I was hoping,
by coming to Wheaton

that I could be in a
Christian environment

where I could think.

That was really, really
important to me

because I wanted the Bible

brought into
some of these issues

that I thought about in science.

That was important to me.

But at the same time

I didn't want to have
someone open the Bible

and say, "This is how
you will interpret the Bible."

We can't have that many idiots
out there in science.

That's just not possible.

So for a Christian to point

their finger at a scientist

and say, "You're wrong"

without having any understanding
of what they're talking about

is laughable.

Just as if a scientist laughs
at someone's theology

who's never cracked
the Bible at all.

Again, it's the same thing.

You can't do it one way
or the other.

It's just...
they have to understand

where scientists
are coming from.

They have to understand this is
the data, this is what we have.

Now can you make sense
of that with the Bible?

Okay, my question
for you is

how many of you have turned out
to be more confused

now that you've been at Wheaton
than you were when you came?

Okay, well, that's
interesting in itself.

But, uh, what
does that mean?

I mean, confused
in what sense?

Are you going out

having lost
your faith or...

BAIRD:
It's a struggle.

It's a struggle in my life
to go back and forth

where, where does God infuse
his image in us?

Where does God select us?

I want that warm, fuzzy feeling

of, God specifically took his
hands, if he has hands

and picked up some stuff
and put me together

whether it's taking my DNA

and putting the nucleotides
together or what.

I want something
like that.

HAYASHI:
I think to a certain degree
it's expected

that you do believe
in six-day creation.

I think so.

I would almost gather that's
the overall theme on this campus

though you're not condemned
for believing in evolution

I... there's a distinction.

Because six-day creation
is taught in Sunday school

and I'd say 75% of us

come from the Sunday school
background

so that's all we've learned.

And we've been taught
by our Sunday school teachers

"Evolution is bad;
evolution is of the devil.

So therefore, whatever they say,
just don't believe it."

NARRATOR:
For students like Emi Hayashi

biblical literalism no longer
defines their faith.

But for Ken Ham

the frequently repeated
fundamentalist expression

still holds true:
God said it; I believe it;

That settles it.

HAM:
What are these, Buddy?

You're a dinosaur expert.

BUDDY:
Okay, that's
Triceratops.

You don't see many
Noah's ark models

with dinosaurs
going on the ark.

No, you don't, but dinosaurs
were land animals

and all land animals
would have went on the ark

so it needs to be done.

NARRATOR:
Ham and millions of other
conservative Christians

are convinced that it is
the biblical story

not the evolutionary story, that
America's children need to hear

not just in Sunday school,
but in every school.

Yes, we are concerned

about what's happening
in high schools.

We're concerned about what's
happening in the culture.

We're concerned that whole
generations of children

are coming through
an education system

basically devoid
of the knowledge of God.

Ultimately, if you're just
a mixture of chemicals

what is life all about?

Why this sense of hopelessness,
this sense of purposelessness?

And the reason is

because they're given
no purpose and meaning in life.

WOMAN:
If you aren't
on the computer tutorial today

at least beginning it

and getting a good...
a good piece of that done

you're not going to finish it up
before the end of the unit.

And is that all we
have to tell them?

Yep, that's it;
let's go.

Okay, let's go!

And if this were
something to eat...

Let me borrow this
a second, Joe.

NARRATOR:
Claire McKinney, a scientist and
Christian in Lafayette, Indiana

is one of thousands of
high school science teachers

across the country
caught in the ongoing struggle

between biblical literalism
and evolution.

The stakes are high, for
teachers and students alike.

Oh...

McKINNEY:
When I was the same age as
the students that I now teach

my experience was
much the same as theirs

coming from
a strong Christian home

and active involvement
in my church.

I did accept that the Bible
was the word of God

and not to be challenged.

And I did accept that.

And then, as a teenager

when I really started having
an increased interest

in the sciences

and really started looking
at scientific method

and what makes science
science, and...

they seemed contrary to me.

NARRATOR:
McKinney knew
that some of her students

were feeling these same
frustrations over the conflicts

between what they had learned in
their Sunday schools and homes

and what they were learning
in her class.

But she never expected them

to take matters
into their own hands.

She was taken aback when the
students circulated a petition

demanding that something
they call "special creation"

be added to their
science curriculum.

McKinney and her fellow teachers
were even more surprised

when over half the students
in the school

and 35 members of the faculty
signed on

in support of their cause.

MAN:
When I looked at the paper
yesterday morning

the five pictures I saw were

outstanding kids
that are outstanding students

that did very well
in this class.

And I was
really surprised

to see some of them
sitting in that picture

because I thought they
understood the difference

between science
and non-science.

And it's fairly
obvious to me

that if they did
at one time

they don't right now.

All the teachers,
you always hear that

"We do not accept or reject
the existence of God."

But when they're accepting
biology so freely

and saying it's the only way

then, I mean, they might not
directly be saying it

but indirectly
that's what they mean.

BOY:
Why are we
so afraid

about mentioning
that there is a God

if, in fact, about 80%,
I would say

in the world believe

there is a God?

If you have
a religion

and unless you're
an atheist

which I'm sure is
a small minority

then there is a God.

You believe, hey, there is
a higher being out there

and even if you're
afraid to admit that

if you're afraid
to admit that in class

because, ooh, you'd be
pressing on someone

that there is a God

wouldn't you be
just as afraid

to press on someone
there isn't a God?

That, to me, is
a scary world.

GIRL:
It just shocks me

that we could find
all this information

to support special creation

and they say
there's none out there.

It's, like,
where are you looking

because I can, like,
give you a book, you know

if you want to know.

RANDAK:
I don't know

if this is an isolated incidence

of kids just becoming passionate
about the situation

or if this is actually
the new creationists' game plan.

If you can't... if you can't
attack evolution

in the Supreme Court,
then maybe you can go around

and pull one evolution weed
at a time to get rid of it.

That's what I'm afraid of.

People actually
don't understand the issues.

People are being told

first you have to choose
between faith and science.

You have to choose

between especially
Christianity and evolution.

They're being told,
"Well, it's only fair

"to give both points of view.

"It's only fair
to teach evolution

"and balance it
with creation science

or intelligent design theory"
or something like that.

NARRATOR:
From their tiny offices in
a small northern California town

Eugenie Scott and the staff

of the National Center
for Science Education

deploy an arsenal of weapons

to defend the teaching
of evolution.

Hi, Emily.

Hi, Genie.

NARRATOR:
Often, the hardest part is just
getting people to understand

what is and what isn't science.

SCOTT:
Evolution or science in general
can't say anything

about whether God did or did not
have anything to do with it.

All evolution as a science
can tell us is what happened.

Can't tell us who done it.

And as what happened

the evidence is extremely strong
that the galaxies evolved

the planets evolved,
the sun evolved

and living things on Earth
shared common ancestors.

They're
probably right.

NARRATOR:
At the National Center
for Science Education

calls come in
from across America

from teachers
who continue to be accused

of locking God
out of their classrooms.

(beeping)

When Steve Randak called
from Lafayette, Indiana

he got the help he wanted.

But he was troubled
by what he heard.

Eugenie Scott told me

that this is the first time,
to her knowledge

that students have taken
the initiative.

And I am very much concerned
that there will be other places

where children will
step forward, protest

ask school boards
to be listened to

and the school boards
won't do the right thing.

McKINNEY:
I think they think someone
will come out a victor

and I don't believe that
that's going to be the case.

NARRATOR:
But win or lose

for McKinney's students,
this is a battle worth fighting.

Tonight they are taking
their petitions

to the Lafayette School Board

to demand that the members
take a public stand

for or against special creation.

They claim that complex
biological structures

could not have arisen through
natural selection at all

but had to have been created
by some higher intelligence.

According to their teachers

the future of science education
at Jefferson High

may be riding
on the board's response.

RANDAK:
As a teacher, you feel compelled

to soothe the distress
these kids are having.

And so school boards are
going to feel the same thing.

Joyce, if we could have
a roll call, please.

RANDAK:
And that sense of fairness
is something

that school board members have
and I think would respond to

and I think it's... I think
it's going to be dangerous.

MAN:
I'd like to call
this meeting to order

of the Lafayette School Board
of Trustees.

First of all, welcome.

I understand some of you
are here tonight

to discuss the science
curriculum

at Jefferson High School.

So, let me see the show
of hands of people

that are there for that.

Okay, thank you.

Let's just move in.

Are there any, uh, comments
from the public?

It's now open.

All right.

One issue that continues
to confront American society

is that of the teaching
of the theories of evolution

and special creation
in our schools.

The assumption of the theory
of evolution is

that all living things
have resulted

from chance interactions.

The assumption
of special creation is

that the physical universe
and living creatures in it

have been fashioned
by a supreme being.

Please understand that those
of us supporting this petition

do not advocate the tea...

the banning of teaching
of the theory of evolution.

However, we believe that
the theory of evolution

should be taught

alongside the alternative theory
of special creation.

Let us be taught the facts so
that we can decide on our own.

Thank you.

NARRATOR:
For these students

the argument isn't about
science versus the Bible.

It's about which views
of science will be taught.

It is a tactic pioneered in 1961

when a revolutionary book by
Henry Morris and John Whitcomb

used carefully selected
scientific evidence

to support
the creationist cause.

SCOTT:
The Genesis Flood is
the foundational document

for creation science.

Everything else has been
built upon this book.

He makes a number of claims
in here

that you can somehow find
scientific evidence

to demonstrate
that the earth was created

like a literal reading
of Genesis says.

NARRATOR:
The Genesis Flood was an
inspiration to creationists.

In 1981, Louisiana Senator
Bill Keith proposed a law

requiring the teaching
of "creation science"

wherever evolution was taught.

Scientific creationism
is pure science

and is just as unreligious

as the teaching
of evolution science

and also that it's an abridgment
of academic freedom

for our schoolchildren
not to be given

all the scientific evidences
regarding origins.

NARRATOR:
Over opposition from educators

the Louisiana legislature
passed the law.

Creation science and evolution
became classmates.

But in 1987,
the Supreme Court ruled

that teaching creationism
alongside evolution

violated the First Amendment's
separation of church and state.

In his opinion
for the majority, however

Justice William Brennan wrote

that alternatives
to evolutionary theory

can be taught if they have
a scientific basis.

SCOTT:
What Justice Brennan wrote
in the 1987 decision

was that of course teachers have
a right to teach any and all...

um... uh, scientific views
about the origin of humans

or any other scientific theory

and that's absolutely true.

And what he said was,
"any and all scientific views."

Now, of course, one reason

why the creationists
have worked so hard

to try to present their ideas
as being scientific

is so they can duck
under the First Amendment.

I would just like
to tell all of you

how we want special creation
to be taught

and, like
it's already been stated

we want it taught
alongside evolution.

I would just like to say that
we do not want a religion class

or any separate class,
because it is not religion

so we're just begging of you
to teach us the facts

and let us decide

and that is with evolution
and special creation.

(applause)

McKINNEY:
There's a large part of me
that felt

"My gosh, we haven't done
a very good job

"with the nature of science
if we have this many students

"who don't understand
the difference

"and why creation and...

"you know, any supreme being
can't be addressed

in a science classroom."

And I kept thinking, "Gee, it
seems like we try so hard

"to really hit home

with what makes
a particular event science"

and the fact that
there seems to be

a lack of understanding
about that was disturbing to me.

RANDAK:
What they don't understand is

that science is a rather brutal
competition of ideas.

It is not particularly
a situation

where you get to express your
idea just because you want to.

That sense of fairness doesn't
exist in science.

In science, ideas are supported
by evidence

and that evidence has to be
peer reviewed

and it has to be repeatable
and it has to be testable.

And creationism is not that.

And we know

that it's our freedom
to decide on the information.

And we think that it...

it's been neglected by the
school system and the state

and maybe even in the nation...

that there are facts
we don't have.

Thank you.

(applause)

It's real hard for me, as a
parent and as a teacher, to know

that not only are they dealing
with their own faith issues

at a very young age,
14-15 years old,

but they're also dealing
with the issues

of being disobedient
to their parents.

And I know that for many
of them it's not only

"Oh, the evils of evolution"

it's that, "my parents don't
even want me to hear about this

"or listen to it

much less participate
in the conversation."

YOUNG MAN:
I grew up in the church.

"God created all things",

that's the way it was,
that's how it ever will be.

And I didn't get my first
even notion of evolution

until like third grade when we
were learning about insects.

They were, like,
"Well, one day you'll learn

that the building blocks of life
actually evolved from water."

(all laughing)

And so I went home
to my mom and dad

and I was, like,
"We came from water?"

And they're like, "Yeah, yeah,
it's called evolution."

And I still didn't
understand it.

GIRL:
I guess I had read about it

but I just knew
God created us in six days

and I knew he was
the creator.

And my mom agreed with me on
that; my stepdad doesn't.

But I don't really know
how I learned that.

I just probably read it
in the Bible.

Don't move this.

Okay, come on over here
and look.

McKINNEY:
And I had the same conflicts
these kids are having.

I mean, I went through that
whole growing process myself

and so I can really sympathize

and fortunately I had a lot
of significant people in my life

that were willing to sit down
and listen to me.

I had a very, very intelligent
pastor tell me once

that... I asked him
what he thought

and he said, "What I think
doesn't matter;

it's what you think."

And he said, "Here is
what I recommend.

"You learn a lot about both

and then you make
your own decision."

And that's what I did.

I went to Bible studies
and I pursued careers in science

and just fell in love with them.

And I would say that probably
by the end of my senior...

or maybe I was even in college

before I really came to terms
with the fact

that in my mind and in my heart
there was no conflict.

They answer very different
questions

they address very different
things in our lives

and I think they're very...

as an individual, for me

they're very supportive
of one another.

I can't really see that one
could exist without the other

at least in my mind.

MAN:
Other comments from the board?

NARRATOR:
For over three hours

the students, their supporters
and their detractors struggled

over the proposed change
in the science curriculum.

Finally, the board made
its position known.

There is well-defined legal
and scientific definitions

that set out the boundaries
for biological science.

There are certainly
points to be discussed

about special creationism

but it does not belong
in the biological curriculum.

EILER:
We've made it very clear
that we're not going to change

the biological science
curriculum

that if we want to address
their intellectual curiosity

it has to be under the umbrella
of a humanities topic

in some fashion.

I want to say thank you
so much for coming.

I hope you all
understand

that when we make a decision
about our position

we do it because
we believe it's our duty.

We believe that the law
requires us to do what we do

and that we, in our meager
understanding of science

are trying to do
what we think is right.

If you have any other
questions...

NARRATOR:
The decision preserved
the integrity

of Jefferson High's
science curriculum.

But the teachers know this is
not the end of the debate.

McKINNEY:
I have yet to hear of a case

where they've given equal time
in a science classroom.

However, I have heard of cases

where they've removed evolution
from the curriculum.

And I don't think

the three of us would have
continued teaching here

had that been the case.

I can't speak for them

but I really don't think, as an
educator, I could teach biology

and do it well if I couldn't
talk about the natural processes

that make it work.

To take that element out would
be removing one of the...

well, the major pillar

that supports that whole field
of science.

And in good conscience

I couldn't have slighted my kids
that way in my classroom.

(harmonizing a cappella):
"A gift to be simple"

"A gift to be free"

"The gift to be free"

"The gift to be simple"

"'Tis the gift to be..."

JONES:
Are we placing
students' faith at risk

by examining these
hard questions?

Absolutely.

But I would add additionally
that there is no such thing

as a safe place from which
to hide from these issues.

BOYS:
? ...free. ?

If we engage in the most rigid
biblical literalism

the fact that our students live
in a real world indicates

that their faith is always
at risk.

Christians believe

that our faith is rooted in real
happenings in a real world.

And so to try
and structure a place

or a way of conceptualizing
our faith that insulates us

and isolates us from risk

is to rob Christianity
of its very essence.

HAYASHI:
One problem we have
a lot of times is

that people just look
at Christians and they say

"Oh, you're just one of those
religious fanatics."

I don't want to come across
as that.

I want to be educated
and I want to be intelligent.

I want to have answers
that someone can say

"I can respect that,
I can respect that."

And also be able to argue some
answers without God.

I mean, that sounds almost
sacrilegious

but I want to be able to reason
some things

without having to bring...

without necessarily having
to bring God into the picture.

And then I want my life
and the way that I live it

to reflect God.

STUEBING:
I don't think science and faith
are inevitably in conflict.

I am a scientist.

I enjoy doing science

and I haven't thrown God
out the window at all.

I mean, I know a lot of people
who live the same way.

And because we look for natural
causes and things

doesn't mean we think
that that's all there is.

It doesn't mean

that we're throwing out
the meaning of life.

We're just studying what God
has made, however he made it

and I don't think those
are in conflict at all.

BAIRD:
When I hear
a God-fearing man say

"I hold to
the evolutionary theory"

that was... that was...
that worked wonders for me.

It... it... once again, it gave
me a little bit of a freedom

to say "Wow, God is bigger

than the box that
I may have put him in."

NARRATOR:
As his grandmother predicted,
Nathan is searching it out.

He is finding his own answer
to the question

"What about God?"

Charles Darwin's answer came in
the mystery of evolution itself.

In the final edition of his book
On the Origin of Species

Darwin wrote, "There is grandeur
in this view of life

"with its several powers

"having been originally
breathed by a creator

"into a few forms or into one.

"From so simple a beginning

"endless forms most beautiful
have been

and are being, evolved."

Continue the journey

into where we're from
and where we're going

at the Evolution web site.

Visit www.pbs.org.

The seven-part
Evolution boxed set

and the companion book

are available
from WGBH Boston Video.

To place an order, please call: