Hello,
All though this doesnt have much to do with science, it does have to do with AIG so I figured I would post it here. This is half a rebutal to their article and half just venting about some of the things that AIG says about Evolutionists. Especially when they have such a hypocritical view of morals.

The article can be found here, http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/4183cen_d1999.asp
And of course, quotes from the article are in blue.

“Why would young people kill, destroy and bomb in a suicide attack?”

This is a complicated question, However I believe their reasoning was that they wanted to get revenge on those people who treated them badly because they were different. Revenge against the popular kids for making their lives hell. So maybe people, including christians, should think about what they are doing when they are treating people badly. As kids at the school were catalysts to these kids behavior.

“They were also fascinated by the German Nazi belief, fuelled by ideas of Darwinian struggle, in a ‘master race’.2”

Well, Evolution (which I assume what is ment by “darwinian struggle”) is about adapting to the current environment. Since the environment always changes, a “Master Race” would not hold for too long. But then, AIG isnt great with understanding evolution to begin with.
We could also get into how religion and christianity was a part of Nazi Germany but I wont. :)
I do question the point of citing an AIG article to support an AIG claim.

“What was meant by ‘Natural Selection’? One newspaper reporter has linked the T shirt’s inscription to a video game of the same name, which is promoted as ‘a place where survival of the fittest takes a very literal meaning … it’s the natural way, it’s Natural Selection.’1 ”

Of course, if these kids were correctly taught Natural Selection in school, then they would have realized that they failed the survival of the fittest. Since how you determine who survives is who has children and continues their line on. These kids unfortunatly didn’t.

“In groping for answers to this and other tragedies, more and more people are expressing surprise and concern at the increasing glee with which many teenagers approach depictions of violence.”

Your right it was so much better in the past when people and teenager approached stonings, Witch burnings and Hangings with glee. Cheering on the deaths of people, many of who didn’t deserve it.
Ill take the glee of fake violence, over the glee of real violence anyday.
This does cause problems where people cant differentiate from the fake violence and real violence. Luckily this is rare. And its part of a larger psycological problem.

“However, this fixation with death is hardly surprising given that most public schools in Western nations now teach that violence and death are ‘natural’ evolutionary mechanisms...”

Just as the literal bible teachers, that violence and death are natural things and sometimes they come from god as well.
Death is a natural evolutionary deselection mechanism. In where a death of an organism that didn’t propogate means their personal genetic traits will not be included into the evolutionary chain of events.

“...that have operated with chance processes to produce man over millions of years.”

Of course, evolution isnt random or "Chance."

“Having been told since childhood that man is just an animal,...”

As opposed to the literal version of genesis where man comes from Sinful Dirt (Adam and Eve, were created from dust, then sinned. We are told that we all carry the punishment of their sin).

“...that death and violence are a natural part of evolution and that ‘only the fittest survive’, it is no wonder that this generation of young people are wallowing in utter hopelessness...”

Often the “fittest” are those that dont rock the boat. Those that dont oppose the environment. That would include not going against our social environment.

“Even when they hear ‘Jesus loves you’, many either do not understand what this can possibly mean in a ‘world of death and randomness’, or it makes them more angry and bitter that such a beautiful possibility seems denied by the ‘facts’ of science.”

I would Love to see the “facts” of science that say Jesus can not love them.
What Nonsense. Science does not deny any sort of Love.

“ Many of these people are ‘walking time-bombs’, without fear of any judgment after death, and primed to explode in anger and hatred at any time.”

So God has been reduced to someone who should be feared? There are many who dont believe in Judgment after death, yet they treat others well.
I would be curious to look further into the causes of this Anger and Hatred. (I looked into some of it at the bottom of the page.)

“How can we Christians help defuse these ‘bombs’? Christ is indeed the answer, but in our ‘evolutionized’ society, reaching these young people requires that the church understands and utilizes the truth about our origins.”

It’s funny AIG should talk about “Truth about our origins” while they use false arguments to support their “truth”

“The true and accurate Genesis account of history enables young and old to understand why this is a groaning and violence-filled world — that death, bloodshed, disease and suffering are a consequence of sin — but that God so loved the world that He provided His Son as a sacrifice for our sin.”

And yet this sacrifice didn’t get ride of Groaning and a violence filled world, it only gave people hope after death.

“ Our young people need to know that they are made in the image of God, are sinners separated from their Creator, but can be saved for eternity, and know purpose and meaning in life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

And that believing in evolution does not destroy their belief in Jesus Christ.
So as you can see “evolutionary thought” is not what caused this problem. Attempts to blame Evolution for their actions is IMHO rather despicable. :)

Addition:

I found some more information about columbine and school shootings in general

•Based on the ages from school shootings between 1996 and 2001 the Average age of the shooter was 14. (http://www.religioustolerance.org/sch_vio4.htm)
This mean they were generally in either 8th or 9th grade (9th grade being a freshmen in high school). They have either started teaching evolution at a much younger age, or these kids didnt know much about Evolution, suggesting that it is not a factor in school shootings.

• "Dan Savage of "the Stranger.com" wrote a shocking article describing his personal experiences and observations while he went to high school. 4 Savage was apparently targeted as a geek by fellow students. Some of his comments are:
"...in none of my [3] high schools did I for a moment feel safe. High school was terrifying, and it was the casual cruelty of the popular kids -- the jocks and the princesses -- that made it hell."
"...I lived in fear of the small slights and public humiliations used to reinforce the rigid high school caste system: poor girls were sluts, soft boys were fags. And at each of my schools, there were students who lived in daily fear of physical violence."
"I was f--ked with enough to spend four years fantasizing about blowing up my high school and everyone in it."
Fortunately, he never acted out his fantasies."
http://www.religioustolerance.org/sch_vio7.htm

• I also found this note left by the Columbine shooters very interesting as far as their motives.

"By now, it's over. If you are reading this, my mission is complete.... Your children who have ridiculed me, who have chosen not to accept me, who have treated me like I am not worth their time are dead. THEY ARE F--KING DEAD...."
"Surely you will try to blame it on the clothes I wear, the music I listen to, or the way I choose to present myself, but no. Do not hide behind my choices. You need to face the fact that this comes as a result of YOUR CHOICES."
"Parents and teachers, you f--ked up. You have taught these kids to not accept what is different. YOU ARE IN THE WRONG. I have taken their lives and my own -- but it was your doing. Teachers, parents, LET THIS MASSACRE BE ON YOUR SHOULDERS UNTIL THE DAY YOU DIE."
http://www.religioustolerance.org/sch_vio7.htm

So we should question whether "evolution" was the cause, or if being ridiculed and tortured all their life by people who didnt accept people who were different was. They commited a horrible crime that they are responsible for But they were driven to it by people who wanted to ridicule them and treat them bad because they were different. Instead of trying to blame a theory in science, maybe we should look at the way we act and the way we treat people, and realize that we can have a bad effect on them. Maybe we should Do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

-Ari

Last Update 8/10/03

©03 Ari

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