things. We’ve got to pay attention to that
next generation.
Part of it, I think, is being intimidated by
all of the so-called science out there. You
have a scientist who has a master’s degree,
and he’s been on various outings or expeditions, and in your mind, he’s five or six steps
ahead of you. We are intimidated because
we think we don’t know the science. We
think, “How do you expect me to confront
them?” But really, these scientists are engaged in the realm we should be masters of,
which is faith. Evolution is a faith. They’re
just simply taking their faith, which is uniformitarianism, and packaging it in scientific terms. We have to help our kids learn
how to take that apart.
You don’t have to be a biochemist to
spot where they are mixing faith with science. To be able to identify and recognize
what parts of the statements these people
are making are science and what parts are
simply philosophy is something they’ve got
to be equipped at doing. I think that is my
biggest concern and probably my main passion, to help kids be effective at that. They
don’t have to know nuclear physics or biochemistry. All they have to learn is how to
recognize what part of the statements that
are being made are philosophy and history,
and what parts of them are actual science.
If you can get serious and just say, “You
say that’s science, but you haven’t told me
how science really supports it,” we can get
into learning how to challenge them. I
think it’s a possibility to plant some seeds
of doubt and work with the Spirit. We’ve
got to combine the Word with a conscience, and the only way to get at the conscience is to expose some doubt that they
really don’t know as much as they say they
know. That’s what our kids have really got
to be sharp in doing.
TOS: How do you handle the fear that kids
(and many of us) have of not having all the
answers?
Patrick: Students need to catch them-
selves before they are bowled over by all the
scientific knowledge someone knows, and
listen for the underwriting assumptions,
interpretations, and faiths. The science is
not going to be what is going to convince
the person. You’re always going to run into
somebody who knows more than you. It’s
really learning how to handle statements
that are made and identifying what part of
it is assumption, what part is interpretation,
and what part of it is science. That part we
can know without knowing everything.
If students can become sharp at doing
that, then I think we’ll be seeing some workers for the future that won’t be afraid because they’ll know that the whole dilemma
is over conflicting worldviews, not over science versus the Bible. That’s what I’m most
passionate about.
Earth science is often overlooked when
families build curriculum, but the equipping of the worldview behind the earth
science is what’s not being done, and that
really takes more concentration of effort
than simply getting any kind of curriculum
does. Kids are an open book, and we have
to take the opportunity to give them this
foundation now.
TOS: We appreciate you taking your time
out of your busy schedule to talk with us
today. Thank you so much!
Bonnie Rose Hudson works as the Director
of Schoolhouse Teachers .com, the curriculum
site of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine . Her
desire is for every child to feel the love of God
and know how special they are to Him. She
would love for you to stop by her author’s blog
WriteBonnieRose.com for resources to help
teach your children about missions and the
persecuted Church, free history and writing
printables, and to discover how you can write
for the homeschool market .
Patrick Nurre
Patrick Nurre is a popular speaker at home-school and church conventions on geology,
the Flood, and creation/evolution . He teaches
numerous private and homeschool classes
in the Seattle, Washington, area, in addition to leading field trips to Mt. St. Helens,
Mt. Rainier, and annual family trips to Yellowstone National Park . Patrick is the vision
behind Northwest Treasures, a non-profit devoted to high quality geology curricula, kits,
and samples. He also operates the Geology
Learning Center in Lynnwood, Washington,
a museum devoted to helping educate the
public about geology and the Flood through
displays and classes . He has written 17 books
for geology study for all ages. His books and
classes are from a young earth view. Patrick
and his wife have three grown children and
one lively grandson! To see more geology
resources, visit his web site at Northwest
Rock AndFossil .com .
The whole
dilemma is
over conflicting
worldviews, not
over science versus
the Bible.