Mankind has always been able to come up with some pretty interesting creation stories.

One of my favorites involves the animals of the world (which was, at the time, all water) covering the back of a turtle with mud in order to create land for a woman who had fallen from the sky to live on.

But, is it ever appropriate for creation stories to be taught in a high school science class? I would have to argue no. And so it is my belief that Christian creation stories also have no place in a science class.

Recently, some schools across the country have raised the issue of “intelligent design,” which basically states that a creator had a guiding hand in the creation of mankind and other complex animals.

While I am in no way against the idea of intelligent design, I do not feel comfortable having it taught in a public classroom, specifically for a science class.

I do recognize that intelligent design and Christianity are not the same thing. But let’s be realistic: the idea that an intelligent designer has a guiding hand in the process of how all human and animal life comes to be isn’t much of a convincing case without the help of faith. Faith has no place in a science classroom.

Science, in my mind, is the study of things we try to understand through reasoning and research, not what we believe to be true through faith and spirituality.

Evolution, much like any creation story, is a theory. However, it is a scientific theory that is based on empirical evidence, not faith.

Scientists look at birds on the Galapagos Islands that have different beak sizes but are similar in other ways, and conclude that these birds may have had a common ancestor. They study the bone structures of Australopithecus and Homo erectus — save the laughs, children — and see similarities between these beings and humans.

Intelligent design, on the other hand, doesn’t leave much room for empirical research or evidence, and relies solely on faith in a creator’s guiding hand. While it may not be wrong, it does not belong in an empirical studies class like science.

Rather, it belongs in the field of philosophy, as does any theory that requires a leap of faith to believe in it.

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