Palin is a young earth creationist who believes that we are in the end times.

[The Duke]

Like jmfcst said, this is he-said-she-said.

But I would be surprised if she was not a creationist.

I would also say the people who are concerned she believes in the end times simply do not understand Christian theology.  If they udnerstoodthe theology, they would not be surprised or disturbed that a Christian might believe in the end times.

I would also say that the cultural elitism of Forum members is showing right now.  If Palin is a creationist, she is in a clear majority of Americans.

According to a CBS/New York Times Poll:
55% of Americans believe God created humans as they are
27% of Americans believe God guided the process of evolution
13% of Americans beieve evolution occurred naturally

So, only 13% of Americans believe in natural evolution, while 82% of Americans believe in some form of creationism.

Why is anyone surprised Palin is a creationist?  Most people in this country are.  Even the left's science guru Al Gore is an admitted creationist who wanted creationism taught in schools.

[The Duke]

Young earth creationism is used as an excuse to oppose environmental protection.

George W. Bush was 'unsure' about evolution.

How about Al Gore who is a creationist?

Is he using creationism to justify not protecting the environment?

[The Duke]

Young earth creationism is used as an excuse to oppose environmental protection.

George W. Bush was 'unsure' about evolution.

How about Al Gore who is a creationist?

Is he using creationism to justify not protecting the environment?

I believe the more shocking part of this claim (merely hearsay at the moment) about Palin's beliefs is the "young earth" part, not the "creationist" part.  Al Gore is certainly not a young-earth creationist, and neither are 82% of Americans.  

You didn't read the post carefully.  I didn't say 82% of Americans are young earth creationists.  I said 82% of Americans believe in some form of creationism.

And Al Gore is a young earth creationist.  He believes Adam and Eve were created 200,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden and has said so publicly and repeatedly.

[The Duke]

If 82% of Americans are creationists, then why are creationists voted off of school boards whenever they try to implement the teaching of creationism?

That is a valid question, but the poll shows what it shows.  Also, this poll is national, and doesn't necessarily tell us what the numbers are in the particular school districts where the battles are being waged.

One explainaition may be that creationists don't always want their views taught in science class.  Palin, who I think is a creationist, has said creationism should not be in the school curriculum.  Is it really hard to believe that many creationists don't want their own religion taught as science even if they believe their religion is true?

[The Duke]

Very disingenuous for you to suggest that Gore, a theistic evolutionist, is the same thing as a young earth creationist.

Gore believes humans were created by God in their present form.

He does not believe in theistic evolution of humans.

And Al Gore is a young earth creationist.  He believes Adam and Eve were created 200,000 years ago in the Garden of Eden and has said so publicly and repeatedly.

Ah, never mind.  I figured you knew what a young earth creationist was.

Are you really going to suggest that because Gore believes humans were created 200,000 years ago instead of 6,000 years ago means he is not a young earth creationist?  Believing in either is to explicitly reject any and all scientific evidence on the subject and believe the human race is vastly younger than it actually is.

[The Duke]

Gore believes humans were created by God in their present form.

He does not believe in theistic evolution of humans.

Someone can believe in the evolution of humans while also believing that humans, in their present form, were created by God in His image.  That's why the poll you mentioned earlier presented some rather poorly worded options, but as far as Al Gore is concerned, he clearly believes in evolutionary science as well as a very old age of the universe (seen An Inconvenient Truth?, which I am aware you regard as junk science).  I think it's quite reasonable to assume that he does believe in the evolution of humans, as a matter of scientific practicality / necessity, and he is able to reconcile his religious views with that as many other theists do.  It is not a difficult view to hold as long as one does not take the Bible absolutely literally.

Are you really going to suggest that because Gore believes humans were created 200,000 years ago instead of 6,000 years ago means he is not a young earth creationist?

Pay close attention to words - 'young earth' creationist means someone who thinks the earth is extremely young, somewhere in the ballpark of 6,000 to 10,000 years.

Al Gore cannot believe this, regardless of when he thinks homo sapiens came into existence, simply because he makes it clear on many occasions that he agrees with the scientific consensus when it comes to the age of the earth - billions of years old, not thousands.

Someone can only believe that humans evolved yet were also created in their present form if they want to believe in two obviously contradictory ideas.  If humans appeared in their present form by evolving from lower life forms, then they obviously were not created in their present form.

I understand your point about Gore and the age of the Earth, I just don't agree with it.  I think you're trying to get Al off the hook for his scientifically unsupportable views by claiming he does not fit a narrowly drawn definition of young earth creationism.

[The Duke]

And where do you guys get this idea that Gore is merely trying to "reconcile" his religious and scientific views?

He explicitly rejects the idea that humans evolved from lower life forms, claiming we were created in our present form by God.

This "reconciles" the two approaches in much the same way Germany "reconciled" itself with Poland in 1939.

[The Duke]

By the way, congrats on turning a thread about Palin into a thread about Gore.  That was pretty slick.

Yes, I'm pretty proud of that.