7. Creationism

Creationism has been a very visible sparring partner in the debate about evolution since the beginning of the 20th Century, and it is the most popular view held by the North American Christian population.

A. What is Creationism?

Over the years different schools of creationists have appeared, and their names have changed from time to time—some commentators say—in order to stay on the side of the courts' ruling in cases they have brought upon themselves. This is partly true, but some of the changes have, in fact, to do the evolution of different schools of creationism. In this course (and in ALBERITH as a whole) creationism shall be defined as the belief that the world of the living things came about without

While creationism may simply be defined as those who believe that the cosmos is the work of a Creator—that should also include those who believe that God did so by means of evolution—in practice, creationists describe a particular understanding of this divine act of creation, i.e., that every species of living things is a special act resulting in the instantaneous appearance of the species with no involvement of any process. This is sometimes called creation by fiat. Creationist