When questions start, they might not stop

Re “Their Own Version of a Big Bang,” Column One, Feb. 11

Is it any wonder that science is in decline in the United States with misguided zealots like evangelist Ken Ham doing everything they can to undermine it?

Ham seeks to erase centuries of scientific progress and enlightenment and replace it with ignorance and superstition. Once a proud beacon of research and learning, America will soon become the laughingstock of the scientific world as our schools churn out graduates incapable of understanding the basic principles of the scientific method. Way to go Ken, we’re on our way to the new Dark Ages.

DAVID A. LATHRAP

San Diego

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One of Ham’s foundational criteria for the children he speaks to is to question scientists about evolution. Most scientists would agree that there is essentially nothing wrong with questioning science, any more than questioning religious dogma. Albert Einstein questioned popular theories about science in developing his theory of relativity. Christopher Columbus challenged the popular theories about the world being flat. Even Charles Darwin himself, I bet, would agree that challenging the mainstream view of the world we live in should be encouraged.

As far as the issue of not questioning God’s existence and the Bible, that is a slippery slope -- a cake that you cannot have and eat too. Eventually the notion of questioning anything, whether it is religious faith or a scientific premise, is only a matter of time. These children will not spend the rest of their lives without at least secretly questioning Ham’s views or God’s existence or the Bible or even their parents’ authority, because they started at a very early age questioning modern science. Let’s face it, most have even questioned the existence of Santa Claus.

NOEL BALACUIT

Claremont

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If Ham accepts the Bible as the ultimate authority on biological matters, he should not restrict himself to exhorting children to challenge their teachers on the issue of human origins. He should also encourage them to insist that hares chew the cud (Leviticus 11:6), that bats are birds (Deuteronomy 14:18), that flying insects have four legs (Leviticus 11:20-23) and that it’s possible to breed streaked goats by arranging for goats to mate in the presence of white-streaked sticks (Genesis 30:37-42).

Wouldn’t disbelief in these assertions lead to moral collapse? Or does the Bible contain some errors after all?

JOSEPH H. MANSON

Culver City