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The Origin of life....

Not going to have a debate on religion, this would be only an academic curiosity here. So, please don't throw any "stone bytes" on me, folks.

We just finished reading briefly about Darwin's evolution theory as a part of our homeschool science. Simply put, this theory means that we have all descended from a common ancestor and through successive genetic accumulation, spread everywhere. You must have heard of too many apes and the chimps joke which are too stale to throw in here, so i'll hold them back for later use.

In India, all science books across the country dutifully follow the evolution theory, probably because most of these books are published in the United Kingdom where Darwin came from. On a related topic, the 'Darwin centre' at the Natural History Museum, London is a must-visit (my own plug here, free service). Back to my question - how does a majority Hindu country like India which also believes in the Trinity theory (Brahma -the Creator, Vishnu -the protector, Shiva - the Destroyer) accept this false dichotomy?

And, no parent or educators seem to see any conflict in their child's science vs. religious versions, are freely going about their daily lives which revolves around the most important things in a child's education today - quizzes, monthly tests, quarterly, half-yearly, annual exams, model exams, board exams etc.

On the other part of the hemisphere, in the United States, the issue of Creationism Vs Evolution has sparked and still stirs educational debates, legal battles with a secular public school system, has spurred off a massive homeschooling wave - all for just this one science topic. Maybe it's a lot of nitpicking, but atleast there's a recognition of a conflict between the Bible and a scientific version. Isn't this debate a big deal and merits some due reflection, after all?

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