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A main topic of discussion in Thursday's class was the troubled coexistance of religion and science, particularly relating to Evolution vs. Creationism.

While I would love to believe that everyone can be objective about this topic, I think personal experience is too strong an influence to reflect on this issue without attempting to state biases, background, etc.

I was raised sans-religion. My, "Mommy, what's God?" was a question of word clarification. My family was not anti-religion but rather pro-questioning and the church my parents grew up with did not meet their needs. This background, usually labeled "atheist", allowed me to see life and make up my own explanations, and create my own stories, as opposed to listen to those given to me by a church or by other means.

I don't think I questioned human origins until it was brought up in science class. Evolution made sense to me, and I was able to see evidence of it myself, my criteria for accepting a story. 

When friends questioned this, stating, for example, Creationism, as an alternative,  I couldn't fit that particular story into my vision of life, but I had no problem accepting that THEY did.

What bothered me, then and now, was the inability of others to be tolerant of other stories. Through most of class, I kept asking why? Why can't we let one person believe in Evolution and another in Creationism? Why is there  even a question of coexistance of stories? Does my belief in one idea really bother you that much? If my belief in something threatens your belief in something else, maybe you need to find a better story for yourself.