YEC arguments pose problems to Judeo-Christian beliefs as well as science.

My original argument contained too many contentions so I shortened it to 2 points concerning Judeo-Christian beliefs and 1 point concerning science after defending the first part of the resolution. I did this because the space limit would make a response difficult. I had 8 points for each so hopefully this edit will provide a more manageable debate. Contention 1: YEC is a political, cultural, religious movement. YEC as a political movement - YEC's have tried to establish a foothold in politics for close to a century. The political movement gained the most steam in the late progressive era 1920-1925 prompted by a national anti-evolution crusade led by William Jennings Bryan, William Bell Riley, and John Roach Straton. (Trial and Error, Ed Larson. Updated addition, 1989. p30) (see also, the Scopes Trial - most texts will be sufficient). Since this time, YECs have posited countless amount of legislation attacking evolution and attempting to add creationism, creation science, and intelligent design into the public schools using legislative bodies, most have failed: Epperson v. Arkansas . http://straylight.law.cornell.edu... McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education . http://www.talkorigins.org... Edwards v. Aguillard . http://supct.law.cornell.edu... Kitzmiller v. Dover . http://ncseweb.org... Recent legislation . http://www.google.com... After each loss YECs change strategies and attempt to remove the YEC position from the legislation due to First Amendment concerns, but when cross examined many refuse to state their belief concerning the age of the earth (see the Kansas Science Trials) Some of the participants went so far as to describe the earth as being anywhere from 6,000 to 4.3 million years old to avoid the question. YEC as a cultural movement - YEC also operates outside of the public schools, encouraging home schooling, and is attempting to have their universities listed as accredited schools. . http://ncseweb.org... . http://ncseweb.org... They created their own peer review publications. . http://www.answersingenesis.org... They provide materials for home schooling. . http://www.answersingenesis.org... In addition, YEC is presented as a world view in opposition to secular study. YEC place absolute belief in the inerrancy of the KJV of the Bible and accepts it as the only authority. . http://www.answersingenesis.org... ICR states very clearly: " Each believer should participate in the "ministry of reconciliation" by seeking both to bring individuals back to God in Christ (the "Great Commission") and to "subdue the earth" for God's glory (the Edenic-Noahic Commission). The three institutions established by the Creator for the implementation of His purposes in this world (home, government, church) should be honored and supported as such. " . http://www.icr.org... YEC as a religious movement - this is self explanatory as the YEC position relies on the KJV of the Bible as the basis for its belief. I can find no source maintaining a belief in a 6,000 year old earth outside of a religious context, and the 6,000 year old earth and the 6 days of creation are two of the defining factors of the YEC movement. YEC is a political, cultural, religious movement. Contention 2: Problems to Judeo-Christian Beliefs. 1)YEC places the belief in the God of Abraham in falsified, pseudoscientific terms. A champion of YEC, Dr. Henry Morris, will not accept any form of theistic evolution. . http://www.icr.org... any evidence supporting evolution is wrong or misapplied. . http://www.icr.org... Henry Morris and the ICR place the whole of Christian belief in line with a belief in a 6,000 year old earth, 6 days of creation, immutability of "kinds", a world wide flood, and the tower of Babel. All of these principles rely on falsified theories if viewed as actual events. Once a person reaches the collegiate level, many of the principles of critical analysis and the plethora of evidence refuting such events place God in the center of discredited history and science. If Judeo-Christian beliefs are presented in the manner, they will fall. 2)YEC ignores the history of the Hebrew people and the foundation of scripture to maintain ignorance of the subject. YEC has to maintain an inerrant KJV of the Bible. Why? Many Christians do not speak the language of the earlier texts and the various methods used to bring about the KJV require an intellectually honest person to realize interpretation of various texts was necessary to write the KJV. Does this make the KJV wrong? No, but reliance on a word for word reading to be used as a scientific and historical text of great accuracy requires knowledge of foundation, and the foundation does not support such a reading. The Hebrew people maintained beliefs in oral tradition prior to writing. "Judaism existed a thousand years without an authorized scripture. " (The Story of Scripture, Daniel Jeremy Silver. p14) One of the most compelling aspects of the Hebrew God is that he is one. Monotheism served as a uniting principle for the scattered tribe surrounded by civilizations with polytheistic beliefs. Understanding these concepts is vital to the Judeo-Christian belief. An understanding of the writings, and the oral traditions that led to them, emphasize important aspects of the KJV of the Bible and why some texts were deemed scripture and others discarded. Ignoring these aspects of Judeo-Christian beliefs removes a key foundation of the faith replacing actual events with selective, self serving, interpretations to fit a presupposed world view. A religion cannot survive if foundational aspects are ignored. Contention 3: Problems to science. 1) YEC requires scientific ignorance. In order to maintain a YEC position in relation to the vast amounts of cosmological, geological, and biological evidence refuting it, requires misinformation and blatant lies. If a scientific law does not fit the presuppositions of YEC then the law is rewritten and contrary evidence ignored. I can find no better example than the Creationists' version of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. When creationists are told the 2nd law pertains to closed systems, they respond simply - no. I share Dr. Robert Pennock's dismay when he writes, "The plaque on the wall at the ICR's museum simply adds the claim that increase in entropy applies not only in closed systems but in open systems too. What is one to make of such an argument? " (Tower of Babel, Pennock p80) Many people do not know, nor care, about most scientific theories and laws; when presented with misrepresentations of these laws by trusted church members and fellow Christians, acceptance is easy. YEC thrives in such environments and must be addressed there. (see previous debate concerning YEC debates in public forums . http://www.debate.org... ) YECs do not exist in a vacuum. They vote, they run for public office, school boards, etc. They pose problems for science education, as a coherent reading of the evidence does not support their position.