Council of Europe condemns creationism, according to a Press Release and Resolution 1580 (2007) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 4 Oct 2007 and also reported in Nature News and Nature vol 449, p649, 10 Oct 2007. The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental assembly representing many nations of Europe that does not make laws for European nations, but governments of member nations are encouraged to use its recommendations when drafting legislation. The Council is responsible for the European Convention on Human Rights and their resolution includes this statement: “If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights which are a key concern of the Council of Europe.”
The Assembly goes on to defend the theory of evolution and includes a resolution: “The Parliamentary Assembly therefore urges the member states, and especially their education authorities: … to promote the teaching of evolution as a fundamental scientific theory in the school curriculum.” The scientific evidence claimed for evolution by the Parliamentary Assembly is: “Evolution is present everywhere, from medical overprescription of antibiotics that encourages the emergence of resistant bacteria, to agricultural overuse of pesticides that causes insect mutations on which pesticides no longer have any effect.” It also claims “Advances in medical research with the aim of effectively combating infectious diseases such as AIDS are impossible if every principle of evolution is denied. One cannot be fully aware of the risks involved in the significant decline in biodiversity and climate change if the mechanisms of evolution are not understood.”
Council of Europe Press Release, Assembly Resolution
Editorial comment: Scientific studies of centuries old sealed soil samples containing bacteria which have never been exposed to modern antibiotics have shown that such bacteria already had resistance genes before antibiotics were in use by humans. Antibiotic and pesticide resistance are simply the result of the non-resistant forms being eliminated. Such observations do not explain how bacteria and insects could evolve from non-life and do not even explain where the resistance genes came from. Combating infectious diseases requires true scientific study of living organisms in the tradition of the creationist Louis Pasteur, who proved that spontaneous generation was a myth, proposed the germ theory of disease, and was an implacable opponent of evolution.
Decline in biodiversity is the opposite of evolution, and climate change may result in some species dying out, but that is not evolution either. In fact none of the examples by the Church of England have anything to do with a theory that claims hydrogen turned into people by natural processes over millions of years. If the evidence offered in the Council of Europe Resolution is the best there is for evolution, it is no wonder the evolutionists need politicians to enforce their teachings, rather than relying on genuine scientific study. (Ref. politics, education, philosophy)
Evidence News 31 Oct 2007