I believe that the Genesis account (actually, there are two different accounts) of the creation of the world found in the Bible is not science, and should not be taught in science classes. I believe that it is wrong for currently accepted scientific explanations for the creation and evolution of the universe, the world, plant and animal life, and mankind to be presented in science classes as merely theories, and to teach that “intelligent design” is simply another equally acceptable scientific theory, because “intelligent design” has not disproven the evidence backing the currently accepted explanations, as you point out.
I find value in reflecting on how long the Christian church took to accept that the earth was not the literal center of the universe. I don’t know any people these days who find this idea shocking or controversial, although I’d bet that most people did find it shocking for a long time after the trial of Galileo. I’d also bet that there have been other important scientific discoveries that took a long time before they were accepted even by other scientists, although I can’t think of any examples right at the moment. I have hope that eventually people will come to accept the idea that human beings and apes have evolved from a common ancestor.
Call me crazy, but I believe that there is value in reflecting on the Genesis creation stories. I believe that they reflect on the human condition in a metaphorical way. For one thing, I am impressed that the story of Adam and Eve says that all human beings are related, members of one single family. I have read and/or heard that the mitochondrial DNA that you mention is providing scientific evidence that there are only a very few original ancestors of the all people alive today. And I think that the Genesis stories also reflect in a metaphorical way on what prevents us from living on this earth as one big happy family. But that’s another entry on another day.
If you’ve read this far, thanks for reading. I’m kind of tired right now, so I hope I’m making some sense.
