You would think the most likely place on Earth to learn critical thinking skills would be the classroom. What other point is there for separating children from their natural teachers (i.e. parents), suppressing their natural urges to play, and forcing them to absorb information which they are expected to be able to regurgitate later on? Critical thinking is a vital life skill. Without it, we become susceptible to all kinds of deception, some of which may cost our livelihood, our lives, even our very souls.
A great indicator of critical thinking skills is the successful comparison of two opposing worldviews. The flat and round earth models, for example. The Earth could be round, it could be flat, it could be neither, but it can't be both. So, teaching students to debate this topic is wise. Through such a discussion, they not only learn to critically examine even their most basic beliefs, but also how to defend those beliefs. This skill translates into other areas of their lives. It may help them improve their sales pitches, or detect a flaw in their business models. It may prevent them from becoming victims of crime, or even giving their vote to con artists. If they choose to go into the STEM fields, it will absolutely help them out.
Furthermore, being taught to think critically using such a debate runs very little, if any risk of the students becoming flat earthers. The Earth is a sphere, and the evidence for this is so strong that it was both believed and proven centuries before man first began sending things into space. Therefore, a critical examination of this debate will only result in round earthers becoming more adept round earthers.
It is very telling, therefore, that Evolutionists like Eugenie Scott are not so confident in their ability to win the origins debate. In her own words, "In my opinion, using creation and evolution as topics for critical-thinking exercises in primary and secondary schools is virtually guaranteed to confuse students about Evolution and may lead them to reject one of the major themes in science."
If Evolution was truly "one of the major themes in science", this should not be a concern for Evolutionists. It would be easy to simply present the mythical "mountains of evidence" for Evolution that Evolutionists like to brag about. But it is not so easy, because the evidence simply does not exist.
In its place are large numbers of gems such as the one in the header image. Anyone who has attended a critical thinking class would be able to spot, at the very least, the main flaw in the original meme. And indeed, in the comments section below it, I saw many people of many faiths doing just that.
Right from the beginning, the meme tells us it is not depicting a dinosaur fossil. It concludes, however, by telling us it is "...the best preserved fossil of its kind...". This is what is known as a "contradiction"; where two opposing statements are said to be true in the same sense at the same time.
But this isn't the silliest error in the original meme. That honor goes to the claim that this nodosaur is 110 million years old. Not only is this not true, nor would it be verifiable if it was, but it also shows us that Evolution is a claim about history, not science. Science is about natural phenomena in the present. We can say, for example, that gravity is a force which pulls objects together, because it does so right now, just as it did yesterday, and will tomorrow. Scientific facts like this work in all tenses. But to say this creature lived X amount of time ago is a claim about history. Let no one deceive you: The origins debate is not a scientific issue, but a historical one.
But Evolution presents a false history of the earth. The reality, as recorded in the sole infallible document in all the world, is that the earth is a mere 6,000 years old. Land creatures, such as this nodosaur, were created on day 6, along with mankind. Unfortunately, man sinned, bringing death into the world, and death spread to us all, because we all sin. This nodosaur was most likely buried during the first global judgement; the Great Flood, which destroyed the Earth, sparing only 8 faithful people, Noah and his family, and the animals on board the ark with him. Just as Noah, by faith, was spared the flood, we, too, must "board the ark" that is Jesus Christ to be spared eternal punishment. By confessing Jesus as Lord, and believing He rose from the dead, we, too, can be raised to life in the Kingdom of Heaven, forgiven for our sins, and having a restored relationship with our Holy Creator.
A time is coming when everything will perish. Death, the old order of things, will be no more. The very elements will melt in a fervent heat, until finally, nothing but the purpose of God remains. The totality of our deeds will be weighed up, and all shall be repaid. For the impenitent, eternal damnation awaits, and punishment will be dealt to each according to their deeds. But for the saved, our punishment was given to Jesus, so that we may instead be judged by His righteousness, and rewarded accordingly. I will never understand why people would reject God's kind offer in favor of fanciful fairy tales like Evolution.