is the theory of evolution inconsistent with the biblical account of creation

Brady and the people of Hillsboro are fundamentalists in the religious sense ­ they take the Bible literally, or as Brady says, "everything in the Bible should be accepted, exactly as it's given there." For Brady, then, fundamentalism means not only literal interpretation but also complete acceptance. Questioning the Bible or seeking new interpretations of it, for him, is unthinkable. In that sense, then, fundamentalism is at odds with intellectualism. Brady's fundamentalism means shutting down his mind, forcing himself not to undergo the natural human process of wondering at that which does not make sense. In choosing to interpret ­ or accept ­ the Bible as he does, he chooses not to think. Drummond, on the other hand, promotes intellectualism, finding the human mind sacred and arguing as the freedom of thought as a basic right. His intellectualism does not eschew spirituality ­ by saying Brady looks for God too far away, he admits there may be a God somewhere else, closer by ­ but rather eschews a religious tradition that does not celebrate thinking and questioning. Whereas a fundamentalist system condemns Cates' questions about God as blasphemous, Drummond's intellectual system sees his questioning as part of an ongoing process. This intellectualism, unlike Hornbeck's harsh cynicism, celebrates though for the possibilities it creates for understanding and for life in the world, even at the cost of the safety one feels with an unquestioned faith. It does not condemn religious per se but only the fundamentalist system of thought which does not admit to any perspectives beyond itself.