Posted on 02/10/2005 6:39:50 PM PST by gobucks
PHILADELPHIA - Evangelical Christians, buoyed by the re-election of President Bush, are turning American schools into a battleground over whether evolution explains the origins of life or whether nature was designed by an all-powerful force.
In at least 18 states, campaigns have begun to make public schools teach “intelligent design” — a theory that nature is so complex it could only have been created by design — alongside Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
“It’s pretty clear that there is a religious movement behind intelligent design,” said Steve Case, chairman of the Science Standards Committee, a group of educators that advises the Kansas Board of Education. The board will decide later this year whether to include intelligent design in biology classes.
Some scientists who espouse the theory say intelligent design does not question that evolution occurred, but how it occurred: They believe more was at play than random mutation and natural selection. The theory, they insist, does not support the religious concept of a creator.
Those who advocate giving it equal treatment in schools have a different interpretation.
*snip*
The poll found greater support for teaching creationism among Republican voters — 71 percent of Bush voters favored teaching creationism alongside evolution.
*snip*
John West, (located) at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which pioneered intelligent design research, said the theory was too complex to teach at high schools and was better-suited to a college setting.
“There is a concern that intelligent design has been hijacked by people who don’t really know what it says,” he said. “We don’t think it should be a political football.”
*snip*
“Intelligent design is a religious doctrine,” said Wayne Carley, executive director of the National Association of Biology Teachers. “There is no research to support it, and it is clearly religious in that it posits a higher being.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Interesting post.
This is my re-read afterwork marker.
In at least 18 states, campaigns have begun to make public schools teach “intelligent design” — a theory that nature is so complex it could only have been created by design — alongside Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
A theory based on a fallacy and which states its support in poll numbers. This can only be ID.
Antievolutionism and Creationism in the United States. Great summary of the issues.
Political Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution. American Geological Institute. Interactive map.
Uh huh.
Well, I'm convinced.
"Those who advocate giving it equal treatment in schools have a different interpretation. 'Intelligent design promotes a rational basis for belief in God,' said John Calvert, managing director of the Kansas-based advocacy group Intelligent Design Network Inc."
In other words, ID isn't creationism, it just promotes creationism. Do you see walking and talking ducks too?
http://www.icr.org/starlightandtime/starlightandtime.html
Part of it is here
Thanks, I'll save that and give it a good read.
you have to get the book, though, her website is a tease, not informative.
She is a little excentric, but I do still have her book, and I did copy the footnotes, she didn't lie.
It's more like fighting reality, IMHO.
It is amazing. Science education in this country gets squeezed by both sides. From the left, you have PC-lovers who would rather that the schools focus on women's studies and instilling high self-esteem while on the right you have people trying to replace science with theology.
I imagine, if you go into the average school in China, you have none of this nonsense. All you'll see is a bunch of kids learning science as part of their government's plan to supplant us as the world's #1 power.
Ask him who invented evolution? Who invented the physical laws of the universe?
The only truthful answer is that no one knows. Any other answer is not based on faith. That is, these are religious/philosophical questions, not scientific questions. Any attempted answers taught in school should be in religion or philosophy classes, not in a science class.
I'm sure this came as a surprise on FR. /sarcasm
The state of scientific schooling in our public schools is terrible. We're dooming ourselves to second-tier nation status.
Other than in graduate schools, I think we are already there and rapidly heading to third-tier nation status.
The only bright light is that an intelligent and self-motivated student has access to an enormous quantity of information to read and study and arrive at his/her own conclusions, regardless of what is being taught in our schools/indoctrination centers.
educational placemarker
If this is going to become an educational thread, then I might be interested - otherwise - - - same old, same old....
Quack quack, waddle waddle...
Any other answer is not based on faith.
Self correction: Any other answer is based on faith
Actually Dembski did write one paper a few years ago.
Dembski, William A. Uniform probability. J. Theoret. Probab. 3 (1990), no. 4, 611--626.
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