Posted on 09/26/2005 1:53:21 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
A Pennsylvania school district's use of "intelligent design" in its high school biology curriculum goes on trial in federal court today in the nation's first legal challenge to the idea, which contends that evolutionary theory alone does not explain how life on Earth took shape.
The lawsuit, brought by 11 parents in the Dover Area School District, attacks as unconstitutional the year-old policy of telling ninth-grade biology students that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution "is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for which there is no evidence." School officials also recommend a book on intelligent design, or ID.
The plaintiffs, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, argue that the policy -- which does not require students to study intelligent design -- serves religious, not secular ends, violating the First Amendment.
ID proponents say scientists can look at life forms and identify the work of a controlling "intelligence," although ID advocates are not specific about the nature of that force. While they do not reject all evolutionary theory, ID proponents argue that it incorrectly insists life took shape purely through a mindless process.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
placemarker
Perhaps these "predictions" are impressive to people more intelligent than me, but, it seems to me that we are simply investigating, analyzing, observing stuff. I don't understand why every friggin' story describing investigating, analyzing, observing stuff has to include the sentiment that "this will help us understand evolution".
Why must we always shoehorn "this will help us understand evolution" into every science story?
No, except maybe an incompetent one who operates by trial and error or a trickster who mimics evolution.
I happen to believe to that the change in seasons is due to Persephone coming up from the underworld. Is my belief scientific?
I mean, I read it in a book and everything.
It makes no mention of a creator, either in support or opposition, since it is based on observed evidence and not on philosophical pondering. It instead supports a prediction that was based on the evidence available at the time by testing it against newly observed evidence.
So you don't believe in God? Not surprising.
Evolution has not proved we descended from anything other than humans. If you have proof otherwise, the world is waiting.
Sounds like it makes as much sense as evolution so I'm not surprised you believe it.
You specifically asked for what proof the DNA evidence provided. I told you. Denying that proof doesn't make it go away.
Interpreting proof is totally different, wouldn't you agree?
How about you tell us exactly where the scientists have misinterpreted the evidence?
I don't see that happening. For example, go to the website for the National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov) and look at the news stories - only a minority of them have to do with evolution; and most of those are limited to biology articles, where evolution is an important concept.
I understand as layperson, you might not have an interest in it (and there's nothing wrong with that) - but understand that the theory is of great use to biological scientists. Around here, the evolution threads tend to get noticed more, because of the theological controversy they stir among conservatives, while other science threads (which I think are just as interesting) tend to pass into oblivion with less than a dozen posts...
Well, if they have interpreted the evidence to show we descended from apes, then that would be enough for me.
I pity those who don't believe the Bible and that God is indeed the Creator. So I guess we can just pity each other.
Your request for proof, which I took at face value, turned out to be a deliberate baiting since you fully intended to explain it away as simply being the result of the same creator no matter what that proof entailed. You can lie to us and say this is not the case, but can your Christian soul be so easily deceived by itself?
So your truth is more truthful than my truth, is that what you are saying?
Here we see the entire the entire ID/Creationist argument, folks. Here it is.
"Well, if they have interpreted the evidence to show we descended from apes, then that would be enough for me."
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