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 ...
I plead guilty. For example, I read all of Blam's threads but almost never post, just gobble up the imformation.
For starters, what is your explanation for all of the hominid fossils excavated over the last 150 years that have characteristics of both apes and man?
What would you have taught in science class in lieu of ToE?
I would love to hear it.
It's absolutely perfect. Glad to have that finally out in the open.
No, you just don't understand the Bible very well.
Are lions cats?
"And when you prove humans descended from apes, I'll listen."
Wrong.
Contradiction to your post 275, inter alia.
Science appeals to the conservative mind. It's reality based, it sticks with what works, it rejects the debunked, and it produces results. Science is one of the precious few examples of rationality in human experience. Another example is the American Revolution, and so is the US Constitution. Rationality is the foundation of Western Civilization -- as vital as life and liberty.
The conservative movement is inherently rational, and won't be taken over by a fringe group. And that's what we do here in these threads -- we carry the torch of Civilization. The dems are almost all insane, so we should prevail.
Are you saying ignorance is your strength?
Every family has a crazy uncle that you hope doesn't show up to parties, but you have to invite him anyway. (In my family, I think that's me.)
Whatever works...
It's already happened to some extent. I know many people who agree with conservatives on things like government regulation, gun control, taxes, marriage, etc., but they will always vote Democrat because of the "Republican War On Science."
Similarly, some people would vote GOP except that the GOP is perceived as the Segregationist Party.
Thanks for the ping!
On a discussion many months (years?) ago, a creationist screamed when someone refered to human beings as "animals". This was met with the followup question "Are they vegetable or mineral?"
I thought people were allowed to vote however they wanted without explanation to anyone. If all those who DON'T buy into TOE were to vote democrat, where would the republicans be? Be careful who you insult.
Sort of my point. With a Noah's Ark zinger waiting in the wings for the wrong answer.
Please note the absence of a response from "My mind is closed to evolution".
I'm sure you'll appreciate my not asking why. The image comes to us courtesy of the miracle of Google.
In response to the cases you listed, I could just as easily say, "Don't you believe there is a constitutional right to abortion? Haven't you heard of Roe vs. Wade?" It really comes down to one's philosophical standpoint on the constitution. Many poor rulings, including those you mentioned, have come from people who see the constitution as a "living document" and therefore something that is subject to the whim of the majority at any given time. It's quite clear that the founding fathers would not have considered it to be unconstitutional when a teacher says, "Some people think science cannot explain things completely and have written [insert book title here]. You can read it on your own time. Now, back to evolution." But apparently you think that sentence is unconstitutional. That's quite a stretch. And yes, within my hypothetical teacher's statement I am implicitly acknowledging that ID is not science. I believe that is safe to say--however, it does have some value in showing the limits of science. Therefore, it is worth two sentences in a science course.
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