What I find amusing is the zeal you evo's consume in pressing whatever advantage you seem to believe exists...I've gotten no straight answer from any of you to this question...our existence is threatened exactly how if a teacher in the Dover School District reads a two minute speech indicating an alternative exists to the sainted Darwinian scrolls...to be studied at some other time and place only if desired...
We should look the other way when someone lies?
That's what ID is, after all. This trial has shown that.
So that's what the debate has been reduced to? What's the harm in schools promoting creationism/astrology/yogic flying/astral walking/afrocentrism?
And you're certain that question deserves an answer?
You know, you have a great point. And since we're trying to "open up dialog in the public sphere", that is for those receiving public funding, I suggest that every Christian church of every denomination taking advantage of any tax breaks provided by whatever level of government now be required to read a 2 minute speech right before the sermon.
It might go something like this: Christianity is a matter of faith, and as such it cannot be proven that God exists, and neither is there any empirical evidence for the afterlife. There are gaps in the record and it is only a theory.
Our existence is threatened exactly how if a preacher in the pulpit reads a two minute speech indicating an alternative exists to the Christian religion.
The whole purpose of that "two minute speech" is to destroy trust in science, as that is the only way to "wedge" ID in the back door. It certainly does not qualify as science, eligible to be taught on its own merits.
Clear enough for you?
Because you fail to realize THERE IS NO "ALTERNATIVE" TO EVOLUTION. ID is not science. None of the things these groups are pushing are science. Evolution is currently the only set of theories explaining the diversity of life around us.
You would have us lie to high school students in the same manner that the creationist elite have been lying to you all these years.
Now, until there is some scientific research supporting these so-called "alternatives to evolution" you haven't got a dog in this hunt.
We lose because we misrepresent what science thinks in a science class. Same way we lose if we do a 10 minute disclamer in english class that illiterate street rap is a valid alternative to learning proper english grammar.
There is nothing sacrosanct about evolution. It is a scientific theory, not a matter of faith. No scientific alternative has been found. That's the problem.