Santorum: Don't put intelligent design in classroom

Beaver County Times & Allegheny Times ^ | 11/13/5 | Bill Vidonic

[Crackingham]

U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum said Saturday that he doesn't believe that intelligent design belongs in the science classroom. Santorum's comments to The Times are a shift from his position of several years ago, when he wrote in a Washington Times editorial that intelligent design is a "legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in the classroom."

But on Saturday, the Republican said that, "Science leads you where it leads you."

Santorum was in Beaver Falls to present Geneva College President Kenneth A. Smith with a $1.345 million check from federal funds for renovations that include the straightening and relocation of Route 18 through campus.

Santorum's comments about intelligent design come at a time when the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power, an alternative to the theory of evolution, has come under fire on several fronts.

A federal trial just wrapped up in which eight families sued Dover Area School District in eastern Pennsylvania. The district's school board members tried to introduce teaching intelligent design into the classroom, but the families said the policy violated the constitutional separation of church and state. No ruling has been issued on the trial, but Tuesday, all eight Dover School Board members up for re-election were ousted by voters, leading to a fiery tirade by religious broadcaster Pat Robertson.

Robertson warned residents, "If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected him from your city."

Santorum said flatly Saturday, "I disagree. I don't believe God abandons people," and said he has not spoken to Robertson about his comments.

Though Santorum said he believes that intelligent design is "a legitimate issue," he doesn't believe it should be taught in the classroom, adding that he had concerns about some parts of the theory.

[js1138]

I have been pinged several times to this discussion, and I have been repeatedly cited as not responding to a particular post by cornelis.

The reason I have not responded is that cornelis' post is completely unresponsive and irrelevant to the point I was trying to make, as were all responses to my original argument.

Just because you have a hammer doesn't make everything a nail.

[Quark2005]

The Bible is real and verifiable. It is the only document to exist in its purist form in greater numbers than any other work the next being Homers Iliad (900 copies).

Which of the dozens of Gospels that existed in circulation in the 2nd Century A.D. (before the final amalgamation of the modern Bible) do you consider to be part of this so-called "purist" form?

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

Oh, evolutionists are right because they can come up with clever slams? I don't think so. Laugh all you want, but it's the truth (not even about the issue, but about how you approach the issue) that is hurting you and motivates you to insult. All you have to do is be polite to people and stop calling them names. You will never be heard until you start doing that. So keep it up. Keep up the name calling and the slams. You hurt yourself and your own beloved cause.

[The Ghost of FReepers Past]

The nastiness of evolutionists proves one theological point: human depravity.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your reply! The reason for the ping here and on the other thread is simply that your handle was mentioned in the post, i.e. the excerpt of cornelis' post. It was just a courtesy - not meant to engage the subject anew with you in particular.

[Alamo-Girl]

LOLOLOL! Thank you for the chuckle!

[editor-surveyor]

"Examples please."

That's what I love about evolution believers; you can slap them in the face with a lead glove and they say what glove? show me a glove.

A good example is the very bacterium that was mentioned in the article that this thread is about. It is so glaring that it truly requires faith to reject evidence like this.

[Alamo-Girl]

Your reaction is quite strange since most of the Freepers identify me with ID or creationism - so much so that several of the notable evolutionists have demanded I never ping them again. LOL!

[js1138]

This is at least the third time a post has referred back to me claiming I did not respond to Cornelis.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your reply!

This is at least the third time a post has referred back to me claiming I did not respond to Cornelis.

The excerpt was from cornelis' post which he worded as follows:

Still, the concept of unity is a riddle, both for human consciousness and for the world of nature. I tried to ask this question in a conversation with js1138 here.

I do not read the above the same way you do. To me, it is a statement of the difficulty in describing what was on cornelis' mind. I went back and read the thread - you did respond, several times in fact - but the difficulty in expressing the issue remained. That is no reflection at all on you - it "goes to" the difficulty of the issue itself which we are continuing to try and unravel on the other thread.

[PatrickHenry]

I think Euclid's Elements dates from about 300BC. I don't know if any originals exist, but it would be surprising if a copy could deviate from the original in any significant way.

[after dark]

The bigotry against evangelistic Christians is the most disturbing thing about this thread.

Evangelistic Christians are not the only religious people who do not subscribe to Darwinism. The Vedics have recently been attacked for coming up with the theory of devolution. The funny thing is none of the evolution radicals ever attack the Vedics as being stupid or unscientific. You have reserved these insults for Christians who disagree with you.

I doubt most Muslims believe in Darwin's Theory of Evolution , but I don't see the same arrogant desire to shove Darwin down the throats of Islamic children.

[js1138]

Your reaction is quite strange ...

This little exchange makes my day. I have been accused of instigating friendly fire on a couple of occasions, and it's always interesting when it happens.

[furball4paws]

As a microbiologist, I'd like to help you, but I can't find any bacterium mentioned in Bill Vidonic's piece. Did you see too many ghosts 2 weeks ago?

[furball4paws]

"I doubt most Muslims believe in Darwin's Theory of Evolution , but I don't see the same arrogant desire to shove Darwin down the throats of Islamic children"

That's because they live in theocracies and don't allow anything but Creationism to be taught.

[Willie Green]

If faith baised issues should not be taught in schools, then evolution (as it applies to the origin of man) should not be taught there either.

While I believe that Genesis explains the origins of Man's relationship to God, I don't believe that God intended that Man extrapolate Genesis into a literal scientific explanation of the universe. Members of other Christian denominations are welcome to disagree with me on this, but IMHO, their theories should be taught via homeschooling or in private parochial schools, just like we Catholics did. Please don't use the public school system to force your interpretation of the Bible on the rest of us.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the post. I'll check out the other thread.

[furball4paws]

Now you've gone and done it. You said "please". Pretty soon we'll have to say "Thank You", too. And there goes the neighborhood. (/sarc)

[Dead Dog]

Evolution, as a theory of creation by random events is absolutely faith based. To assumption of either random, or ordered design, are both leaps of faith. In the end evolution is just as inductive as ID.

[after dark]

As I stated earlier the Hindus do not believe in Darwin's theory Of Evolution. They believe the cosmos was created by Shiva. None of the believers in evolution would ever call the Vedics stupid. You are using slash and burn tactics. I am concerned that children from evangelistic backgrounds could ,no matter high their scores are in mathematics, be discriminated against on the basis of their beliefs in ID. If this happens, we really are scientific backwater.