Posted on 12/20/2005 8:16:05 AM PST by GSlob
HARRISBURG, Pa. - "Intelligent design" cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district, a federal judge said Tuesday, ruling in one of the biggest courtroom clashes on evolution since the 1925 Scopes trial. The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include "intelligent design," the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled Tuesday.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
You said:Doesn't the fact that people are in arms cuz their theory is challenged tell you something?
Yes, it does. The folks who want only evolution taught have certainly been up in arms over the mention of aything else. So, it does indeed tell me something.
Thanks for your post.
susie
Unfortunately there are alot of subjects kids learn about where religion and religious belief do and SHOULD come up. Interestingly, our founding fathers (who I presume were way smarter than I) did not seem to have a problem with God in the public square.
susie
Good point!
If both science and religion are about 'truth', how can anyone expect to understand what is and isn't 'true' if we only get to hear one side of the story?
I see nothing wrong with teaching evolution in science and having a theology course to teach ID.
The former could dissect the mechanics of life while the latter expounded on the miracle of it.
Having one side trying to completely eradicate any mention of the other does students a HUGE disservice, IMHO!
Wallcrawler - Sorry, Igot caught in a conference call. Here is a previous post, excuse the vanity:
The polarization disturbs me as well, both as a Believer, and an oath-sworn scientist seeking the truth.
4,500+ million years ago there is light
3,500 million years ago - Precambrian (began), ooze, photosynthetic life appearing late
600 million years ago - Cambrian, explosion of marine life forms, huge variety
425 million years ago - Silurian, explosion of land life forms, first plants
405 million years ago - Devonian, first seed plants (in only 20 mil yr! We gardeners appreciate the difference), first amphibians
220 million years ago - Triassic, dinosaurs
181 million years ago - Jurassic, first flowering plants, birds
135 million years ago - Cretaceous, monocotyledons, oak and maple forests, Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rocky Mountains the extinction of the dinosaurs as a finale. The K/T discontinuity world-wide.
65 million years ago - Tertiary, 35 mil yrs Oligocene Epoch appearance of most moderen genera of mammals and monocotyledons
0.004 million years ago civilizations learn to write, all over the world at about the same time.
0.002 million years ago philosophy is advanced enough to describe the New Covenant in The best Greek of the New Testament, the Book of Hebrews, to Jews in Rome. Would that our society were as well read.
0.002 million years later Free Republic provides a forum, as the Nation Under God is bringing Liberty to the Cradle of Civilization and the birthplace of Abraham, the site of Daniel's vision of the Ancient of Days the repository of the treasures of the first Temple, the captivity of Israel.
Life on this earth, on this planet with a molten core, a magnetic field, plate tectonics ( understood in only our lifetimes), distributed continents and a single moon so large as to cause our oceans to breathe, has developed in the last seconds of the last minutes of the last hour of the clock of the firmament.
And yes, I am still stubborn and stiff-necked. And I have no right to be here, but for prevenient grace.
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM
I don't think we nec understand the creation story in the Bible as written, so the ideas in evolution aren't a hot button issue for me. I just honestly think that we have people who are literally trying to supress any other viewpoint. Where is the diversity?
Biology class is for biology. Students should be taught science. Scientific theories make testable predictions about the world we live in. Science helps us understand our natural world as it is. Scientists use science to understand biology and disease, develop new treatments and to predict where the natural world is headed. In schools, students should be trained in scientific thinking to participate in this endeavor.
Understanding evolution is fundamental to science. Why do bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics? Why do viruses affect some species but not others? Why does sickle cell trait reduce likelihood of malaria infection and therefore become a selected trait?
Belief in a creator does not constitute scientific thinking and will not help solve biological problems in the world we inhabit. I have no objection to teaching creationism or ID or alien origins or ghosts or exorcism or any other fantastical explanation of the world- in homes, in church, or in a private retreat.
But please leave science classes to science.
If my statement is wrong, then no I have not.
There was plenty of speculation in our biology curriculum.
susie
susie, if you are a biology teacher, why are you playing this stupid, "but we must explore the options" crap? Do you encourage little Johnny and Suzie to explore the flying spaghetti monster story of creation as well?
That's right and when their brainwashed, Christian, creationists daughter gets offered a possibility of entering the university's honors program at the local private, secular big name university, they don't know what to do with it.
There is plenty of evidence of evolution. There is no proof. A good scientist should be open to new evidence and follow where it might lead. And in fact, that has happened over the years with evolutionary theory.
susie
I'm not even going to bother answering your question as long as it is framed in insults. I will only say that just because someone's views don't line up with yours does not mean their views are stupid.
susie
No kidding. Can you point us towards actual SCIENTIFIC studies that show the validity of the Biblical creation story?
Anxiously awaiting your scientific, peer reviewed, evidence....
Understanding evolution is NOT fundamental to SCIENCE. There are many areas of science where evolution never even comes into play. Understanding the scientific method is fundamental to science and can be applied to the ToE but the ToE is not required to practice other branches of science.
Proponents of ID have no desire to see it taught in a theology class. They demand that it be taught as science. That's what the fuss is all about.
I almost feel sad for IDers, who lack this kind of evidence and research; they can only look on from the sidelines....
But rejecting evolution requires rejecting all of science, particularly physics.
Check out the current Kent Hovind thread with 1500+ posts.
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