Posted on 12/26/2005 8:37:06 AM PST by PatrickHenry
Questioned about the national debate over ''intelligent design,'' [Florida] Gov. Jeb Bush last week said he's more interested in seeing some evolution of the science standards that Florida public school students must meet.
He wants those standards to become more rigorous -- and raising the standards should take priority over discussing whether intelligent design has a place in the public schools' curriculum, he said.
Nationally, the discussion over whether to teach intelligent design -- a concept that says life is too complex to have occurred without the involvement of a higher force -- in public school classes heated up after U.S. District Judge John E. Jones ruled that it smacked of creationism and was a violation of church and state separation. (President Bush appointed Jones to the federal bench in 2004.)
Jones, in his decision, wrote that the concept of intelligent design ''cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents,'' according to a Knight Ridder News Service report published Wednesday in The Miami Herald. [PH here: For a more reliable source than the Herald, here's the judge's opinion (big pdf file).]
In Florida, education officials and science teachers will be reviewing the state's science curriculum in 2007 or 2008, after the governor has left office, and ''it is possible that people would make an effort to include [intelligent design] in the debate,'' Gov. Bush told The Watchdog Report on Wednesday. ''My personal belief is we ought to look at whether our standards are high first,'' he said.
SCIENCE FIRST
``The more important point is science itself and how important it is, and we right now have adequate standards that may need to be raised. But worse: Students are not given the course work necessary to do well with those standards.''
Bush, after meeting with Coral Gables Mayor Don Slesnick and city commissioners concerning the community's widespread power outages after hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, also noted that the federal ruling came in a case that involves Pennsylvania's Dover Area School District.
''It is one school district in Pennsylvania,'' he said.
POINT OF VIEW
The Watchdog Report asked a follow-up question: Does the governor believe in Darwin's theory of evolution?
Bush said: ``Yeah, but I don't think it should actually be part of the curriculum, to be honest with you. And people have different points of view and they can be discussed at school, but it does not need to be in the curriculum.''
Of course. You have no other choice.
Now both of us have explained this. Odds?
I was buried amongst a pile of creos? Aaarrrggghhhh!
The normal English term for 'mutation' is 'birth defect'.
'Genius' is also a term sometimes applied.
"I don't agree. Genesis does not match the observed evidence."
You have not yet observed enough. Keep watching. Psalm 19:1-5. Perhaps someone has lied to you about what you were observing.
I had 16 years of education in private schools run by Christian denominations, including upper division classes in biblical history and theology.
I don't know how many more years of such education you've had in order to judge me as a biblical illiterate. It must be a lot.
Jones is merely quoting from, and basing his opinion on Freiler in the section you cite. Insofar as Freiler was denied cert a mere four years ago, I do not think that Jones is overly presumptuous in considering Freiler to be reflective of the status quo. That being said, Judge Jones is not empowered to overturn the Fifth Circuit, nor is he empowered to visit (or revisit) cases in lieu of SCOTUS.
Your ire is a bit misplaced, my friend - Jones followed the law as it exists for the moment. He did nothing wrong in looking to Freiler to guide his decision - to do otherwise would have made him precisely the sort of lone-wolf activist we rightly decry. We may, of course, object to Freiler in and of itself, but it is not a decision Jones is empowered to make.
Genesis ch. 9 also included.
"Jeb doesn't fully appreciate that nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution"
I hope you live long enough to see evolution fall on its face just like Freudism and Marxism already have. I have yet to see any evidence of inter-species evolution (rats becoming sheep, etc.) although there appears to be some evidence of intra-species evolution (birds developing longer beaks for eating termites, etc.). I believe Darwin only spoke about intra-species evolution. Thus to me biology makes perfect sense in the light of ID.
You have not yet observed enough. Keep watching. Psalm 19:1-5. Perhaps someone has lied to you about what you were observing.
What's the point in wasting time observing if Psalm 19:1-5 already has all the answers?
What's the point in wasting time observing if Psalm 19:1-5 already has all the answers?
The point is, you desire the glory for yourself and not for God, and so you will not believe His Word.
You claim more knowledge than God. You will see some science at the Second Coming of Christ that would make you burn your entire library of scientific texts, and fall on your knees and beg for mercy.
The inconsistent definitions in Dembski's literature and the lack of rational in the default of design. The lack of real world application, and its high potential for false positives make it questionable in use.
Inconsistant?? How? What example are you giving here? If he is lacking rational you are not convincing me of it just because you say so. That lacks rational in and of itself. What makes you opinion more valid here? Its a valid question to ask yourself as neither you, or Dembski or I are the universal standard.
ml1954: What's the point in wasting time observing if Psalm 19:1-5 already has all the answers?
Free Baptist: The point is, you desire the glory for yourself and not for God, and so you will not believe His Word.
You assume preconception. And that doesn't answer the question.
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