Posted on 06/21/2006 8:33:46 AM PDT by PatrickHenry
In a veiled attack on creationism, the world's foremost academies of science on Wednesday called on parents and teachers to provide children with the facts about evolution and the origins of life on Earth.
A declaration signed by 67 national academies of science blasted the scriptural teaching of biology as a potential distortion of young minds.
"In various parts of the world, within science courses taught in certain public systems of education, scientific evidence, data and testable theories about the origins and evolution of life on Earth are being concealed, denied or confused with theories not testable by science," the declaration said.
"We urge decision-makers, teachers and parents to educate all children about the methods and discoveries of science and to foster an understanding of the science of nature.
"Knowledge of the natural world in which they live empowers people to meet human needs and protect the planet."
Citing "evidence-based facts" derived from observation, experiment and neutral assessment, the declaration points to findings that the Universe is between 11 and 15 billion years old, and the Earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
Life on Earth appeared at least 2.5 billion years ago as a result of physical and chemical processes, and evolved into the species that live today.
"Commonalities in the structure of the genetic code of all organisms living today, including humans, clearly indicate their common primordial origin," it said.
The statement does not name any names or religions, nor does it explain why it fears the teaching of evolution or the scientific explanation for the origins of planetary life are being sidelined.
Signatories of the declaration include the US National Academy of Sciences, Britain's Royal Society, the French Academy of Sciences and their counterparts in Canada, China, Germany, Iran, Israel and Japan and elsewhere.
It comes, however, in the context of mounting concern among biologists about the perceived influence of creationism in the United States.
Evangelical Christians there are campaigning hard for schools to teach creationism or downgrade evolution to the status of one of a competing group of theories about the origins of life on Earth.
According to the website Christian Post (www.christianpost.com), an opinion poll conducted in May by Gallop found that 46 percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years or so.
Scientists say hominids emerged around six million years ago and one of their offshoots developed into anatomically modern man, Homo sapiens, about 200,000 years ago, although the timings of both events are fiercely debated.
Nearly every religion offers an explanation as to how life began on Earth.
Fundamentalist Christians insist on a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis in the Bible, in which God made the world in seven days, culminating in the creation of the first two humans, Adam and Eve.
A variation of this is called "intelligent design" which acknowledges evolution but claims that genetic mutations are guided by God's hand rather than by Charles Darwin's process of natural selection.
US President George W. Bush said last August that he believed in this concept and that he supported its teaching in American schools.
The academies' statement says that science does not seek to offer judgements of value or morality, and acknowledges limitations in current knowledge.
"Science is open-ended and subject to correction and expansion as new theoretical and empirical understanding emerges," it adds.
"How in the world does a biotic language, or a convention, or code, or whatever you want to call it, that itself is entirely independent of the chemical makeup of the DNA molecule, originate from chemicals? "
However some of the most enthusiastic anti-Darwinians (those who use God as a means to legitimize their belief that no evolution exists) were able to accomodate the guilt of the stuff they do - Aimie Semple MacPherson, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, Herb and Garner Ted Armstrong.
It seems that rejecting beilef in evolution may be at least as motally hazardous as rejecting beief in God
Yes, that's correct. Over the last 50 years or so I've seen, heard, and read enough data to convince me that the theory of evolution is most likely correct. But, I don't know the *final truth* about it any more than anyone else does. Anyone who claims to have the *final truth* about such things is a fool or is delusional, or maybe a closed minded fanatic. Both science and religion have lots of fools and fanatics.
There's a whole lot of gaps in the data and a whole lot of unanswered questions - for me at least. Some folks claim to have it all figured out, but I sure don't. I accept a lot of scientific data based on the volume and depth of research that went in to it, and wonder about the rest. I instinctively reject the Poof Theory since no one has ever produced a shred of evidence to support it, that I'm aware of. Maybe you could direct me to such proof, hmmmm?
What do the Creationists base the idea that Piltdown was a fake on? Evolutionary theory would claim the Piltdown wouldn't work because the bones didn't fit together correctly (and this theory is not accepted by Creationists.) Radiometric dating shows that the bones are not of the same date (and this is mostly not accepted by Creationists.)
And creationism is touted by Islamic fundamentalists. Not that the "who's-with-me" method is a good way to pick your beliefs, in my opinion, but you'd rather be on the side of Islamofacists than atheists? Or perhaps you're conveniently ignoring that fact.
The Secretary has always disavowed any knowledge of my team's existence.
No one knows the answer to that, but billions of people *believe* they know the answer to that. And in the name of (insert your particular deity here) hundreds of millions of people have been put to the sword.
I'm waiting for some kind of deity to appear, or some kind of devil to appear, or *something* to appear to move me off of center on this. I neither believe nor disbelieve - ain't seen nuthin' yet.
There are none so blind....
I'm astonished that people can continue to be presented with mountains of evidence, and keep right on saying "Evidence? I don't see any evidence!". It takes a special kind of mindset to remain that militantly ignorant....
From Augustine's commentary:
In the case of a narrative of events, the question arises as to whether everything must be taken according to the figurative sense only, or whether it must be expounded and defended also as a faithful record of what happened. No Christian will dare say that the narrative must not be taken in a figurative sense.
Alleged testimony of uncrossexaminable putative witnesses, perhaps.
You stole the heretical words right out of my damned doomed mouth.
>"Who would that be, exactly?
Come now, no vague statements. Either make specific charges against individuals (and support them), or stop spouting nonsense."
I will not honor those who hate evangelical religions with names. I think your post is churlish. Why do irrational people (such as yourself) always resort to insults? Have a good day.
Science is constrained to relative truth, so it should expect to be questioned at every turn. It should not be expected to seek and attain absolute truth. It should speak, therefore, in tentative terms.
As for creationists, they claim to have absolute truth on their side. When they speak of doom one may take or leave the proclamation, just as they may take or leave the proclamations of science, just as one may take or leave the pronouncements of a judge. They're just words. Words don't do anything. They aren't even physical. Don't worry. Be happy.
I vote this as the "No true Christian" test.
Mithra not Mithradites.
"I will not honor those who hate evangelical religions with names. "
I'm sorry, but you're the one who brought this up. You referred to people who attack religion. Yet you cannot name any of them. I have been around here for a very long time. I have seen people who don't believe in any religion, but I have only seen a couple who ever attacked anyone else for their belief. I believe they're gone now.
So, if you have some names of FReepers who are attacking your religious beliefs, rather than just saying they don't share them with you, I'd sure like to see their FReepnames.
You brought it up, so I think it's up to you to offer evidence of what you said.
And no limitation to 72 either.
There are plenty still around that refer to LDS as a cult, not to mention those who Consider Catholicism a subsidiary of Marx, Inc. There's currently a thread denouncing Presbyterians.
All these God haters, and scarcely an evo posting.
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