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.
In the beginning, Old Man Coyote stood alone with water surrounding him. Two ducks swam by, and Coyote asked if they had seen anyone else. The ducks said no but thought that something might exist under the water.Coyote asked if they would travel underwater for him and report on what they saw. The ducks did as they were asked, finding nothing. He asked again, and the ducks returned with a root. On the third try, they found mud and Coyote was happy. He told the ducks that they could build with it, and he began to shape and mold the mud into an island. He blew on it, and it expanded. He blew again, and it grew into the earth. The ducks said they did not like the earth's emptiness, so Coyote created grass and trees out of the roots that came from the water.
Coyote and the ducks loved the earth, but it was flat. They wanted rivers, valleys, mountains, and lakes. So it was done. Soon Coyote and the ducks made a perfect earth, but they grew lonely, with only the three of them to sit and enjoy the land. So Coyote molded dirt to form men and then more mud to create many types of male ducks. Soon, they realized that without women, the males could not have children. So with more dirt he made women and female ducks to populate the earth.
One day Old Man Coyote traveled upon the land and was surprised to find another Coyote. When asked where he came from, the younger brother, named Shirape, said he was unsure of his origin and only knew he existed. As the two traveled along, Shirape wanted Old Man Coyote to make other animals, for only ducks, humans, and the two Coyotes had been created. The elder Coyote agreed, and as he spoke the new animals' names, they were created. He said "Elk" and an elk appeared. He said "Bear" and a bear appeared. This is how it was until all animals were created.
Oh, really? And micro-evolution stops where? At speciation? The creation of a new genus? And what limits the continued divergence of "micro-evolved" populations? Science has identified no such stopping force. The positive evidence is that it doesn't exist. Just for one instance, the fish-to-elephant transition seems to have been about 50 steps of "microevlution."
Let's look at it from another angle. Are there created kinds distinct from all others with no hint of evolution from a common ancestor? Not that science can find.
Too bad more EVOS aren't truthful enough to admit there is no evidence for macro-evolution.
We don't "admit" it because it's not true. About 29 lines of evidence agree.
No evidence for one species evolving into another- none, nada, zilch, zippo.
Wrong, as shown above.
Sounds like the doper from the seventies who got the secret of the universe from a lava lamp. "First yellow, then red."
Really, then what does "I just hope that their realization happens on this side of their breath." It sounds to me like a warning that you will be condemned unless you "see the folly of evolution" before your death. If that's not what you meant, then what did you mean?
Well, I appreciate the opportunity to clarify myself for my FR compatriot. What I meant by this is that it is my earnest desire for you (and others) to know the splendid Creator before you meet Him after this life. One cannot come to eternal salvation apart from having a personal relationship with the Creator in this life. Those are word not of condemnation, but are words of hope!
Well, I was being facetious. It's turtles. It's turtles...all the way down. Everybody knows that. All those other stories are just nonsense.
Turtles.
"on the other hand, we have some mysterious magical, supernatural entity..."
Hold on now. You're not baggin' on my invisible friend in the sky, are ya?
ok, now please don't insult our intelligence by claiming that is evolution. That baby looks like he has 3 hands, but when that baby grows up, chances are pretty close to 100%, that his kids will be normal. What happened to him was something abnormal, probably being exposed to radiation or chemicals during early development. Also, the chances of the millionth generation of his kids being born that way are close to 0.
"Sounds like the doper from the seventies who got the secret of the universe from a lava lamp. "First yellow, then red."
I personally believe that there is no way to justify evolution and be a Christian, as Christianity includes believing the Bible. Evolution and the Biblical story of Creation are incompatible. I know - I spent many years of my life trying to fit one into the other.
If the Bible is wrong on creation - then it is not infallible and thus the whole thing can be considered of no use.
"Hold on now. You're not baggin' on my invisible friend in the sky, are ya?
"
No matter how many times you bounce a dead cat, it won't evolve into a dog!
"That baby looks like he has 3 hands, but when that baby grows up, chances are pretty close to 100%, that his kids will be normal."
I dunno. Looks like an avatar of Shiva to me. I'm gettin' scared, here.
Now you know why most of your confreres are so cutesy-cagey.
Actually, if Western Civilization returned to Christianity (and Creationism), then the Civilization could flourish, and things such as racism, abortion, and extreme environmentalism (animals and plants on par with humans and such) could decrease.
"But I do know who created that light that can be measured."
Edison?
"If the Bible is wrong on creation - then it is not infallible and thus the whole thing can be considered of no use."
Argument Ad baculum.
I have the microwave, but currently I lack the chocolate bar.
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