Hong Kong evolution curriculum row (the ID revolution spreads into Asia!)

NatureNews ^ | February 25, 2009 | David Cyranoski

[GodGunsGuts]

Hong Kong evolution curriculum row

Intelligent design 'debate' sparks controversy.

David Cyranoski

A debate over the teaching of intelligent design in schools is raging in the unlikely battleground of Hong Kong. A fiery topic in the United States, intelligent design which holds that a designer has shaped life on Earth has gone almost unnoticed in Asia.

The controversy is affecting all levels of education. In the latest episode, a dean of science at one of Hong Kong's premier universities backed out of a radio show earlier this month after finding he was being set up to debate with an advocate of intelligent design within his faculty.

Hong Kong is in the middle of reforming its school system, and the Education Bureau has issued a series of guidelines for all levels of education to go into effect in September 2009. Within the 126-page guidelines for teaching biology at the secondary level, the section on 'Genetics and Evolution' includes the sentence: In addition to Darwin's theory, students are encouraged to explore other explanations for evolution and the origins of life, to help illustrate the dynamic nature of scientific knowledge...

[GodGunsGuts]

Good morning :o)

[outinyellowdogcountry]

Creation is at the core of every other truth in the Bible. SO interesting that even the athiests are being challenged. So exciting to hear. Thanks.

[lefty-lie-spy]

Why is everyone picking on the work of Charles Darwin when its so obvious that any intelligent person would come up with the same idea? Frankly, the daily postings of the same essential story over and over are a real downer. Mr. Darwin just happened to publish his findings first. Now if I was a dorky dude and wanted some T&A, I might pretend that a God answered my prayers too, and try to explain it a way that she was given to me for a bone. Pen & Teller did a nice episode about the Bible on their Showtime series Bullshit. You can find it on Youtube.

[qam1]

[ElectricStrawberry]

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!

THERE ARE CREATIONISTS IN HONG KONG TOO!!!!!

(hold muh beeeeeer!!!)

[whattajoke]

Yawn.

As the article you linked concluded, quite properly, “For now, Kwok and his university are unlikely to back down. The position of the faculty of science of the University of Hong Kong is that pseudoscience subjects such as intelligent design, astrology and UFO studies have no place in our science curriculum, says Kwok.”

Well said. By the way, GGG, your little cartoon (which always seem to be the height of creationist publications) has a doctor claiming there are “mechanisms” which we don’t yet have an explanation for their evolution.

Please name one.

[nmh]

“The depth of interest in intelligent design in Hong Kong is rare for Asia, says Chung-I Wu, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago and a visiting director at the Institute of Genomics in Beijing. Each of us card-carrying evolutionists has encountered issues of intelligent design in Taiwan or China, he says, but the challenge is never serious enough to leave even a name or organization that we can recall. Beling says that the presence of many missionary schools in Hong Kong may explain why intelligent design has taken root there.”

You will NOT stop people from seeking truth - even when liars, evolutionists try. The truth is OBVIOUS for all who have eyes or even if they can't see - Helen Keller. Yes, even Helen Keller instinctively KNEW there was something bigger than herself and became a Christian.

If ev olutionists were comfortaqble with their ilogical position of evolution, they'd INVITE DEBATE to make Intelliegent Design supporters look like fools. But they don't do that. Like Al Gore and his "global warming" farce, he can NOT debate it because it's a pile of crap. Saying the "debate is over" when it never started is the LIAR'S way out, right Al?

[whattajoke]

"The ID Revolution spreads to Asia!"

Of course. Moonies are creationists. In fact, one of the creationist heroes is a Moonie. From wikipedia:

Jonathan Wells is an American author and a prominent advocate of intelligent design. A member of the Unification Church, Wells wrote that the teachings of church founder Sun Myung Moon, his own studies at the Unification Theological Seminary and his prayers convinced him to devote his life to "destroying Darwinism", a term which intelligent design proponents often use to refer to the scientific consensus on evolution and which he describes as the theory that various species developed as a wholly natural process "without God's purposeful, creative activity."

He's also a college drop out and Army deserter and has been jailed in the past. And a Moonie. IOW, typical creationist.

[Poison Pill]

If ev olutionists were comfortaqble with their ilogical position of evolution, they'd INVITE DEBATE to make Intelliegent Design supporters look like fools.

OK. What is the scientifically testable model you want to use for ID?

[indcons]

LOL - I knew there was a Moonie connection somewhere.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Don Corleone]

He's also a college drop out and Army deserter and has been jailed in the past. And a Moonie. IOW, typical creationist.

That doesn't describe any of the other millions who believe in an Almighty God! Your shallowness is appalling.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

.....since the problem of origin of Universe and life is still standing and is not only a scientific one, a phylosophical approach can take into account also the possibility of a non-random but finalistic origin. As I said, this is a phylosophical (and theological) aspect which should be addressed not in scientific university courses but in phylosophical or theological ones. Serious and mature reflection on this problem and its appropriate collocation within the framework of the undeniable scientific evidences for an evolution based on mutation/selection dynamics has undoubtfully a place in phylosophy.

The camel's nose is in the tent.

Clearly, any use of the intelligent design as a counter argument against Darwin's theory is improper and flawed. Giovanni Maga, PhD Inst. of Molecular Genetics CNR Pavia, Italy.

That depends on how you define intelligent design. Some ID'rs like myself can except certain aspects of Darwin, but reject the industrial strenghth definition as defined by Dawkins.

IOW God did it..

[whattajoke]

That doesn't describe any of the other millions who believe in an Almighty God! Your shallowness is appalling.

I'm not sure what my comment had to do at all with those millions who believe in an almighty God. Regardless, I accept your criticism and look forward to GGG no longer spamming FR with endless articles about one Charles Darwin's supposed shortcomings in light of the millions who accept his theory.

[tacticalogic]

I’ll bet they don’t teach evolution at all in Somalia.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

That cartoon describes the vapidness of the word "evolution" perfectly. It's a Rorschach test. It explains everything and nothing at the same time.

[LeGrande]

I don’t think your problem is with evolution. ID actually supports evolution.

I think your problem is the common origin of life. Do you accept the premise that all life has a common origin?

[GodGunsGuts]

==I think your problem is the common origin of life. Do you accept the premise that all life has a common origin?

Yes, each biblical kind (each of which has since branched out into many species) was created separately by God, fully formed and fully functional.

[whattajoke]

Yes, each biblical kind (each of which has since branched out into many species) was created separately by God, fully formed and fully functional.

Aha! So you do indeed accept evolutionary theory! This is great news! Welcome to the 19th century.

But I am confused. You clearly state that evolution happens, but you just can't accept that it happened from the get-go? Please explain.