Professor Refuses Letters of Recommendation to Creationist Students

AP Breaking News ^

[governsleastgovernsbest]

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-evolution-dispute0130jan30,0,713004.story

Professor's Letter Refusal Causes Probe By LISA FALKENBERG Associated Press Writer

January 30, 2003, 9:50 AM EST

DALLAS -- A biology professor who refuses to write letters of recommendation for his students if they don't believe in evolution is being accused of religious discrimination, and federal officials are investigating, the school said.

The legal complaint was filed against Texas Tech University and professor Michael Dini by a student and the Liberty Legal Institute, a religious freedom group that calls Dini's policy "open religious bigotry."

[OperationFreedom]

Because a letter of recommendation is supposed to be based on the students scholarly abilities instead of his religious beliefs. It is obvious this student found out about the policy after he joined the class.

[DeathTaxesNoles]

http://www.DRDINO.com/

Download his 7 part creationist series for free. Go to "Seminar Online." You will not regret it.

[OperationFreedom]

But that was not the litmus test posed by the prof.

[OperationFreedom]

But that was not the litmus test posed by the prof.

[kittymyrib]

I can tell you that in Lubbock, Texas, this is not going to fly. The professor better be packing his bags and trying to get a job at UT in Austin. This is a publically funded, public institution where Christian students should not be discriminated against for their beliefs. If university personnel can't live with that, they need to teach at private universities. We are no longer going to pay for our children being abused for their faith in God and His Scriptures, and we will see bigoted professors and teachers in the courtroom if they persist in infringing on the free exercise of our religious freedom. Incidentally, isn't it interesting that scientists such as Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, and Albert Schweitzer managed to follow God and excel in science, while our minor, no-name scientists today are so closed-minded in their pursuit of scientific knowledge.

[Dataman]

Gee, enlightened, open-minded, scientific, non-religious people don't do this sort of thing!

The evos survive on a raft of double standards:

Two sets of ethics
Two sets of evidence (evos can manufacture evidence)
Two sets of truth (truth for them is declared, not discovered)
Two kinds of logic (their logic is exempt from the law of noncontradiction when convenient)
Two standards of proof (the evo standard is lower)
And, as this article illustrates, two standards of conduct.

[Kryptonite]

The professor requires that students not only understand evolutionism, but believe in it. The question he asks is: "How do you think the human species originated?" It should be: "How do evolutionists use scientific theory to explain the origins of human species?"

[Dark Knight]

>> An unasked question: Why would a creationist student ask for a letter of recommendation from an evolutionist teacher in the first place? It's like a pacifist asking a letter from the ROTC instructor.<<

The student wants to be a doctor and biology is one of the required letters of recommendation. This supposed educator had already screwed up this potential doctor's career by his narrow minded dogma, and now is unhappy that he is nationally famous as a Christian basher. He has NO reason to withhold his recommendation for qualified applicants. The college should be taken to task for taking money from Christian pre-med students. One thing I missed though, is the Theory of Evolution the only aspect of biology anymore?

DK

[OperationFreedom]

Could you tell me how you really feel? LOL

Keep up the good work.

[Doctor Stochastic]

If students were standing up in class making this an issue, then there'd be a good reason not to reccommend them.

When I was teaching college (1970s), this was rather common. At least once a month. The biology courses had more of it.

[sphinx]

The professor is wrong. First and foremost, belief in evolution is irrelevant to most advanced courses of study in "the biomedical field." Certainly it is irrelevant what physicians may think on the subject. Nor do I see why it makes a difference to research scientists in most fields. The prof is simply imposing a substantively irrelevant religious test.

If the professor feels strongly enough about it, his proper course of action would be to write a straightforward recommendation and then express his concern in an explanatory postscript. This, of course, would make the professor look small, which is probably why he doesn't handle it this way.

[ClearCase_guy]

No, this is an issue of BELIEF.

I'm having a hard time with this one. I often criticize Evolution (and science in general) because I see it as a Religion. That doesn't make it wrong, but I think scientists use an awful lot of Faith (materialist, naturalist Faith) in propounding their theories. They don't like to admit that it's just a priori Faith, but it is. I've encountered many Scientists who scoff at Christians as ignorant "believers" (note: not all scientists are like this) but these same scientists place themselves on a pedestral -- they have "scientific proof". I think they fool themselves.

Having said all that, I think we have competing religions here. The materialist scientific professor does not want to support self-professed believers in the competing religion (Christianity). Can the Constitution force a Jew to pay for the construction of a Church? Can it force a Scientist to help Christians infiltrate the halls of Science?

In a way this is like the McCarthy Hearings (which I think were good things). It was not a crime to be a Communist in the 1950's (or now). And it was not a crime to keep your political affiliation a secret. HOWEVER, people had legitimate fears about Communists. They often did not want to work along side of Communists. They also did not want to work alongside people who were secretive about their politics. This is about the right of association.

In the 1950's, many were blacklisted because other Americans didn't trust them. Hey, that's life. I think this professor is doing the same thing, and I feel uncomfortable saying its wrong.

[Right Wing Professor]

As I've written elsewhere, my policy (which I've never had to apply) is simply to note in the letter that the student has creationist beliefs, since this is likely to be relevant to certain medical fields, and let the Med. School make its own decision. But the faculty member is well within his rights. Creationists want to enjoy the fruits of modern biology while denying its foundations. Modern medicine is become increasingly genome-based. The genome makes no sense except in the context of evolution.

Is it religious discrimination to deny an Amish a job as a truckdriver because he won't drive a vehicle fueled by an interal combustion engine?

[Dataman]

On the other hand, I can't imagine how it'd be possible to be a biologist without understanding how evolution works.

Biology is biology regardless of evolution.
Bio (life) ology (the study of) is just that. Evo deals only with it's imagined origin. You think, perhaps, no one, not Mendel or physicians, could understand biology before darwin?

[BibChr]

x l nt

Substitute "demos" for "evos," and you've a double use to that list.

Hmmm... I wonder what the correlation is?

Dan

[Right Wing Professor]

Biology is biology regardless of evolution.

Biology without evolution is birdwatching. It's the collection of observations with no possibility of gaining fundamental understanding.

[IowaHawk]

In what bizarro universe is a student entitled to a letter of recommendation? Where a professor is obligated by a court to recommend them?

I normally laugh when I hear Christian Conservatives likened to Islamic mullahs. A story like this makes gives me pause, though.

[Dataman]

Biology without evolution is birdwatching. It's the collection of observations with no possibility of gaining fundamental understanding.

Don't look now, but you just admitted evolution is not observation.

On this we agree. It's speculation (and not even very good speculation).

[Right Wing Professor]

"Just 'cos I think 2 plus 2 equals 5, that's no reason to keep me out of accounting" ping.

[f.Christian]

The horse // buggy // whip is evolution . . . snake oil - - - carnival tricks // side shows and freaks !

Science has been paraded like show animals and taken over by quacks and hooligans !