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Battle over evolution heating up
News 8 Austin ^ | 8/20/2003 | Antonio Castelan

Posted on 08/20/2003 6:24:57 PM PDT by new cruelty

The debate continues over what information Texas biology books should present.

The Texas Board of Education is looking to pick the best science book for students.

Members of a campaign called "Stand Up For Science'' said it's meant to protect the accurate teaching of evolution in Texas high school biology textbooks.

The push was unveiled on Wednesday by some religious leaders, scientists and parents. It comes as the state Board of Education prepares to adopt new biology textbooks this fall.

Terry Maxwell, a professor of biology at Angelo State University, doesn't believe creationism should be in biology textbooks.

"Science uses evidentiary reasoning and it uses no other approach," he said.

Creationists generally believe earth was formed supernaturally by God.

Reverend Tom Hegar said while he believes in God's powers, those ideas need to stay at home or in the church.

"Faith and science are complimentary. Don't use faith to build your science. Don't use science to try to destroy or shrink my faith," he said.

Seattle-based Discovery Institute believes the theory of intelligent design should be in Texas biology books. According to the Institute, intelligent design is the hypothesis that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.

Science backers say that's the same thing as creationism.

"Textbooks should fix embarrassing factual errors and tell students about the scientific weakness of neo-Darwinism as well as its strengths," Discovery Institute officials stated in a faxed memo.

Maxwell said two different ideologies make it harder for students to learn science.

"If you interject ways of knowing other than the way science is practiced by mainstream science you confuse children," he said.

Austin biology teacher Amanda Walker said evolution is the cornerstone for understanding the living world, and influences medicine such as prostate cancer, heart disease and AIDS.

The evolution proponents also criticized what they said are attempts to teach creationist theories.

The Board of Education can reject books because of errors or failure to follow the state curriculum.

The board will make its final decision on the biology textbooks in November.

People have until Thursday, Aug. 21, to sign up to speak at the final public hearing Sept. 10.

In July, the first public hearing brought 42 speakers who offered their opinions at the public hearing on biology, but only half of them were familiar with the particular books.

Board member Gail Lowe said then she was disappointed that many of the people who testified for or against certain textbooks hadn't actually read them.

"They seem to be here to express a viewpoint, but it doesn't seem to relate to the textbooks we're actually considering," she said.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: biology; creation; crevolist; evolution; scienceeducation; textbooks
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To: bondserv
That's what progressive creationists believe; that it was all built in...like in a seed.
221 posted on 08/24/2003 6:55:40 AM PDT by metacognative
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To: metacognative; DittoJed2
That's what progressive creationists believe; that it was all built in...like in a seed.

They should just pick up a Bible and see how God said He did it.

Christians of this day need to be careful not to make the same mistakes we made in the past. That being, agreeing with conventional scientific understandings regarding the universe, despite it's contradictions to the Word of God.

1. Geo-Centric Universe
2. Flat-Earth
3. Pope's acknowledgement of Evolutionary Theory despite it's contradiction to the Word of God (This one has been a coup d'etat for Satan and his henchmen).

Christians should take Jesus' example to fight the lies of the enemy and use the Word of God as He did in Matthew 4. Eve's failure was she misrepresented God's words to Satan in the Garden.

God speaking in Gen 2:17, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Eve Speaking in Gen 3:3, "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."

Eve was not confident in her precise knowledge of the Word of God and she added the bolded phrase to what God said. This evident doubt led to Satan's victory in the Garden and over mankind.

The best scientists consider the Word of God as the authority and they make their discoveries and posit they're hypothesis's with that in consideration.

For a good list of God fearing scientists see DittoJed2's List.

222 posted on 08/24/2003 9:33:33 AM PDT by bondserv
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To: gg188
Battle over evolution heating up.

What battle? Evolution happened, and is still happening. Spoken by a christian conservative with a brain.

223 posted on 08/24/2003 9:40:34 AM PDT by Hue68
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To: PatrickHenry
DING!
Thank you for NOT using Connington's "well witting" - that always struck me as a little limp-wristed.
I used to be able to recite this poem in its entirety in proper meter and accent.
Now I can remember mere snippets.
*sniff* see what lack of practice does?

It seemed appropriate.
224 posted on 08/24/2003 10:21:04 AM PDT by King Prout (people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
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To: King Prout
I used to be able to recite this poem in its entirety in proper meter and accent.

When I was 16, I was on the verge of fluency, but I decided not to take 4th year Latin. Translations required too much homework, and by then I had discovered girls. I don't regret the decision. Also, I was never exposed to Horace, so my avoidance of your least-favored translation wasn't because of any knowing choice on my part. I was just blundering around.

225 posted on 08/24/2003 11:04:17 AM PDT by PatrickHenry (Hic amor, haec patria est.)
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To: PatrickHenry
Translations required too much homework, and by then I had discovered girls.

et ego in arcadia vixi

226 posted on 08/24/2003 11:33:17 AM PDT by King Prout (people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
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To: King Prout
I'm happy for you.
227 posted on 08/24/2003 11:49:56 AM PDT by PatrickHenry (Hic amor, haec patria est.)
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To: PatrickHenry
*adrideo*
228 posted on 08/24/2003 11:54:49 AM PDT by King Prout (people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
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To: King Prout
That translates as LOL!
229 posted on 08/24/2003 12:10:55 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (Hic amor, haec patria est.)
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To: PatrickHenry
*grinning!* actually.
it occurs to me that there is some justice in using the most vital current forum of debate as an opportunity to rediscover and revive the greatest of dead languages.
230 posted on 08/24/2003 12:50:11 PM PDT by King Prout (people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
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To: King Prout
There are probably Latin talk channels on usnet, and other places. I shall avoid them. Mono-linguistic proficiency is all I can handle at this point.
231 posted on 08/24/2003 1:13:54 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (Hic amor, haec patria est.)
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To: Hue68
Evolution happened, and is still happening.

No, it never did happen. Science has shown quite well the impossibility of one species transforming itself into another. Genetics shows us the impossibility of a mutation spreading throughout a species. DNA shows us the impossibility of a new useful gene ever occurring. Natural selection is only a destroyer, it cannot create anything.

Just about everything which evolutionists claim would enable species to transform itself into another has been scientifically shown to be false.

232 posted on 08/24/2003 6:13:03 PM PDT by gore3000
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To: PatrickHenry
I just thought of this, as an appendix and tangential addendum:
A story may be entirely non-factual, yet remain utterly true.
Case in point: no one believes that animals speak or behave as they are presented in Aesop's Fables, but does that have any impact whatsoever on the essential truth of those stories?
Perhaps the apparent disparity between Genesis and more verifiable records is along those lines - God may hve been more interested in imparting His Truth to Man, rather than cramming our heads full of rote memorization of abstruse facts.
Assuming, for the argument: God; God's involvement with Man; God's ultimate authorship of Genesis - none of which are demonstrable.
233 posted on 09/03/2003 3:10:06 PM PDT by King Prout (people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
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To: King Prout
A story may be entirely non-factual, yet remain utterly true.

Sure. Most of the science crowd take that approach. But there are those who don't, thus the endless conflicts we encounter in the evolution threads. It's just the way things are.

234 posted on 09/03/2003 3:14:02 PM PDT by PatrickHenry (A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.)
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To: PatrickHenry
"cool placemarker" placemarker
235 posted on 09/03/2003 3:15:38 PM PDT by King Prout (people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
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To: PatrickHenry
yep. sad, but funny at the same time.
236 posted on 09/03/2003 3:19:28 PM PDT by King Prout (people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
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Comment #237 Removed by Moderator

To: 7th_Sephiroth
hey, johnnie-come-lately, read the thread and then tell me why you were so stupid as to rudely accuse me of being in the creationist camp.
238 posted on 09/03/2003 8:05:26 PM PDT by King Prout (people hear and do not listen, see and do not observe, speak without thought, post and not edit)
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To: new cruelty
"Faith and science are complimentary. Don't use faith to build your science...

Good advice for an evolutionist to follow.

...Don't use science to try to destroy or shrink my faith," he said.

My faith is in God's Word--a faith science won't destroy.

239 posted on 09/23/2003 7:03:32 PM PDT by God is good (Till we meet in the golden city of the New Jerusalem, peace to my brothers and sisters.)
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