Bill requiring evolution disclaimer clears House

Claremore Progress ^ | 2/27/04 | Sean Murphy

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

OKLAHOMA CITY (CNHI) — The Oklahoma House passed a bill Monday that would require public school textbooks that discuss evolution to include a disclaimer stating that it is a controversial theory and not fact.

Rep. Bill Graves successfully included the language in House Bill 2194, a measure that originally changed the format for Braille versions of instructional materials.

“I think so many of the textbooks make it appear that evolution is a scientific fact and it’s not,” said Graves, R-Oklahoma City. “Even the U.S. Supreme Court says it’s a theory, so I was just trying to make that clear.

“I think it’s very important for children to know,” Graves said. “If they just believe that they came from some slime in a swamp that’s a whole lot different from being created in the image of God.”

According to the bill, any state school district textbook that discusses evolution would have to include a disclaimer that states, in part, “This textbook discusses evolution, a controversial theory which some scientists present as scientific explanation for the origin of living things, such as plants and humans. No one was present when life first appeared on earth. Therefore, any statement about life’s origins should be considered as theory, not fact.”

The disclaimer goes on to state, “Study hard and keep an open mind. Someday you may contribute to the theories of how living things appeared on earth.”

The bill passed on a 96-0 vote and now heads to the Senate.

Officials with the State Department of Education did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Sean Murphy is the Capitol Bureau reporter in Oklahoma for Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. He can be reached at smurphy@cnhi.com.

[moonman]

I agreed with your previous post. I believe in creation and will continue until a crocodile or anything else evolves into another form of life.

[RaceBannon]

WOW!

Now, if we can only get people to actually believe what The Bible says, they might get saved!

[Dimensio]

They have apehead man creature pictures and fake skulls evolving into human man heads at the Natural History Museum children's section.

Well, clearly they're not presenting evolution accurately. Nothing in the ToE has "fake skulls" evolving into "human man heads".

[Dimensio]

It's really an agenda laden hypothesis

And what, exactly, is this alleged agenda?

[Physicist]

The theory of gravity, as I pointed out in an earlier post, is an excellent example of why theories should be taught as theories

But I don't see anyone pressing for legislation that require disclaimers to be slapped on the atomic theory of matter, or the theory of the heliocentric solar system.

[whattajoke]

I believe in creation and will continue until a crocodile or anything else evolves into another form of life.

And I'm quite sure your definition of "another form of life" doesn't jibe with reality either. Lemme guess, "snakes to dogs" or "birds to cows," right?

[gawd]

gawd: If I may answer that, genesis actually contains two distinct and incompatible creation stories.

Stone Mountain: What are the two stories? Thanks...

compare Genesis 1:1-2:3 with 2:4-2:25

[RaceBannon]

The order of creation is what most Creationists need to read, also!

What came before what on what day!

It would end all this Biblical -Evolutionist nonsense on the spot!

[Frankss]

Remember Plithdown man. Remember the Arizona "pig man" Both massive scientific frauds, or maybe just huge mistakes that were widely accepted as fact by scientist for many years.
They were faked monkey skulls.

[Stone Mountain]

Cool - I'll check it out!

[Dimensio]

Remember Plithdown man. Remember the Arizona "pig man" Both massive scientific frauds, or maybe just huge mistakes that were widely accepted as fact by scientist for many years.

I don't remember the Arizona "pig man", but I do know about Piltdown man. A great number of biologists treated it with a great deal of skepticism, because of the way that it was presented. It was through the scientific method that it was debunked. It was not debunked by "Creation scientists".

[Physicist]

Showing me various species of extinct plants and animals that happen to look similar to each other is a fact that they existed NOT that they evolved.

What do you mean by "evolved"? I mean that they change over time. That point is beyond dispute, except among the ignorant. Animals today simply do not look like the animals of long ago.

[jayef]

Maybe you should encourage her to find her own truth.

[whattajoke]

Remember Plithdown man. Remember the Arizona "pig man" Both massive scientific frauds, or maybe just huge mistakes that were widely accepted as fact by scientist for many years. They were faked monkey skulls.

Sheesh. It's amazing how many mistakes one can make in 3 sentences.

[Modernman]

You're careful to explain to your children how G-d created the universe, right? And you read them Genesis, detailing the order of creation, right?

Once I have children- No, to both questions.

[JohnnyZ]

But I don't see anyone pressing for legislation that require disclaimers to be slapped on the atomic theory of matter, or the theory of the heliocentric solar system.

Are you really trying to compare evolutionary theory -- which its proponents admit is still up in the air in many respects -- to the heliocentric solar system?

Get a grip!

[jayef]

Clearly you lack even a fundamental understanding of the mechanics of evolution.

[Dimensio]

Are you really trying to compare evolutionary theory -- which its proponents admit is still up in the air in many respects -- to the heliocentric solar system?

And heliocentricism isn't controversial?

[jayef]

But we hold onto the ones that explain our observances until they are falsified. Read Popper!

[JohnnyZ]

Remember the Arizona "pig man"

Wasn't that on Seinfeld?

"I wish there were pig-men. You get a few of those pig-men walking around, suddenly I'm looking a lot better. That way if someone wanted to fix me up they could say, 'Hey, at least he's no pig-man.'" - George, in "The Bris"

http://www.pkmeco.com/seinfeld/bris.htm