Posted on 10/14/2006 11:16:50 AM PDT by lizol
Keep Darwin's 'lies' out of Polish schools: education official 2 hours.
WARSAW (AFP) - Poland's deputy education minister called for the influential evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin not to be taught in the country's schools, branding them "lies."
"The theory of evolution is a lie, an error that we have legalised as a common truth," Miroslaw Orzechowski, the deputy minister in the country's right-wing coalition government, was quoted as saying by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily Saturday.
Orzechowski said the theory was "a feeble idea of an aged non-believer," who had come up with it "perhaps because he was a vegetarian and lacked fire inside him."
The evolution theory of the 19th-century British naturalist holds that existing animals and plants are the result of natural selection which eliminated inferior species gradually over time. This conflicts with the "creationist" theory that God created all life on the planet in a finite number.
Orzechowski called for a debate on whether Darwin's theory should be taught in schools.
"We should not teach lies, just as we should not teach bad instead of good, or ugliness instead of beauty," he said. "We are not going to withdraw (Darwin's theory) from the school books, but we should start to discuss it."
The deputy minister is a member of a Catholic far-right political group, the League of Polish Families. The league's head, Roman Giertych, is education minister in the conservative coalition government of Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Giertych's father Maciej, who represents the league in the European Parliament, organised a discussion there last week on Darwinism. He described the theory as "not supported by proof" and called for it be removed from school books.
The far-right joined the government in May when Kaczynski's ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, after months of ineffective minority government, formed a coalition including LPR and the populist Sambroon party.
Roman Giertych has not spoken out on Darwinism, but the far-right politician's stance on other issues has stirred protest in Poland since he joined the government.
A school pupils' association was expected to demonstrate in front of the education ministry on Saturday to call for his resignation.
They will go far, these Poles.
Sad, Poland historically had some of the best science education in Europe.
No it isn't, it's an overwhelmingly validated scientific theory.
Orzechowski said the theory was "a feeble idea of an aged non-believer," who had come up with it "perhaps because he was a vegetarian and lacked fire inside him."
Uh huh... Yup, that's about as "good" as these kinds of idiotic attacks on science get. He hasn't a clue as to what the actual evidence is, and has no ability to describe what exactly is allegedly wrong with the science and why, so he goes off on rants about how it was originated by a vegetarian who "lacked fire inside him", blah blah blah.
Meanwhile, thousands of research papers further validating evolutionary biology are published every year.
Wake me when the kooks find something else to get wild-eyed about.
Better to label it scientific theory and leave in the schools.
Finally, someone with some sense on the issue. Wonder if the U.S. will see someone like this step up to the plate. Naw, that is just a dream.
Oh come on, you could drive a truck through evolution's holes. They teach it like the gospel truth, rather than scientific theory. Thats my only objection.
Darwinism is in retreat. The secularists are running.
Here I thought Poland was a model for how a culture can be traditional and religious and yet reject fundamentalism. I have been citing Poland as an example of how a country can be both religious in the traditioanl and yet fully modern in terms of science and technology
Now it seems Poland is slipping into fundamentalism and anti-scientific paranoia. Very, very sad. I hope this joker of an education minister's views aren't representative of the current government.
"Darwinism is in retreat. The secularists are running.
"
Now if only we can get rid of that ridiculous spherical earth lie and get started fantasy that removed the earth from the center of the universe. (sarc?)
Idiots indeed.
But really dangerous, as we can see.
I had the same reaction as you at first. Then I read the whole article. The education minister is part of a fringe fundamentalist party, league of Polish families, whose primary following is in the poor, rural parts of Poland. They have only marginal representation in the Parliament. Unfortunately, head of the current governing coalition could not form a majority without bringing in these freaks. They had to give them some post in the government, and they probably thought education minister was the post wherein the freaks could do least harm.
Unfortunately, that turned out not the be the case.
I'm heartened by the demonstrations by students calling for the minister's resignation alluded to at the end of the article.
It looks likely that this whole thing will blow over without affecting Polish science education. At least that's what I hope.
The circus is back in town *Placemarker*
How much damage do you think Orzechowski can do?
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