Evolution vs Intelligent Design
The Kansas Board of Education voted 6-4 to include greater criticism of evolution in its school science standards, but it decided to send the standards to an outside academic for review before taking a final vote. [...]
The belief, which many say is deeply tied to religious belief, holds that some features of the natural world are best explained by an unspecified intelligent cause. Evolution is a fundamental scientific theory that species evolved over millions of years through natural selection.
However, the latest version of the science standards says the board isn’t advocating intelligent design - which says some features of the natural world are best explained by an intelligent cause because they’re well-ordered and complex - as an alternative to the theory of evolution. But the language favored by the board comes from intelligent design advocates who challenge the theory of evolution. [...]
President Bush seems to believe the debate is a worthwhile. [...]
“I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought,” Mr. Bush said. “You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes.” (source)
But... the difference is that evolution is a pretty well grounded theory (Kent can speak more on this). If the goal is to expose the children to “different ideas”, as the President suggests, why not just introduce the findings of the Star Trek series into the science books. That is as grounded in the truth as Intelligent Design, it seems to me.
Is our goal to teach children science, or science fiction? Cutting through the chase (which I love to do), this is just one more way, aside from the obvious goal of getting prayer back into public schools, for religion to find it’s way back into public schools. Notice that it doesn’t call itself “Creationism” anymore. Now, it’s the more benign term of “Intelligent Design”. Make no mistake about it, the two are joined at the hip.
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Bill,
Thought everyone might enjoy this bit of satire ...
Tom
My brother and I learned about Evolution while attending a Catholic elementary school. Our teachers were mostly Irish nuns and they were very well-educated.
This was in the early 1970s and I recall that teaching Evolution was somewhat controversial. But, the sisters were intimidating ladies and they didn't tolerate those who questioned their lesson plans.
When we asked Sister Benita about the obvious conflict between our Catechism and the science of Evolution, she explained it very well.
She said that religion is a matter of faith. Science is a matter of deductive reasoning. Religion and science seem to be contradictory, but it is like comparing "apples to orangutans." That's exactly what she said (in a thick Irish accent)...and I think it makes perfect sense.
The sisters wanted to ensure that we had the best education possible. They knew that some of us would aspire to be scientists, doctors, and teachers.
I recall Sister Benita saying, "Dinosaurs aren't in the Bible. Neither are jet planes. Both must be explained through science, not religion."
This came from one of the most devoutly religious women I have ever met! She embraced science and it didn't shake her faith in the slightest.
The problem with religion these days is that it no longer attracts people of this level of intelligence. Most are not deep-thinkers. They are "C" students like George W. Bush.
One area of study where the nuns did us a disservice was Greek Mythology. They just didn't spend a great deal of time on the "pagan" myths. However, I recall reading Plato's Phaedrus in the 6th grade! The sisters didn't shy away from Philosophy.
Jeff,
My baggage surrounding religion could fill volumes.
I tried so hard when I was kid to fit it - really to any group of people who would have me. I just didn't belong to anything. I felt alienate. It was the "gay issue". Today, that's not the big issue of what I'm about, but when you are a kid entering puberty, coming to the realization that you are gay is everything - EVERYTHING. It was horrible, actually.
I turned to Church and God for help. Of course, I couldn't tell anyone about the turmoil I was going through. And, I suppose it was because of that turmoil that it seemed that all the church was talking about was how gays were going to go to Hell. I'm sure some of that was just me. But I remember this gay man started crying when the sermon talked about the "sin of homosexuality". I didn't why at the time, because I didn't realize that he was gay. He never returned. A few days later, he killed himself. I thought to myself, "My God. That's going to happen to me!" I prayed to God to change me and went through two years of Hell thinking that my future was basically damned. All the while, I could tell no one what I was going through.
I later realized that God is not this huge being that is "mysterious" (can't be examined or explained), but rather, he exists in all of us. And, what we are can be gifts, if we let them be. That is what I believe God to be.
I've stopped going to church because I've lost all faith in them. And, if you've watched recently, many of them are now finding ways to try to lure gay people into the fold in this new-found acceptance. I find that odd. When I was growing up, they made my life a living hell citing Leviticus left and right and today, that suddenly doesn't matter anymore?
They are losing membership left and right. Now, suddenly, I'm important to them, it would seem. Such hypocrites.
When I was in school I dabbled in Mormanism. I remember one of the girls from the church who was also in one of my science classes writing something along the lines of "Boy will they, (the science teachers,) be surprised when they meet God!" in my yearbook.
I couldn’t understand her incredible lack of intellectual reasoning. Even though I was a member of the church, I wasn’t a blind follower. I felt that the basic good the church tried to do for our fellow man was the real value of our faith. Such biblical fairy tales as “creation” etc I always thought were just stories that the ancient authors used to describe events that were beyond the comprehension of their audience. Any application of these stories in modern society in my mind would be more allegorical than literal. It was just beyond me how any educated person could possibly believe that man was made from the dust, and woman was pulled from a rib.
The introduction of “Intelligent Design” has no place in today’s public school curriculum. Especially when it is disguised as a legitimate science.
Perhaps it could be taught in a philosophy class in collage, but other than that it is a cruel lie to tell our children that it is a plausible theory of reality.
By the way, I eventually abandoned my faith in the Morman church. It's a long story, but I think it's the same as most folks who look for some sort of stability in their early years by turning to organized religion, and then realizing that religion isn't any better than any other group of people. In fact, in many cases, they are much worse.