"Jason Spaceman" <notreally@jspaceman.homelinux.org> wrote in message
news:bd7jp0pise7arpjtreut9bo3r3ofbfap8l@4ax.com...

From the article:
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'When you do get organized, when you use political pressure, it is
effective," said Gish of the Institute for Creation Research. He said
he would like to see ''the schools present the best case for
evolution, and let the creationists present their best case, and let
students decide."

Note that he doesn't say that the creationists should present their best
case FOR CREATION, but rather just their best case. Their "best case" is
basically trying to poke holes in evolution, because there's no case to
present for creationism.

In my opinion, the schools should teach only the truth, and not lies.

Thus, when people, influenced by their overwhelming religious views,
fail to examine the observations of the fossil record in an objective
and unbiased light, but instead try to twist them into a case for the
truth of their scriptures, presenting the results to students in schools
as worthy of consideration is not acceptable.

But in my opinion, the schools should also only inform and educate
students, not indoctrinate them - in religion or politics.

Maybe the odd message about good citizenship or democracy, of an
uncontroversial nature, might be exempted.

And thus I have nothing against *cultural sensitivity* in the teaching
of evolution.

Many Americans are Bible-believing Christians. Most American
Bible-believing Christians are not vegetarians.

I should think the potential for disaster here is obvious!

When a Bible-believing Christian teaches his children about right and
wrong, he does so largely on the basis of these things being the
commands of a loving God, revealed through the authority of the Bible.

Teach his children that the Bible is just an ancient human document of
no special authority, no better than the Quran or the Bhagavad-Gita or
the Book of the Dead (or, for that matter, the Bardo Thodol), because,
for example, it begins with the naive account by a primitive culture of
human origins.

Teach his children that there is no real, fundamental difference between
a human being and the steer he had for yesterday's supper; they're both
just living organisms that resulted from the same natural process of
evolution.

Is it not then possible that a child, exposed to such ideas at a tender
age, before his own philosophical world-view is well formed, might come
to the conclusion that right and wrong are just illusions, and that if
he refrains from commiting murder whenever it might strike his fancy or
be useful to him, it is but a yielding to external coercion?

I think we should therefore avoid presenting valid scientific knowledge
that has the potential to undermine religious beliefs in their childish
form to children at an early age. Instead, it should be presented at a
developmentally-appropriate point, where basic moral concepts such as
the respect for the rights of one's fellow human beings are solidly
established.

Also, as a further necessary act of respect for religious belief in a
free society, students who refuse to utter any statement that
contradicts their religious beliefs should not be discriminated against
by examinations. Thus, all questions relating to evolution should be
questions about what scientists who accept evolution allege about the
origin of life, and not about what actually happened.

Thus, those who are compelled by their belief to "confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus" (and who interpret this as applying to the HB pencil as
well) are not to be discriminated against academically.

I don't think this is too much to ask.

So my position should be clear:

Mayest thou paste a disclaimer in a textbook mentioning evolution?

Yea, if it sayeth but that what passeth therein is but what some
scientists say, not only mayest thou do so, but thou shouldst do so.

Nay, if it sayeth that any person of sense hath genuine doubt about what
these scientists say being the truth.

In our last episode <bd7jp0pise7arpjtreut9bo3r3ofbfap8l@4ax.com>, Jason
Spaceman lept out of the bushes shouting:

'When you
do get organized, when you use political pressure, it is effective,"

Gish of the Institute for Creation Research. He said he would like to

''the schools present the best case for evolution, and let the
creationists present their best case, and let students decide."

Let's let the students decide *everything. Right down to what the answer
is to 2 + 2! We'll have a *vote! Yeah, that's it, a *vote. The will of the
people shouldn't be crushed by activist courts!

(Wonder what it's going to be like, living in a third world country)

In our last episode <bd7jp0pise7arpjtreut9bo3r3ofbfap8l@4ax.com>,
Jason Spaceman lept out of the bushes shouting:

'When you
do get organized, when you use political pressure, it is effective,"
said Gish of the Institute for Creation Research. He said he would
like to see ''the schools present the best case for evolution, and
let the creationists present their best case, and let students
decide."

Let's let the students decide *everything. Right down to what the
answer is to 2 + 2! We'll have a *vote! Yeah, that's it, a *vote. The
will of the people shouldn't be crushed by activist courts!

(Wonder what it's going to be like, living in a third world country)