| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"The Last Liberal / ShyDavid / Desertphile" |
| Date: |
16 Jan 2005 05:33:39 PM |
| Object: |
School board OKs teaching evolution alternatives[sic] |
alt.atheism.holysmoke,alt.atheism,talk.origins
http://www.thedailytimes.com/sited/story/html/183480
School board OKs teaching evolution alternatives[sic]
2005-01-16
by Bonny C. Millard
of The Daily Times Staff
The Blount County school board approved a resolution allowing
teachers to present alternatives to biological origins.
Board member Don McNelly, who introduced the resolution at
Thursday night's board meeting, said the board agrees that
teachers should be able to teach intelligent design in conjunction
with the theory of evolution.
``The controversy of evolution can be discussed in an academic
environment with secular intent,'' he said.
The board voted unanimously on the resolution.
Intelligent design is secular in nature and is based on scientific
criteria, according to McNelly.
The resolution says, ``The omission or denial of such information
may unfairly deprive students of the opportunity to examine the
full range of scientific theories about biological origins.''
With the discovery of DNA and subsequent research, scientists have
a better understanding about the commonalties that human beings
have with other life forms. For instance, a zebra fish has 97
percent of the same DNA as humans, he said.
Intelligent design theorists believe that proteins, amino acids
and other elements had to have direction in the way they are
arranged rather than by random chance, McNelly said. The evidence
is pointing toward the complexities and how there had a be a
guiding factor.
McNelly cited a book by physicist Gerald Schroeder called ``The
Science of God.'' Schroeder discusses the Cambrian era, 530
million years ago, and contends the basic anatomies of all life
existing today appeared simultaneously in the ocean, McNelly said.
Paleontologists, cosmologists and other scientists have come to
recognize the intelligent design theory, he said.
If students want to study the issue on a deeper level, the teacher
does not readily have curriculum available to share with the
student, he said.
``If we look at the textbooks we have now, it doesn't include the
more recent scientific data, therefore it becomes
indoctrination,'' McNelly said. ``By authorizing the teachers to
look into these controversies, our students are going to better
understand biological origins. That's within the confines of
academic environment.''
The current textbooks have only information on the theory of
evolution.
One of the points in the resolution says, ``It is constitutionally
lawful for teachers and school boards to expose students to
scientific problems with current Darwinian theory as well as to
other scientific alternatives with respect to theories about
biological origins.''
The resolution further states that biological origins are a forum
for free speech and can't be denied because of the content of the
discussion. The resolution makes seven points.
``Nowhere did we call or quote a religious authority,'' McNelly
said. ``I feel comfortable what we have done as a board meets the
test of the court cases.''
=============
My letter to the author:
Regarding your article "School board OKs teaching evolution
alternatives," please note that there is no such thing as an
"alternative" to evolution: there might some day be alternatives
to evolutionary theory, but there will never be an alternative to
evolution. Evolution is a fact; evolutionary theory defines and
describes that fact. Writing that there are alternatives to
evolution is like writing there are alternatives to gravity: there
may be different ("alternative") theories of gravity and
evolution, but never alternatives to gravity or evolution.
David Rice
President, Citizens Coalition of Human Rights Activists
---
http://lastliberal.org
"What this is coming down to is who runs the country. It's us against
them. It's the good guys versus the bad guys. It's the God-fearing
people against the pagans, and some of the pagans are going to church."
--Randall Terry, Operation Rescue, speech in Jackson, Miss., 4/92,
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: School board OKs teaching evolution alternatives[sic] |
16 Jan 2005 10:15:07 PM |
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Now, now, you just come on down to the gathering, kiss a snake, have a
sip of strychnine, dance a little, speak in tongues. The truth will be
revealed to you.
HB
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| User: "John Wilkins" |
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| Title: Re: School board OKs teaching evolution alternatives[sic] |
16 Jan 2005 10:44:27 PM |
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<hbarwood@troyst.edu> wrote:
Now, now, you just come on down to the gathering, kiss a snake, have a
sip of strychnine, dance a little, speak in tongues. The truth will be
revealed to you.
HB
And the truth is: strychnine is not an antidote to snake bite...
--
John S. Wilkins AA#2207
web: www.wilkins.id.au blog: evolvethought.blogspot.com
God cheats
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| User: "Richard Forrest" |
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| Title: Re: School board OKs teaching evolution alternatives[sic] |
17 Jan 2005 08:29:27 AM |
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John Wilkins wrote:
<hbarwood@troyst.edu> wrote:
Now, now, you just come on down to the gathering, kiss a snake,
have a
sip of strychnine, dance a little, speak in tongues. The truth will
be
revealed to you.
HB
And the truth is: strychnine is not an antidote to snake bite...
--
John S. Wilkins AA#2207
web: www.wilkins.id.au blog: evolvethought.blogspot.com
God cheats
You could try taking the strychnine first. Then the snake bite would be
irrelevant.
RF
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