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Texas Vote May Challenge Teaching of Evolution
tboulay writes "The Texas Board of Education will vote this week on a new science curriculum designed to challenge the guiding principle of evolution, a step that could influence what is taught in biology classes across the nation. The proposed curriculum change would prompt teachers to raise doubts that all life on Earth is descended from common ancestry. Texas is such a large textbook market that many publishers write to the state's standards, then market those books nationwide. 'This is the most specific assault I've seen against evolution and modern science,' said Steven Newton, a project director at the National Center for Science Education, which promotes teaching of evolution." Both sides are saying the issue it too close to call. Three Republicans on the school board who favor the teaching of evolution have come under enormous pressure to reform their ways.
To say that evolution was architected by God does not make sense. Evolution, in the layman use of it given this context, is the *unguided* natural process of life. Not guided. Period. It's random happenstances that occurred in an unbelievably lucky sequence to form life.
.. um.. popular. So let's study it.. as a THEORY. Not as incontrovertible fact. Present the evidence for and against. Present alternate "theories", with their evidence for and against. If you think that allowing Creation in schools as a valid "theory" to be taught alongside evolution strains credibility b/c of the element of faith.. well - then you don't seem to understand the level of faith it takes to believe in evolution. May I remind you that Darwin himself recanted?
.. well - those claims DEMAND a verdict. You must choose whether or not you believe. You will either have eternal life with the Father (eternal joy) or with the condemned (weeping and gnashing of teeth galore). Christ was either who the Bible claims, a liar, or crazy. You must decide. Evolution presents nothing similar. That alone distinguishes faith in God.
That is completely contradictory to the Biblical account in Genesis. So it doesn't "kind of solve" it. Evolution is antithetical to Biblical teaching.
And "cummon".. evolution is a theory. It is not a scientifically proven fact. I'm sorry, but can you go back a few million years and tell me what you see? There is "evidence" that supports it, of course - but that's a pretty weak ladder to hold yourself up on. I can concoct any theory I want and include elements of some empirical data that "supports" the theory, but that doesn't mean it's a valid propositional statement.
And you're right - there are some "born again types" that won't be satisfied until (name your list). But do you then condemn all those who identify themselves as Christians as insane? Should people in a foreign country condemn all Americans as drunks if they see a few college kids on a spring break trip get themselves wasted and make fools of themselves? I would guess you'd think that's not a fair representation of the majority of this country. Not even the majority of college students. Yet you lump all "born again types" into the same category.
From a scientific perspective (I'm an engineer, not a scientist, but CE4GW) I have no problem with the theory of evolution in the sense that it is a theory, an interesting one, and while easily dismantled given false claims and erroneous data - it is quite
Evolution doesn't demand a verdict. It doesn't matter what I do with it.. I can "learn" about it in school, study it, answer questions on a standardized test, move on and forget about it. It has no impact on my life (or it has only a depressing impact).
But faith in God DEMANDS a verdict. If you earnestly seek out the truth and read and study the Bible.. the claims made by it and those that follow its teaching
To me, it is "insane" and foolish to believe in the tenants of evolution.
Evolution does not give any meaning to life - God does.
Evolution does not give any purpose to MY life - God does.
Evolution does not give any hope (for anything) - God gives hope for eternal life.
Evolution does not give joy - only depression at the meaninglessness of life - God gives joy both now and eternally.
But God only does this if we choose to believe in Him, His Son, and the Biblical claims of them.
I choose meaning and purpose and hope and joy and TRUTH over a theory filled with innumerable holes.
What do you choose?
As you cross the border the other way, is there a large sign saying, "Welcome to Colorado! Proud not to be the home of George W. Bush."? I think that would be funnier.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
I didn't say evolution was TRYING to solve any of those things (hope, joy, meaning, etc.). I was simply stating that it does not provide them.
Evolution as a scientific theory has many holes. If it is to be presented - it should be balanced, as with any overarching theory that is presented in science education. To simply state it as fact is false. It is still most certainly a theory, and again - it has many holes. If you want to apply the label - you could call creationism a "theory" too... so why no present it beside evolution in the classroom? Both have their detractors and adherents. Creationism has been around for um.. lets see... since Creation. Evolution has been around since... um.. when was that again? like a hundred years ago? And yet it is presented as fact - even though in the course of human history creationism has been held much more widely. I'm not saying that popularity has any bearing on validity - but to completely exclude what most of humanity has believed and many still believe fervently today is a travesty.
Science is about determining the way the world/universe works. That is totally compatible with a faith in God. He says to "fill the Earth and subdue it". So learning how it all works is a great first step in subduing it. But evolution is poor science. It has been plagued by many deceptions and outright lies. And many of the comments I've seen here in relation to it and those "crazy creationists" indicate the egalitarian view that pure science should have wrt the myriad theories simply is not present. Many people write off creationism and ID as "simply not science". They are more science than evolution IMO.
And while SCIENCE does not take away joy or meaning or things like that - scientists certainly try to. There are some scientists that are utterly on a mission to have a reckoning of sorts and remove God from the world's thinking. It is unfathomable to them to have a faith in God. If they remove meaning and purpose to existence by supporting things like evolution (which by definition states that there is no meaning in anything, just random chance and natural selection) - they "remove God". They don't remove meaning and God in reality - it's just what they are *trying* to do.
You are right - we don't get to choose how the world is, we do get to choose what we believe in. But what if I believe in what is categorically not true? Many people believed that the earth was flat. Many people believed that the sun revolved around the Earth. So those people believed in what they wanted even though is was not reality. Evidence for the existence of God is all around us. As the scriptures say "the heavens declare his majesty". I submit that those that accept rather blindly that evolution just "is the truth" are being deceived. I can pretty much guarantee you that the majority of people that will give their right eye testifying that evolution is correct don't know much about the actual declarations of the theory.
You said the first is unaffected by the second. Quite true. You will find that an entirely uncommon belief these days. The whole idea of post-modern thinking is that "whatever I believe in is real for me". The notion is ludicrous - that what I believe defines reality. One cannot believe in something that is not true and expect reality to conform to their beliefs such that it is true. The reality is - God either exists as the God of the Bible or He does not. One or the other, not both. He existed before you were even a twinkle in your parents eyes. He existed before time.
Given the radical claims of the Bible.. again - you must give a personal verdict. If the Bible is correct and if God exists.. then the breath that you take and the keystrokes you make in opposition to Him are enabled by the very God you don't believe in. No other information / fact in history has eternal claims associated with it.
Observation has never contradicted what is in the Bible. It is the *truth*. It is not meant for
The only facts are the observations. All generalizations, interpretations and explanations are theory.
Bush's ignorant policies brought the Dow from 10587 to 7949, with a run up to 13930 in the middle. Do you think that the recent boom-bust cycle based mainly on "creative" accounting was good for our economy?
The fact is that Democrats stabbed the country in the back, as usual. First they deliberately derailing Fannie Mae, and then, talked down world confidence in the economy, and finally, promised a whole slew of socialistic changes. When you see that the most dynamic economies in the world remain the ones that are the most deregulated, you can easily see that Democrats do not care about freedom at all, as much as they want to derail the free markets to put us all into their socialist slavery.
How fast do you expect a change in economic policies to make measurable effects in the economy
I expect Obama's plans will make the economy worse, not better. He will tout some successes in terms of class warfare but in terms of real wealth, the nation will continue to evaporate as more and more people are barred from engaging in free enterprise in the name of whatever it is they think up. This week its the environment, next week, it will be something else.
There is no hope for America at this point. We're headed to socialist slavery now, all dragged down by an ignorant lower class that lacks any utility or drive to compete, and that Dems keep that way so they can have more power.
The only thing to be done now is to passively resist the government where ever it is legally possible, collect as many munitions as possible until the revolution is necessary, and pray.
We shall overcome.
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