Monday, December 19, 2005
Turning Their Eyes to God
ID activists just love to say there are gaps in the evidence supporting evolution. Not long ago, we heard ID guru Phillip Johnson titillate a creationist crowd in Topeka with the pronouncement that if the truth about gaps in the fossil record were known by the public, "the sky would fall."
That's why, ID activists like say, scientists refused to testify at the Kansas State School Board science hearings in Topeka last May.
The truth is somewhat different. RSR participated in public hearings on the science curriculum held around the state in February. At those hearings, citizens were free to express their views on the science curriculum. Many supporters of creationism and a few supporters of intelligent design spoke, as did many scientists, educators, and supporters of science education.
At those hearings, the creationists and intelligent design theorists were soundly trounced. That is why John Calvert proposed taking the debate out of the public sphere and putting it in a rigidly controlled environment -- under the watchful eye of three creationist school board members.
Another reason that scientists have been reluctant to engage intelligent design activists in debate is that no matter how many times they're proven wrong, they continue to use the same old, discredited arguments. For the ID activists, the debates serve not as an exchange of ideas, but a platform -- legitimacy supplied free of charge by the scientist's credentials -- for propaganda.
But what about the weakness of the evidence supporting evolutionary theory? Is there any truth to that charge, or is it just more spin? Are scientists really hiding the truth from the public?
In an article by Lisa Anderson in today's Chicago Tribune, Toni Moran, 21, a senior biology major, at Olivet Nazarene University, affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene, tells the truth about who is afraid of what. Moran was once a very devout creationist who has since been exposed to the evidence that evolution is real:
"Personally, I think there's such a divide among Christians that we're forced to choose evolution or creationism. I think so many Christians are afraid that if they even look at the scientific evidence, they'll lose their faith," she said, noting that "`evolution' is a taboo word in my church and in my home."
The evidence is there, creationists and their oh-so-very-sophisticated cousins, the intelligent design theorists, simply choose to avert their eyes.
That's why, ID activists like say, scientists refused to testify at the Kansas State School Board science hearings in Topeka last May.
The truth is somewhat different. RSR participated in public hearings on the science curriculum held around the state in February. At those hearings, citizens were free to express their views on the science curriculum. Many supporters of creationism and a few supporters of intelligent design spoke, as did many scientists, educators, and supporters of science education.
At those hearings, the creationists and intelligent design theorists were soundly trounced. That is why John Calvert proposed taking the debate out of the public sphere and putting it in a rigidly controlled environment -- under the watchful eye of three creationist school board members.
Another reason that scientists have been reluctant to engage intelligent design activists in debate is that no matter how many times they're proven wrong, they continue to use the same old, discredited arguments. For the ID activists, the debates serve not as an exchange of ideas, but a platform -- legitimacy supplied free of charge by the scientist's credentials -- for propaganda.
But what about the weakness of the evidence supporting evolutionary theory? Is there any truth to that charge, or is it just more spin? Are scientists really hiding the truth from the public?
In an article by Lisa Anderson in today's Chicago Tribune, Toni Moran, 21, a senior biology major, at Olivet Nazarene University, affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene, tells the truth about who is afraid of what. Moran was once a very devout creationist who has since been exposed to the evidence that evolution is real:
"Personally, I think there's such a divide among Christians that we're forced to choose evolution or creationism. I think so many Christians are afraid that if they even look at the scientific evidence, they'll lose their faith," she said, noting that "`evolution' is a taboo word in my church and in my home."
The evidence is there, creationists and their oh-so-very-sophisticated cousins, the intelligent design theorists, simply choose to avert their eyes.
