It's the hot thing in the news right now and once again, I'm kind of confused.
I've never understood the whole evolutionism vs. creationism battle. Maybe it's because I subscribe to the Anna Leonowens theory set forth so eloquently in 'the King and I': "It's the same miracle whether God made the world in seven days or many, many years."
So somebody tell me...why is it so important to have "intelligent design" taught in schools? What difference does it make anyhow?
Biology teacher: Kids, I have some news for you. Human beings are descended from monkeys. And that's the gospel truth.
Nooo! Not monkeys! Anything but monkeys! Quick! Somebody! A splint! My fragile faith just shattered!
Heaven forbid parents should have to sit down and have a meaningful discussion about these issues with their kids.
Besides, as long as there are manatees in this world, there will always be an argument for UNintelligent design. Now, I love manatees as much as the next guy, but come on. They're an endangered species for a darned good reason: they don't swim fast, they have no way of defending themselves, and they taste GREAT to killer whales.
And don't even get me started on scorpions, three-toed sloths, and Paris Hilton.
8 comments:
I think the whole point is to teach kids that, while there are several theories on how the world came to be, no one definitively knows. We don't KNOW we were descended from monkeys (if we were, why are there still monkeys?), and we certainly don't know that the universe was created by a couple of random atoms bumping into each other in space and exploding (if so, how did the atoms get there?). And, more and more mainstream scientists are realizing that humans and the universe are way, way too extraordinary to have occurred by accident. So the point of teaching Intelligent Design theory is to tell kids, "There are a whole bunch of theories out there-- nobody knows for sure which is true, but here are a few of the theories and now you should go home and talk to Mom and Dad about it." I, for one, wouldn't want my putative kids taught "facts" that aren't proven or provable AS facts in any subject in public school.
But anyway, I think you're just being provocative today.
That's why it's called the THEORY of evolution.
And I've always believed, seven days or otherwise, that there was Intelligent Design behind it all. I don't see how you can look at the world around you and not see that.
At the same time, if parents are worried about their kids being taught theories that might result in a not-quite-literal interpretation of the opening chapters of Genesis, why not send 'em to a Christian school? For real.
Ugh. It's all crazy. Christmas is coming up and soon I'll be posting about how ridiculous it is that people aren't allowed to have nativity scenes up in their front yards. But that's different. I think. Huh?
why doesn't everyone just do like i do and refuse to care? It's so much easier. try it! you may never change the world or save lives, but you will have a life full of ease and comfort...i mean isn't that what life is really all about? right, guys? right?
I agree, it is the THEORY of evolution. That's the whole point. It's not taught as a theory in most public schools; it's taught as a fact. And why should our tax dollars pay to teach our children unproven theories as facts? That's just academically irresponsible.
But, then again, it's been a rough Monday, so maybe Queen III's right. I'm going home and watching Arrested Development!
I for one don't want school teachers teaching my kids anything about God. They'll screw it up. And it will inevitably give the government a voice in the church. They're the last people I want sticking their noses in the church. Most of what science teachers teach is theory and they do a better job of it than most parents can. Most upper level mathmatics is also theory. That doesn't mean we shouldn't teach it. It just means that we should press our schools to start helping our kids to open their minds by showing them that even the best that science has to offer from Newton to Bohr to Einstein is an unfinished story, not by forcing the schools to teach an equally unprovable theory.
Here, here!
Or is it hear, hear? I'm not sure.
People are confusing what a theory is in scientific terms. The theory of evolution is time tested with a vast amount of proof across multiple disciplines. Yet it is still a theory just like gravity is in a scientific context. There are very few Laws in science because that requires an even greater degree of certainty. I would like to know how many people question the "theory" of gravity.
Also, we did not evolve from monkeys. We evolved from apes. Monkeys split off from the pathway we were on at a different, earlier time. This brings up another common misconception that evolution goes in a straight line from ape to man. It's more like a bush. Various ape species split off a different times so of course there are still apes as well as us.
Clark Bartram
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