Churches urged to back evolution
British Broadcasting Corporation ^ | 20 February 2006 | Paul Rincon

Posted on 02/20/2006 5:33:50 AM PST by ToryHeartland

Churches urged to back evolution By Paul Rincon BBC News science reporter, St Louis

US scientists have called on mainstream religious communities to help them fight policies that undermine the teaching of evolution.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) hit out at the "intelligent design" movement at its annual meeting in Missouri.

Teaching the idea threatens scientific literacy among schoolchildren, it said.

Its proponents argue life on Earth is too complex to have evolved on its own.

As the name suggests, intelligent design is a concept invoking the hand of a designer in nature.

It's time to recognise that science and religion should never be pitted against each other Gilbert Omenn AAAS president  This means that the Intelligent Design Community has been making significant inroads and is threatening the Evolutionists complete domination in schools

There have been several attempts across the US by anti-evolutionists to get intelligent design taught in school science lessons.  And here is what they fear the most

At the meeting in St Louis, the AAAS issued a statement strongly condemning the moves.

"Such veiled attempts to wedge religion - actually just one kind of religion - into science classrooms is a disservice to students, parents, teachers and tax payers," said AAAS president Gilbert Omenn.

"It's time to recognise that science and religion should never be pitted against each other.

"They can and do co-exist in the context of most people's lives. Just not in science classrooms, lest we confuse our children." Coexistence is defined here are the schools teaching our children that all that is taught in the church and bible are lies  and the church standing by and not responding.

'Who's kidding whom?'

Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education, which campaigns to keep evolution in public schools, said those in mainstream religious communities needed to "step up to the plate" in order to prevent the issue being viewed as a battle between science and religion.  Evolutionists are calling out for the church to help it fight off Intelligent Design --

Some have already heeded the warning.

"The intelligent design movement belittles evolution. It makes God a designer - an engineer," said George Coyne, director of the Vatican Observatory.  What we have here is a back-handed admission that evolution has not response to Intelligent Design. That they can not refute it because it has turned some of Evolutions very foundational arguments and science against them – and they are terrified that this will overrun them.

"Intelligent design concentrates on a designer who they do not really identify - but who's kidding whom?" And the designer would be GOD who they cannot abide. They are hard core atheists and to admit God the Bible or Faith is the equivalent of committing suicide 

We have to acknowledge where all of this started with one of the world most renowned atheists becoming a believer in Christ.  And because of his debate for years with a preacher the subject of Intelligent Design was stumbled into and this man was converted. From the day this mans conversion was  announced and the reasons why – this has sent   shock and horror waves through the atheist community and the scientific community as well

Last year, a federal judge ruled in favour of 11 parents in Dover, Pennsylvania, who argued that Darwinian evolution must be taught as fact.

Dover school administrators had pushed for intelligent design to be inserted into science teaching. But the judge ruled this violated the constitution, which sets out a clear separation between religion and state.
But they know that this is not a church state issue. And with their loss now in a supreme court majority they fear as this works up in the courts they will lose.

Despite the ruling, more challenges are on the way.

Fourteen US states are considering bills that scientists say would restrict the teaching of evolution.

These include a legislative bill in Missouri which seeks to ensure that only science which can be proven by experiment is taught in schools. This is even more damaging to the cause of evolution

I think if we look at where the empirical scientific evidence leads us, it leads us towards intelligent design Teacher Mark Gihring "The new strategy is to teach intelligent design without calling it intelligent design," biologist Kenneth Miller, of Brown University in Rhode Island, told the BBC News website.  Without God mentioned it would easily pass the church state muster and undo the school’s beating the church and religion over the head and shoulders for the last 50 years.

Dr Miller, an expert witness in the Dover School case, added: "The advocates of intelligent design and creationism have tried to repackage their criticisms, saying they want to teach the evidence for evolution and the evidence against evolution." And to have a debate in school where the overwhelming evidence against evolution is discussed would forever be its undoing.

However, Mark Gihring, a teacher from Missouri sympathetic to intelligent design, told the BBC: "I think if we look at where the empirical scientific evidence leads us, it leads us towards intelligent design.

"[Intelligent design] ultimately takes us back to why we're here and the value of life... if an individual doesn't have a reason for being, they might carry themselves in a way that is ultimately destructive for society."

Economic risk

The decentralised US education system ensures that intelligent design will remain an issue in the classroom regardless of the decision in the Dover case.

"I think as a legal strategy, intelligent design is dead. That does not mean intelligent design as a social movement is dead," said Ms Scott. Previously in this article Ms. Scott has all but admitted that in the Courts Intelligent Design has only started and they ultimately fear a loss at the supreme court. But her she argues that even if they can hold this back through the courts that via parents input in the schools by their own rules they need to comply to their demands.

"This is an idea that has real legs and it's going to be around for a long time. It will, however, evolve." These legs are what have them terrified.

Among the most high-profile champions of intelligent design is US President George W Bush, who has said schools should make students aware of the concept. The president speaking of this has gone over the heads of educators and she blames bush for student interest in this debate

But Mr Omenn warned that teaching intelligent design will deprive students of a proper education, (read that as evolution and atheism) ultimately harming the US economy. (read that as morality may further rise, and cause a spiral in sin related vocations and products an example of which is the abortion industry )

"At a time when fewer US students are heading into science, baby boomer scientists are retiring in growing numbers and international students are returning home to work, America can ill afford the time and tax-payer dollars debating the facts of evolution," he said. (The tax payers dollars reference here is these school officials openly declaring that they will blow their entire coffers (millions if not billions of local state and federal government funding) to prevent the admission of Intelligent Design or anything that questions evolution to be introduced into school curriculums)

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4731360.stm