Education

Secularists Once Again Call For The Suppression Of Knowledge

by Frederick Meekins

Since the 1920’s or thereabouts, secularists have invoked the imagery of the Scopes Monkey Trial as evidence that conservative Evangelicals are bent on suppressing knowledge in the realms of science and literature.

Most following the news are no doubt aware of the ongoing angst on the part of unbelievers and Modernists regarding the propriety of introducing Intelligent Design into the Biology classroom since in their eyes suggesting anything but the materialist hypothesis (itself a faith-based assumption) diminishes the rigor of so-called scientific education. Instead, they suggest such ideas should be considered as part of the Social Studies or Humanities curriculum.

Yet such gestures of enlightened magnanimous compromise are little more than a canard. For when it becomes time to examine the metaphysical issues within what liberals previously promoted as the appropriate venue for such a discussion, they then cry Separation of Church and State. Thus, what they really want is a monopoly on the perspective taught across all of public education. Read More ›

Broward County will be selecting a new biology book soon. One has a few paragraphs on Intelligent Design in it. We can have none of that! Critics say they don’t want intelligent design in schools because it’s based on faith, not science. So publishers of the second book, Biology: The Dynamics of Life, have offered to remove the page containing the passages. And Superintendent Frank Till has said he would cut the page to eliminate the controversy if teachers pick the book. Read The Whole Article Here

Paul Kurtz’s skeptic organization has just announced its next cruise, this one to Alaska. Join the Center for Inquiry Explorers Club “with a rich line-up of events and activities, a stellar cast of speakers, entertainment, and breathtaking excursions, all aboard the luxurious Holland America Westerdam.” The top-billed speaker is Barbara Forrest (go here for details).

Fairly balanced reporting of the recent conference Dr. Dembski attended:

On a recent Tuesday evening, Moshe Tendler, an influential Orthodox rabbi and Yeshiva University biology professor, ambled onto the stage at Kovens Conference Center in North Miami. A stately figure with a wispy white beard and heavy glasses, he surveyed the 300-strong crowd of scientists and intellectuals — most clad in yarmulkes and dark suits with tallith tassels dangling about their waists — and urged them to spread the word that Darwin was wrong. “It is our task to inform the world [about intelligent design],” he implored. “Or the child growing up will grow up with unintelligent design…. Unintelligent design is our ignorance, our stupidity.” Read More ›

I can’t quite decipher what Jeb Bush is really recommending here except that educators should make the ultimate decision. It seems he is greenlighting classroom discussion of ID in we should encourage the vigorous discussion of varying viewpoints in our classrooms but isn’t explicit about it. Clearly though, the topic of ID has risen to where the governor of yet another large state has come out with a statement mentioning it. This is very encouraging. ID isn’t fading away, it’s growing in stature in the public square. PRESS RELEASE December 30, 2005 Russell Schweiss (850) 488-5394 Statement by Governor Jeb Bush Regarding Sunshine State Standards for Science TALLAHASSEE — “A national debate is ensuing about whether evolution or intelligent design Read More ›

I saw this parody ad (from Adbusters) years ago when I was a postdoc at Notre Dame and nearly busted a gut. Turns out it’s difficult to track this down on the web. I’ve therefore posted it here for my future reference and your amusement. Read More ›

I’ve decided to write a series of articles touching upon ID-relevant portions of the seminal book describing the nanotechnology revolution “Engines of Creation” by K. Eric Drexler. The book was originally published in hardcover in 1986 and purchased/read by me that year. This year marks its 20th anniversary and is a good point to take a look at where its predictions on the path and nature of the nanotechnology revolution stand two decades later. It is now in the public domain in hypertext format here: Engines of Creation For this introductory article I want to skip up to the second to last chapter. EOC Chapter 14: The Network of Knowledge Chapter 14 discusses the (at the time: 1986) revolutionary new Read More ›

Go here for the article.

http://www.metanexus.net/metanexus_online/show_article.asp?9385

Here’s an excerpt from Lisa Anderson’s piece today in the Chicago Tribune about ID at Baylor. Notice that Baylor’s main concern in shutting down my Polanyi Center (for the full story, go here) was not the truth of ID but that “it made Baylor look like it could be stereotyped and placed in a particular fundamentalist camp that Baylor didn’t want to be in.” That insightful quote comes from Baylor’s provost.

. . . The initial exposure to modern biology and neo-Darwinian evolutionary theory can be akin to “culture shock,” said Randall O’Brien, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Baylor University, a moderate Baptist General Convention of Texas school in Waco. . . Read More ›

The latest edition of Jeffrey Bennett et al’s astronomy textbook The Cosmic Perspective (4th edition) is now out. Sure enough, “intelligent design” is in the index. Indeed, it gets a full page treatment (p. 714). Below is the scan of that page. Does this text provides a fair representation of ID? Hardly. It appears now that ID will indeed be taught in the science curricula of this nation, only ID proponents won’t be doing the teaching. Life is so unfair. Read More ›

Patricia Princehouse — the philosophy professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, who has vilified ID and its supporters for years — has published a letter to the editor of USA Today (see below) in which she replies to Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel. The two journalists, one conservative and the other liberal, ran a column a few days earlier in which they wondered why the Darwinists were hiding from a fair debate on ID. Princehouse now writes that on behalf of the Darwinists, she accepts the challenge and sets the terms: “First week in January. Cleveland. Put up or shut up.” Read More ›

Muslim Gang Rapes and the Aussie Riots
By Sharon Lapkin
FrontPageMagazine.com | December 15, 2005

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=20535

In Australia this week amidst anger over an Islamic man’s rape conviction and the bashing of two Aussie life savers, working-class locals erupted in a rampage of anger and brawling in some of the worst racial riots in decades. But there is more to the story than is being repeated in the American mainstream media….

Four days after he set foot in Australia, the rape spree began. And during his sexual assault trial in a New South Wales courtroom, the Pakistani man began to berate one of his tearful 14-year-old victims because she had the temerity to shake her head at his testimony. Read More ›

Orthodox Jews in S. Florida join debate on evolution vs. intelligent design
By James D. Davis
Religion Editor
December 12, 2005

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cdesigndec12,0,3441548.story?coll=sfla-news-broward

Evangelical Christians aren’t the only ones making evolution and intelligent design a cause célèbre: Leading Orthodox Jews have the topic in their sights as well — some of them gathering for a three-day conference this week in South Florida. Read More ›

Theory of intelligent design making its way into Broward textbooks
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cbook09dec09,0,6134369,print.story

By Chris Kahn
Education Writer

December 9, 2005

Broward County on Thursday narrowed its choices for high school Biology I textbooks to two finalists, both of which have been under scrutiny by Christian conservatives who want to change the way students learn about the origin of life.

Both have edited passages about evolution theory during the past few years after receiving complaints from the Discovery Institute. The think tank sponsors research on intelligent design, which argues life is so complicated, it must have been fashioned by a higher being. One of the books also has added a short section on creationism.

In the end, Broward teachers will have to decide which book works best based on their individual review of the whole textbooks, which include hundreds of pages of lessons, support materials and suggested activities. Read More ›