Casey Luskin reports : Nature Immunology Editorial Botches American Law and Science Education
May, 2010 editorial in Nature Immunology makes it clear that they don’t trust religious persons–even those who are neo-Darwinian evolutionists like Francis Collins–in positions of scientific authority. The editorial (written by the journal’s editors) states:
The openly religious stance of the NIH director [Francis Collins] could have undesirable effects on science education in the United States. … In the introduction and in interviews surrounding [Collins’] book release, he describes his belief in a non-natural, non-measurable, improvable deity that created the universe and its laws with humans as the ultimate aim of its creation. Some might worry that describing scientists as workers toiling to understand the laws and intricacies of this divine creation will create opportunities for creationism adepts.
….
Strikingly, despite being a world leader in science, the United States still struggles when it comes to scientific education. Creationism is creeping back into the science curricula of public schools. And although intelligent design, the latest form of creationism, suffered a major defeat in the 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District trial (Nat. Immunol. 7, 433–435, 2006), when the US Supreme Court ruled that including it in science curricula is unconstitutional, creationists are making a comeback.(“Of faith and reason,” Nature Immunology, Vol. 11(5):357 (May 2010).)
The real issue is not creationism (in my humble opinion). They just hate people of faith, period! Francis Collins is a Darwinist, he defends Darwinism. Francis Collins has a PhD in Physics and Chemistry. When I heard him speak at George Mason, he listed his PhD in “Quantum Mechanics” which accords with his biographies elsewhere that list him as follows:
He went on to attain a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at Yale University in 1974. While at Yale, however, a course in biochemistry sparked his interest in the molecules that hold the blueprint for life: DNA and RNA. Collins recognized that a revolution was on the horizon in molecular biology and genetics. After consulting with his old mentor from the University of Virginia, Carl Trindle, he changed fields and enrolled in medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning there an M.D. in 1977.
Collins has a PhD and MD, and he went on to head the human genome project. He’s 10 times more qualified than Richard Dawkins, PZ Myers, and Jerry Coyne to do the work he is doing. But that’s not enough because in the eyes of some Darwinists (like Sam Harris and Jerry Coyne), believing in God disqualifies someone from being a leader in science.
The one encouraging bit of news is it appears the Darwinists really don’t think Dover has stopped the advance of intelligent design or “creationism”.
Addendum:
It just occurred to me that the editorial may be encouraging illegal activity. In the US, it is considered a violation of civil rights to discriminate against people of faith with respect to employment. Especially in the case of Francis Collins, there are hardly few, if any, more qualified for his job.