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Creationism conference: Either attend the event and write about it, or mind your own business.

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Here (Michigan State U):

Emily Weigel, an MSU graduate student in evolution and a member of the BEACON center, says the event has made her feel like she’s under attack—in part because of her own religious faith. “As a religious BEACONite, I’ve never felt unwelcome” at MSU, she says. “But this conference on campus has made me uneasy about my identity on campus for the first time. It’s antiacademic in the way it is being carried out, and honestly, it is shaming for fellow Christians to target individuals in an attack such as this one.” MSU plant biologist David Lowry says that he and some colleagues also worry that the event could harm MSU’s reputation within the scientific community.

Shoutout to Emily: Get over yourself, will you?

If you can’t deal with people you disagree with, why are you even at a university?

No really, this is a serious question: Many of us have had just about enough of people who claim to want advanced degrees but cannot deal with the level of contention one might find in a hairdressing shop or checkout line in Canada. Such people spoil freedom for everybody else because they can’t handle it themselves.

Either attend the event and write about it, or mind your own business.

Fortunately, so far

University officials say they have no plans to interfere with the event. “Free speech is at the heart of academic freedom and is something we take very seriously,” said Kent Cassella, MSU’s associate vice president for communications, in a statement. “Any group, regardless of viewpoint, has the right to assemble in public areas of campus or petition for space to host an event so long as it does not engage in disorderly conduct or violate rules. While MSU is not a sponsor of the creation summit, MSU is a marketplace of free ideas.”

So you mean MSU is really a university and not just another tax-funded degree mill?

Let’s hope the idea catches on.

Note: I am tempted to start a new topic category: Whining

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Comments
Silver Asiatic
Scientists feel it’s necessary to ban discussion from groups that try to influence public opinion through a democratic process? I don’t see how that protects the integrity of science.
Science isn't determined by popular vote. Teaching pseudoscience horsecrap to impressionable children isn't a democratic right. Falsely implying that there's still a scientific debate over creationism by associating it with MSU isn't protecting integrity, it's pushing a lie. We don't teach geocentrism in schools, we don't teach the stork brings the babies and we don't teach creationism.Thorton
October 29, 2014
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08:07 AM
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roding #12 I haven't read more than that news item which only gives brief quotes from the Pope -- I'll assume those are the most significant comments on evolution in that talk.
[God] created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfilment.
I think we can see a pretty significant conflict with the evolutionary story right here. The Pope is pointing to the "creation" of human beings, not the evolution from a non-human ancestor. He then points to the development of humans according to internal laws - but this is after they've already been "created". This is more of the same kind of confusing double-speak that we've heard for decades. As the article points out:
In 2005, his close associate Cardinal Schoenborn wrote an article saying “evolution in the sense of common ancestry might be true, but evolution in the neo-Darwinian sense – an unguided, unplanned process – is not”.
Evolution is might be true. But blind, unguided evolution is not true. (Hate to say it, but if it's guided, then it's not random mutation, selection, drift, etc). Pope Francis is saying the same thing in different, perhaps even more confusing, terms.Silver Asiatic
October 29, 2014
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Trekkies aren’t actively lobbying school boards to have their fiction taught to teenagers in public schools as scientific fact.
Scientists feel it's necessary to ban discussion from groups that try to influence public opinion through a democratic process? I don't see how that protects the integrity of science.Silver Asiatic
October 29, 2014
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On an unrelated topic, this broke yesterday: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-declares-evolution-and-big-bang-theory-are-right-and-god-isnt-a-magician-with-a-magic-wand-9822514.html I don't know if UD plans to report on it, but it seems a significant and relevant story. Would be interesting to hear Denyse's perspective on it.roding
October 29, 2014
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Silver Asiatic
If a group wanted to meet and discuss the science of Star Trek, would the scientists feel it necessary to ban the conference?
Trekkies aren't actively lobbying school boards to have their fiction taught to teenagers in public schools as scientific fact.Thorton
October 29, 2014
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bb
Because no one would ever want to be clear and concise about where their conference was being held. It might cause some people to come.
That's the whole point. Some people will undoubtably come just because they falsely think the conference is somehow endorsed by a reputable school. That's what makes using the MSU name so dishonest. Anyone going to the conference can find out the physical location easily enough from the website or Google Maps. "No one could find it" is about as poor an excuse as they come.Thorton
October 29, 2014
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MSU plant biologist David Lowry says that he and some colleagues also worry that the event could harm MSU’s reputation within the scientific community.
Even scientists who reject ID have said that ID often offers a necessary critique of evolution. In this case, Professory Lowry, apparently, would prefer the conference to be banned. That would preserve MSU's reputation. I guess scientists should be expected to censure viewpoints that they don't like and failing to do that would hurt their reputation as scientists. If a group wanted to meet and discuss the science of Star Trek, would the scientists feel it necessary to ban the conference? Maybe the creationists are saying something that is making the scientific community uncomfortable.Silver Asiatic
October 29, 2014
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Or they could be honest and call it the Creation Conference at East Lansing. Why associate the school name at all except to give the conference a false air of respectability?
Because no one would ever want to be clear and concise about where their conference was being held. It might cause some people to come.bb
October 29, 2014
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Why associate the school name at all except to give the conference a false air of respectability?
It's not necessarily a false sense of respectability but it's telling the public that the conference is held in an academic environment so it's open to debate and discussion from the scientific community on campus. As it stands, some in the academic community at MSU offered comments on the conference. Others might be encouraged to attend simply because it's held on campus. Its the same for students. As for "East Lansing" - that doesn't imply a false sense that the city approves of the conference either. Why not give the creationist organization credit for offering views in a setting conducive to debate?Silver Asiatic
October 29, 2014
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MSU plant biologist David Lowry says that he and some colleagues also worry that the event could harm MSU’s reputation within the scientific community.
lol! I'm sure that is what is at the root of their concern!! NOT! And to Emily who says:
“As a religious BEACONite, I’ve never felt unwelcome” at MSU, she says. “But this conference on campus has made me uneasy about my identity on campus for the first time.
Hmm. I wonder if all the Darwinian evolution conferences made any Christians feel uneasy. So what?!! If something makes someone feel uneasy, does that automatically mean it is bad, wrong, or should be censored? Where does she come up with reasoning like that as a grad student?
It’s antiacademic in the way it is being carried out, and honestly, it is shaming for fellow Christians to target individuals in an attack such as this one.”
Pray tell how this is "antiacademic" in the way it is being carried out! And you feel it is shaming for fellow Christians to target individuals in an attack such as this one? Emily, are you being targeted? Ms. Emily, seriously, why in the world would you think this has anything to do with you? Do you have feelings of agrandizement? They knew that Emily Weigel was a student at MSU and they planned this conference to attack YOU? Sorry. I don't follow the logic! But if you feel that way, then it has to go the other way as well. If you were to plan a conference on theistic evolution or whatever it is you happen to believe in, then others could claim that you were unjustly attacking them? I don't get it! What kind of attack are we talking about here? Isn't it you who are attacking fellow Christians because you are intolerant of their beliefs? Simply another expample of the "I'm offended so please stop" culture of the 21st century!tjguy
October 29, 2014
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Where in East Lansing? At MSU ;)Joe
October 29, 2014
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thorton, one thing is certain, evos will never call theor conferences "blind watchmaker conferences". It's as if they are afraid of reality- oops, they are!Joe
October 29, 2014
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Silver Asiatic
They could call it something like Creation Conference at Michigan State University. Given that “MSU is a marketplace of free ideas” then this implies some support for the conference (it’s the “marketplace” for it) if not actual sponsorship.
Or they could be honest and call it the Creation Conference at East Lansing. Why associate the school name at all except to give the conference a false air of respectability?Thorton
October 29, 2014
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They could call it something like Creation Conference at Michigan State University. Given that "MSU is a marketplace of free ideas" then this implies some support for the conference (it's the "marketplace" for it) if not actual sponsorship.Silver Asiatic
October 29, 2014
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I wonder if the creationists will take to calling this the Michigan State University Creation Conference, dishonestly implying that MSU sponsored the event. They tried that with the creationist Biological Information conference held in a publicly rented hall at Cornell and got slapped down pretty hard for their chicanery.Thorton
October 29, 2014
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