01-06-2010, 10:59 PM
Quote:Is that Christians as a whole or certain groups? Do you see a massive, organised effort by the christian church to ban teaching evolution? I sure don't. Also, as far as I'm concerned, the theory of evolution has almost as many holes in it as does creationism. Therefore, I see as much validity in teaching creationism in public schools as I see in teaching evolution. Since creationism is NOT taught in public schools, I could not care less if evolution is. As far as I'm concerned, they should both be presented as exactly that..... theories, and not as reality.An Atheist repeating Christian fundamentalist talking points. That's novel.
There is most certainly a "massive, organized effort" by a number of Christian groups, to overturn the teaching of evolution in schools, or where that is no longer a realistic goal, to muddy the waters as far as possible by teaching creationism (or warmed-over "intelligent design") alongside it. The Discovery Institute tends to be the public face of this push, but it has the support of dozens of major Christian Right lobby groups.
The idea that the theory of evolution "has as many holes in it" as creationism is absurd. Dip into any part of biology you like: anatomy, genetics, metabolism, zoology, paleontology, take your pick. Evolutionary theory explains them, and links them all together. It is the cornerstone of modern biology, tested by countless experiments and supported by more evidence than you could review in a lifetime. Creationism is a series of ancient myths, dreamed up millennia ago when we hadn't got the first clue about the natural world. What little of it is testable, has already been falsified, and the rest is simply mythology or wishful thinking.
Likewise, the notion that creationism should be taught alongside evolutionary biology is ridiculous. This is like saying that alchemy should be taught alongside chemistry, or that the four humours should be taught alongside molecular biology. One is contemporary science (and a "theory" in the testable, scientific sense) and the other is outdated nonsense (a "theory" only in the sense that it's an idea someone had.) Feel free to believe whatever crazy ideas you like, but they should not be taught in schools.
However, the mere fact that you are advancing these arguments at all speaks clearly to how unfinished the fight between science and religious dogma is, all the way to the present.
-Jester