Evolution opponents suffer setback

Skeptics lose majority of Kansas Board of Education

Wednesday, August 2, 2006; Posted: 9:21 a.m. EDT (13:21 GMT)

TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) -- Conservative Republicans who pushed anti-evolution standards back into Kansas schools last year have lost control of the state Board of Education once again.

The most closely watched race was in western Kansas, where incumbent conservative Connie Morris lost her GOP primary Tuesday. The former teacher had described evolution as "an age-old fairy tale" and "a nice bedtime story" unsupported by science.

As a result of Tuesday's vote, board members and candidates who believe evolution is well-supported by evidence will have a 6-4 majority. Evolution skeptics had entered the election with a 6-4 majority. - CNN
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I understand that the Creationists are blaming the low turnout on an excessive number of TRexes near the polls.
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08-03-06, 04:35 PM
JohnGalt
It started out as "Creationism." Then it changed to "Scientific Creationism." Then that changed to its current incarnation "Intelligent Design." If nothing else has ever evolved, "Intelligent Design" surely has! Smile And it will be back, perhaps under a new name.

A newly evolved tactic by the IDers is their mantra to "Teach the Controversy", even though there is no controversy about the scientific reality of evolution within the scientific field. I doubt many people would want to "Teach the Controversy" when it comes to the Holocaust Deniers (Insert your own Mel Gibson joke here.) or the Flat Earthers (even though IDers, by definition should be Flat Earthers as the Bible is, from beginning to end, a flat earth book ). The whole concept of each side getting their say is ingrained in Americans and within our society. But science is not a democratic process.

The simple fact of the matter is that the Republican Party had better cut loose this albatross of the far-right religious zealots that hangs around its neck, or it will take that party down.
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08-03-06, 05:16 PM
methos
But John, haven't you read Isaiah 40:22?

"God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them."

I am, of course, being sarcastic. But there seriously are people (I'm trying to resist the urge to use a pejorative noun... insert your own favorite) who, with the benefit of interpretive hindsight and selective quotation, claim the Bible as a scientifically predictive source.

At any rate, many IDers claim are not or claim not to be biblical literalists.

As for new names, they're already transitioning from "intelligent design" to "criticisms of evolution."
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08-03-06, 06:00 PM
JohnGalt

quote:
Originally posted by methos:
At any rate, many IDers claim are not or claim not to be biblical literalists.


That's because they learned their lesson from back in the day when they called it "Creationaism" and were defeated in the courts back then too. The smart ones are silent (in public, at least) on the religious aspects of their movement. Most IDers realize (but may not agree with) that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment will stop them at every turn as soon as the religious portion of their claim crops up. So when you ask them exactly who or what this "designer" is, they hem and haw and refuse to say (once again only the politically astute ones refuse to answer). Ask them if it was a super advanced alien (yet mortal) race who seeded our planet, however, and they will say no. Yet that possibility precisely fits into all of their claims.
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08-03-06, 08:10 PM
methos
Don't get me wrong, they're liars through and through, but I do think some of them are not "young earth creationists."

As usual, they're lying, but some of them do, in fact claim it could have been aliens (e.g. William Dembski and Michael Behe). None, of course, actually believe it except the Raelians.
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08-03-06, 09:29 PM
JohnGalt

quote:
Originally posted by methos:
Don't get me wrong, they're liars through and through, but I do think some of them are not "young earth creationists."


Ok, I see what you are saying now. The Young Earthers could present a problem to the more pragmatic IDers if they are unwilling to bend on their insistence of a 6,000 year old earth. Their dogmatic stubbornness could cause a split in the movement. And, ironically, there would be yet another branch of this ever-evolving faction.

quote:
Originally posted by methos:
As usual, they're lying, but some of them do, in fact claim it could have been aliens (e.g. William Dembski and Michael Behe). None, of course, actually believe it except the Raelians.


Have you seen the Penn & Teller BS episode on just this topic? If not, you might like it.
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08-03-06, 09:35 PM
Professor
"Ask them if it was a super advanced alien (yet mortal) race who seeded our planet, however, and they will say no. Yet that possibility precisely fits into all of their claims."

Ever heard of the parody religion known as the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , also described at Wikipedia ?

The Kansas school board was a topic of an editorial in today's New York Times (sorry, no link -- requires registration) that's not terribly optimistic:

quote:
We’d be inclined to rejoice in this evidence that Kansas may be rejoining the modern world were it not for the state’s disturbing habit of backtracking from teaching evolution whenever the anti-science ideological faction gains the upper hand...Voters will have another chance in November to oust two Republican conservatives who collaborated in the board’s attacks on the bedrock theory of modern biology.
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08-03-06, 10:09 PM
methos
That's a good point from the NY Times, Prof. The Kansas school board has gone back and forth between creationist ID majorities and minorities at least a couple of times now.

JG - I've seen bits of it, and I liked what I saw. I don't have cable, so I haven't been able to see the whole thing.
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08-04-06, 07:57 AM
aminator2002
All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Too funny. Smile

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,