| The New York Times reports: |
"The Kansas Board of Education voted Wednesday to delete
virtually any mention of evolution from the state's science curriculum."
|
| The vote does not prevent teaching
of evolution, but removes any mention of it from the state assessment tests.
Why bother learning what nobody is going to test? |
| Some school boards now use "creationist"
textbooks in science curriculum. |
| It's the generations old debate
about the origin of the universe, world and life. Creationists argue that
a divine being did the job. They argue that there is no physical proof
of evolution, it should not be taught as science but as a theory. |
| Voilá. Evolution is demoted
from science to theory and creationism is elevated from theory to science. |
| Alabama, New Mexico and Nebraska
also have ruled to challenge the teaching of evolution as science. The
matter has been seriously debated in other states as well. The subject
is so controversial that science textbook publishers have virtually eliminated
discussion of the subject in order to assure sale of books. |
| The conservative Christian argument
(and they are behind the "creationist" position), is that evolution teaches
that humans are "just products of survival of the fittest. There's no
meaning in life if we're just animals in a struggle for survival,"
said Mark Looy, a spokesman for a creationists group called Answers in
Genesis. He goes on to assert, "It creates a sense of purposelessness
and hopelessness, which I think leads to things like pain, murder and suicide." |
| The man is going a bit far. For
centuries there have been people who understood the universe as an ages
old process of development. Purposelessness and hopelessness have not overcome
them, nor have they committed murder and suicide. In fact, it could be
argued that those who claim strict religious beliefs have carried on an
extraordinary amount of the horror and suffering in our world. |
| The fact that people in Kansas,
as well as other places, could seriously teach creationism as an alternative
to evolution reveals how little people know about either science or religion. |
| Most who debate the issue of evolution
do not have even a basic knowledge of science. I have heard the figure
of 5% being used to report the number in our general population who understand
science to any great degree. |
| Most who debate the issue of creationism
do not have a basic knowledge of the Bible. Yes, they may be able to quote
certain passages, but beyond that have no knowledge of who wrote the passages,
when, why, with what purpose and meaning. Although the Bible (Genesis for
instance) talks about creation — actually in a step – by step evolutionary
process — it was never intended as science, but as a faith about an underlying
Spirit involved in life. |
| When people come out of the churches,
fired up by passionate (but scientifically and biblically illiterate) clergy,
they bring emotion into the boardroom and courtroom. They threaten open
educational process. They intimidate educators. They censor textbooks.
The public school is not a Sunday school. Ignorance and speculation and
blind faith should be kept in the church — where it apparently thrives
— and out of the public schools. The scientific search for what is real
and true must not be chained. This isn't Kansas.
- Art Morgan, Summer 1999
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