re: #23 Guanxi88

Has Any Progress Been Made in Getting Creation in the Public Schools?
by John D. Morris, Ph.D.

[Link: www.icr.org…]

Several state school boards have, in recent years, inserted an innocuous “sticker” in the front of school biology textbooks which briefly calls attention to the variety of opinions regarding origins, and the theoretical nature of the subject. It neither discusses data nor identifies perspectives. Most recently, the state of Georgia inserted such a sticker which read:

This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.

Advocates of creation admit this sticker is a dubious victory. It obviously doesn’t teach creation, nor claim that evolution is wrong, and certainly doesn’t introduce the Bible, yet it too has been vigorously opposed by the same teachers unions, professional evolutionists, and civil liberties groups. In January, the federal courts ordered it removed.

If evolutionists deny even this minimal hint that there might be more to the story, is this not a sign of insecurity? Are they afraid of open discussion of the data? What tactic can creationists adopt which will expose their position as the religious intolerance that it is?

Former President Reagan was often barraged by an adversarial press corps. Sometimes he would respond by cocking his head, flashing a wry smile, and saying simply, “There you go again.” Everyone got his point. The supposedly neutral press was pushing their own agenda. I suggest following his lead might be useful here.

“There they go again” censoring any thought which doesn’t support evolution we could say. “There they go again” admitting that evolution can’t stand the test of science. “There they go again” letting their insecurities show. Maybe then the media and the public at large will recognize this as a religious issue, with the evolution side hiding behind dogma and authority, and unwilling to engage in an open dialogue.

What insecurity? I won’t debate whether 2+2 makes 4. I know it. I’m an authority in the field, I am I am, and it’s beneath my dignity to “debate” this. And I have no patience with those who want the controversy about how much 2 and 2 makes taught, and want me to explain that it’s just a theory that the answer is 4, that reputable mathematicians have reached other answers.

(With some quote mining from, say, a textbook example of arithmetic mod 3, you could find a mathematician saying 2 and 2 makes 1).

But that’s not the same as saying I won’t explain it, and that I hide behind authority.

Here we go again.

1 and another 1, that’s 2.

Another 1 and another 1, that’s 2 more.

Now let’s count those 1’s. 1 2 3 4. Ta-dah.

The case for evolution is not quite so straightforward, but it’s made, patiently and carefully, in any number of books. And it’s just about as solid. First they’re coming for the professional evolutionists. Eventually they’ll come for the professional 2and2is4ists. The Big Bang, plate tectonics, radioactive decay, the age of the earth, the way elements other than hydrogen and helium were formed, all this is on the agenda of these guys.