re: #249 Zimriel

My bottom line is this: I’d rather have a dubious belief that imparts character than a correct belief that fails to address it.

So honesty is secondary to you.

And you wonder why you aren’t trusted.

Don’t be an ass. While I don’t believe in “God”, many people do. In fact I teach my young son to believe in “God” because it’s good for him psychologically and emotionally. As for honesty - your argument is decidedly specious.re: #250 Sharmuta

Science doesn’t claim to have all the answers. You’ve erected a strawman to knock down. If there’s a particular scientific alternative to evolution, or any other scientific theory, then please present some evidence, some hard data. Can you or any other IDer do so? How about even a testable hypothesis? We’ll wait.

I’m not talking about an idea approved by mainstream science, I’m talking about a cultural belief. I’m not knocking down any strawman here, there was none standing to begin with.

re: #251 scottishbuzzsaw

He uses that word ‘character’ ~ I do not think it means what he thinks it means.

Apparently you think it means sharing your beliefs. I grew out of that simple mentality when I left Liberalism behind.

re: #252 Salamantis

You commit a major category error here. Truth does not bend to desire, and is not a matter of a popularity contest. Thus the moral argument has no bearing upon the truth value of a contention, and should have no bearing on whether or not that truth is taught.

Indeed, education is not about telling children the truth, but about telling them what we know and letting them discover the “truth” for themselves.

As for evolution undermining ethics, I never made such a claim, only that it is entirely amoral - making no contribution to ethics.

The fact is that the education of the young should address culturally accepted ethical elements.

Finally, there’s the fear of nihilism: the fear that biology strips life of meaning and purpose.

Thank you for your pedantic exposition, but that misses the point. All ideas need a context, one of the great failure of modern academics is the failure to even relate to another very similar field, providing only incomplete and disjointed information. And ultimately, science, in the hands of ideologues is no different than religious dogma.

re: #254 Yashmak

Global warming is not merely social convention …

Obviously I was referring to anthropogenic climate change, an idea which, not substantiated, is taken as fact in the classroom - which is why I bring it up. The classroom is not simply an environment of imparting fact.

re: #256 Basho

… clearly those following the “evolutionist dogma” are among the most compassionate, empathic people in the world.

A specious claim indeed. People with compassion and empathy should recognize the importance of belief to those who possess it.