3 posts tagged “evolution”

Everybody's favorite dead-pan teacher and game show host, Ben Stein, is the face of a new documentary to be released April 18^th called "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed". It's ostensibly a movie about attacks on freedom of speech in today's hostile climate among scientists in academia, but some suggest that on closer inspection it really seems to be a thinly veiled screed for Intelligent Design. A quick search of the web provides the background: the production company for the film is the same that produced The Passion of the Christ ; its CEO and one of the film's producers recently questioned the Godliness of the administration at Baylor University over an ID-related incident; and the producers used Stein as the narrator specifically because he wasn't "overtly religious."Professor Paul Zachary Myers at the University of Minnesota is one of the scientists interviewed for the film. He's recently been caught up in a blog exchange with the film's producers regarding this and other topics to do with the movie. Read the arguments and decide for yourself whether you'll see the film. You can find the producer's first post here followed by Myer's response, followed by the producer's response. Even Bill O'Reilly interviewed Stein.

So, what do you think? What are your thoughts of the controversies?

Is there really an attack on the freedom of speech in today's academia and does a hostile climate exist for scientists who are conservative?

Will you watch "Expelled" when it hits theaters?

Click here to find out where Expelled is playing at a theater near you.

According to OneNewsNow in the wake of public outcry, The Florida State Board of Education has voted by a margin of 4-to-3 to teach evolution as theory rather than fact. The Board met Tuesday to discuss and vote on new educational standards for the state. Part of the new standards included teaching evolution as the basic concept of biology -- essentially labeling evolution as fact rather than theory.  But the new science standard drew a substantial public outcry. Angry parents flooded the Board of Education with emails, and some even threatened to pull their children from public school.

Florida State Representative Marti Coley was one of the critics of the new science standard who spoke at Tuesday's debate. "The opposing side keeps saying that we're trying to bring religion [into public school], and we're not," says Coley. "We're simply asking them to acknowledge that this is a theory." 

Due to the public outcry and Tuesday's debate, the Florida State Board of Education decided to change the language of the new science standard and label evolution as science theory, and require that it be taught as such. The standards then passed by a margin of 4-to-3.  (ABC's account of the story HERE)

Creationists reject that humans originally evolved from apes, believing instead they were created first by God. 

Ken Ham, author of the bestseller, The Lie: Evolution, and founder of the Creation Museum debunks evolution in favor of Creationism.       

Last December, I posted an entry about a lab employee who was fired for not accepting evolution as fact.

According to the The Boston Globe, Nathaniel Abraham filed a lawsuit earlier this month in Boston.  He was hired by Hahn's Marine Biology Lab (Woods Hole, Cape Cod) in March 2004 because of his expertise working with zebra fish and in toxicology and developmental biology, but was recently fired because he told his supervisor that did not accept evolution as scientific fact. This, occuring in Massachusetts, is no surprise.

According to One News Now, David C. Gibbs III is general counsel for the Christian Law Association and will be defending Abraham under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 under protection from discrimination based on religion.

The Boston Globe. in its reporting proved a half-truth in the matter.  The journalist said,

“Evolution is a fundamental tenet of biology that species emerge because of genetic changes to organisms that, over time, favor their survival. Creationists reject the notion that humans evolved from apes and that life on Earth began billions of years ago.”

Yes, while Creationists reject that humans originally evolved from apes, believing instead they were created first by God, does not reject biology and that species emerge because of genetic changes to organisms.  Of course changes in genetics, matter, and organisms do occur.  That, however does not disprove God created everything to begin with.

Ken Ham, author of the bestseller, The Lie: Evolution, and founder of the Creation Museum http://www.creationmuseum.org/  debunks evolution theory in favor of Creation.           

Wake up call:  Evolution is a THEORY.  It does not PROVE anything!  We are Americans; we don’t have to believe one theory over another.  We have choices.  If one wants to think his ancestors are apes then more power to him. We should not be fired based on our religious beliefs.  We do not serve a communistic party.  

Reference Links:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/07/biologist_fired_for_beliefs_suit_says/

http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/12/lawsuit_argues_expert_biologis.php

http://www.christianlaw.org/