Evolution in Schools

[JediJeff]

I was reading Christianity Today and I found this brief story about a school in Pennsylvania.

"In December, the school board for the Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania approved a policy that makes students in ninth-grade biology classes aware of problems with Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The policy also makes students aware of alternative theories, including Intelligent Design. I.D. proposes that life is too complex to have arisen by random physical processes. The new policy was implemented January 17. However, a federal district court judge has ruled that a two sentence sticker added to public school science textbooks in Cobb County, Georgia, is unconstitutional. The sticker says, 'Evolution is a theory, not a fact . . . This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."

Let me know what you guys think of this issue. I want to hear some stories of how ya'll have experience evolution in school (grade school).

Thanks,
Your Brother in Christ,
Jeff

[edaniel]

hmm ..
i only took a year of biology in high school, and never taken it again even in college ..
i take it as a theory ..
and i think it's good to point the errors of it ..
there's a book out called Darwin's BlackBox .. if anyone is interested in understanding more of the errors from the scientific prespective, that should be a good book to read on .. but it's pretty technical until the last chp that ties faith into everything ..

the question that i will pose will be,
then how should we approach it?
should we forced people to buy into the ID idea?
or are we angry because people are buying Darwin's idea?

just some of my thoughts ..

i might've gone a little liberal .. but whatever ..

daniel

[dardar]

So, I dont' know a whole lot about the topic...but here's my experience...

In 9th grade, I was in biology, and we had this teacher named Mr. Bull who all the girls totally were in love with. Personally, he reminded me a lot of my brother, so I wasn't so much attracted. Anyway, we had to do this timeline thing based on evolutionary stuff, and I was working with my new friend Katie (awww...where it all began). katie was like, "hey, what happens if we dont' believe in this stuff?" and Mr. Bull responded, "you don't believe in doing timelines?" It was funny at the time.

AND, did you know that in the original Origin of the Speicies book, Darwin actually talked about the Creator in the intro? It's not known what his beliefs were about God by the end of his life, but he started out on the path to being in the clergy. Then he got invited onto some trip around the world and studied all the animals and such. It took 20 years for him to feel ready to release his book. I learned all that in history of psyc. Fun classs.

[Laurentius]

This article may be online temporary so you may want to check it out soon:

www.nature.com/nature/journal/v434/n7037/fig_tab/4341062a_F1.html

Three comments to each diagram:
1. Teens' three thirds: decided, ill-decided and confused.
2. Only 38% teens hold to an orthodox view of God as creator.
3. The older, the "wiser". 1 Corinthians 1:20.

p.s. There is a link to the Nature article that I watch but not endorse in full.

[Laurentius]

Wondering about such school in Pennsylvania? Check out the update:
news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051110/tc_usatoday/intelligentdesignbackersloseinpennsylvania

HEADLINE: 'Intelligent design' backers lose in Pennsylvania
"The court verdict in a landmark lawsuit on "intelligent design" is weeks away, but voters in Dover, Pa., delivered their judgment this week by sweeping out eight of nine school board members who decided that ninth-grade science students must be told the concept is an alternative to evolution."