The real problem with Darwinism in the public school classroom is that it is often taught in an atheist way. Textbooks by biologists like William Provine and Richard Dawkins routinely assert that evolution has done away with the need for God. The claim is that chance and natural selection have demonstrated that we can have design--or the appearance of design--without a designer. In this sense Darwinism becomes propaganda for atheism.
Typically evangelical Christians seek to counter this atheism by trying to expose the flaws in the Darwinian account of evolution. This explains the appeal of "creation science" and the "intelligent design" (ID) movement. These critiques, however, have not made any headway in the scientific community and they have also failed whenever they have been tried in the courts. Fortunately there is a better way.
Consider this: the First Amendment to the Constitution prohibits public schools from teaching or promoting atheism in any way. How do I know this? Well, the religion clauses of the First Amendment protect the "free exercise" of religion and at the same time forbid the "establishment" of religion. Courts have routinely held that the free exercise clause protects not only religious beliefs but also the absence of religious beliefs. If you are fired from your government job because you are an atheist, your First Amendment rights have been violated. In other words, the term "religion" means not only "religion" but also "atheism."
Yet if the free exercise clause defines religion in a way that includes atheism, then the no-establishment clause must define religion in the same way. So the agencies of government are prohibited from "establishing" not only religion but also atheism. This means that just as a public school teacher cannot advocate Christianity or hand out Bibles to his students, so too public school textbooks and science teachers cannot advocate atheism.
I'd like to see Christian legal groups suing school districts for promoting atheism in the biology classroom. No need to produce creationist or ID critiques of Darwinism. All that is necessary is to parade the atheist claims that have made their way into the biology textbooks and biology lectures. The issue isn't the scientific inadequacy of evolution but the way in which it is being used to undermine religious belief and promote unbelief. If the case can be made that atheism is being advocated in any way, then the textbooks would have to be rewritten and classroom presentations changed to remove the offending material. Schools would be on notice that they cannot use scientific facts to draw metaphysical conclusions in favor of atheism.
In this way Darwinism in the public schools would no longer be a threat to religion in general or Christianity in particular.
Reader Comments ( Page 67 of 68)
991. Man_in_Wilderness or Observant,
This is the question that I want you to ask GOD-
"How were the Jews supposed to recognise this 'paradigm shift' of their awaited messiah?
Seems to me that GOD in the Old Booklets was quite clear about giving the Jews that actual real estate. THEN, God 'comes down' as a human being and says, "Nope, it is a spiritual thingy! How come you guys just don't get it?"
Could you ask God how the Jews were supposed to know that their messiah was going to be Himself(as his own son) and how the Old Booklets give the Jews clues to this*.
I'm quite sure that you know how the Old Booklets give YOU(Man_in_Wilderness) clues that Jesus was the awaited messiah, but that is not the same thing as the Jews being supposed to know, now is it?
*That the Kingdom spoken of in the Jews Booklets (Messiah prophecies) was not (at the time of Jesus)the actual real-estate that it always had been before.
not-pboyfloyd at 12:43PM on Apr 7th 2008
992. 785. Joe/zule/whoever you are at the moment...
You are an interesting character. You have discordian tendencies. You like to throw your golden apples around, don'tcha? But poor zool, I am "gozer the keymaster." You didn't count on that, didja?
You see, what you don't know is that the ancient greeks fucked the atlanteans and thus, with hybrid vigor, wrote all the classics whilst on mushrooms. This provoked the romans to wear togas, as it was sunny in athens at the time, and fractals were in fashion. That provoked one particularly horny woman to mate with a bull, since men were in short supply, and the minotaur was born of the unholy western union. The minotaur represents animal man and Jesus wept when he saw one in his pajamas. (How he got into Jesus' pajamas is one of God's mysteries)
And unfortunately, chaos theory predicted the resurrection of Christ after the industrial revolution, but he came on time anyhow. Boy, was he pissed. In the british sense of the word. Quite the wino. And Judas was no help at all. Judas was Jesus' pusher. Then, when Mary Magdelene caught the clap, Jesus refused to heal her because she was a jew. I had no idea he was so prejudiced. He wore a simple robe and a yellow ribbon for the troops. And a shining star in the East. Satan was Jesus on acid, as everybody in Gehenna knows. But this has nothing to do with the Greeks. Except for the wine. They liked it too, only laced with hemlock for the extra kick. It caught on like wildfire in Rome, which promptly fell. Then, two thousand years after Rome fell, America caught it and ran with it.
That about catches us up to date.
How's by you?
Godless
______________________________________________
Oh NO, I'm on fire!!!!!
stapuf marshmallow man at 11:09PM on Apr 7th 2008
993. stapuf marshmallow man says, "maybe my joke style is a playful insult to intelligence. Could that be."?
Did it 'take me long enough', or what!?
not-pboyfloyd at 1:50AM on Apr 8th 2008
994. Extray, Extray, read all about it!
Entire nation/religion called the Jews miss obvious clue that expected messaih would be God the son and that the Kingdom HE was to rule was spiritual!!!
Extray...
reporter, Observant explains below!
(youre 'on' Observant!, we're waiting!)
not-pboyfloyd at 1:56AM on Apr 8th 2008
995. Grant lefache
you totally missed the point that DD was making (would suggest reading it again!) His wholle argument is based on the fact that religion should not and (legally) cannot be taught in the classroom... if this is the case then this applies to any biology lecturer (or text books) linking evolution to atheism.
Your only disagreement could be as to whether this (linking evolution to atheism) ever happens or not.
DD has given some examples... and its up to others to dispute that or not...
Your disagreement however, is based on totally missing the point that DD was trying to make!!!!
kumar at 7:37AM on Apr 8th 2008
996. kumar
The point DD makes is a lie.
Perhaps you need to reread the offering.
mac at 2:03PM on Apr 8th 2008
997. D'Souza has now become the "Bennie Hinn" of American pundits; promoting and validating the
ignorance and
superstition so prevelant in our modern society. He seems like an otherwise smart fellow, so it must just be for the cash.
Pat Mallory at 2:00PM on Apr 8th 2008
998. You check out "Expelled" Intelligence not needed. Pretty Boy, Ryan, and Mac should be able to handle this, since intelligence is not needed. You have showed us here that you will not accept the Truth. But don't worry, I will remember y'all in my prayers,inspite of yourselves.
Man_in_Wilderness at 4:00PM on Apr 8th 2008
999. pboy, they missed the suffering messiah, they were and they still are looking for the conquering Messiah. He will return soon. But thier unbelief has allowed us gentiles the opportunity to accept thier Messiah by faith and be adopted into the family of God. By faith I have accepted Jesus as my Saviour. It is a time of Grace, that whosoever can be adopted. This grace period will not last very long. Good luck.
Man_in_Wilderness at 4:05PM on Apr 8th 2008
1000. I dedicate this to you, not-pboyfloyd:
This observant is not Observant, this is roving reporter observations....
Reporter: Mr. Hays... It's been 3,931 years since religion began worshiping the brick wall instead of the science community. How intelligent is that?
William Hays: It's dumbed down! If we worshiped the big bang, then we would get more pooty tang. Dimwit athiest!
Reporter: Mr. GHB... It's been 2008 years since the year of your Lord. How many dimensions have you circumnavigated through in your search for intelligence?
Godless Heathen Brian: True intelligence is the kind of intelligence that people figure out. It's Reason, the true religion of the Ori! I am in the 11th dimension of the current vernacular.
Reporter: Given that your Lord created a different vernacular for every year of his reign... doesn't that mean you are 1997 years behind the times?
Linda: I must protest, Mr. Reporter. GHB is a true renaissance man, the second coming. If he didn't come, then we would all be back to the Big Bang.
Reporter: Janesophie1... Is it true God blessed the US? GisUs uknow.
Janesophie: Well, given that half the population worships a brick wall... we must all sense that wonderful feeling of being one. Until our own split into two, one angel & one devil.
Reporter: Do you admit that religion has a devilish side to it?
Man_in_wilderness: That is an insult! If we hoard all intelligence into one being, that being would be God! If we only give it to those who read outside of school, then we are just a mob.
Reporter: What about the bully?
JetFlyingV: If he's bigger than a bread basket, he's been bred to be my workforce. If he doesn't like it... he can rob and pillage for a living. Middle class families love that stuff!
Reporter: But isn't intelligence about having a civilized society? To promote liberty & freedom?
Mokele Mbembe: You are not a real reporter are you? If you were a real reporter, you would know the have's would make sure Americans have knots!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter: This just in... breaking news from the white house. The President of the United States has just confirmed not-pboyfloyd's insult. It appears the government has finally done it.... it has erradicated all intelligence in America!
All except for God's latest creation... internet bloggers who compete for the most memory capacity, so they can remember everything but the truth. So they can put down every American who wishes to evolve past the brick wall. So America will not remember why they prayed to a brick wall for all those years. So women can be free! as long as they watch the husbands they were forced to marry. And the men can have liberty... if they would just give up the right to Life & that pesky pursuit of Happiness!
Ladies & Gentlemen, the President of the United States...
The President: Thank you, thank you. In commemoration of this day, we will be making some changes to old faithful... that red, white & blue flag. It's now just Black & Blue.
If you wish to make a contribution... all communist nations have been invited into our borders to receive the gift of your soul. You will never know your children's names, but to console you, we have set up these nifty brick wall things to comfort you. Sing... and you will forget what it was like... to be intelligent! So screw over your family members, and let the free dumb ring!
ghost busters at 4:30PM on Apr 8th 2008
1001. Why do people think that we are so stupid that we cannot hndle hearing about darwism? Good Lord, our kids can learn about it and still believe in God. They are acting like we are telling them UFO's exist but they cannot know because they are too stupid to handle that there might be life on another planet than just earth. Are people so afraid that God does not exist that they cannot dare to read about another theory?
I hope the new generation stops all of the nonsense and when they finally get into the Senate and White HOuse that they have minds that are open and are not afriad to teach their children that there is more to creation then they the parents were allowed to know.
JUDY at 5:03PM on Apr 8th 2008
1002. Man_in_Wilderness says, ".. they missed the suffering messiah, they were and they still are looking for the conquering Messiah. He will return soon. But thier unbelief has allowed us gentiles the opportunity to accept thier Messiah by faith and be adopted into the family of God. By faith I have accepted Jesus as my Saviour. It is a time of Grace, that whosoever can be adopted. This grace period will not last very long. Good luck."
Surely you didn't ask GOD for this pitiful excuse for an answer. The entire set of Old Booklets is concerned with legitimizing the Jewish claim to that particular real estate.
Now you claim that their GOD came down to Earth as his own son to explain that the Old Booklets were somehow invalid and that the Kingdom he was to establish is spiritual.
You say that the Jews 'missed' the suffering Messiah... is that mentioned in their booklets anywhere, that should be obvious to them, that they should expect a suffering Messiah first?
not-pboyfloyd at 7:48PM on Apr 8th 2008
1003. Have You gotten your Own Personalized version of the BIBLE?
That's right!
Now Available, your "Own Bible" a personalized version of The Bible WITHOUT all the things you just don't believe! We don't add a thing, (that would be a sacrilege); we just wipe away the words and sins that you'd prefer not bother with. [King James and Living Bible type versions available]
Call Today! Interactive DVD ROM Versions and Rush Orders extra.
Th1nkF1rst at 10:54AM on Apr 10th 2008
1004. not-pboy, The Lord is busy dealing with other stupid stuff that man is doing to themselves. So He showed me in the scriptures, the prophecies of the suffering Messiah, to take away the sins of the world. OH, BTW, He also showed me the prophecies of where Jesus the Christ will return soon and remove His children, and will let the unbelievers and the devil have a short period of time to be really stupid. Oh, He does say good luck, you'll need it.
Man_in_Wilderness at 12:25PM on Apr 10th 2008
1005. In all my years of studying biology from high school and college textbooks, I've never once read or heard anything resembling atheism or anything concerning the belief or disbelief in a deity or God. There is simply no discussion concerning religion at all; and there was never any discussion to suggest that God does or does not exist. Science simply addresses those areas of understanding that exist in the natural world--as we best know them to be. Concerning the various hypotheses related to the origins of the universe, science has clearly stated that no theory has to be established since no strong, empirical evidence exists (aside from an expanding universe--which is the best evidence for the Big Bang hypothesis). Other hypotheses have been introduced such as an intelligent designer, extraterrestrial origins, etc. Most science classrooms briefly cover each hypothesis, including the Big Bang, and then simply move on to discuss biological evolution. At this point, the discussion of evolution, which D'Souza supposedly supports as scientific fact, is essentially free from any other hypotheses since no scientist has to offer any other hypothesis that can effectively counter the scientific theory of evolution. So, I'm confused regarding exactly how science classrooms have included atheism as theme.
Even more confusing, Mr. D'Souza essentially encourages Christian groups to sue school districts for teaching atheism in science classrooms. I believe this to be a very cunning and malicious attempt at purposely trying to include religion into the classroom (even though D'Souza does not directly make this argument; however, it is clear from D'Souza's previous works to understand what his position is regarding conservatism and Christianity). Furthermore, such a legal action would only beg the question: How exactly do you propose to teach science; do we begin to include the discussions concerning intelligent design as an opposing "theory" to evolution, which Mr. D'Souza has already agreed should not be included in science classrooms? The approach that Mr. D'Souza takes is not only contradictory to his previous comments, is just utter nonsense.
I believe a better approach to take by Mr. D'Souza would be to provide clearer examples of how atheism is taught in the school systems. What exactly does he mean when refers to "atheism"? Likewise, he should provide an alternative to the supposed atheist doctrine taught in classrooms that would take a neutral stance to alleviating this obviously sensitive topic.
Tim at 9:50AM on Apr 11th 2008