glenn morton wrote:
...........................
> Concerning the issue the problem is a complex one. On the one hand parents
> should have some say in what their children are taught--that is the
> conservative position. On the other, society has an obligation to ensure
> that everyone has knowledge of the facts and theories of the day in which
> they live. To hide from evolution, as the conservatives want to do, is
> nothing more than a modern form of ludditism. And eventually it backfires
> because the children will eventually find out that evolutionists are not the
> cream puff pushovers that they are portrayed as. Fleeing from knowledge is
> not what Christian parents should do. But I think they do it because in
> their heart of hearts they know they don't have the ammo in the form of
> supportive data to defeat evolution, so they withdraw from the field. If
> they really could fight evolution on an equal footing, they wouldn't want to
> withdraw. Thus this political movement that wants to remove evolution is
> evidence of the weakness of the anti-evolutionary intellectual arguments.
>
I agree with the above. Going further, I think the proper approach to
teaching about evolution & origins in public schools can be set out rather
simply - in theory! Implementation would be more difficult for several
reasons.
1) Teach about biological evolution, big bang cosmology &c as the best
current scientific theories. Students should also be made aware that there are
as-yet unanswered questions,
such as the origin of life. At this point any religious or anti-religious
rhetoric should be avoided.
2) Teach about religious beliefs concerning creation which are
significant in the surrounding
culture. In the United States this would certainly include the Genesis accounts
of creation, which are
important for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Discussion would include ways in
which religious communities have dealt with evolution &c in the context of their
beliefs. It would also include the recognition that some people, including some
scientists, are agnostics or atheists. To be avoided would be -
a. suggesting that religion is simply a primitive
pre-scientific phase,
b. suggesting that all the religious accounts should be seen as
equally true, and
c. arguing in favor of one religious (or anti-religious) belief
rather than others.
I see nothing here that should pose a serious legal problem. Getting
school boards, teachers, & concerned parents to accept such an approach is
another matter.
Shalom,
George
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