aparently, Dawkins has got "religfion" at the prospect of creationist
schools appearing in his back door and promises to keep his heafd hlow and
stop pushing his provocative " evolution prove atheism" line. The people
over at Internet Infidels are quite excercised about this and you may want
to check out their discussion at
Check out the "YECS have a point" and " creationism in the UK" thread.
-----Original Message-----
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
Behalf Of Keith B Miller
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 9:54 AM
To: asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Creationism in England
An interesting article about the new "creationist" controversy in England.
Keith
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,668482,00.html
>
>Creationists 'harm religion'
>Bishop attacks school's 'extraordinary' approach
>Tania Branigan
>Saturday March 16, 2002
>The Guardian
>The Bishop of Oxford yesterday fuelled the row over creationism in state
>funded schools by accusing teachers who promote anti-evolutionary theories
of
>bringing Christianity into disrepute.
>In an unusually outspoken statement for a senior Church of England
clergyman,
>the Rt Rev Richard Harries said he was saddened that Christians should
oppose
>evolution, which "far from undermining faith, deepens it".
>The Anglican and Catholic hierarchies accept evolution, with the Pope
>describing it as "more than just a theory". But creationists believe life
on
>earth is only a few thousand years old, instead of several billion, as most
>scientists say.
>The debate broke out after the Guardian revealed last week that teachers at
a
>state-funded Gateshead school are promoting creationist ideas. Nigel
McQuoid,
>principal of Emmanuel City Technology College - who yesterday refused to
>comment on the bishop's statement - argues that evolution is merely a
"faith
>position".
>But senior staff members have gone further, urging other teachers to
"counter
>the false doctrines" of evolution. The head of science, Steven Layfield,
>offered tips on how to undermine evolutionary theories in a lecture given
at
>the college.
>The prime minister defended Emmanuel, which has been designated a beacon
>school, after questions were raised in the Commons this week. He argued
that
>it got good results and that there was a need for diversity in education.
>But in Radio 4's Thought For The Day slot, the Rt Rev Harries expressed his
>dismay that such ideas were being promoted.
>"Historians of science note how quickly the late Victorian Christian public
>accepted evolution," he said. "It is therefore quite extraordinary that 140
>years later, after so much evidence has accumulated, that a school in
>Gateshead is opposing evolutionary theory on alleged biblical grounds. Do
>some people really think that the worldwide scientific community is engaged
>in a massive conspiracy to hoodwink the rest of us?"
>The bishop, who described science as a "God-given activity", added: "I find
>what this school is doing sad ... the theory of evolution, far from
>undermining faith, deepens it.
>"The fact that the universe probably began about 12 billion years ago with
l
>ife beginning to evolve about 3 billion years ago simply underlines the
>extraordinary detailed, persistent, patience of the divine creator spirit.
>"This attempt to see the Book of Genesis as a rival to scientific truth
>[also] stops people taking the Bible seriously. Biblical literalism brings
>not only the Bible but Christianity itself into disrepute."
>The bishop's intervention was welcomed by other Church of England clergy
with
>an interest in science.
>"Creationism is bad religion and false science," said the Rev Arthur
Peacock,
>a winner of the Templeton Prize for progress in religion and former
director
>of the Ian Ramsey Centre for the Study of Science and Religion in Oxford.
>"Creationism - as distinguished from a belief in creation - is not an
>alternative scientific theory. It is not even a proper way of interpreting
>the Bible and it certainly shouldn't be taught [to children]. Evolution is
a
>very stimulating idea which expands our understanding of God the creator."
>The Rev Ursula Shone, the secretary of the Society for Ordained Scientists,
>said she was alarmed to learn that teachers were promoting creationism.
>"Genesis is trying to say in a wonderful story that God created
everything,"
>she said.
>"But science and modern knowledge have shown us other ways of God's
creating.
>To call science a faith position is to misuse the term 'faith'."
>Sir John Polkinghorne, the physicist turned Church of England clergyman who
>yesterday won this year's Templeton Prize, added: "If [creationists] are
>trying to serve the God of truth, they should not fear truth, from whatever
>source it comes. And it certainly comes from science."
>Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002
Keith B. Miller
Department of Geology
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
kbmill@ksu.edu
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/
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