“Can we just agree God invented Darwin?”
I’m so happy when the news fits right into my book. (And by the way, we have a new title! It’s EVOLUTION, ME, AND OTHER FREAKS OF NATURE. Love it. Ready to print it on a thousand T-shirts.)
A Kansas community is fighting blood and guts over whether to continue teaching evolution in the schools. Read the whole article for lots of fun quotes (like the one in the title above), but let’s start with this one:
Connie Morris, a conservative Republican running for re-election, said the board had merely authorized scientifically valid criticism of evolution. Ms. Morris, a retired teacher and author, said she did not believe in evolution.
“It’s a nice bedtime story,†she said. “Science doesn’t back it up.â€
As a former Baptist girl myself–and current Sunday school teacher AND believer in the separation of church and state AND believer in the rational conclusions of science, including but not limited to evolution–I of course have my own strong opinions about all of this.
But I already know what I think–what about all of you?
Technorati Tags: Evolution, Darwin, Intelligent Design, Religion, Christians, Fundamantalists, Fundamentalism, Christianity, Separation of Church and State, Science, Biology, Science Teachers, First Amendment, Religious Right
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:42 am
You know, I’ve known you for a while now and we’ve talked a lot about this, but I don’t think I’ve ever told this story:
When I was a kid (probably in elementary school still), I went to the Catholic equivalent of Sunday school (it was on Saturday, so I can’t call it Sunday school!). We learned about the Garden of Eden, which didn’t seem to jibe with what I sorta-kinda knew about evolution and the age of the earth already.
So I asked my dad (who, at that age, was to me the font of all possible Earthly Wisdom) how to reconcile the two.
“Some people think God created the Earth,” he said, “and some people think it evolved.”
“Which is it?” I asked.
“We’ll probably never know for sure.”
“Well, which do YOU believe?”
And he shrugged and said, “I don’t see why it can’t be that God made all of the other stuff happen.”
Such a simple explanation: evolution is true, the Big Bang happened, but God is still a part of it. This said to a pre-teen and it made perfect sense, didn’t shatter my world, and I went to live my life and not hurt my fellow Man.
It’s just astonishing to me that adults in this world, in this time, in this place, can’t just think to themselves, “Yeah, this evolution stuff… Well, God kicked it all off. Case closed. I’ll go do something productive with my life now, as opposed to wasting time, resources, and good karma by demonizing people who are trying to figure out how the world works.”
Sorry that took so long. It’s just amazing to me — the simpler an issue is, the more people will insist on complicating it. Call it Lyga’s Axiom, the reverse of Occam’s Razor.
August 2nd, 2006 at 9:00 am
Perfect.
August 2nd, 2006 at 9:03 am
yeah, yeah, yeah–if you really wanted to see some evolution you would have checked out the site that i turned EVERYONE on this ungrateful blog to and for which i have recieved NOT ONE WORD of appreciation (i’m talkin’ to YOU patrick), that would of course be DAVID BOWIE’S AREA–i’m not going to repeat the address, suffice it to say, it’s posted deep in the rb archives. i know i may not be a pb freak just yet (this weekend i’m going to rent it, really, and that other one too) but i try to do my part.
so if you’ll excuse me i’m going to cruise on over to visit db’s parts, with my REAL cyber-friends.
August 2nd, 2006 at 9:11 am
Annette, try not to be so bitter. I’m sure everyone is looking at David Bowie’s Area, and they’re just too ashamed to admit it.
August 2nd, 2006 at 11:53 am
It kills me that people still feel the need to debate this issue-hello,Scopes trial,anyone? Bueller?
What Barry’s dad told him is spot-on,even Darwin himself never ruled God out of the equation. Maybe they should assign Inherit The Wind to public school students(plus,the movie’s great!),it’s the perfect time for that play to resurface.
August 2nd, 2006 at 11:59 am
I agree the movie of Inherit the Wind is great. My favorite line is Gene Kelly’s as the reporter. One of the townspeople asks him if he needs a nice place to stay. Gene answers, “Madam, I had a nice place to stay, but I came here instead.”
August 2nd, 2006 at 3:09 pm
I just can’t believe people take the bible (specifically the Old Testament) literally. I can see how it would have a practical application, but c’mon, it’s an allegory!!!
And how come it’s okay for the bible to have giants, but not Harry Potter? Huh!?
p.s. Gene Kelly = the first love of my life.
August 2nd, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Hadn’t thought about the giant aspect. Good point.
And just so you know, I do take a lot of the Bible literally. We’ll have to talk about that some time . . .
August 2nd, 2006 at 4:37 pm
This blog is far too complex and therefore must have some intelligence designing it.
Lo unto Robin, He bequeath Truth and brussel sprouts.
We’re not competent to judge intelligence by Robin’s Blog of an irreducibly complex system.
Watch the movie, I click the link(despite the inherent virus risk)-that’s how friends work.
August 2nd, 2006 at 4:53 pm
You mock me (my pain)! You will not mock me again!
As you wiiiiiiiish . . .
August 2nd, 2006 at 5:48 pm
I am a pain. Anyone who tells you differently is lying or selling ID.
I don’t think they really exist.
August 2nd, 2006 at 6:00 pm
By the way, an interesting note– The town I graduated high school in was one of the earliest places to try to thoroughly teach creationism. One of the members of the school board lived right across the road from me. It was a couple years after I graduated and it made national TV.
http://markson.net/rr_merrimack.htm
August 2nd, 2006 at 7:32 pm
I feel I should clarify that I can’t believe people can take 100% of the bible literally, and can adhere to it so, for lack of a better word, religiously. I understand that religion takes leaps of faith, like believing that a woman can turn into a pillar of salt, but it’s the lack of willingness to accept that the bible was written in a time where oral storytelling was the main method of relaying historical/mythological information, and can therefore be both allegorically interpreted, or even misinterpreted when it was finally written down, seems somewhat naive to me.
That’s not to say a woman can’t be turned into a pillar of salt, just that it could be equally impossible.
And like I said before, if a giant could live 6000 years ago, why not now? Allegory.
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Lizzie, good points. And thank you for conceding a woman can be turned into a pillar of salt. Damn straight she can.
And Patrick, cool link! Thanks for the history.
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:26 pm
rb,
just like that (snap of fingers)
you checked out patrick’s link?
diana seems like really nice person, don’t you think, and with a book out already and all..
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:28 pm
rb, add the following
ps i like the new title. not that it matters what i like…
August 2nd, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Okay, okay, okay. Annette, quit your pouting. I just went over to your favorite website, http://www.areaology.com/areapure.html, solely to appease you. Are you happy now?
That is one very, very odd site.
So all you Labyrinth fans in particular–Patrick, Diana, Lady T, anyone else?–if you haven’t looked at David Bowie’s Area yet, please do so immediately. Take the quiz and let us know how you do.
August 3rd, 2006 at 9:51 am
Okay,I went to the DBA page and my test results are 92% pure. I love Labyrinth and have several pics on my wall to prove it but have this weird need to actually look at Bowie’s face(plus his hair in that movie is so sexy)more than his unit.
August 3rd, 2006 at 11:44 am
Nothing to contribute to the DBA conversation, except to say that I sat behind Labyrinth co-star (and Oscar winner!) Jennifer Connelly in physics my freshman year.
That sound you hear is the men on the blog groaning.
August 3rd, 2006 at 6:29 pm
lt,
bravo! i’m so glad i could be of service.
you cinched it, i am definitely, almost certainly, going to rent that movie, and that other one this weekend, maybe.
August 4th, 2006 at 10:22 am
I do not have a problem with evolution being taught in a science class. I don’t think it’s necessary to teach creationism as a supplement or alternative IN A SCIENCE CLASS. I do remember that there was a small paragaph, (might have been smaller) in my high school text that some people believe that creationism is seperate from the theory of evolution, and that some believe darwinism is a scientific way to explain creationism (my belief.
IMO, creationism should be taught in the home and in church. Science is not philosophy or religion.
August 4th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Yeah, Heather, I agree–Genesis and other religious perspectives are a matter for church and home. School science classes are for science, nothing else.
August 5th, 2006 at 7:06 pm
Well, I was a geology major, so this should be pretty obvious.
Love God. Love Darwin. Don’t see it to be much of a problem to love them both… I also think that God loves Darwin, and Darwin, though he had many feelings about specific organized religions, probably did, overall, love God.
Also love David Bowie’s area. Less than God, of course, and also less than Darwin, but still quite a bit.
And God created DB, as well as CD.