Dave Ross strikes again:
"Upset parents have decided to delay their lawsuit against Pennsylvania's Dover school district - which means that for the first time an American school district will require biology teachers to read a statement advising students that Darwin's theory "is not a fact." The statement will point out that a concept known as intelligent design could ALSO explain how life appeared on earth.
Intelligent design teaches that the biological complexity of life cannot be explained by the mechanisms of evolution - that things like gene mutation could not possibly explain even a single-celled bacterium, to say nothing of a human being. And that therefore the logical mind must conclude that an unnamed intelligence was at work.
Critics say this is nothing less than the Bible dressed in a lab coat. But IS this a big deal? Because according to the story, the only actual teaching of intelligent design will be that statement (you) just read.
It's expected to take all of 60 seconds. The teacher will say, OK kids Darwin's theory "is not a fact you might consider intelligent design" and then move on. A little like the disclaimer in a car commercial.
Do you REALLY need to go to trial over this? See, I think you can handle these things without litigation, simply by employing a little rhetorical symmetry. If you're going to say, "Kids, evolution is not a fact" then you would ALSO have the teacher say "Kids, God is not a fact; but a concept impossible to prove or disprove scientifically." And then everyone would be happy.
Or, you could just stick with the fossils… "
Posted by rob at January 12, 2005 09:40 AM