Religion is NOT Science
I have never understood why some religious fanatics insist on teaching Creationism, Intelligent Design or whatever "pretty name" they come up with in their efforts to bully their way into science classrooms. I wonder how they would react IF scientist demanded the right to teach Evolution in Sunday School Classrooms?
Religion is based on faith.
Science on the other hand is based on facts. First a scientist comes up with a hypothesis (an idea to explain a natural occurrence - in the case of evolution how life on Earth came into being). Then he comes up with ways to PROVE his hypothesis. If the data supports his hypothesis it becomes a Theory or Law.
But for some reason some people have trouble accepting this Scientific Truth.
The Short Proof of Evolution by Ian Johnston
"Curiously enough, there is one major scientific truth which vast numbers of people refuse to accept (by some news accounts a majority of people in North America)--the fact of evolution. Yet it is as plain as plain can be that the scientific truth of evolution is so overwhelmingly established, that it is virtually impossible to refute within the bounds of reason. No major scientific truth, in fact, is easier to present, explain, and defend"
I suppose some of it is the general populations ignorance of what the definition of a scientific theory is. I had one woman tell me Evolution was nothing more the some devil worshippers crackpot idea about how the world began. Her statement is full of holes. Darwin wasn't a devil worshipper http://www.aboutdarwin.com/ he was a scientist. And the definition of a scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory".
Anyway to make a long blog short the judge ruled against teaching ID in the science classroom. You will find a very well written article on his decision here http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4516
One can only wish the so called Christian School Board members hadn't felt it necessary to resort to lying and intolerance to push their religious agenda. And maybe we should all stop and think, if religion is going to be taught in public schools, whose religion are we going to teach? And maybe it's time the religious fanatics understand that science is not religion, and religion is not science. They are two different things. Religious beliefs have no place in science textbooks. But hey if we are going to teach religious beliefs as science, teachers get out your pirate suites and get ready to teach the Theory of the Flying Spaghetti Monster http://www.venganza.org/
For those of you teaching the Theory of Evolution this site looks promising http://evolution.berkeley.edu/
