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brainiacsub -> RE: Creationism in public schools (10/5/2008 9:58:31 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: StrangerThan
[snip...]
The idiocy behind refusing to debate it or discuss it is the idiocy that always comes when people won't talk. It's kind of how you end up with groups of people hating each other because of color, because of beliefs, because they just live in a different place.
It's stupid. I see no reason it can't or shouldn't be debated. Taught? No. Debated? Absolutely.
Stranger, here is the problem. The Evangelical Christian right does not want the topic debated. For them, Creationism is a matter of fact and should be taught as such. They do not believe that Evolutionary Theory is a viable alternative to Creation as presented in Genesis. In fact, they do not believe in teaching anything that might discredit the Bible as anything but the infallible word of God. The ongoing discussions about teaching Creationism in public schools is a political debate, not a theological one. What people don't realize is that the religious right has a very powerful agenda and an equally powerful lobby. They are politically savy enough to recognize that they must take small steps to achieve the ultimate goal - eliminate the teaching of evolution as science. A small step for them in this moment is to have Creationism 'debated' as an alternative to Evolutionary Theory. They are using the exact same political tactics to overturn Roe v. Wade - criminalize late-term abortions, require parental notification, eliminate public funding of abortions for the poor - because these are things that moderate Americans can agree on. The far right lobby has publicly admitted many times that this is part of an overall strategy to create precedence to overturn the existing abortion laws.
Now, back to the teaching of Creationism...the election of someone like Palin to a powerful political office is beyond the wildest masturbatory fantasies of the far right. Does Palin actually believe that the Earth is 6,000 yrs old, that dinosaurs co-existed with man, that evolution is junk science? I don't believe that she is that stupid. After all, where does she think all the oil in Alaska came from? She must have some understanding of the science of oil...but I could be wrong. But she is exactly the vehicle that the far right lobby needs to further their agenda, because I believe she is too stupid to recognize that she is being used.
I find all this discussion about the science, theology and philosophy of Evolution vs Creationism to be quite fascinating. I have enjoyed reading this thread, but too many have retreated to their own corner rather than step out of the ring and watch the bigger fight. Everyone loses if the lobbists win this one.
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