Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

Its interesting to see that subsequent cases always close the door a little bit more on the Creationist roadway. Its not so much a "making of the law" but more like a "fine sanding of what the Constitution states"

Creationism v evolution: Showdown at the Ulster Museum
(By Lesley-Anne Henry, Belfast Telegraph, 27 May 2010)

Free Presbyterian minister Reverend David McIlveen believes the Earth was created just 6,000 years ago by God, just like it says in the Bible. Dr Chris Hunt, a lecturer in palaeoecology at Queen’s University, teaches evolutionary theory and says science demonstrates that the world is millions of years old.

Yesterday the creationism v evolution debate was given another hearing when it was revealed our Culture Minister Nelson McCausland wrote to the trustees of National Museums Northern Ireland suggesting that alternative views on the origins of the universe should be displayed.

This prompted the Belfast Telegraph to bring representatives of the two disparate views together for a tour of the natural history section of the newly refurbished Ulster Museum.

One of the central attractions in the museum is a replica of a majestic giant Irish deer, which walked the earth about 80,000 years ago. The magnificent animal caught the eye of both the Reverend and the academic.

But the dating of the exhibit creates a problem for Rev McIlveen’s view of history. He explained: “I believe that the world is probably around about 6,000 years old and during that time there was the Great Flood which, in my opinion, cleared or wiped out the dinosaurs which were in existence at that time.”

But Dr Hunt, a church-going Christian, had his own views on Bible teaching. “I actually see the creation of the world in the Bible as a parable of what really happened for those who weren’t able to understand in more depth all that time ago.”

As he strolled through the minerals, rocks and fossils section, Rev McIlveen expressed his support for Mr McCausland’s view. He even went a step further and called for a Bible to be exhibited alongside the reference books in the museum. “To present the evolutionist view as fact, I think is wrong,” he said. Coming across a display of piece of Moon rock, Rev McIlveen said: “I have no reason to doubt this isn’t a piece of the Moon, but at the same time, if I was cynical, I would ask where’s the proof? It just looks like a piece of coal that has been burnt. I could have come back from Sinai with something and said it was from Jupiter.

“My cynicism deepens. What I am looking at and listening to is only an opinion and nothing more.” As they took their arguments to another level in the natural history section it was obvious that Dr Hunt was becoming increasingly frustrated.

And as Rev McIlveen spoke about apples falling from the sky he looked totally baffled.

An invitation to Rev McIlveen to attend one of his lectures at Queen’s was side-stepped with a counter-offer for the scientist to join the congregation at his Sandown Church.

Dr Hunt concluded: “The museum records a particular viewpoint which is based on a very great deal of discovered evidence and until that evidence is properly refuted and in detail then I don’t think creationists have a scientific leg to stand on.

“So-called creation science is wishful thinking. It’s very sad. I feel very sorry for the people who peddle it and I think they have been very badly misguided by the ‘creation scientists’.

“This is a museum which records Ulster’s past. The Bible only arrived in Ireland 2,000 years ago. The giant Irish deer was here 11,000 years ago. There could well be a very nice exhibit about Christianity and I would be very glad to see it, but at the moment evolution is the only real show in town.

Its interesting to see that subsequent cases always close the door a little bit more on the Creationist roadway.

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You might remember that when fm thought you and I were in agreement he suggested that we "get a room." And it seems he was rather premature in his conclusion as well.

“I have no reason to doubt this isn’t a piece of the Moon, but at the same time, if I was cynical, I would ask where’s the proof? It just looks like a piece of coal that has been burnt. I could have come back from Sinai with something and said it was from Jupiter

UK UPDATE

Quote:

Creationism v evolution: Showdown at the Ulster Museum
(By Lesley-Anne Henry, Belfast Telegraph, 27 May 2010)

Coming across a display of piece of Moon rock, Rev McIlveen said: “I have no reason to doubt this isn’t a piece of the Moon, but at the same time, if I was cynical, I would ask where’s the proof? It just looks like a piece of coal that has been burnt. I could have come back from Sinai with something and said it was from Jupiter.

Northern Ireland minister calls on Ulster Museum to promote creationism
(Henry McDonald, The Guardian, 26 May 2010)

Northern Ireland's born-again Christian culture minister has called on the Ulster Museum to put on exhibits reflecting the view that the world was made by God only several thousand years ago.

Nelson McCausland, who believes that Ulster Protestants are one of the lost tribes of Israel, has written to the museum's board of trustees urging them to reflect creationist and intelligent design theories of the universe's origins.

The Democratic Unionist minister said the inclusion of anti-Darwinian theories in the museum was "a human rights issue".

McCausland defended a letter he wrote to the trustees calling for anti-evolution exhibitions at the museum. He claimed that around one third of Northern Ireland's population believed either in intelligent design or the creationist view that the universe was created about 6,000 years ago.

"I have had more letters from the public on this issue than any other issue," he said.

The minister said he wrote a "very balanced letter" to the museum because he wanted to "reflect the views of all the people in Northern Ireland in all its richness and diversity".

Earlier in his letter to the museum's trustees McCausland said he had "a common desire to ensure that museums are reflective of the views, beliefs and cultural traditions that make up society in Northern Ireland".

His call was condemned by the evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins, who said: "If the museum was to go down that road then perhaps they should bring in the stork theory of where babies come from. Or perhaps the museum should introduce the flat earth theory."

Dawkins said it was irrelevant if a large number of people in Northern Ireland refused to believe in evolution. "Scientific evidence can't be democratically decided," Dawkins said.

McCausland's party colleague and North Antrim assembly member Mervyn Storey has been at the forefront of a campaign to force museums in Northern Ireland to promote anti-Darwinian theories.

Storey, who has chaired the Northern Ireland assembly's education committee, has denied that man descended from apes. He believes in the theory that the world was created several thousand years ago, even though the most famous tourist attraction in his own constituency " the Giant's Causeway on the North Antrim coast " is according to all the geological evidence millions of years old.

Last year Storey raised objections to notices at the Giant's Causeway informing the public that the unique rock formation was about 550m years old. Storey believes in the literal truth of the Bible and that the earth was created only several thousand years before Christ's birth.

This latest row over Darwin versus creationism in Northern Ireland comes at a delicate time for the Ulster Museum. Earlier this month it was shortlisted for the UK's largest single arts prize. The Art Fund Prize annually awards £100,000 to a museum or gallery for a project completed in the last year.

The belief that the Earth was divinely created in 4004 BC originates with the writings of another Ulster-based Protestant, Archbishop of Armagh James Ussher, in 1654. Ussher calculated the date based on textual clues in the Old Testament, even settling on a date and time for the moment of creation: in the early hours of 23 October.

Nelson McCausland, who believes that Ulster Protestants are one of the lost tribes of Israel . . .

The religiously motivated already accept their holy writ as revealed truth, so they leap at the opportunity to say: "Oh yeah, prove it" to anyone offering a scientific explanation for the way the world is.

SCIENCE VS. RELIGION
What Scientists Really Think
By Elaine Howard Ecklund
Oxford Univ. 228 pp. $27.95

(Reviwed by Josh Rosenau, The Washington Post, May 30, 2010)

Americans are almost evenly divided between those who feel science conflicts with religion and those who don't. Both sides have scientific backers. Biologist Richard Dawkins rallies atheists by arguing that science renders religious faith unnecessary and irrational. Geneticist Francis S. Collins (before becoming NIH director) organized evangelical scientists to offer a vision of science and faith reinforcing each other.

Rice University sociologist Elaine Ecklund offers a fresh perspective on this debate in "Science vs. Religion." Rather than offering another polemic, she builds on a detailed survey of almost 1,700 scientists at elite American research universities -- the most comprehensive such study to date. These surveys and 275 lengthy follow-up interviews reveal that scientists often practice a closeted faith. They worry how their peers would react to learning about their religious views.

Fully half of these top scientists are religious. Only five of the 275 interviewees actively oppose religion. Even among the third who are atheists, many consider themselves "spiritual." One describes this spiritual atheism as being rooted in "wonder about the complexity and the majesty of existence," a sentiment many nonscientists -- religious or not -- would recognize. By not engaging with religion more fully and publicly, "the academy is really doing itself a big disservice," worries one scientist. As shown by conflicts over everything from evolution to stem cells to climate policy, breakdowns in communication between scientists and religious communities cause real problems, especially for scientists trying to educate increasingly religious college students.

Religious groups -- creationist movements in particular -- are not without blame here. Creationist attacks on evolution "have polarized the public opinion such that you're either religious or you're a scientist!" a devout physicist complains. Indeed, the National Science Board recently spiked a report on American knowledge about evolution, claiming that it was too difficult to tell the difference between religious objections to evolution and questions raised about the state of the science.

Only through a genuine dialogue between scientists and the broader public can these divisions be bridged. To her credit, Ecklund avoids editorializing even while encouraging such dialogue. She gives voice to scientists, relaying and synthesizing their experience. Though "Science vs. Religion" is aimed at scientists, her myth-busting and her thoughtful advice can also benefit nonscientists. For Ecklund, the bottom line is recognizing and tolerating religious diversity, honestly discussing science's scope and limits, and openly exploring the disputed borders between scientific skepticism and religious faith.

Creationism to be taught in Queensland classrooms
(By Carly Hennessy, The Sunday Mail, May 30, 2010)

Creationists dismiss the science of evolution, instead believing that living things are best explained by an intelligent being or God, rather than an undirected process such as natural selection.

The issue of creationism being taught in schools has caused huge controversy in the US, where some fundamentalist religious schools teach it as a science subject instead of Darwin's theory of evolution.

In Queensland schools, creationism will be offered for discussion in the subject of ancient history, under the topic of "controversies".

Don't miss The Courier-Mail on Tuesday for the 2010 High School Report, an eight-page liftout containing Year 12 results, including OPs, from every school across the state.

Teachers are still formulating a response to the draft national curriculum, scheduled to be introduced next year.

Queensland History Teachers' Association head Kay Bishop said the curriculum asked students to develop their historical skills in an "investigation of a controversial issue" such as "human origins (eg, Darwin's theory of evolution and its critics").

"It's opening up opportunities for debate and discussion, not to push a particular view," Ms Bishop said. Classroom debate about issues encouraged critical thinking " an important tool, she said.

Associated Christian Schools executive officer Lynne Doneley welcomed the draft curriculum, saying it cemented the position of a faith-based approach to teaching.

"We talk to students from a faith science basis, but we're not biased in the delivery of curriculum," Mrs Doneley said. "We say, 'This is where we're coming from' but allow students to make up their own minds."

But Griffith University humanities lecturer Paul Williams said it was important to be cautious about such content.

"It's important that education authorities are vigilant that this is not a blank cheque to push theological barrows," Mr Williams said.

"I would be loath to see it taught as theory.

"It's up there with the world being occupied by aliens since Roswell."

Ms Bishop said there were bigger problems with the national curriculum.

History teachers are planning to object to repetitive subject matter, such as World War I being a major part of the Year 10 course and repeated in Year 11.

Debating the subject will do more to destroy Creationism as a science than anything else could.