Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

rosborne, I would rather find a surgeon who has done many similar surgeries, and has the reputation at being the best - irregardless of his/her belief in evolution.

Hi CI,

All things being equal to start with (as was my original assumption), then I would still prefer a Doctor with an understanding of basic biology.

(By the way, there's no such word as "irregardless". There is "regardless" and "irrespective", but no "irregardless". It's a common mistake.)

Thanks for the English lesson, but old habits die hard; I'm 73 years old.

As education may be considered a form of neurosurgery, as the Jesuits maintain, and rightly because it is obvious, and as Freud maintained in relation to infantile and forgotten to consciouness experiences, it is quite plain, except to those with a subjective interest, either mercenary or psychological, that you bunch of anti-IDers should be kept at a far distance from the unformed minds of the young, formally or otherwise, on the basis of the principle you express ci., which is of course a sensible one.

Although if we were to consider an "evolutionist" to be as extreme in his faith as you like to consider the Christian, for the purposes of your argument, we might think that if he found about your somatic person a condition of some seriousness, that scientific evidence had shown to be hereditable, that he might off you or at least arrange, surgically, for you to be unable to pass it on, maybe a number of times.

On the other hand, if we were to consider this "evolutionist", who wouldn't be if he spent a few hours in the corner of the bar with me, in the manner you are considering him in, and I trust you wouldn't allow a lady to operate on your neurons, a normal evolutionist (sic), not quite a monkey, then oughtn't you, in the interests of grown up debate and in a spirit of festive goodwill in this season of merrily jingling of cash-tills* , I say, oughtn't you, old chap, to consider the Christian you often speak of in the same light.

You have been comparing unlike things all this time. Like imagining the England cricketers are going out to India to play 11 fakirs who spend their nights on a bed of nails, only to find it's Sachin Tendulkar and that Harbhahjanan buggeroo and suchlike. And get stuffed 5-0.

*Do cash-tills still ring? I do go in a shop every now and then and I'm not sure that they do. Woolworth's , now sadly a shadow of its former self, cash-tills used to ring, at this time of year, when I wor a lad, like sleighbells ringing in the snow. (Good old Bing eh? Best crap I've ever seen.)

What a change for the scientific approach to shopping to have caused than to have replaced that traditional sound of Christian good cheer which tinkled from the Alpine valleys down towards the docks, with a bloody "beep". Like you've been goosed. What a feat. And to make a wage packet look like a card you just sweep through a slot.

Bush is more enlightened than people like spendi - but just barely. - edgarblythe


US President George W. Bush said in an interview Monday that the Bible is "probably not" literally true and that a belief that God created the world is compatible with the theory of evolution.

"I think you can have both," Bush, who leaves office January 20, told ABC television, adding "You're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president."

But "evolution is an interesting subject. I happen to believe that evolution doesn't fully explain the mystery of life," said the president, an outspoken Christian who often invokes God in his speeches.

"I think that God created the Earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution," he told ABC television.

Asked whether the Bible was literally true, Bush replied: "Probably not. No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it."

"The important lesson is 'God sent a son,'" he said.

Why did god send a "son?" Isn't god powerful enough to make promises without human sacrifice?

It's blood we need, CI.

Worded more correctly it would be

"Im just a president who is simple"

In the spirit of the Holidays, I shall, herewith remove the spewndi one from his "ignore status" and see whether he has learnt anything whilst toodling about on his palfrey.

Yer a better man than I, farmerman.

I don't give a flying **** effemm. And Ed. And anybody else.

Putting me on Ignore, putting anybody on Ignore, and what is worse making a big song and dance about it, is the biologically natural response of narcissistic withdrawal into the self, shrinking, of any organism experiencing physical pain or anxiety. Like when Marilyn shrunk when the air blast blew her skirt up. A conditioned reflex and not a natural one. The prietesses of Eleusis, Darwinians to the core, would have been waving their arms high in the air flashing their armpits and the "joints of the thighs". (Song of Solomon-the Song of Songs.)

And Ignore on a science thread is the pits of the earth. It disqualifies anybody indulging themselves with such conveniences from any claim to scientific status and emphatically from having any say in the education of future generations.

Then to lift the ban, a self ban, with fake magnaminity, festive season notwithstanding, as though the moral high ground has been gained, might impress some of the readers here but it won't impress any of them who have had a reasonable education.

The only thing to do is to apologise and resolve never to engage in such babyish tactics ever again.

As if my posts were somehow invalidated because some twit conspicuously put me on Ignore is tittering tackle. One might invalidate every argument that ever was that way and effortlessly too. A sound Darwinian position I'll admit. Evolution wastes no energy. Biologically everything has a use.

One supposes that the ladies who fainted on hearing Darwin expound his theory were likely to have been faking but preferred to be carried out of the hall swooning rather than walking out under their own steam, snorting or otherwise. Waking out, running even, being a variation on the Ignore function and hence mortifying and uncountenanceable in the refined circles they socialised in on account of how bloody naffy-naff-naff it is.

That the ladies who regularly appear in wande's fishing net show no signs of exhibiting the same response as those in Darwin's audience is likely to be a result of them not having an understanding of his theory on the same level that the Victorian ladies of the higher classes did who were, obviously, challenging the teaching of evolution scientifically and in its deepest meaning. It was not only put on Ignore, it was one of the unmentionables. Which is why ladies withdrew when the port went round and the cigars were lit.

wande's ladies treat it as something to have a battle over. And they do not care for men talking about these things without them knowing about it.

Dylan's "Ya can't look at much can you man?" was not an original idea.

The Ignore function has a seemingly infinite number of variations and, from what evidence I have seen, the NCSE and it's lackies and fellow-travellers in media, and other dark corners, have recourse on a permament basis to a number of them. Snow White wouldn't have even had a flush at Dover.

Happy Christmas all. Welcome back to the land of the living effemm.

We'll say no more about it eh?

And it would be appreciated if a response was provided to the question relating to extreme Christians and middle-of-the-road evolutionists and the comparison being made between them.

And with never a sign of a comparison between a middle-of-the-road Christian and an extreme evolutionist.

Which is cheating really. One might ban motor cars if one only studied extreme drivers of them, like at NASCAR. One might even ban women from being seen in public if one took some of the extremists I have seen for evidence. Some of the ones I've read about and there would be no might about it.

Where is your holiday spirit, spendi?

LOL

I am in a permanent holiday spirit wande. I don't need the jingli$g ca$h-till$ to remind me of the memory of Jesus. I have a pretty good idea of where we would be without Him.

Watching the palaver over bailing out the auto makers in the holiday spirit is much better than those attractions on the sea front in popular resorts. And the Punch and Judy show in the "Ouch!" party is quite funny and I'm dying to see the finale.

You won't find me lacking in festive cheer at anytime if you're in the mood yourself you miserable sod.

PS-- a pedantic twit of a liberal teller of scientific truth was today removed from post in a school for telling the 8 year olds that there was no Father Christmas and that it was their parents who crept down in the night to put their presents under the tree. Sacked!! On the spot. Nobody arguing. They didn't mention what sex she is.

They interviewed some irate parents. It was hilarious. Not as hilarious as the auto chiefs, soon to become civil servants, driving into the guarded car park in the most un-American vehicles I've seen since Clive Sinclair's electric clog.

I roared with laughter imagining ros or effemm, red-faced and spluttering and shouting assertions at the telly when they flew in in those private jets.

I was once at a desert outpost that had a landing strip and a NAFFI and some other gear when suddenly, within half-an-hour, which classed as suddenly at that time, about ten planes landed and guys in white flowing robes got out of them, took over the NAFFI, and shouted at each other for the afternoon. Then they all flew away again. I asked the OIC what it was all about and he said "**** knows".

I've had something of a holiday spirit ever since I returned from those hot, light-brown countries to the Land of the English Rose. (Spectra provided on request.)

Now-what about this rabid evolutionist I have found. The suspicion is that you have been arguing with rabid Christians to be seen arguing with Christians but not to risk any of the tolerant easy-going ones. It's a farmer's trailer piled high with bales of straw swaying from side to side down a remote country lane.

.

At your age youve been stripped of imagination. What youve got left is delerium tremens.

Harump -

I know it is disappointing, Edgar. There is a link to the actual letter. The letter maintains that there is scientific evidence for creationism,

Yeah, I know, without even looking at it. They've got us on the ropes with their relentless pursuit of truth and righteousness.