Latest Challenges to the Teaching of Evolution

Darwinian Conservatism by Larry Arnhart

The Left has traditionally assumed that human nature is so malleable, so perfectible, that it can be shaped in almost any direction. Conservatives object, arguing that social order arises not from rational planning but from the spontaneous order of instincts and habits. Darwinian biology sustains conservative social thought by showing how the human capacity for spontaneous order arises from social instincts and a moral sense shaped by natural selection.

Larry Arnhart is a Presidential Research Professor of Political Science at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. His areas of teaching and research include the history of political philosophy, biopolitical theory, and American political thought. Arnhart is the author of five books and more than thirty peer-reviewed articles.

Has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 1977, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago in 1974, and a B.A. in Politics from the University of Dallas in 1971.

In the Department of Political Science at Northern Illinois University, Arnhart teaches in the fields of political theory and biopolitics.

Arnhart is best known as a scholar in the history of political philosophy and as a proponent of "Darwinian natural right," "Darwinian conservatism," and "Aristotelian liberalism." He argues that the tradition of ethical naturalism from Aristotle to Thomas Aquinas to Alasdair MacIntyre can be supported by a Darwinian account of ethics as rooted in human biological nature, which combines liberty and order, freedom and virtue.

In defending Darwinian naturalism, Arnhart has debated the proponents of "intelligent design theory" by suggesting that they employ a purely negative rhetoric of criticizing Darwinian evolutionary theory, while offering no positive theory of exactly where, when, and how the "intelligent designer" intervenes in nature to create "irreducibly complex" mechanisms. Arnhart has debated the leading advocates of "intelligent design"--Michael Behe, William Dembski, John West, Jonathan Wells, and Richard Weikart—all of whom are fellows of the Discovery Institute. John West has written a book attacking Arnhart--Darwin's Conservatives: A Misguided Quest.

In defending Darwinian conservatism, Arnhart tries to persuade conservatives that Darwinian science supports the conservative belief that social order arises not from rational planning but from the spontaneous order of instincts and habits. He suggests that Darwinian biology sustains conservative social thought by showing how the human capacity for spontaneous order arises from social instincts and a moral sense shaped by natural selection in human evolutionary history.

The fourth Creation Geology Conference was held in late July at McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia.

Teaching Atheism 101 in our public schools
(John Byrd, Shreveport Times Opinion Section, September 7, 2010)

Biology is a required course in our public high schools. Modern biology textbooks put forth Darwinism or evolution as an explanation for the diversity of life on this planet.

Darwinism is an atheistic theory that attributes all that we see to chance and natural causes. Man and all living things evolved by chance from a single common ancestor that was somehow birthed by chance from inorganic matter somewhere in a universe that was produced by a chance explosion of unknown matter. It's called "science" or "scientific naturalism."

Scientific naturalism has one rule. It excludes the supernatural or God as a possible explanation for anything. This exclusion makes "science," "scientific naturalism" and Darwinism atheistic. Teaching Darwinism in biology class is tantamount to teaching Atheism 101.

The states, not the federal government, determine what is taught in their schools. The U.S. Constitution prohibits states from advancing or inhibiting religion or non-religion/atheism. In 2008, the Louisiana Legislature passed, almost unanimously, the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA). Pursuant to that act, local school boards can choose to supplement standard biology textbooks that present only this atheistic explanation for man's existence with textbooks and teaching aids that critique and examine the unsupported and unsupportable fallacies and extrapolations of Darwinism.

With no discussion, the Caddo School Board adopted a policy June 15 that contains some of the language of the LSEA. In a prior session, board member Charlotte Crawley asked if there was a dollar figure for implementing the policy. Reginald Abrams, legal counsel for the board, answered by saying "This is just a statement."

When asked by state Rep. Thomas Carmody how Bossier Parish had responded to the passage of the LSEA, Bossier schools Superintendent D.C. Machen provided a copy of the exact statement and indicated that the statement "is the action the BPSB has taken related to this issue."

There apparently is some collaboration between the school districts on how to "play like" they're doing something when they're really not. A policy that is "just a statement" does nothing to bring about change.

I have made inquiry of administrators and board members from Caddo and Bossier. I have spoken with those who know what has or has not been done and attempted to contact others who did not return my calls. I sent a letter by e-mail to each of the 12 Caddo School board members asking what action they had taken in response to passage of the LSEA that would affect change in the classroom.

I got one response. Board member Barry Rachal responded by saying, "I am not aware of any changes at this time. I will inquire and get back to you." Receiving no further communication, I followed up with another e-mail five days later. I have received no further information from Mr. Rachal.

I had a similar experience with board member Bonita Crawford. The Caddo School Board has clammed up. I am left with the obvious presumption that nothing has been done to affect or produce the change in the classroom that was the intended consequence of the legislation.

Knowing the board has done nothing to stem the one-sided presentation of atheism in our public schools, we might all ask, "Why did they choose to continue to teach children what some, if not all, believe to be a lie, the most egregious of all lies?"

Having made that decision, they're obviously not proud of their reasoning. None will acknowledge that he/she did nothing, much less explain why.

A Creation Geology Conference... Hahahahahaha Smile That's rich. What's next, the Flat Earth Moon program where you walk to the edge and jump off to get to the moon.

What's next, the Flat Earth Moon program where you walk to the edge and jump off to get to the moon.

There apparently is some collaboration between the school districts on how to "play like" they're doing something when they're really not.

LOUISIANA UPDATE

Quote:

Teaching Atheism 101 in our public schools
(John Byrd, Shreveport Times Opinion Section, September 7, 2010)

Darwinism is an atheistic theory that attributes all that we see to chance and natural causes.

Chastity, by nature
the gentlest of all affections -- give it but
its head -- 'tis like a ramping and a roar-
ing lion.

I love how all the papaers start with an assumption that a worldwide flood actually occured.

Does it say "worldwide" in the Bible fm or are you practicing a twee fraud on the basis of hindsight and starting with the assumption that what the word means now was what it meant 3000 years ago?