Intelligent Design Theory: Science or Religion?

that some people feel science has lost relevance to them stems wholly from religion -

There is synergy at work indeed, and it works to the disadvantage of the luddite religionists.

It was never "equivalent education." The IDers started with a handicap, and also ended with a handicap. They still haven't figured out that "creationisem" is not science; that's pretty ignorant.

They still don't "get it."

Have you noticed that the legal battles between science and creationism are often centered on small towns and school districts? That's no accident. It's the circuit creationists prefer to work.

Like the rainmakers and healers that came before them, the creationists arrive in town wrapped in the Bible and put on a dazzling show. They dutifully hit all the churches and revivals--often times with the pastor and elders acting as unwitting accomplices, nodding and smiling by their side. They sell their books and tapes and fill everyone with false hope. And, if things are going really well, maybe the creationists will slither up to a sympathetic school board prospect or mayor and whisper in their ear: "Take on the courts! You'll be famous! You'll be elected to Congress after you win this one!"

Then, if the case goes south--and they all have so far--and a huge legal bill comes due, translating to hundreds or thousands of dollars per homeowner per year in a small district, the instigators slip away with all the class of a bum walking a check at the town diner. And the law can't protect your town from any of this, because it's not illegal for a creationist to make their case, and it's not against the law for anyone listening to be a sucker.

The modern purveyors of creationism, sometimes called "Intelligent Design", are exceedingly good at what they do. They're professionals with polished speaking skills, charming personas, and connections from the Governor's Mansion to the White House. Still, you'd think after the creationists got stomped in Kitzmiller v. Dover, just a few months ago, that at least local school board members would be aware of the possible consequences. That they'd be more cautious on behalf of the tax payers and their own jobs. But some people never learn. Just a few examples:


[Brevard County, Florida] School Board member Amy Kneessy wants the school district to adopt a biology textbook that includes passages on divine creation and intelligent design;

[Boone County, Missouri] How intelligent design and evolution should be taught in Columbia schools dominated discussion as school board candidates ... "I don't want our public schools without God;"

[Kentucky] In January, Gov. Ernie Fletcher endorsed teaching intelligent design in Kentucky schools in his State of the Commonwealth address. A 1990 Kentucky law allows public schools to teach both evolution and biblical creationism.

There are plenty of good reasons to want to avoid being the next battlefield in this culture war. For example, you may be one of the millions who believe in a Supreme Being, but feel that science and your faith are not at odds with one another, and don't particularly want your kids taught the opposite. You may be a Bill of Right's aficionado, or you may know that there is no scientific theory of intelligent design/creationism, and to claim otherwise is a lie.

But here's an even better reason to avoid it: Kitzmiller ended up costing the Dover ISD a million bucks and it cost the pro-creationism board members their posts. And in that case, the winning legal team went easy on Dover out of concern for the innocent taxpayers. They cut the bill in half. Next time it could be full damages, every dime, nickel, and penny of expense incurred, dumped on to you, the taxpayer. And with Dover as a precedent, and given the devastating language and tone in Judge Jones's decision in Kitzmiller, odds are higher than ever that that's exactly what will happen.

There's no help for you in any case. Your own posts are your proof of "idiocy."

Have you noticed that the legal battles between science and creationism are often centered on small towns and school districts? That's no accident. It's the circuit creationists prefer to work.

And the law can't protect your town from any of this, because it's not illegal for a creationist to make their case, and it's not against the law for anyone listening to be a sucker.

And in that case, the winning legal team went easy on Dover out of concern for the innocent taxpayers. They cut the bill in half. Next time it could be full damages, every dime, nickel, and penny of expense incurred, dumped on to you, the taxpayer.