This just in…
Evolution opponents lose in Kan. primary
By JOHN HANNA, Associated Press Writer
TOPEKA, Kan. – Conservative Republicans who pushed anti-evolution standards back into Kansas schools last year have lost control of the state Board of Education once again.
The most closely watched race was in western Kansas, where incumbent conservative Connie Morris lost her GOP primary Tuesday. The former teacher had described evolution as “an age-old fairy tale” and “a nice bedtime story” unsupported by science.
As a result of Tuesday’s vote, board members and candidates who believe evolution is well-supported by evidence will have a 6-4 majority. Evolution skeptics had entered the election with a 6-4 majority.
Critics of Kansas’ science standards worried that if conservatives retained the board’s majority, it would lead to attempts in other states to copy the Kansas standards.
“There are people around the country who would like to see the Kansas standards in their own states,” said Eugenie Scott, director of the National Center for Science Education in Oakland, Calif., which supports the teaching of evolution.
In all honesty, I’m not entirely sure why the people on either side can’t just do a little reading followed up by some brainwork and speculation.
A little research would help as well.
For example, I have learned that the original Hebrew for “day” in the book of Genesis is more accurately translated as something along the lines of “a period of time.” That, and the fact that the only person around to measure “days” at the time was God himself makes for some very interesting questinos.
Second, you may note that some people will point to a place in the Bible (I forget where exactly, though I truly wish I could point you in the right direction) that “A day is like a thousand years to the Lord.” They fail to mention “and a thousand years is like a day.” That, combined with the fact of an omnipotent being existing outside of time with infinite wisdom, love, and (I believe, from a writer’s standpoint) an infinite imagination, the concept of time is as simple to the Lord as 1+1 is to us.
Please do not misinterpret this, though. I stand by my beliefs that the first humans, Adam and Eve, were created by the Lord God. Where Cain’s wife came from is entirely up to speculation, though with proper research into the Bible, and maybe a little speculation, that makes for an interesting discussion.
But not here. I’m done with my ramblings. I just don’t see why Intelligent Design can’t be taught alongside evolution. If it’s vague enough then it is perfectly legal.
Intelligent Design could be taught along side Evolution but not in the science classroom. ID is not scientifically valid. If included in the science class, it would be like teaching 2+2=4 and 2+2=5 because someone who wrote a book showing 2+2=5 got the local school board to include his pet idea in the curriculum.
Science is not about fairness. It is about teaching what is scientifically true. Truth in science are those ideas and concepts that have the most evidence for them and those that have been tested and found to be sound. Evolution has that backing – ID doesn’t. Science isn’t something that is accepted because it “sounds” good or fits some preconcieved notions about the world.
If one believes that God created the heaven and the Earth and Adam and Eve then for that be equal to a concept like Evolution then your concept must be proved using more than second hand stories written in the Bible.
Not to be rude, but I suppose we have all the evidence necessary to prove that evolution is, in fact, the cause of humanity, that we’re just an accident?
And theories don’t count. If theories can’t be used to support Intelligent Design, then neither can they be used by anyone against the the idea.
Now you are talking about a different issue. Evolution is not a “cause” of humanity. It explains how species we see today arrived at the point we see them today. It also describes how some species we find in the fossil record no longer exist. Because humans are just another animal species, one doesn’t need a Biology degree to see that if those other animals evolved then humans did too. Past science digs have shown we have.
Evolution wasn’t meant to answer the question – how’d we get here. One can extrapolate one common ancestor for all of life on earth – some call it a goo – but there hasn’t been enough evidence to prove or disprove that yet. I personally believe Earth happened to be in the right place at the right time to sustain life and it appeared in the form of some kind of goo that then evolved into the different forms of life we enjoy today. So yes we are all just an accident.
But as we have yet to discover any evidence (I am not saying there isn’t any), the fact that the Bible is actually much more historically accurate than people (are willing) to give it credit for, along with various events that God put me through to show me who He is, I am inclined to believe that the first humans were Adam and Eve. Others may have come along after they did. The possibility should definitely be considered since Adam and Eve didn’t have their third child, Seth, until after Cain was banished. By the time this kid was walking, it is highly likely, albeit the only likely possibility, that Cain had already married.
I am not an absolute disbeliever in evolution. My favorite example for it is the common cold. I still believe, however, that Adam and Eve were the first humans to walk the earth, though I do not rule out the possibility of others coming along after their creation.