The statistical improbabilities associated with blind natural selection can be discussed and many authors have done so. This applies to many irreducibly complex components and organisms. As James Cobb pointed out even the atheist Antony Flew has come to the conclusion that the first cells had to be designed. There is more information contained in the an individual cell than in a complete set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Another analogy is that if you look at an individual cell you will find more complexity and machinery than is found in New York City without the people. Many futile experiments have been conducted trying to create cells through natural processes. Darwin, incorrectly believed, that individual cells were very simple in design. I believe the idea of intelligent design as an explanation for at least the first cells can be readily taught without pointing to any particular religion. It is much more likely than the staggeringly improbable idea that the first cells were created by chance. Huxley, Darwin and Lyle had an agenda: to replace God with a naturalistic explanation as their private not public correspondence attests. They were all believers in the idea that the epitome of natural selection was the white Englishman of the 19th century. They believed blacks, Asiatics and native Americans were sub-human and lower on the evolutionary scale. These concepts were readily adapted by Adolph Hitler to his program of extermination of "sub-humans". Evolutionary ideas applies to societies by dictators including Lenin and Stalin have had horrible results. -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+djcolton=piol.com@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+djcolton=piol.com@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Kim Hyatt Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 9:27 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] science and religion Hey, Joe. Is there a chance that you'll be writing something to address this? I realize, of course, that you wouldn't wish to editorialize, but are our concerns regarding this issue worthy of an article? On a related matter, I appreciated Don's remarks about problems some scientists have with evolutionary theories and arguments in favor of intelligent design or something akin to it. However, Don, it wasn't clear to me whether or not you favor teaching these positions in the science classroom. For me, the issue isn't whether such opinions are valid or not, the issue is whether they are testable, and therefore, could be investigated scientifically. I don't recall if any of the sources you cited had any thoughts in this regard. If Joe or someone else were to write a piece for publication that highlights the concerns of many of us, I sure hope that you would address an alternative viewpoint. You seem to be more versed in arguments that question evolution than I am. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joan Carman" <jcarmen@utah.gov> To: <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com>; <mwkwan@sisna.com> Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 9:10 AM Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] science and religion | Thanks for the link Michael. An excellent editorial - and that's | saying a lot for the SL Tribune. | | It is my guess that Buttars didn't receive a warm welcome when he | proposed ID in schools in June and now with the help of Bush, who has let his deeply religious beliefs spill over in to secular/science based matters before, he thinks he will get a warmer reception in the DN (sorry Joe - it is owned by the LDS Church). Too bad the DN doesn't have a Letters to the Editor forum. | | | _______________________________________________ | Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com | http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy | Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com | | ______________________________________________________________________ | This e-mail has been scanned by Cut.Net Managed Email Content Service, using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on Cut.Nets Content Service, visit http://www.cut.net | ______________________________________________________________________ | | _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com