OT !!! But for all - no replies necessary Re: [Utah-astronomy] Buttars plans a bill on evolution
Diveboss: My sister has taught in this small rual Dover school since 1975. It wasn't until this subject came up that this town of kind, loving, Christain people were thrust into this mess by mandate. The (first time ever) radical right wing School Board members led by a minister principal rapidly overshadowed the rights and wishes of the clear majority. Teachers, parents and students suffered in unimagined ways, and I KNOW this first hand. It was a terrible situtation. No scientific foundation for their position - just a mandate forced on everyone, despite the top scholars testifying for science based education, not religious, in our public schools. My wife and I are strong believers in our faith BUT we would NEVER mandate that schools take this path in tying church and state so closely together - our country's founders were SO, SO, SO VERY very clear about this!!! What are you thinking! What about our Constitution??? My forefathers came here to get away from religious persecution (one was murdered "in the name of God") so don't tell me about sniffing glue - its about religious freedom for EVERYONE, not just religious, minority right wing zealots. We don't all hold this extreme view and yet we are still very grounded in our faith - the difference is we see the difference! AND, I have a right as much as others, to my view without personal attack. I spoke of collective extremes of ultraconservative thinking but you made your reply to me on a personal level - therein lies the difference. The true majority of Americans are getting fed up with this extreme and is reflected in the President's ratings falling every month - why is that??? We MUST take back control of our great country before its too late. Our great country is at it lowest world standing in the history of its founding. Why is that? Our two historically strongest mideast allies have been Egypt and Jordan. Last week they released information saying that their support of the US has dropped to 4% and 2% respectively. Why is that? We now want a CIA POLICY to allow torture the very same day Bush says we don't. Why is that? As we have now crossed this torture line, what makes us think our own soldiers captured, especially women, will not be treated differently than they were in the past when we did abide by the Geneva Convention like the rest of the world. Why is that? These are a very few, scratching the surface issues the REAL majority of good Americans are concerned about and we resent being insulted because we believe in the higher road to the higher cause for all people! The world has never become SO UNSAFE since we became the World Bully under this administration. And, why is that? I'm not done, but I rest my case. No replies necessary!!!! Just pray for our nation's survival!!! diveboss@xmission.com wrote: Off list here: You ain't sniffing glue are you? You sound a little bit like that whacky Rocky Anderson. Quoting Jim Stitley :
I suggest Buttars look at the outcome in Dover, PA. My sister teachers there in that school and said this subject has so polarized the community. It resulted in recall of ALL the School Board members pushing for this church sponsored 'education' mandate! I know Utah is "different" but we can get Utah into the national media attention each step of the way. This country was founded on separation of church and state and now we have a governement intent on rewriting history with their own slant, BUT(tars), this far right fraction is NOT the majority of this great country - at best its only 30+% - they only ones till supporting this corrupt, ideological misdirected thinking. Wake up America and take your power back unitl we can get a change in leadership and our great country back on track representing the majority of the people and everyones beliefs. Jim
Patrick Wiggins wrote: Sigh...
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635161898,00.html
Patrick
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Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer 51 minutes ago The Vatican's chief astronomer said Friday that "intelligent design" isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms, the latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States. The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges. "Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science." His comments were in line with his previous statements on "intelligent design"  whose supporters hold that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power. Proponents of intelligent design are seeking to get public schools in the United States to teach it as part of the science curriculum. Critics say intelligent design is merely creationism  a literal reading of the Bible's story of creation  camouflaged in scientific language, and they say it does not belong in science curriculum. In a June article in the British Catholic magazine The Tablet, Coyne reaffirmed God's role in creation, but said science explains the history of the universe. "If they respect the results of modern science, and indeed the best of modern biblical research, religious believers must move away from the notion of a dictator God or a designer God, a Newtonian God who made the universe as a watch that ticks along regularly." Rather, he argued, God should be seen more as an encouraging parent. "God in his infinite freedom continuously creates a world that reflects that freedom at all levels of the evolutionary process to greater and greater complexity," he wrote. "He is not continually intervening, but rather allows, participates, loves." The Vatican Observatory, which Coyne heads, is one of the oldest astronomical research institutions in the world. It is based in the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo south of Rome. Last week, Pope Benedict XVI waded indirectly into the evolution debate by saying the universe was made by an "intelligent project" and criticizing those who in the name of science say its creation was without direction or order. Questions about the Vatican's position on evolution were raised in July by Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn. In a New York Times column, Schoenborn seemed to back intelligent design and dismissed a 1996 statement by Pope John Paul II that evolution was "more than just a hypothesis." Schoenborn said the late pope's statement was "rather vague and unimportant." Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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