theTable

from CNN - 'Intelligent design' debate back in court - Sep 26, 2005:

"Intelligent design" is a religious theory that was inserted in a school district's curriculum with no concern for whether it had scientific underpinnings, a lawyer told a federal judge Monday as a landmark trial got under way.
...
But in his opening statement, the school district's attorney defended Dover's policy of requiring ninth-grade students to hear a brief statement about intelligent design before biology classes on evolution.
...
Arguing that intelligent design is a religious theory, not science, Rothschild said he would show that the language in the school district's own policy made clear its religious intent.

Dover is believed to be the first school system in the nation to require students be exposed to the intelligent design concept, under a policy adopted by a 6-3 vote in October 2004.
...
Brown University professor Kenneth Miller, the first witness called by the plaintiffs, said pieces of the theory of evolution are subject to debate, such as where gender comes from, but told the court: "There is no controversy within science over the core proposition of evolutionary theory."

On the other hand, he said, "Intelligent design is not a testable theory in any sense and as such it is not accepted by the scientific community."
...
The clash over intelligent-design is evident far beyond this rural district of about 3,500 students 20 miles south of Harrisburg. President Bush has weighed in, saying schools should present both concepts when teaching about the origins of life.
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Richard Thompson, the Thomas More center's president and chief counsel, said Dover's policy takes a modest approach.

"All the Dover school board did was allow students to get a glimpse of a controversy that is really boiling over in the scientific community," Thompson said.

Here's a good topic for group discussion. How can we rationally talk about evolution and "intelligent design" without continuing the culture war? I think the burden in many ways lays on proponents of "intelligent design" in this way: They need to show how this is science, according to the basic premises of science. In other words, what they've done is establish a hypothesis, in scientific jargon. Now, how can it be tested? How can data be gathered? What repeatable experiments can be performed? Once all of that is clear, let's do the experimenting! Then we'll be in a position to accept or reject or modify their hypothesis. The problem is clear: there is no experiment yet that can prove the existence of God. Their arguments, carefully considered, may seem valid: but they belong, perhaps, in a philosophy class, not in the science classroom.

Or, maybe I'm wrong. But why don't we talk about this, the religious and scientific community together, instead of legislating it or asking judges to rule on it. I believe there are some who are pushing this issue because they know how judges are likely to rule - and they want to continue to increase the divide between us. We religious folk should not allow ourselves to be so easily manipulated!

I should also state my belief that it is not contradictory to be a Bible-believing Christian and accept basic tenets of evolutionary theory; it is contradictory to believe in a certain ordering to creation, or to deny evolution, based on a literal reading of the Bible's Creation stories. (Genesis 1, in fact, could even support evolution. But read carefully the first 2 chapters of Genesis. Make a list of the order in which God created in each chapter. Study the accounts of the creation of man and woman. If they are literally true, they contradict each other on several important points!)

I also believe that our children deserve the best education we can provide. That means teaching science in the science classroom, philosphical reasoning and argument in philosophy, and religon in religious studies curricula and especially in the church.

Still wrestling with how to approach this. I spent almost a week recently at a large gathering of Christians. Though united by denomination, there was present in the convention hall an incredible diversity of beliefs and opinions on a wide variety of topics. One of the central questions for engaging in dialogue together, I believe, is this: How do people who have strong beliefs yet opposing beliefs, equally rooted in faith, get along together? Do they ignore the differences? Should they constantly argue them out? Must we only relate to those who completely agree with us? Surely each must generally be respected for their faithfulness (up to a point of course, such as advocating racial superiority or some such nonsense). So how do we live in disagreement?

Faithful America:
"In what may be the worst human rights tragedy of our time, nearly a half-million state-sanctioned murders have occurred and continue as you read this. New reports of armed officers gang raping and torturing children (some as young as four!) simply cannot be ignored. It is time for all of us as people of faith to lift our voices to demand that President Bush take firm and decisive leadership to stop the killing."

The ongoing violence is nothing less than a crime against humanity. In reference to the genocide in Rwanda, Pres. Bush once stated: "Not on my watch." But now it is happening, and after some early positive action the administration has backed off on the issue. We must press for relief for these people, the millions who are refugees, victims, and potential victims of direct violence. The link above offers more resources, information, and a way to get involved.

Trying the same thing as below, internally, to see if I can get the link right:
3 bombs in 45 minutes kill 16 in Iraq
Hmm...appears much easier!

I won't, by the way, be writing much here immediately. I happen to have
begun this little experiment just before a little vacation. So be
patient...

But let's take it a step further. And tackle a big one right off the start.
How do we begin (in the United States, anyway) to talk about things like
this:
"3 bombs in 45 minutes kill 16 in Iraq"
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/06/02/iraq.main/index.html
Which is to say, the War in Iraq, or, in the case of this article, the ugly
side effects.

Just testing out the features on this thing. Gotta learn to crawl before you walk and walk before you run, right? So let's see how this goes...

There is much to fill the news these days that should shock a reasonable person of faith. Whether or not these events are even making it into the news stream is another matter. I should note, too, that I hate that this is the piece with which I lead. Because my chief concern is with right living, which is to say, faithfulness. And spiritual matters and theological conviction ought at least to temper, if not put to rest, the hysteria surrounding certain events and the complete lack of attention paid to others. They ought to; but I am a firm believer that life itself, and each element of God's good creation, has intrinsic value. So it pains me to see the extent to which human beings will, in individual and collective efforts, deliberately and intentionally harm another, denying even their humanity and certain respective inalienable rights (as has been said), or wreak destruction upon creation. I long to offer a moderating voice that might bring together persons falsely polarized and build true community marked by honesty, trust, and respect. Yet I fear that I will often react against the most vocal, most grating pronouncements and be swept into one false dichotomy or another, one side of short-sighted and narrow-focused debates; God, forgive me when my passions over come me, and enrich my vision, my imagination, and my faith for what is possible. Because it will happen - I'm only human after all. No longer will that be an excuse, however, for silence or inaction. For too long, I have watched and listened as others tried to define me: even my faith has been stolen, repackaged, and sold at large in a form that I hardly recognize and cannot claim. To such sins of heresy and idolatry I have offered the sin of silence - but no more. It is time to find my voice and speak the word that God has placed within me. It is time to put away childish things; it is not yet time - no longer time, too - to be led where I do not wish to go by those who have no good purpose at heart. It is time to answer the call that God has presented me. It is time to find my voice.