Is Georgia in the American bible belt? I imagine it is because they have a big problem with the theory of evolution there. It seems that it is creating confusion amongst the students.
In a move simplify things that could only have been thought up by a bureaucrat, the state has mandated that schools are allowed to teach evolution, they are just not allowed to use the word "evolution", it has been banned from their text books. The bureaucrat in question, Superintendant Cathy Cox says
"The unfortunate truth is that 'evolution' has become a controversial buzzword that could prevent some from reading the proposed biology curriculum. We don't want the public or our students to get stuck on a word when the curriculum actually includes the most widely accepted theories for biology. Ironically, people have become upset about the exclusion of the word again, without having read the document."
'Evolution' was a controversial buzzword in England, IN 1860!!!
Ex-president and Georgian native Jimmy Carter is not known for his atheist leanings but he has a different view on this topic.
As a Christian, a trained engineer and scientist, and a professor at Emory University, I am embarrassed by Superintendent Kathy Cox's attempt to censor and distort the education of Georgia's students.The existing and long-standing use of the word 'evolution' in our state's textbooks has not adversely affected Georgians' belief in the omnipotence of God as creator of the universe. There can be no incompatibility between Christian faith and proven facts concerning geology, biology, and astronomy.
There is no need to teach that stars can fall out of the sky and land on a flat Earth in order to defend our religious faith.
And while we are on the topic of "the theory that must not be named", a recent paper in the journal of The Royal Society points to snakes "developing into their current form" on land rather than in the ocean. (Isn't that so much simpler than saying "evolving")
Genetic analysis by Nicolas Vidal and Blair Hedges at Penn State shows that snakes are more closely related to land based lizards than aquatic ones, such as the monitor lizards. This points to the fact that they lost their limbs after leaving the ocean, possibly in response to evolutionary pressure arising from burrowing. (oops I should have said "developing into their current form" pressure).
Read more about the research here.
There are many jewels hidden amongst the leaves in this forgotten part of the ancient forest. Spend some time browsing and you are sure to find some. Click here or continue your search below
or read the most recent entries here.Georgia is in the deep, deep South, a heart-of-the-Confederacy type of place. It's got more than its share of bible-thumping rednecks, but it's also got Atlanta, home of CNN and Coca-Cola. You've really got to feel for them. While the swarms of backwards Republicans and other such neandertal thugs might deserve to wallow in their ignorance, there's also some real culture and civilization there, too, and the more cosmopolitan inhabitants are in anguish over this. And of course, the kids NEVER deserve the kind of crap they get when the ignorant play political games with the educational system.
Posted by: PZ Myers at February 2, 2004 09:49 AMWhile I agree that the children are the victims here, I must say that Ms. Cox was (in my meager opinion) only trying to head off any controversy. Remember the big scandals with the Pledge of Allegiance saying "Under God" and prayer in school? I'm certain Ms. Cox was trying to avoid another such mishap. Instead she caused one. Oops. Politicians can't be perfect, they are just people. The more important thing here is the recovery. If the children in the state of Georgia (which I have lived my entire life - and went to a Christian school that fired a teacher for uttering the e word) can still understand the theory, with or without the PROPER name, then the goal of communicating the theory has been partially met. Partial is not enough for me. I agree, the censorship of textbooks is ridiculous on many levels. It offends the very nature of learning! What these “red-necks“ fail to realize is that evolution does not contradict the Bible. It has nothing to do with the Bible! Evolution is a prevailing scientific theory, like the theory of creationism. If society were to eliminate all theories that any group might find offensive by slowly distorting the language that took years of research to build, then the children would lose the ability to judge for themselves what they believe. This is the whole basis of Christianity…the free will of man to choose his beliefs!!!! As one can plainly see, the root of the problem is a lack of understanding spewing from BOTH sides of the issue. One side does not understand the definition of the word “theory”, and the other can not understand where the other side’s disconnect lies. (By the way, taking in to account the most strict definition of science - science has no place to comment on faith or religion. And the proper spelling is Neanderthal).
Posted by: Vic. at February 3, 2005 07:38 AM
Stumble It!