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Religion
Tennessee Bill to Push Creationism in Schools
By Simon Brown
Like something out of a George A. Romero movie, Tennessee lawmakers have revived a scary bill that would open the door to promotion of creationism in public schools.
HB 368 passed the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2011, but went nowhere after that. This year Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixson) brought it back, albeit with some minor changes.
Watson said the legislation (SB 893 in the Senate) would give guidelines to teachers as they try to answer student questions about evolution, global warming and other subjects, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. He also said the bill would specify that teachers cannot be punished for answering questions about creationism.
The bill passed the Senate 24-8 on March 19. All the “no” votes came from Democrats, some of whom criticized the measure. Sen. Tim Barnes (D-Clarksville) said the proposal is more a political stunt than an attempt to improve science education, according to the News Sentinel.
Sen. Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) said teachers don’t need any help from the state legislature.
“We are simply dredging up the problems of the past with this bill and that will affect our teachers in the future,” Berke said.
Americans United issued a legislative alert about the bills yesterday. It said: “Teaching evolution as a ‘theory’ is just one of many attempts to undermine students’ learning about evolution. Implying that there is a scientific controversy around evolution, as this bill does, is just plain false. Evolution is not a ‘scientific controversy,’ but rather is debated only in the political sphere – this ‘controversy’ has no place in Tennessee’s science classrooms…. By undermining unbiased science education, SB 893 and HB 368 would harm Tennessee students, religious liberty and Tennessee’s national reputation.”
Other critics of the legislation include the National Center for Science Education, which dubbed the proposal a “zombie bill.”
In a statement, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers also opposed the legislation because religion has no place in public school classrooms.
“Invoking nonnaturalistic or supernatural events or beings are not scientific in character, do not conform to the scientific usage of the word theory, and should not be part of valid science curricula,” the statement said.
The National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) expressed a similar sentiment.
“[This bill] misrepresent[s] key scientific concepts and principles, and would undermine the education of Tennessee's students,” NESTA said in a statement.
This bill is just another attempt to open the door for creationism in schools. It seems innocent enough because it allows teachers to discuss creationism only if a student inquires about it. But it doesn’t matter who brings up the topic – teaching religion is teaching religion. Plus, who’s to say that a teacher wouldn’t pull a student aside and instruct him or her to bring up creationism in class?
It’s a shame the state that hosted Tennessee v. Scopes (aka the “Scopes monkey trial”) in 1925 is still trying to trample on sound science education. While Scopes didn’t kick creationism out of schools, the U.S. Supreme Court has since given it the boot, so even if Watson and his cohorts pass their bill, the courts are unlikely to let it stand.
As with all zombie movies, bringing something back to life rarely works out well. Tennessee lawmakers should have left this bill for dead.
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To CRM: so, you actually
To CRM: so, you actually worked at a molecular genetics lab - Wow! What sort of work did you do there? Or was it so incredibly advanced that you can't simplify it enough for me to understand it? Perhaps you could explain to me and other dumb creationists exactly how ("scientifically") nature programmed the 3 Billion bits of information in the human genome. And perhaps how the "dumb" primordial soup RNA or DNA knew how to assemble all the 100,000+ proteins from only 30,000 genes, and how it knew that they would all work so beautifully together. Please use small words as my brain is very tiny and not nearly as developed as yours. By the way, speaking of "tilting at windmills" one of my favorite Hollywood movies is "Inherently Wind". Some coincidence?
It would take hundreds of
It would take hundreds of pages and thousands of words to provide you the information you are requesting.
I recommend two books to start with:
"Your Inner Fish" by Shubin.
"Climbing Mount Improbable" by Dawkins
Neither book takes any swipes at religion and both are very accessible. The first book goes into some of the details of the molecular genetics and biochemistry behind evolution as well as centering on an interesting case study. The discussion on gene activation and deactivation is very well done. The second book provides some of the mathematical modelling behind "fitness" through a serious of examples and case studies.
The lab I worked in was mapping the genetic structure of the T7 virus. It was a very important experience because I realized I didn't have the patience for basic research, and it greatly improved my appreciation for people who do.
Do not confuse abiogenesis with evolution. Evolution does not require a complete recipe of molecules to man to be "true." Do some more reading and come back when you have a better understanding of what evolution actually says and what modern evolutionary biology actually studies today.
The information argument against evolution is pure sophistry. Please research the comparison between human chromosome 2 and great ape chromosomes 2a and 2b. Human chromosome 2 is a merger of 2a and 2b down to the predicted and identifiable merge point. Other forms of mutation such as gene doubling are responsible for greatly increasing the complexity of protein chains, allowing for leaps forward in biological complexity. This idea that information is only lost when DNA changes or that it cannot get "more information" is demonstrably false.
If you would like to see computer models representing how information can "increase" through mutation, I suggest you look up genetic programming and genetic algorithms. Genetic algorithms solve problems by establishing a solution space, using mutation, crossover and fitness to solve problems in engineering, chemistry, physics and several other areas of science and engineering. Genetic programming is similar except rather than trying to duplicate a single solution, the target is a function. For example, Koza has used genetic programming to produce high fidelity digital to analog filters (critical for things like CD players and MP3 players) that no human would ever develop on their own using traditional design methods.
What next? Are you going to pull out the second law of thermodynamics? The "logic" arguments against evolution all suffer from fatal assumptions and misrepresentations of the facts.
Your limited understanding of evolution is getting in the way of your intellectual advancement.
To CRW: Thank You !! You are
To CRW: Thank You !! You are showing, for all to see, what happens when a creationist dares to question the status quo. There is no give and take, only derisive, condescending, insults. Despite my numerous attempts to question your thinking, you have only "Responding to your lies, half-truths, and pseudo-science isn't worth the time" as an answer. What can you say? In so many ways, evolution amounts to anti-knowledge: 1)the shutting down of discourse in education, publications, etc 2) the oversimplification of living systems as if stuck in a pre-microscope, pre-technology time warp 3) the throwing out of things not understood as "leftovers from the evolutionary process" - examples are: vestigial organs and organelles, and junk DNA 4)the total lack of any advances in science based on evolutionary theory 5) the heavy reliance on speculative, just-so stories, and imaginary artwork 6)the insistence on NOM (non overlapping magisterium)and the re-definition of science as "naturalism" - only natural explanations are allowed, no matter how ridiculous they are. There was an article in last Saturday's Wall St Journal entitled "How California's Colleges Indoctrinate Students" (pA13) "more faculty now believe that they should teach their students to be agents of social change than to teach them the classics of Western civilization" Hmmmm.... sounds like a Biology classroom? And in the same article, a quote from John Stuart Mill in his famous 1859 essay "On Liberty" : "He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that" I was once like you, CRW (who ever you are)I graduated from UW-Madison, WI with my teaching degree in Biology and was as gung-ho on evolution as you are. After teaching evolutionary biology for a few years, I knew that there was more to the story, began investigating the other side and the rest is history. I can only pray that you will have the courage to peak behind the curtain as I did and make an informed decision.
There is a big difference
There is a big difference between challenging the status quo and tilting at windmills.
There is no *SCIENTIFIC* controversy regarding evolution.
Please move on... you are repeating the same old crap that has been discredited thousands of times here and elsewhere on the internet.
The evidence is not speculative or iffy for evolution. If you understood even the basics of molecular genetics and comparative morphology, you would know how wrong you are. There is a big difference between a fact that it is in dispute and a hole in a theory. You obviously don't know the difference.
Really... you should stop talking. Every word confirms your willful ignorance because it is obvious you have done nothing to bring your science knowledge up to date.
To CRW The name calling and
To CRW The name calling and insults from you are exceeded only by your naivete and lack of knowledge on this topic. 1. "Evolution is a theory of biological change, and biological change only." Biological evolution is just part of the overall story beginning with Cosmic evolution (Big Bang to galaxies, stars planets, followed by planetary evolution (planet earth cooling from hot magma, followed by oceans,etc), then Chemical evolution ala Urey-Miller (Hydrogen, Methane, Ammonia gas into amino acids, proteins, RNA, DNA, coascervates, "simple" cells), then Biological evolution from simple cells up to intelligent life like yourself. 2. "The origins of life are at best a bunch of hypotheses, and have nothing to do with scientific validity of evolution." If this is true why are scientists being harassed, fired, and not allowed to publish (see the Expelled movie) simply because they question the validity of evolution? In truth, there is very little room to question evolution - not in the classroom, not in scientific journals, not even in the JPL cafeteria ! There are many good scientific reasons to question the validity of evolution, but if you do, you are asking for trouble. Evolution is not considered a hypothesis, or a theory -it is considered as TRUTH, and is how the science elite rule by consensus. It is in the same category as Global Warming, Spontaneous generation, heavier objects fall faster, the 4 Humors, vestigial organs,junk DNA etc - all positions that were held by the reputable scientists of their day. 3. "Evolution has nothing to do with ethics, religion, or anything of the other things you care claiming. Evolution might conflict with Genesis, and people like Dawkins might claim that evolution makes religion irrelevant, but the theory of evolution requires nothing of the sort for it to be true." You CANNOT be serious !! Why would you tell your students that they evolved from jungle slime, that there is nothing after death, no accountability, "survival of the fittest" - and then be surprised when they blow their classmates away at Columbine, while wearing an evolution T-shirt. The connections between Darwin and the Holocaust, eugenics and genocide are overwhelming- but if you are committed to protecting evolution, you may not agree. 4. "The evidence in DNA for evolution confirms common ancestry as well by comparing pseudo genes, retroviral markers, and sequences to great ape genomes. This data has gotten better, not worse over time". If chimp and human DNA are so similar, then why are there so many physical and mental differences between them ? The gap between them is a chasm, not a crack. There is something strangely different, almost God-like, about humans compared to animals. And why would I trust scientists who subscribe to the "junk DNA" mantra, which is rapidly evaporating. And what is with the "Shame on you"? The fact that you can't support evolution with facts and civil discourse speaks for itself.
It is better to remain silent
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Responding to your lies, half-truths, and pseudo-science isn't worth the time. I actually worked in a molecular genetics lab. Could you even pass a junior level undergraduate biochem class? Not likely given the ignorance you have displayed here. I didn't have the temperament to remain a lab scientist, so I moved on, but at least I studied what I am talking about.
You are obviously a creationist who cannot reconcile your understanding of religion and the facts of science. It must be very difficult for you to be a science teacher since yet you reject science. I couldn't imagine walking around with so much self-loathing and misinformation.
Why don't you start with an easy book and work your way back up. It seems like your education, as stunted as it apparently was, stopped at high school level biology. Read "Your Inner Fish" by Shubin. It is a gentle introduction of evolutionary biology through a case study. It will help you set aside some of your biases and misinformation without reading a bombastic anti-religious book by someone like Dawkins.
I stand by my initial remark - shame on you for holding these beliefs while staying the classroom and teaching your faulty understanding of science.
"It is better to remain
"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, then to open your mouth and remove all doubt". I understand now why you remain silent.
Talk about junk
Talk about junk pseudo-science!! Evolution certainly qualifies as a religion. It tells us where we came from (a quantum fluctuation), where we are going (extinction), why we are here (to continue our line of DNA) and the gods that we worship (time, chance, mother nature, gaia, our sexual desires,etc) It has its own "natural inexplicable miracles" such as the Big Bang, punctuated equilibrium, the Cambrian explosion, all those missing links, the encoding of vast amounts of information in the DNA, and most importantly the complete lack of observable evidence, or a viable mechanism. As a 32 yr veteran in the science classroom I have seen more hours wasted on trying to indoctrinate students to believe that evolution is true, when they could have been teaching real, observable science. Evolution has taught Vestigial (junk) organs, vestigial junk organelles, junk DNA- all of which have been shown to have real purpose. Rather than looking for the reasons behind these things, evolutionists wrote them off as "leftovers from evolution" - and delayed the further study of why they really existed. I do not know of one true advancement in science that was based on evolutionary theory. In contrast, western science owes its foundation and most of its advancements to Biblical creationists like Newton, Faraday and Pasteur. They believed in a divine and orderly Law giver, and wanted to learn His natural laws which He had written. Evolutionists, with their foundation in chaos could never have imagined that such laws existed. Evolutionists DO hold the reins in politics, education, the media, the courts- everything except in controlling the minds of people who can see through the propaganda blizzard and sort out the truth for themselves.
Please stop... your level of
Please stop... your level of ignorance shows you are no scientist even if you claim to be a science teacher, nor do you even understand the basic tenets of what you are trying to tear apart.
1. Evolution is a theory of biological change, and biological change only.
2. The origins of life are at best a bunch of hypotheses, and have nothing to do with scientific validity of evolution.
3. Evolution has nothing to do with ethics, religion, or anything of the other things you care claiming. Evolution might conflict with Genesis, and people like Dawkins might claim that evolution makes religion irrelevant, but the theory of evolution requires nothing of the sort for it to be true.
4. The evidence in DNA for evolution confirms common ancestry as well by comparing pseudo genes, retroviral markers, and sequences to great ape genomes. This data has gotten better, not worse over time.
Look at the titles of many college biology textbooks. Most have the phrase "evolutionary biology" in the main title or the subtitle. Evolution is the unifying theory of biology.
You sir are part of the reason why science education is so poor in the US. Shame on you!
Because Tennessee and
Because Tennessee and Education go together like two magnets with the same poles - you push them together and they'll fly apart.
The rest of the world, not just the rest of the US, regards TN as a kind of leper colony for the ignorant and inbred. It's good to see they're hard at work reinforcing that stereotype instead of trying to dispel it.
The reason they are not content with letting science be taught in schools and religion be taught in church is that people have this tendency when they become educated of recognizing religion for what it is - disregarding reality regardless of the cost in favor of comforting fictions.
Zombie bill,
Zombie bill, yes.
Nevertheless, TN's serious about the race to the bottom. And since it doesn't look like TN will be turning less radical republican anytime soon, you can bet there will be more nonsense to come.
They still have Mississippi
They still have Mississippi and Alabama to contend with!! The race to the bottom is fast and furious... Thank GOD they still have one or two decent institutions of higher learning in the state!!
This form of idiocy seems to
This form of idiocy seems to have a lock in the south east. New Hampshire recently had their turn in the stupid box, and the NH legislature defeated a similar bill by a huge margin. Every state has its share of idiots... they just seem more concentrated in the south.
A "right wing conservative"
A "right wing conservative" in New Hampshire is usually about equivalent to a "godless liberal" in the South. As a resident of the Heart of Dixie, transplanted from New Hampshire... I have seen this firsthand. Unfortunately, I was a liberal in NH which means I can basically ONLY live in Huntsville, AL... Anywhere else in AL would lynch me for having an IQ higher than the average air temperature.
Well, I should at least by
Well, I should at least by happy that there are 8 state senators, out of 32, in Tennessee who do not believe in junk pseudo-science. I notice they want to teach about creationism and answer student questions but if a science teacher goes into detail on how much junk creationis is exactly, there would be calls for his/her head on the chopping block to be fired. They only want creationism to be taught in a manner that promotes their religious beliefs.
Jerome McCollom
It's a shame the forces of
It's a shame the forces of scientific illiteracy are gaining traction in this country. Their willful ignorance is partially a result of a poor educational system - which they want to make poorer.