Bible Course Becomes a Test for Public Schools in Texas - New York Times

Bible Course Becomes a Test for Public Schools in Texas - New York Times: "But a growing chorus of critics says the course, taught by local teachers trained by the council, conceals a religious agenda. The critics say it ignores evolution in favor of creationism and gives credence to dubious assertions that the Constitution is based on the Scriptures, and that 'documented research through NASA' backs the biblical account of the sun standing still."

Phillip Johnson's Assault Upon Faith-Based Darwinism

eastbayexpress.com | News | Phillip Johnson's Assault Upon Faith-Based Darwinism | 2005-07-27: "When fevered creationists gather outside a Dover, Pennsylvania, courtroom this fall, Berkeley's Phillip E. Johnson will probably shake his head in disapproval. Like many East Bay residents, the emeritus Boalt Hall law professor will watch uneasily if people waving Bibles make an intemperate attack on evolution in support of the doctrine known as 'intelligent design.'"

Divided, We Stand

USNews.com: Divided, We Stand (8/8/05): "America's long struggle to balance church and state isn't getting any easier"

Biology’s third revolution

Science & Theology News: "Darwin explained the external forces shaping differences in forms (natural selection) and genetics explained how DNA contains the information particular to each individual and species. What was not understood is how that linear information in a DNA molecule is transformed into three-dimensional form of organisms — which is development — or how changes in DNA affect changes in form. The science of form is the new realm of evo devo."

Scientific American.com: 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense

Science & Technology at Scientific American.com: 15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense -- Opponents of evolution want to make a place for creationism by tearing down real science, but their arguments don't hold up: "When Charles Darwin introduced the theory of evolution through natural selection 143 years ago, the scientists of the day argued over it fiercely, but the massing evidence from paleontology, genetics, zoology, molecular biology and other fields gradually established evolution's truth beyond reasonable doubt. Today that battle has been won everywhere-except in the public imagination."

Stan Cox: Kreationism in Kansas

Stan Cox: Kreationism in Kansas: "The enemies of evolution are on the march. They may not have any decent science to back them up, but, sadly, it's not good science that settles an issue like this. The decisive battlegrounds are religion, politics, and economics, and there, the creationists have a big edge in firepower."

Science & Theology News

Science & Theology News: "Sean Carroll and Michael Ruse argue that “evo devo” undermines intelligent design. ID advocate William Dembski begs to differ. "

World: Catholic experts urge caution in evolution debate

World: Catholic experts urge caution in evolution debate: "A recent article by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn in The New York Times, asserting that “unguided, unplanned” evolution is inconsistent with Catholic faith, should be read with caution warn a number of Catholic scientists and theologians, including the head of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences."

Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/29/2005 | The human evolution: Teach the children well

Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/29/2005 | The human evolution: Teach the children well: "The debate about evolution in school curricula has focused on the importance of having youngsters learn about evolution as part of a general education. However, there is an equally important reason to integrate evolution into children's understanding of the world around them: It provides crucial insights into their own bodies and why they are not the perfectly created mechanisms they often think they are."

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Butterfly unlocks evolution secret

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Butterfly unlocks evolution secret: "Why one species branches into two is a question that has haunted evolutionary biologists since Darwin."

Intelligent design critic hired at Wichita State

AP Wire | 07/24/2005 | Intelligent design critic hired at Wichita State: "At East Tennessee State University, Niall Shanks became a prominent defender of evolution, writing a book opposing intelligent design and debating several of its proponents.

Now the man who wrote the 2004 book 'God, the Devil, and Darwin: A Critique of Intelligent Design Theory' has moved from the state that put the teaching evolution on trial 80 years ago to Kansas, which currently is in the midst of its own debate about how evolution should be taught in public schools."

Evolution battle grows in schools

WZZM13 GRAND RAPIDS Sunday, July 24, 2005: "Michigan districts debate whether to teach intelligent design; critics call it disguised religion."

TIME Europe Magazine: Doubting Darwinism -- Aug. 01, 2005

TIME Europe Magazine: Doubting Darwinism -- Aug. 01, 2005: "Why is an Austrian cardinal stirring up the evolution-vs.-creationism argument in the U.S.? In part, Christoph Cardinal Sch�nborn says, to spark debate in an increasingly secular Europe. Earlier this month, the influential Archbishop of Vienna — who is as close as any Cardinal to Pope Benedict XVI — wrote an editorial in the New York Times lambasting what he calls 'Neo-Darwinian dogma,' and suggesting that the Roman Catholic Church isn't necessarily convinced that evolution is true. "

"God Said It, That Settles It"

Reason: Deity's evidence muddled, contradictory as Creation Mega-Conference wraps:

"Just as the Reverend Jerry Falwell promised, there were no snake-handlers at the Creation Mega-Conference. Instead the conferees were a bunch of decent people trying to make sense of the world and live good lives. The deeply saddening thing is that these decent people have come to believe they have to reject modern science in order to do so."

ContraCostaTimes.com | 07/19/2005 | ID is religion, not a matter for schools

ContraCostaTimes.com | 07/19/2005 | ID is religion, not a matter for schools: "Young children outgrow the Santa Claus fantasy without suffering lasting confusion. I believe that the same thing cannot be said about adolescent children and religious dogma. It is alarming that school boards in some parts of the country are pressured or are inclined to include biblical creationism in science courses along with evolution theory."

L.A. Daily News - News

L.A. Daily News - News: "Every time Lisa Marroquin teaches biological evolution, she knows some students will show up ready to talk creationism, a religious doctrine of how life came to be.

So she finds a way to satisfy their curiosity without straying from science, the fundamental theory that species evolved over millions of years through natural selection."

Salt Lake Tribune - Opinion

Salt Lake Tribune - Opinion: "The Utah public schools have a state board, a state superintendent and officials and experts of various specialities seeking to do what is, under the best of circumstances, a difficult job.
What Utah schools clearly do not need is a Grand Inquisitor, no matter how badly state Sen. Chris Buttars wishes to secure the position. "

Another rap at Darwin

- toledoblade.com -: "The cardinal is not a scientist, and although his beliefs may sway many Catholics, they also will drive a wedge between the church and many of its members who see no conflict between evolution and the intervention of a divine creator. His words could do genuine harm when many children are growing up as scientific illiterates."

Reason: The Myth of Millions of Years: Creationist cosmology is full of wormholes

Reason: The Myth of Millions of Years: Creationist cosmology is full of wormholes: "Things really went wrong for people of faith 200 years ago, when modern science got going. So says Dr. Terry Mortenson in his lecture on 'Two Hundred Years of Christian Compromise on the Age of the Earth.'"

Creationists Explain Dinasours, Ice Age, Flood, Big Bang

Christian News - The Christian Post | Creationists Explain Dinasours, Ice Age, Flood, Big Bang

New Scientist New pope questioned over evolution - News

New Scientist New pope questioned over evolution - News: "THREE prominent US scientists have asked the new pope, Benedict XVI, to clarify the Roman Catholic church's views on evolution, and to reject a piece in The New York Times last week by Austrian cardinal Christoph Schönborn, a close associate of Benedict, which said that the church does not accept 'neo-Darwinian dogma'."

2theadvocate.com: News - Intelligent Design old, false argument 07/13/05

2theadvocate.com: News - Intelligent Design old, false argument 07/13/05: "Intelligent Design is an argument claimed by some (and opined on by syndicated columnist William A. Rusher, The Advocate, June 30) that proves the existence of God. It is an old and false philosophical argument that is now dressed up with a new name and claims of being another form of scientific inquiry."

Gushee: Creationists now pinning hopes on intelligent design

Gushee: Creationists now pinning hopes on intelligent design: "'Intelligent design' is a camel's nose in the tent of creationism. It's a tricky way of violating the constitutional prohibition against teaching a specific religious belief in public institutions. Nevertheless, it seems to be working."

Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/15/2005 | Suit opposes intelligent design book

Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/15/2005 | Suit opposes intelligent design book: "In a case that reopens the decades-old debate into the teaching of evolution in public schools, attorneys for 11 York County parents yesterday sought to depict the authors Of Pandas and People as motivated by religion, not science."

Judge to review reporters' material in intelligent-design case

Judge to review reporters' material in intelligent-design case: "HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A federal judge Thursday asked to review notes and other source material of two freelance newspaper reporters subpoenaed in a lawsuit over a school district's inclusion of 'intelligent design' in the ninth-grade biology curriculum."

Classroom Evolution's Grass-Roots Defender

Classroom Evolution's Grass-Roots Defender: "A grass-roots group troubled by recent Republican triumphs and the influence of the Christian right is fighting back in Northern Virginia by defending the teaching of Darwinian evolution, a battleground in the national culture war.

An e-mail last month seeking support from more than 300 local Democratic campaign volunteers and other potential supporters described efforts across the country to challenge evolutionary theory. It warned against 'politically infused theological pseudo-science' and said silence risks undermining Virginia schools and weakening the state's economy."