Teh evilution!!
Last Tuesday’s episode of Insight examined the proliferation of “faith schools” around Australia, and debated whether such schools genuinely encourage critical thinking or are mere institutes of indoctrination. The transcript of this episode does not appear to be available yet, but I will provide a link as soon as it is.
The classic difference between faith schools and other sectors (although by no means the only one) is the manner in which evolutionary theory is dealt with. On the program I witnessed the asinine spectacle of a Christian school science teacher offering his students Young Earth Creationism and Intelligent Design as possible alternatives to evolution as an explanation of our origins, with the justification that it was giving them the freedom to “make up their own minds”. Remember, this was a science class, not a comparative religion class.
This teacher committed a classic logical fallacy. His implication was that all the perspectives he indicated have merit and are worthy of consideration. On the contrary, we know the evolutionary process to be a reality. Whether it has a theistic or atheistic explanation is not a debate I intend to enter into here. The best scientific evidence we have overwhelmingly supports evolution as an explanation for the origin of the species. Any alternative positions must be firmly relegated to the fringe. Promoting such positions as having anywhere near equal merit is just bad science.
The hostility of fundamentalist Christians towards the ToE evidently stems from the fact that it is inconsistent with a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis. The Theory of Gravity and the Theory of Relativity do not encounter similar derision. The ease with which those who are not from a scientific background dismiss evolutionary biology invariably indicates a fundamental misunderstanding of the field’s key concepts. Even at the most basic level, a surprising number of people do not recognise the particular definition of the word “theory” within a scientific context.
I would be most interested to know what the science teacher’s excuse is.
Perhaps there is a need for greater regulatory oversight of what is taught in such schools – particularly in light of the generous public subsidies they receive. Objective reality does not vary according to one’s religious beliefs. It is unfair on the students attending these schools for their perception of the natural world to be distorted by the dogma of the instituion. We owe it to these students to instill in them the best scientific knowledge that we have, to give them a genuine ability to see through these ancient superstitions that have no place in the modern world.
Those naughty Nordics
While the name Rebecca St James will not be familiar to most, she is apparently a big wheel among afficionados of Christian Contemporary Music. Her regard in these circles stems primarily from the fact that her approach to pre-marital sex seemingly draws its inspiration from the “Just Say No” approach to drug awareness (and, incidentally, is likely to meet with a similar degree of success).
I have commented on this article in the past, but it incensed me to the degree that I have decided to revisit it on this blog. Specifically, it is the final line of the article, “I’ve got a lot of mainstream media attention even in countries like Norway that are not known necessarily for their morality” that raised my ire.
Evidently we are talking about a version of morality consistent with the Gospel according to St James, rather than one that accords with any objective measure of social cohesiveness. For when a rational comparison is made between Norway and St James’ adopted home country of the United States, it becomes abundantly clear which is the more “moral” of the two.
Just by way of example: Norwegians do not live in fear of the next school rampage. Recreational homicide does not rank among popular sporting activities. Norway looks after its citizens – medicine is affordable, and those requiring major treatment do not risk financial ruin. Norway does not execute the mentally handicapped, or anyone else for that matter. Norwegians are aware of their place in the world, as one country among many, and do not suffer from the delusions of exceptionalism. Norway is an egalitarian society, with its citizens entitled to a wage that they can actually live on. Finally, Norway outshines the United States over a range of other important social indicators, such as infant mortality, literacy, and life expectancy.
However, the difference that should be of greatest interest to St James is that Norway also boasts of substantially lower teen pregnancy and STD infection rates than the United States.
