paleonet Evolution stickers

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Here's today's CNN and NCSE reports on the evolution stickers in textbooks
ruling.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/01/13/evolution.textbooks.ruling/index.html

http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/news/2005/GA/201_victory_in_cobb_county_1_13_2005.asp

While I consider this good news for evolution and science teaching, it is
even better news for religion. Catholics, Methodists, Protestants, Jews,
Lutherans (see
http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/1028_statements_from_religious_org_12_19_2002.asp
), Buddists, and others who accept evolution or who do not see it the way
creationists do should feel much better about sending their kids to school,
knowing that their children will not be forced to learn something they do
not believe in either. And that is what the First Amendment is all
about--it is not solely about protecting evolution or atheists, but all
religions from the domination by one. That's why the pilgrims left England
in the first place, and their descendents set up the US so it would not
happen that way again.

I am sometimes dismayed when the other churches allow the creationist view
to get so far that labels are pasted in books and teachers are ordered not
to teach good science. It is not only bad science, but bad religion, and
no good for the USA.

Personally I am not worried that creationist call Evolution a theory, as
that opens it up to the scientific process, but I am worried that they use
the word "theory" in an ad hoc, nontechnical sense, such as "I've got a
theory about that . . . " (i.e., guess). As we know, scientific theories
are built by logic, plenty of evidence, hypotheses development and testing,
usually by lots of scientists. That is not the kind of "theory"
creationists refer to. Theirs is devoid of critical thinking, evidential
reasoning and proper judgement of authority.

Jere