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Just have to be a bit of a stickler here, and I most certainly do not wish to offend any religious readers, but... Evolution, in fact _all_ of science, currently tells us nothing about intelligent designers, nor the role of special creation in the origin of life. Evolution is _agnostic_ on this argument, and rightfully so, since it is a testable (and verifiable) scientific theory. This might be of great comfort to atheists, but atheism is a decision to not hold a religious faith. Likewise, there is no comfort to be had for religious views, since reconciliation of evolution with any of those views is a personal religious choice (regardless of the philosophical or theological underpinnings), and not a scientific one. Kudos to the atheists for spearheading this particular fight, and kudos to religious individuals who value the role of science in understanding nature. Just two cents from an agnostic. On Tuesday 18 January 2005 14:30, you wrote: > > I agree with you David, and I am sorry I posted that particular email. > > It was the only news I had of it at the time. I should have waited for > > the CNN, NCSE, and other blurbs about it. I hope I clarified it in my > > most recent post. On the other hand, it does point out that we need to > > look more broadly than our own particular interests when it comes to > > science literacy. Most religious people in mainstream churches, at > > least, support science. > > Yes, I thought that you posted the initial blurb for the news content > rather than the extraneous spin. > > The particular difficulty is that antievolutionists gain support largely by > portraying evolution as inherently atheistic, a misrepresentation abetted > by the philosophical claims of Dawkins and others. Thus, it's particularly > important for us to point out that evolution is good science and compatible > with many religious and philosophical views. All evolution tells us is > that, if there is some sort of intelligent designer involved in the > creation of life, he/she/it/they either used evolution or did an extremely > good job of making it look like evolution was the method used. Very useful > for biology, but not so useful for philosophy and religion. > > Dr. David Campbell > Old Seashells > University of Alabama > Biodiversity & Systematics > Dept. Biological Sciences > Box 870345 > Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0345 USA > bivalve@mail.davidson.alumlink.com > > That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted > Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at > Droitgate Spa -- Dr. Peter D. Roopnarine, Assoc. Curator Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Geology California Academy of Sciences 875 Howard St. San Francisco CA 94103 Phone: (415) 321-8271 FAX: (415) 321-8615 WWW: http://www.calacademy.org/research/izg/roopnarine/peter.htm No more wars please
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