| [Thread Prev] | [Thread Next] | [Thread Index] | [Date Prev] | [Date Next] | [Date Index] |
"I appreciate your concern that misunderstandings be avoided. However, I don't think that the United States has gotten quite as close to Spain under the Inquisition as you seem to fear! Professors of religion would not pay " I totally agree...Under another name The Spanish Inquisition is stil alive, and under my point of view no other torturing body has ever last so long! Respectfully, Xavier Panades I Blas 55, Marksbury Road Bedminster Bristol BS3 5JY England (EC) http://www.acs.bolton.ac.uk/~xp1pls/ From: Peter Paul Smolka <smolka@uni-muenster.de> Reply-To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk Subject: RE: paleonet Living Pterosaurs: Beat up event: Thankyou for the clarification Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 16:20:07 +0100 (MEZ) On Wed, 7 Dec 2005, David Kopaska-Merkel wrote: >Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2005 08:46:50 -0600 >From: David Kopaska-Merkel <davidkm@gsa.state.al.us> >Reply-To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk >To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk >Subject: RE: paleonet Living Pterosaurs: Beat up event > >Peter > >I appreciate your concern that misunderstandings be avoided. However, I >don't think that the United States has gotten quite as close to Spain under >the Inquisition as you seem to fear! Professors of religion would not pay Dear David, thankyou very much for the clarification (really). Possibly some habits appear outside the US as harsher than they might appear inside. Again: Thankyou very much (particularly if one has to think about how to react regarding invitations to a colloquium in the US, whether it is in New Mexico or anywhere else). >to have someone else beat up another professor of religion because he was >teaching a course that they disapproved of, no matter how strong that >disapproval might be. I think it is pretty clear that he intended to argue >in the class that intelligent design is a mythology or religion and has >nothing to do with science. He was a little insulting about this and a >couple of people who have almost no self-control decided to do something >illegal: beat him up. Sadly, this is not the first time a teacher has been >beaten for espousing unpopular views and I am sure it will not be the last. >However despite the fact that there are many ignorant and blind people in >Kansas it is still a fairly progressive state. The University of Kansas is >an important one and has many strong science departments. Kansas school >systems, at least in the eastern part of the state where most people live, >are well-funded and have a lot of popular support. It is, unfortunately, >easy to take over a school board and attempt to impose your will on the >schools. It is not so easy to change the teachers quickly. > >Best regards, >David KM > >Disclaimer: I attended the University of Kansas. > > >David C. Kopaska-Merkel >Geological Survey of Alabama Best regards Peter > > >-----Original Message----- >From: paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk [mailto:paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk] On Behalf >Of Peter Paul Smolka >Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 6:31 AM >To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk >Subject: RE: paleonet Living Pterosaurs: Beat up event > >On Tue, 6 Dec 2005, Seth Finnegan wrote: > >>Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 13:36:38 -0800 >>From: Seth Finnegan <finnes01@student.ucr.edu> >>Reply-To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk >>To: paleonet@nhm.ac.uk >>Subject: RE: paleonet Living Pterosaurs soon on display >> >>This is a quite worrying, if true (from today's Wichita Eagle). You >>may remember that an article about the class that Mirecki inteneded to >>offer was posted here a few weeks ago. >> >> >>Professor beaten; attackers cite KU creationism class >> >>Associated Press >> >>LAWRENCE - A professor whose planned course on creationism and >>intelligent design was canceled after he sent e-mails deriding >>Christian conservatives was hospitalized Monday after what appeared to >>be a roadside beating. >> >>University of Kansas religious studies professor Paul Mirecki > >Dear Seth, > >it might be helpful to people from outside the US to specify why he was >beaten up such as: > >1) A course was intended to be given in a universities religious study >department on ID. Religious people fearing their teaching monopoly attacked >him. > >2) Although being professor of religious studies he did not try to teach ID >from a neutral unbiased point (pros and cons, comparable to "how might >internet to the others side work") but he aimed at a one sided view (which, >if as professor for the subject of religion might be regarded as subperfect >by some): > >To avoid a communicative misunderstaning: > >If a professor of religion would assess this field, I would expect >sentences >like: Possibly some 3 Ga ago, to mechanisms still to be found, at least one >cell did not digest an incoporated microorganism but housed it so it is now >identified as mitchondrian. Is there any evidence from various religions, >how (such as by an angel) the mitochondrian was at the respective place at >the right time etc. > >Again: If a professor of religion would do it (such as presenting, also in >Kansas, the Buddhistic, Christian(Catholic, Evangelic), Islamic, Hindu, >Indian, Autralian etc. view on it and why, according to these religions, it >may or may not work). Again: Dept. of Religious studies (= no >misunderstanding please). > >That is: Did the beating people fear a non-evangelical view to be tought in >Kansas for example? > >In Germany according to a recent court ruling teachers must not wear the >islamic hairscarf (which is regarded as political symbol and the school is >neutral) but people may wear a cross or the nuns dress (which by my private >understanding is thus also not perfectly neutral). > >3) He advocated ID strongly and biased (which is possible but from the >article unlikely), e.g. he omitted the cons in discussing it >(again: as professor of religion) > >>said that the two men who beat him made references to the class that >>was to be offered for the first time this spring. >> >>Originally called "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, >>Creationism and other Religious Mythologies," the course was canceled >>last week at Mirecki's request. > >4) Did he offer by his knowledge on religion various mythologies offers on >that topic (e.g. far beyond what people knew so far) and people got furious >that views beyond preachers views might exist? > >In Germany for example professors lost their teaching permission in >religion >because they questioned some views of the catholic church (such as Prof. >Kueng some years ago). > >Was it a comparable phenomenon by addressing a wide range of views >including >ancient and modern mythologies? >(e.g. other than the church in Kansas presents). > >A discussion would go well beyond the topic of this list. > >A short (6-8 lines) hint _why_ he was beaten might for such cases in the >future be helpful, e.g. for you it might be perfectly clear; for others >more >than one possibilities might exist. > >I mean: If I imagine myself in a train from Chicago Airport to lets say >Boulder,Co and a farmer asks me about my profession, I discuss Neogene >climate changes and he beats me up because "I am also one of these >evolution-folks" I might better stay in Europe. > >If peoples view (freedom of the opinion, also to believe in "Earth is a >Disk") goes into this direction it might be good for the rest of the world >to know it early. > >Best regards >(Good luck for Kansas) > >Peter >> >>Seth Finnegan >>Dept. of Earth Sciences -036 >>University of California >>Riverside, CA 92521 >>Phone:(951)452-2759 >>Fax: (951)787-4324 >> >> > >********************************************************************** >Dr. Peter P. Smolka >University Muenster >Geological Institute >Corrensstr. 24 >D-48149 Muenster > >Tel.: +49/251/833-3989 +49/2533/4401 >Fax: +49/251/833-3989 +49/2533/4401 >E-Mail: smolka@uni-muenster.de >E-Mail: PSmolka@T-Online.de >********************************************************************** > > > > ********************************************************************** Dr. Peter P. Smolka University Muenster Geological Institute Corrensstr. 24 D-48149 Muenster Tel.: +49/251/833-3989 +49/2533/4401 Fax: +49/251/833-3989 +49/2533/4401 E-Mail: smolka@uni-muenster.de E-Mail: PSmolka@T-Online.de **********************************************************************
Partial index: