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Well, wasn't that a loving Christian gesture to beat him up. I hope it is not true but if it is.....? Judith Harris On Dec 7, 2005, at 5:31, Peter Paul Smolka wrote: > 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 > ********************************************************************** > > >
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