Diona Carrillo reports on four Cerritos College science instructors who are bravely standing up against intelligent design.
“Intelligent design is a philosophy, it is not a theory, it’s not a scientific theory, it’s not even a scientific hypothesis; it’s a belief,” Constance Boardman, biology instructor said.
The instructors have realized that ID is nothing more than a gap theory
An emphasis on weaknesses or “holes” and gaps in evolution, is the heart of the intelligent-design movement.
And they point out how being a Christian and a scientist who accepts evolutionary theory are not contradictory
“Many people believe that one cannot be a both a scientist and a Christian. I always get questions from my students about how I can subscribe to the theory of evolution and still be a Christian. Science and religion are not mutually exclusive – they are simply two ways of looking at how the world works. One is not better than the other; they’re just different. I think it would truly astonish the general public if they knew how many scientists do hold religious beliefs,” Bellas said.
13 Comments
Creationist Troll (don't feed me) · 31 August 2005
darwinfinch · 31 August 2005
Translation of CT " But this is eleven."
delphi_ote · 1 September 2005
If evolution is observable then we have to assume it does exist...It does mean it exists, and that just means as long as we're in the science laboratory we may use evolution as part of our empirical study.
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-speciation.html
steve · 1 September 2005
NIGEL: Don't touch it! Don't touch it! No one...no one...no! Don't
touch it.
MARTY: Well uh I wasn't...uh I wasn't gonna touch it...I was just pointing
at it...I....
NIGEL: Well don't point, even.
MARTY: Don't even point?
NIGEL: No. It can't be played...never...I mean I....
MARTY: Can I look at it?
NIGEL: No. No you've seen enough of that one.
MARTY: Don't look at it.
NIGEL: This is a top to a, you know, what we use on stage, but it's
very...very special because if you can see...
MARTY: Yeah...
NIGEL: ...the numbers all go to eleven. Look...right across the board.
MARTY: Ahh...oh, I see....
NIGEL: Eleven...eleven...eleven....
MARTY: ...and most of these amps go up to ten....
NIGEL: Exactly.
MARTY: Does that mean it's...louder? Is it any louder?
NIGEL: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see,
most...most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten
here...all the way up...all the way up....
MARTY: Yeah....
NIGEL: ...all the way up. You're on ten on your guitar...where can you go
from there? Where?
MARTY: I don't know....
NIGEL: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is if we need that extra...push over
the cliff...you know what we do?
MARTY: Put it up to eleven.
NIGEL: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
MARTY: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top...
number...and make that a little louder?
NIGEL: ...these go to eleven.
Moses · 1 September 2005
mattitude · 1 September 2005
"He died in a bizarre gardening accident some years back..."
"It's really one of those things...it was...you know the authorities said...best leave it... unsolved, really."
Can we put Deaths of Spinal Tap drummers in the category of the unobservable too?
Josh Narins · 1 September 2005
Novel genes and functions have evolved.
I suspect some people won't be happy until an amoeba grows an eye, and there will be some nutcase going "God put that eye on that amoeba to test our faith!"
Bayesian Bouffant, FCD · 1 September 2005
Wow, Cerritos is a small community college. They don't even have any departments with "bio" in the name. Brave.
Dave · 1 September 2005
Nice summary of the ID affair at the Grauniad by Richard Dawkins and Jerry Coyne. Haven't seen it linked anywhere here yet.
Look! A link!
Katarina · 1 September 2005
Dave,
Wonderful article! Thanks!
Ken Shackleton · 1 September 2005
Chris · 1 September 2005
I would go a bit further... instead of "God" use the word "Supernatural" -- because it is this aspect of God (being outside of that which is observable through nature) that takes God out of the scientific equation. I think God wants it that way. Otherwise, there would be all sorts of measurable phenomena with no otherwise "natural" explanation :)
Ron Okimoto · 1 September 2005