Finally: some good news

Judge nixes evolution textbook stickers
Disclaimer questioning theory ruled unconstitutional

The Associated Press
Updated: 1:12 p.m. ET Jan. 13, 2005

ATLANTA - A federal judge on Thursday ordered the removal of stickers placed in high school biology textbooks that call evolution “a theory, not a fact,” saying they were an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

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The disclaimers were put in the books by school officials in suburban Cobb County in 2002.

“Adopted by the school board, funded by the money of taxpayers, and inserted by school personnel, the sticker conveys an impermissible message of endorsement and tells some citizens that they are political outsiders while telling others they are political insiders,” U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper said in his 44-page ruling.

“This is a great day for Cobb County students,” said attorney Michael Manely, who represented parents who brought the suit. “They’re going to be permitted to learn science unadulterated by religious dogma.”

Doug Goodwin, a spokesman for Cobb County schools, said officials did not have an immediate response but were preparing a statement.

Tolerance or religious activism?
Six parents of students and the American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the stickers in court, arguing they violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

The case was heard in federal court last November, where the school system defended the warning stickers as a show of tolerance, not religious activism as some parents claimed.

“The Cobb County school board is doing more than accommodating religion,” Manely had argued during the trial. “They are promoting religious dogma to all students.”

Lawyers for Cobb County disagreed, saying the school board had made a good-faith effort to address questions that inevitably arise during the teaching of evolution.

“Science and religion are related and they’re not mutually exclusive,” school district attorney Linwood Gunn said. “This sticker was an effort to get past that conflict and to teach good science.”

2,000 complaints from parents
The schools placed the stickers after more than 2,000 parents complained the textbooks presented evolution as fact, without mentioning rival ideas about the beginnings of life.

The stickers read, “This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.”

The case is one of several battles waged in recent years in the Bible Belt over what role evolution should play in science books. Last year, Georgia’s education chief proposed a science curriculum that dropped the word “evolution” in favor of “changes over time.” That plan was soon dropped amid protests by teachers.
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I just think it would be great to have a bunch of those stickers to put in places that dont make any sense. Like my toilet handle, or underwear drawer.

“This Bible contains material on Christianity. Christianity is a theory, not a fact, regarding the existence and will of God. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.”

--PunkDavid

Nice work.

aye

Christ it's like we've entered the Twilight Zone and gone back in time to that Spencer Tracy movie with the guy from "Bewitched".....

The bible is a reference book, just like any other. I'm "glad" to see them remove these stickers, but ultimately Public school is for the public. If people don't like what public school teachs relative to science, they should send their kids to private school. I guess I'm alone in that opinion? Because I've always failed to see why this sort of 'subject' is an "issue" at all:

- if people want their kids to be taught the bible theory, send them to private school

- if people send their kids to "public" school, they should be able to accept the fact that the kids will be taught the general teachings of the time; the scientific theory behind things.

Separation of church and state. Public schools are run by the state (city, local government, with money from the federal government).

This isn't "rocket science"..... People make too much of a fuss about too many things.

I also fail to see how it "hurts" to learn as much information about everything, including this subject, as one possible can -- let the kids decide what they want to believe or not believe, just relay the 411.

I'm so sick of this subject and the ongoing "issue" - I mean, ultimately, we're HERE, who the F cares how we got here. If I were a kid, I personally wouldn't give a flying rats ass what the story was - I would just want to know "when's lunch".

c-

except it isn't a theory. I don't even know if I would call it a hypothesis.

It's funny when people say evolution is "just a theory." It then becomes clear to me they have no idea what a theory is in the first place.

Here's a bloody hilarious read:

Joesph Farah: Between the Lines

Why I believe in Creation
Posted: December 17, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

I was stunned the other day when I asked evolution-believing listeners to my nationally syndicated radio show to call in and tell me why they believed.

"Just give me one reason why you accept the theory," I said. "Just give me the strongest argument. You don't have to give me mountains of evidence. Just tell me why I should accept it."

Not one evolutionist called in.

Meanwhile, the phone banks lit up with dozens of evolution skeptics.

Go figure. For more than 40 years, evolution has been taught as fact in government schools to generations of children, yet there is still widespread skepticism, if not cynicism, about the theory across the country.

But, because of political correctness and the fear of ostracism, most people are afraid to admit what they believe about our origins. That's why I wrote my last column – "I believe in Creation."

The reaction to it has been unprecedented. While I expected mostly negative fallout, most letters have been quite positive.

So, I decided to take this issue a step further. Since the evolutionists don't want to tell me why they believe in their theory, I figured I would explain why I believe in mine.

The primary reason I believe, of course, is because the Bible tells me so. That's good enough for me, because I haven't found the Bible to be wrong about anything else.

But what about the worldly evidence?

The evolutionists insist the dinosaurs lived millions and millions of years ago and became extinct long before man walked the planet.

I don't believe that for a minute. I don't believe there is a shred of scientific evidence to suggest it. I am 100 percent certain man and dinosaurs walked the earth at the same time. In fact, I'm not at all sure dinosaurs are even extinct!

Think of all the world's legends about dragons. Look at those images. What were those folks seeing? They were clearly seeing dinosaurs. You can see them etched in cave drawings. You can see them in ancient literature. You can see them described in the Bible. You can see them in virtually every culture in every corner of the world.

Did the human race have a collective common nightmare? Or did these people actually see dragons? I believe they saw dragons – what we now call dinosaurs.

Furthermore, many of the dinosaur fossils discovered in various parts of the world were found right along human footprints and remains. How did that happen?

And what about the not-so-unusual sightings of contemporary sea monsters? Some of them have actually been captured.

There are also countless contemporary sightings of what appear to be pterodactyls in Asia and Africa.

You know what I think? I think we've been sold a bill of goods about the dinosaurs. I don't believe they died off millions and millions of years ago. In fact, I'm not at all convinced they've died off completely.

Evolutionists have put the cart before the horse. They start out with a theory, then ignore all the facts that contradict the theory. Any observation that might call into question their assumptions is discounted, ridiculed and covered up. That's not science.

How could all the thousands of historical records of dragons and behemoths throughout mankind's time on earth be ignored? Let's admit it. At least some of these observations and records indicate dinosaurs were walking the earth fairly recently – if not still walking it today.

If I'm right about that – which I am – then the whole evolutionary house of cards comes tumbling down.

This is the evidence about which the evolutionists dare not speak.

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41977

That guy is a crackpot.


I'm a firm believer in evolution and I didn't really see the problem with the sticker. Of course evolution is just a theory. As long as they didn't say creationism is fact, what's the big deal?

See punkdavid's post... ever seen a sticker like that on a bible? so why have these on texts?

I think I'm going to put one on my bathroom mirror. That's what I need to wake up to every morning.

Honestly, when I first heard about these stickers a few months back, my reaction was, "Well, they could be worse." But as I said in the last thread on creationism (last week ), this shit has to be shouted down at every opportunity otherwise good open-minded people will be convinced that creationism deserves ANY respect.

--PunkDavid

that last statement, a bit harsh and arrogant just a smidge, dont you think?

Evolutionary theory in science class, along with other theories.

Religious dogma and beliefs in religion class, along with other dogmas and beliefs.

Nope.

I think I have a pretty healthy respect for differences of opinion. I have none for differences of fact, and I have no shame about it.

--PunkDavid

Haha that Farah guy is a lunatic, if dinosaurs haven't died out completely, where are they now? In Loch Ness?

Seriously, though, it's been said a million times before and it needs to be said again: evolution and creationism are not mutually exclusive. Neither one necessarily contradicts the other. I personally believe both.

that's one hell of a mustache.

yea....he sucks

ok, maybe im reading this wrong, but youre saying those who believe in creationism deserve no respect? this coming from a guy who is against two guys making a few cracks about lawyers? please tell me im not understanding you here...surely this cant be the case

I can find more books that support evolution than he can find books that support creationism. And I can also find a slew of facts to support evolution, whereas the only proof he has of creationism is the writings of a book that most people will agree has been poorly translated and largely taken out of context.

Any chance that nobody called his show to defend evolution because nobody who believes in evolution listens to his show in the first place? Just a hunch.