TeachThemScience.org – Look Who’s Sponsoring This Pro-Evolution Hubris

I just wondered if you’d seen this site: http://www.teachthemscience.org/

 

It appears that there’s a new pro-evolutionist push in Texas, conveniently coming right before the next round of Science Curriculum Wars there. The Texas State Board of Education will be voting on its science standards for the next 10 years on March 26-27, 2009. In the January 2009 meeting, an ammendent to re-introduce teaching evolution’s “strengths and weaknesses” failed, but there is still a chance to change that. 

The Hubris

TeachThemScience.org is a highly predictable propaganda site. They give the same old tired “evidences” for evolution, dishonestly using observed micro-evolution as evidence of unobservable molecules-to-man macro-evolution and including the standard mammals-to-whales, horse series and Lucy-to-man scenarios as proof of transitional forms. They also include quite a few tired chestnuts under Creationism’s False Weaknesses, where they mostly gloss over actual weaknesses with “it-just-ain’t-so” bluster, the mic-evo/mac-evo bait-and-switch and gross misrepresentation of the facts, not to mention the arguments Creationists actually make. If you don’t believe them, they ask you to check out the pro-evolutionary hubris of TalkOrigins, of course.

They also thatch together quite the straw man in saying that their opponents think science is akin to politics and can be changed by a vote yet they appeal to the standard “the majority of Big Science believes in evolution, so teaching the ‘controversy’ ” line]. 

And their “Evolution in Action” feature has questions like “I just had a flu shot last year – why do I need one now?” as if that constituted proof for molecules-to-man evolution. Again with the mic-evo/mac-evo bait-and-switch! Oh, and they claim that we’re all in danger of choking to death because we’re poorly evolved.  ;]

Under the topic “What harm is there in teaching ‘strengths and weaknesses?'” they provide us with a straw man argument involving proposed weaknesses against Round Earth Theory. They basically proposed that all of their straw man ‘weaknesses’ will sound reasonable until students learn some physics – some science. Likewise, they propose, “The weaknesses alleged with evolution have the same problem. Some of them may sound reasonable, like they might be true, but if you understood evolution, you would see that they are just as false as the above examples.” We don’t understaaaand evoluuuuuuution. We’re just ignorant Creationists, right? These are the same guys who LOST debate after debate because we had a better grasp of the evidence than they did, to the point where they started warning everybody not to debate the Creationists because we were making them look bad. Then they accused us of pulling the wool over the public’s trusting eyes with clever tricks and lies. That’s right. We must’ve cheated.

In a typical “think of the children!” ploy, they state:

“How would you feel if someone taught your child that… when writing a paper to only report facts that support the thesis and not to tell the reader about those that don’t? How would you feel if your child were taught to argue with people by exploiting their misunderstandings instead of clarifying them?”

Let me just answer THAT question now, given the current state of affairs where evolution is crammed down our children’s throats by only reporting the facts that support their argument but NEVER the weaknesses, where our children are taught to argue against design by exploiting their misunderstandings of evolution, intelligent design and creationism instead of clarifying them. Need an example: How about Eugenie Scott’s purposely misleading, vaugue and slippery definition of evolution as “change over time” to get kids to accept the “Big Idea” of evolution as fact? How about the constant equation of micro-evolution with macro-evolution? Of speculation of how things might have happened with fact? Of intelligent design with Creationism? 

Here’s my answer: I don’t like it.

I think we should take Charles Darwin’s advise on the matter: “A fair result can be obtained only by fully stating and balancing the facts and arguments on both sides of each question.”

The Sponsors

This little gold mine of oft-repeated [and oft-refuted] militatntly pro-evolutionary hubris is SPONSORED by both the Clergy Letter Project and the Center for Inquiry. In fact, both organizations share the copyright for the site’s material.

I’m sure that I don’t need to remind you that the Center for Inquiry is a misophobic collection of skeptics and humanists who publish Free Inquiry and The Skeptical Inquirer. Their website proudly states their mission:

“If the naturalistic outlook is to supplant the ancient mythological narratives of the past, it needs a new institution devoted to its articulation and dramatization to the public. The Center for Inquiry is that institution.” [bold accent mine]

They hypocritically state that : “Our purpose is to promote and defend reason, science, and freedom of inquiry in all areas of human endeavor.” [bold accent mine] This professed promotion and defense of freedom of inquiry is a sick joke. They only want one side of this thing being taught. They don’t want anything even vaguely resembling freedom of inquiry.

You want real freedom of inquiry? Go to http://academicfreedompetition.com/. They’re interested in the real thing.

CFI also states that they are “interested in providing… alternatives to the reigning paranormal and religious belief systems of belief” and that one of the ways they’d like to do that is “through education.” Now, if by the phrase “through education” they mean by putting out pamphlets and corny propaganda websites — education via disseminating information [or misinformation as the case may be] — that’s one thing. If they mean that they intend to do so through our educational system, and that certainly seems to be the intent of TeachThemScience.org, that’s something else entirely! I do hope the Texas SBOE is paying attention to these little men behind the curtain and inquiring into their motives.

They use the Clergy Letter Project as fodder for their typical “see it’s just a few creationist nut jobs – most religious folk accept evolution and you should, too!”

Two quotes from TeachThemScience.org’s The Science & The “Controversy” page should suffice to illustrate this point:

“Anti-evolutionists say that you can’t accept evolution and be religious. The very existence of The Clergy Letter Project proves this wrong. Over 12,000 clergy members around the country teach their congregations that evolution and religion get along just fine, that faith is not the fragile thing that anti-evolutionists make it out to be. Thousands of religious leaders agree with scientists that evolution is solid science.”

“Thousands of clergy around the country see evolution as compatible with faith. A small group of vocal anti-evolutionists disagree…” [bold accent mine]

An Answer for the Clergy Letter Project

Now, I represent the Creation Letter Project, a Creationist response to the Clergy Letter Project.

 

As TeachThemScience proudly trumpets, the pro-evolution Clergy Letter Project currently has a list of nearly 12,000 ministers who affirm that evolution is true and that the Genesis record is a teaching myth like Aesop’s Fables. Since 2006, they have successfully promoted the celebration of an Evolution Sunday in churches throughout the world. The Clergy Letter Project is often cast in the faces of Creationists to insinuate that we are merely a fringe element of Christianity, because there has not yet been an answer to their challenge. Our silence is used as an admission of our alleged irrelevance.

 

It is disgusting that this modern-day Goliath gets to mock the people of God, flaunting the compromise of some of our ministers as if it represented the majority opinion, with no answer in kind.

 

The Creation Letter Project now provides an opportunity for Christians, clergy and churches who affirm Biblical Creationism to answer the challenge that the Clergy Letter represents.

 

• To the Bible-believing Chrsitian, we provide the opportunity to stand up for a historical, literal 6-day Creation by signing the Creation Letter. 
• To ministers, we provide the opportunity to answer the 12,000 pro-evolution signatures of Clergy Letter Project by signing the Creation Letter and adding your name to the Clergy For Creation list. 
• To churches, we provide the opportunity to answer the mockery of Evolution Sunday by signing the Creation letter and advertising your intent to celebrate a Creation Sunday instead. We will also be promoting a Summer of Creation initiative in coming weeks, encouraging churches to hold creation conferences, Creation VBS programs, Creation Sundays and trips to Creation museums throughout Summer 2009 to stem the tide of the Year of Darwin and equip their churches to combat the lie of evolution and defend Biblical Creationism. 
• To Creation organizations, businesses, ministries, speakers and authors, we provide the opportunity to Sponsor this Project. Sponsorship eligibility is open to Young Eath Creationist organizations, businesses, ministries, speakers and authors. Sponsorship entails and implies nothing more than an endorsement of the Biblical Creation Model and our mission, but it encourages others to participate and allows you to send a clear affirmation in the enduring integrity of God’s Word – from the Very First Word!

I’ve provided the text of the Creation Letter Project below my signature. Take a moment to read it and add your signature today!

–Sirius Knott

on behalf of the Creation Letter Project

 

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The Creation Letter

On February 15, 2009, many well-meaning churches will celebrate an “Evolution Sunday.” Evolution Sunday is the brainchild of the pro-evolution Clergy Letter Project, an “endeavor to demonstrate that religion and science can be compatible” — but they have conflated evolution with science! Nearly 12,000 clergy have signed their pro-evolution letter. This year’s push to encourage participation is expected to be particularly vocal, as 2009 will mark both the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of his book, Origins.

 

Observable, testable, repeatable science has brought us many benefits and innovations. The founders of modern science were Creationists, “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.” Most of the disciplines within science were founded before Darwin or by scientists who actually rejected his theory. The Scientific Method itself is based on the idea that an orderly creation can be rationally understood because it was designed by an Intelligent Creator. Creationists today continue to practice normal, experimental science without need of evolution.

 

Evolution is not observable, testable, repeatable science. It’s a belief about the past, an atheist Just-So Story seeking to displace the divinely revealed Creation record. It’s based on the flaw of naturalism, which begs that all problems must have a natural explanation, so God isn’t needed. This stands directly at odds with the Biblical claim that God’s existence, eternal power and Godhead are self-evident in His Creation, for it excludes an Intelligent Creator from all consideration. Faulty assumptions lead to faulty conclusions! Sadly, statistics demonstrate that children taught godless evolution as scientific truth reject religious truth wholesale! It’s time to judge this tree by its fruit!

 

The Bible stands as the inerrant, revealed Word of God. As such, the conclusions and speculations of fallible, finite men should be weighed in light of the revelation of an infallible, infinite God – not the other way ’round. Let God be true and every man a liar!

 

Some claim to take the Bible seriously but actually hold man’s word as their true authority, so long as it calls itself science; where it disputes the Genesis record, they denigrate the Word of God to mere Bible stories in the tradition of Aesop’s fables. After swallowing the camel of the Resurrection and supernatural miracles, they strain at the gnat of a historical Creation week.

 

We do not follow cleverly devised fables. While the Bible is NOT a science textbook, the Word of God is true and accurate in all it records. Jesus affirmed the truth and authority of God’s Word, mentioning Creation, Adam and Eve, Abel, Noah and Jonah as matters of fact.

 

Though some object that religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth, Jesus refuted this false dichotomy when He asked Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” [John 3:12] The very reason Jesus literally died and rose again is a world cursed by the literal Fall of a literal Adam!

 

We the undersigned affirm the truth of a Biblical, literal 6-day Creation and strongly discourage any Bible-believing Christian from endorsing or celebrating an Evolution Sunday. Evolution is a lie which undermines both Biblical authority and the foundational basis of the Gospel. We urge churches to send a clear message  of the enduring authority of God’s Word by celebrating a Creation Sunday instead of the Clergy Letter Project’s proposed Evolution Sunday. We urge school board members to fight for the integrity of our science curriculum by insisting that evolution’s mortal flaws be published. We ask that science remain science, so that truth may remain truth.

*The Creation Letter Project is sponsored in part by the Kanawha Creation Science Group. The KCSG  is dedicated to bringing to light scientific evidence against evolutionism and for creationism. We have speakers available for church, youth or community groups.

 

If you agree with our mission, add your signature to this Creatiuon Letter!

 

Who Should Sign

 

1. If you are a Christian who believes in the literal, historical truth of Creation as related in Genesis, you should add your signature to let people know that there are Christians in your city and state who take a stand for Biblical innerancy.

 

2. If you are a member of the clergy who believes in our mission, you should add your signature to send a message that there are ministers in your city and state who believe in a literal, 6-day Creation. The pro-evolution Clergy Letter Project has nearly 12,000 signatures from members of clergy. We believe there are as many, if not more, who believe the truth of Biblical Creation and are willing to boldly stand up for that truth. If you are a member of clergy, please indicate that you are when you add your signature and we’ll add your name to the Clergy for Creation page.

 

3. If you are the pastor of a church who intends on holding a Creation Sunday, you should add your signature to let Christians in your area know that there is a house of worship in their area that will be doing so. If your church will be having a Creation Sunday, please indicate this when you add your signature and we will add your church’s name to the Creation Sunday Celebrations page.

 

4. If you are a Creation organization, business, college, museum, author or speaker, you should become a Creation Letter Sponsor to embolden others to make a clear stand for Young Earth Creationism and the enduring authority of God’s Word. If you would like to become a Sponsor, please indicate this when you add your signature and we will add you to the Sponsors page.

How to Sign

 

If you agree with the mission of the Creation Letter Project, go to http://kcsg.wordpress.com/ and add your signature to the Creation Letter!

 

Thank you for your consideration,

Rev. Anthony W Breeden

On behalf of the Creation Letter Project

 

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