In the News

ARN now has in stock the lastest book just released from Discovery Institute, Darwin's Conservatives: The Misguided Quest by John West.

Should Conservatives embrace Darwin? Conservatives such as George Will, James Q. Wilson, and Larry Arnhart have mounted a vigorous defense of Darwinian biology, even urging other conservatives to draw on Darwin’s theory for support. In this small but incisive book, Dr. John West argues that the quest for “Darwinian conservatism” is misguided and fundamentally flawed. Contrary to claims by Darwin’s conservatives, Darwinian evolution promotes relativism rather than traditional morality. It fosters utopianism rather than limited government. It is corrosive, rather than supportive, of free will and religious belief. Finally, and most importantly, Darwinian evolution is in tension with the scientific evidence.

Click the link above to browse the table of contents, read the endorsements or order your copy today.

Steve Giegerich, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reports that Gov. Matt Blunt pulled his nomination of a former private school administrator to the state Board of Education, hours after state Sen.-elect Jeff Smith objected to the choice.

He said nominee Donayle Whitmore-Smith's support of tax credits, which critics call a school voucher program, was one of several factors in his decision.

Smith also found Whitmore-Smith, an African-American, evasive on the question of whether she supports teaching creationism and intelligent design in public schools.

With the region enticing bio-tech industries to join a research base established by Washington University, the Monsanto Co. and other entities, Smith said a strict separation of faith and state is paramount.

My comment...once again ID is portrayed as a research stopper. How does that follow, except in the minds of careless thinkers?

The staff at Access Research Network has released its 2006 Year-End Report which includes the top Darwin vs. Design news stories for the year. Also available is a 15 minute podcast interview with ARN Executive Director Dennis Wagner and Casey Luskin of Discovery Institute discussing hightlights from the report.

In seperate press releases, ARN also announced today its Top 10 Darwin vs. Design New Stories and Top 10 Darwin vs. Design Resources for 2006.

The MacLaurin MP3 lecture series is an incredible resource.

Denyse O'Leary and Mustafa Akyol are in the series.

Mustafa's talk is of great value to those who want to understand the ramifications of ID in the Muslim world.

O'Leary's talk points out that the media tends to be liberal in large part because traditionalist groups steer young people who are good at communication into the clergy or parachurch ministries. Who is then left to go into media? Non-traditionally minded young people.

Here is the International Journalist's Forum on ID.

And, here is the Q & A session.

And here is the Campus Lectures main page.

Phil Baty, in the Times Higher Education Supplement, reports on The "unrestricted liberty" to be offensive to others without fear of sanction. A radical statement of academic freedom was proposed by an influential group of scholars.

The statement, launched by 64 academics including philosopher A. C. Grayling, would extend the current law that ensures that academics are free to "question and test received wisdom, and to put forward unpopular opinions".

The statement would offer backing to Andrew McIntosh, professor of thermodynamics at Leeds, who has been sharply criticised for claiming that evolutionary theory is wrong.

The 2007 Edition of the ID Calendars are now available from ARN. New this year is the Patterns in Nature calendar featuring 13 spectacular nature photos from around the world by ARN News Editor, Tom Magnuson. You can preview the images and read Tom's comments along with the accompanying calendar quote on the order page.

The 2007 edition of the Mind Preceeded Matter calendar featuring vivid colorful deep-space NASA photos from the Hubble Telescope with 12 fantastic quotes about the origin of the universe has also been updated for 2007.

In addition to these two twelve month calendars, our 2007 11x17 color wall calendars are available with many of our popular T-Shirt images for only $7.99 such as the biological rotary motor or Icons of Darwinism.

Order your calendar today for a great conversation starter in your home or office. Please contact us at info@arn.org for discounts on quantity orders of 15 or more of the same calendar.

Christina Kauffman of the York PA Dispatch reports that a feature film inspired by Dover's intelligent design trial is in the works, but it may be a few years before the movie makes it onto the big screen.

Pennsylvania native Ron Nyswaner, whose writing credits include "Philadelphia," starring Tom Hanks, and "The Prince of Pennsylvania," starring Keanu Reeves, has begun researching and writing the screenplay for Paramount Pictures.

For more, click the link above...

EurekaAlert! reports that Dr. James Windmill from the University of Bristol, UK, has shown how the Yellow Underwing moth changes its sensitivity to a bat's calls when the moth is being chased. And in case there is another attack, the moth's ear remain tuned in for several minutes after the calls stop.

This is remarkable because the moth's ear is very "simple".

Discovery Institute posts on the year since Dover.

John West notes that a year after Dover, Darwinists seem increasingly disillusioned as well as shrill, the central part of Judge Jones' "brilliant" decision has been found to be riddled with errors and copied nearly verbatim from the ACLU, a research lab has been launched for scientists to pursue intelligent design-inspired scientific research, and states and localities are continuing to adopt public policies to encourage students to study the scientific evidence for and against Darwin's theory.

John Timmer, on the Ars technica Web site, posts on the Cobb County GA textbook sticker case.

Not in the post, but the school board has agreed to never re-apply the sticker in question. The school board is also paying the plaintiffs about $160,000, which is reported to be about 1/3 of the legal costs of plaintiffs. The school did not admit that the sticker was unconstitutional.

Tim Radford comments in Education Guardian (UK) on ID. He claims it isn't science, and it may not even be "Christian".

This comment is an excellent example of obfuscation. He compares the irreducible complexity of the eye (he could have used DNA, or flagellum) to the motion of the planets around the sun. The solar system was once "IC", he claims, and we figured that out, so the implication is that we will eventually figure out all the IC in biology.

The sad thing is...multitudes fall for this line of "thought".

Read more...

This post is a follow-up on the ID research labs in the Northwest.

John West's post is on Evolution News & Views...

The UK has its version of the American NCSE.

Here the blog link...

Bo Alawine works for a defense contractor on the Gulf Coast. His essay in the Hattiesburg American has all the slogans, one-liners, straw men, religious bigotry, and talking points of the materialists in a readable form.

Here is the essay...

Mark Vernon, of Spiked online, reports that Richard Dawkins has published a rant against religion. Vernon comments that Dawkins could learn much from an earlier Darwinian bulldog, Thomas Henry Huxley.

Dawkins accuses believers of having minds 'hijacked by religion'. Replace the word religion with science, and he could be expounding on himself. Intolerance leads him to fundamentalist rhetoric. What would be more helpful would be a revival of the richer, intellectually humbler and socially tolerant stanch of the committed agnostic.

More...

In the Guardian, Richard Dawkins writes a note on "Truth in Science" and Andrew MacIntosh.

Here's the letter...

There is a new pro-darwinism book where the authors, Cameron Smith and Charles Sullivan, have supposedly identified the 10 most common misconceptions about evolution.

Among the many topics that have galvanized the public in recent years, the debate over evolution versus intelligent design has generated an outpouring of heated rhetoric from both sides. The book is an effort to clarify prevailing misinterpretations and counteract misinformation relayed through the media, from the pulpit, or in the classroom.

More from Amazon book list...

William Dembski has had private internet chats with Richard Dawkins over the past several years. Richard Dawkins reprinted some of William Dembski's letters, so Dembski assumes the same privilege.

Read the first installment, from the uncommondescent Web site, with comments, by clicking HERE.

Gregory M. Lamb, of the Christian Science Monitor, interviewed world renown scientist Freeman Dyson.

Dyson's new compilation, The Scientist as Rebel, previously published essays and book reviews written over nearly four decades are included.

Dyson rebels against the idea that scientists should only concern themselves with the problems of the laboratory.

"Science is a particular bunch of tools that have been conspicuously successful for understanding and manipulating the material universe," Dyson concludes. "Religion is another bunch of tools, giving us hints of a mental or spiritual universe that transcends the material universe."

For the full article click HERE.

Apparently, Judge Jones has been reading the papers and surfing the Web. In his commencement address delivered at Dickinson College, citations have been added in the past week...as reported by the Discovery Institute.

La Jolla, CA -- leading scientists from around the world gathered November 5-7, 2006 at one of the world’s largest biotech center’s, the Salk Institute, to strategize how they could defeat both religion and intelligent design at the Beyond Belief Conference. The atheistic agenda of leading scientists, many whom are funded by government institutions, is now out on the table and available for the world to see in the video recordings of the ten sessions available on the Internet.

The three stated goals of the conference were 1) to examine the clash of cultures between science and religion; 2) to explore how we can do good without God. What is our source of morality? and 3) If not God, then what? Can science help us create a new rational narrative as poetic and powerful as those that have traditionally sustained societies?

Nobel prize winning physicist, Steven Weinberg, closed his opening talk with the following statement: "The world needs to wake up from its long nightmare of religious belief and anything we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization."

In addition to the opening session with Weinberg, Krauss, Harris and Shermer, you won't want to miss the slugfest between the irrational Richard Dawkins and the gracious Joan Roughgarden in session three, or the tongue lashing that is given by the rational atheists Jim Woodward and Melvin Konner to their irrational counterparts in session 9.

The conference was sponsored by The Science Network, The Crick-Jacobs Center and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The Beyond Belief II Conference is scheduled for November 1-3, 2007.

Terry Eagleton, John Edward Taylor, a Professor of English Literature at Manchester University, has published a review of Richard Dawkin's latest book, The God Delusion, and concludes that Dawkins is the one that appears to be deluded about theology and his own importance:

"Nearly 50 per cent of Americans believe that a glorious Second Coming is imminent, and some of them are doing their damnedest to bring it about. But Dawkins could have told us all this without being so appallingly bitchy about those of his scientific colleagues who disagree with him, and without being so theologically illiterate. He might also have avoided being the second most frequently mentioned individual in his book – if you count God as an individual."

On December 12, 2006, Discovery Institute released a report which found that "90.9% (or 5,458 words) of Judge Jones' 6,004-word section on intelligent design as science was taken virtually verbatim from the ACLU's proposed 'Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law'." Since that time, Discovery Institute has received questions from various media sources and the public. The backgrounder on the report will help answer some common questions, and is avaialble by clicking the link above...

The House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources has issued its official report on the investigation into the harassment and discrimination against biologist Dr. Richard Sternberg. The congressional report bluntly states: The staff investigation has uncovered compelling evidence that Dr. Sternberg’s civil and constitutional rights were violated by Smithsonian officials.

One Smithsonian scientist said that having Sternberg working in the same room with other researchers would create an impossible work environment for the other researchers. Where was the moral outrage from the Progressives at this blatant bigotry?

For the full story, click the link above...

Vasantha Raja, in the Asian Tribune, reports that Dawkins' anti-God offensive seems to include at least two mutually exclusive targets: One - to ridicule the biblical interpretation of God and Creation; two – to undermine the Intelligent Design hypothesis, whose appeal is gathering momentum among scientific/philosophical circles at present.

Raja is unconvinced by Dawkins' arguments, claiming they fail to refute the powerful insights ID theorists continue to develop, and ID theories will eventually prove to be positively fruitful for the scientific method itself.

Read the rest of this lucid article by clicking the link above...

Judge Jones will be the plenary speaker at the 2007 Botany & Plant Biology Joint Congress in Chicago in July.

He certainly is getting the mileage out of his decision...

Did Judge Jones Plagiarize Scholar's Book in Dickinson College Commencement Speech?

Today from a Discovery Institute Press Release:

"We have made clear that Judge Jones' wholesale and uncritical copying from ACLU attorneys in the Kitzmiller v. Dover decision is not considered "plagiarism" in legal circles--even though such verbatim copying has been frowned upon by appellate courts. But what about the unattributed use of language from someone else's book in a public speech? According to the posted text of his Commencement Address at Dickinson College, Judge Jones appears to have engaged in unattributed copying outside the courtroom as well. Compare the following passages and decide for yourself whether this new finding constitutes plagiarism."

Judge Jones' Commencement Address at Dickinson College (2006):

"...our Founding Fathers... possessed a great confidence in an individual's ability to understand the world and its most fundamental laws through the exercise of his or her reason... The Founders believed that true religion was not something handed down by a church or contained in a Bible, but was to be found through free, rational inquiry... this core set of beliefs led the Founders... to secure their idea of religious freedom by barring any alliance between church and state."
http://www.dickinson.edu/commencement/2006/address.html

Compare that to Frank Lambert's, The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America (Princeton University Press, 2003):

"The Founding Fathers... had great confidence in the individual's ability to understand the world and its most fundamental laws through the exercise of his or her reason. To them, true religion was not something handed down by a church or contained in the Bible but rather was to be found through free rational inquiry...the framers sought to secure their idea of religious freedom by barring any alliance between church and state."

(Frank Lambert, The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in
America, pg. 3 (2003). You can also find this material online at http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/i7500.html)

FoxNews reports that a Russian court held hearings in an unprecedented lawsuit brought by a 15-year-old student, who says being taught the theory of evolution in school violates her rights and insults her religious beliefs.

Maria Shreiber sued the St. Petersburg city education committee, claiming the 10th-grade biology textbook used at the Cervantes Gymnasium was offensive to believers and that teachers should offer an alternative to Darwin's famous theory.

Read more by clicking the link above...

Celeste Biever Redmond reports in NewScientist about a one-year-old institute which is the new face of another industry that has sprung up in the Seattle area - the one that has set out to try to prove Darwinism is wrong. It has been funded by the Discovery Institute.

"We are the first ones doing what we might call lab science in intelligent design," says George Weber, one of four Biologic's directors. "The objective is to challenge the scientific community on naturalism."

The claim is that if ID supporters can bolster their case by citing more experimental research, then ID does qualify as science, and is therefore a legitimate topic for discussion in American science classrooms. This is precisely the kind of scientific respectability that research at the Biologic Institute is attempting to provide. "We need all the input we can get in the sciences," Weber told me. "What we are doing is necessary to move ID along."

In addition, two articles referenced in this article in the Journal of Molecular Biology were the direct result of support provided by Discovery Institute's research fellowship program.

Judge Jones refused to comment today to reporters from Associated Press and WorldNetDaily when asked about the recent study revealing that 90% of the key section of his Dover v. Kitzmiller decision on Intelligent Design was copied from an ACLU brief.

The Discovery Institute released a study today revealing that the key section of the widely noted Kitzmiller v. Dover court decision on intelligent design issued a year ago on December 20 was copied nearly verbatim from a document written by ACLU lawyers.

From the Discovery Institute Press Release:

"Judge John Jones copied verbatim or virtually verbatim 90.9% of his 6,004-word section on whether intelligent design is science from the ACLU's proposed 'Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law' submitted to him nearly a month before his ruling," said Dr. John West, Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs at Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture.

"Ironically, Judge Jones has been hailed as 'an outstanding thinker' for his 'masterful' ruling, and even honored by Time magazine as one of the world's 'most influential people' in the category of 'scientists and thinkers,'" said West. "But Jones' analysis of the scientific status of intelligent design contains virtually nothing written by Jones himself. This finding seriously undercuts the credibility of a central part of the ruling."

The study notes that, while judges routinely make use of proposed findings of fact, "the extent to which Judge Jones simply copied the language submitted to him by the ACLU is stunning. For all practical purposes, Jones allowed ACLU attorneys to write nearly the entire section of his opinion analyzing whether intelligent design is science. As a result, this central part of Judge Jones' ruling reflected essentially no original deliberative activity or independent examination of the record on Jones' part."

Jones' copying was so uncritical that he even reprinted a number of factual errors originally made by ACLU attorneys.

For example, Jones claimed that biochemist Michael Behe, when asked about articles purporting to explain the evolution of the immune system, responded that the articles were "not 'good enough.'" Behe actually said the exact opposite: "it's not that they aren't good enough. It's simply that they are addressed to a different subject." Jones' misrepresentation of Behe came directly from the ACLU's "Findings of Fact."

***

What is even more amazing is that Judge Jones has been stumping around the country elaborating on the importance and brilliance of “his” decision as evidenced by his recent speaking schedule to college students and professional societies detailed below. Here is just one quote from his commencement speech at his alma mater, Dickerson College (link to full text of his speech is below):

“Not long ago, I decided a case that caused me to become, at least temporarily, somewhat famous in the world at large. And while I have accomplished some interesting things in my life, I know that my invitation to speak to you today is largely the result of my work in that trial involving the concept of intelligent design. In the course of the Kitzmiller v. Dover case I heard from experts in among other fields those of biology, philosophy, theology, paleontology, and science education. And, I had to use my common sense and hopefully good judgment to weigh the credibility of many lay witnesses as well.”

“One might be tempted to assume that I received all of the tools necessary to understand the complex expert testimony and determine the facts solely through my law school education. If so, they would be incorrect. In fact, it was my liberal arts education, achieved right here at Dickinson College that provided me with the best ability to handle the rather monumental task of deciding the Dover case.”

***

The only tools Judge Jones apparently used in the Dover case were the “Cut & Paste” features of Microsoft Word. And yet for this he was introduced by the President of Bennington College at his most recent lecture with the following accolades:

"Judge Jones is that increasingly rare phenomenon--a genuine hero of our time—principled, enlightened, and profoundly courageous—reminding us all of the individual acts of leadership that have made this nation soar. It is a great pleasure and honor for this College to have him as our guest," remarked Elizabeth Coleman, president of Bennington College.

Recent Speeches by Judge John Jones:

February 10, 2006:
No Title)
Anti-Defamation League
National Executive Committee Meeting
Palm Beach, Florida
Full speech: http://www.adl.org/Civil_Rights/speech_judge_jones.asp

March 9, 2006:
(No Title)
Lycoming College
Astronomy/Physics Colloquium
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
More info: http://www.lycoming.edu/whatsnew/releases/2006/JudgeJones.htm

April 25, 2006:
"On the Constitution's Establishment Clause"
Lutheran Theological Seminary
Spring Convocation
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
More info: http://www.ltsg.edu/events/springconvo.htm

May 19-21, 2006:
(No Title)
Dickinson College
2006 Commencement Lecture
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Full text: http://www.dickinson.edu/commencement/2006/address.html

October 23, 2006:
"Judicial Independence- A Trial Judge's Reflections After Kitzmiller v.
Dover."
Geological Society of America (GSA)
Annual Meeting
Philadephia, Pennsylvania
More info: http://www.geosociety.org/GSA_Connection/archive/0610.htm

October 25, 2006:
(No Title)
Widener University School of Law
Regular Lecture
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
*This lecture was broadcast on 10/28 on C-SPAN's "America & the Courts"
More info: http://www.law.widener.edu/news/articles/2006/hb_100306.shtml

November 27, 2006:
(No Title)
Bennington College
Ruth D. Ewing '37 Lecture in Social Activism More info: http://www.bennington.edu/news_pr_061017jones.asp

In the American Spectator, Richard Kirk reviews The God Delusion. According to Kirk, the book features page after sarcastic page of attacks against any foe Dawkins considers an easy target: Pat Robertson, Pastor Ted Haggard, Ann Coulter, a small fundamentalist school in Northeast England (to which 7 of Dawkins' 374 pages are devoted), Pastor Fred "God Hates Fags" Phelps, Dr. James Dobson, and, of course, G. W. Bush - who supposedly invaded Iraq because he was told to do so by God. Even poor Carl Jung is made into a kook by Dawkins for believing "that particular books on his shelf spontaneously exploded."

More by clicking the link above...

Truth in Science is faced by growing political opposition as Members of Parliament and Government ministers seek to discourage science teachers from using their resource packs. Forty MPs are calling for a "restriction" on its use and one has suggested a "directive" against it.

Click the link above for more...

Jennifer Toomer-Cook of the Deseret News reports on the meeting of Darwinism and ID in Utah.

Intelligent Design was debated on two Utah college campuses last week. And a Utah senator says while he won't carry another origins of life bill, something else could be in the works.

Biological philosopher Paul Nelson of the Discovery Institute, in a Utah Valley State College panel discussion last week, said that while not yet a scientific theory, Intelligent Design may gain legitimacy in the scientific community to explain origins of Earth and its inhabitants.

David Toplikar, of the Lawrence Journal-World reports on the lecture by Michael Behe, titled "The Argument for Intelligent Design in Biology". It was part of the "Difficult Dialogues" lecture series sponsored by KU's Hall Center for the Humanities and KU's Biodiversity Institute.

He said intelligent design was not a philosophy, but a scientific conclusion that uses inductive reasoning.

"An inductive conclusion is a scientific conclusion," he said.

On the Web site Ignatius.com Benjamin Wiker (Ph.D., Vanderbilt), lecturer in theology and science at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio is interviewed. He is also a senior fellow of Discovery Institute in Seattle, Washington. His work has been published in First Things, National Catholic Register, Crisis, Catholic World Report and the New Oxford Review. He is the author of Moral Darwinism, Architects of the Culture of Death, and the recently published A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature, published by InterVarsity Press and co-authored with Jonathan Witt.

Carl E. Olson, editor of IgnatiusInsight.com, spoke with Dr. Wiker about his new book, science, religion, evolution, intelligent design, and the meaning of meaning.

James Randerson of the Guardian reports that the government will write to schools telling them that controversial packs, including DVDs and written materials promoting intelligent design, should not be used in lessons. The packets were sent to every school in the country by the privately-funded group Truth in Science. The Guardian revealed that 59 schools had told Truth in Science the materials were a "useful classroom resource".

Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrats' science spokesman, said that he feared that some teachers would use the packs to promote intelligent design as a belief or that it would be presented as a valid scientific theory.

Darwin Strikes Back by Thomas Woodward

What started as a debate among scientists has become a full-scale public battle. In this sequel to his award-winning Doubts about Darwin, Thomas Woodward traces the struggle that has emerged as the two sides wrestle with questions of the origin of life. Woodward answers these questions and more:

* Who are the key players on each side, and what contributions have they made?
* How has the debate developed, and where is it headed in the future?
* What conclusions can we draw about our origins based on the scientific evidence?

Woodward examines three major design theorists: Michael Behe, Jonathan Wells, and William Dembski, as well as their most notable critics including biologist Kenneth Miller, philosopher Niall Shanks, educator Eugenie Scott, and Richard Dawkins. Woodward, once a staunch supporter of Darwinian evolution himself, finds that critics of intelligent design often offer flawed arguments.

For a longer review on the book check out Don Cicchetti's blog.

Endorsements:

"Lucid, thorough, and brisk as the morning news, Darwin Strikes Back traces the launch of the Intelligent Design Movement and the response it has elicited. Woodward shows how ID challenges the interpretation of intelligent display without intelligent agency and calls for an alternative assessment of scientific data. While providing a valuable resource for the seasoned observer, this book should be especially appealing to students and newcomers to the debate wishing to be rapidly brought up to speed."
--Leo R. Zacharski, professor of medicine, Dartmouth Medical School

"In their attempt to return fire in the debate against Intelligent Design, the Darwinists are mostly shooting blanks. Tom Woodward does a masterful job of dissecting weak polemic and showing how the Darwinian establishment has resorted to proof by confident assertion, genetic fallacies, and ad homonym tactics rather than genuinely engaging the arguments and evidence that ID theorists have mustered. Woodward predicts correctly that such tactics will not ultimately prevail."
--Stephen C. Meyer, director, Center for Science and Culture Discovery Institute

"In Darwin Strikes Back Tom Woodward chronicles the recent acrimonious history of ID and its antagonists. Woodward is an insider who tells an engaging story that will clarify both the nature and the source of current sharp debate surrounding this issue."
--Kenneth Petzinger, professor of physics, College of William and Mary

"In Darwin Strikes Back, Woodward presents a clear, accurate, and intriguing account of Intelligent Design, its history, the arguments in its favor, the counterarguments by the Darwinists, and the responses by the ID theorists. This is an important book for anyone who wants a clear picture of the ID/evolution debate."
--Russell W. Carlson, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; executive technical director of the complex carbohydrate research center, University of Georgia

"Darwin Strikes Back tells the thrilling story of how the Darwinian establishment has summoned all its power to crush the frightening challenge of the Intelligent Design Movement, and how the rebels are not only surviving but gaining new strength as we respond to the onslaught. Highly recommended."
--Phillip E. Johnson, emeritus professor of law, University of California, Berkeley; author, Darwin on Trial

"Taking the reader behind the headlines, Thomas Woodward--the premier historian of the Intelligent Design Movement--analyzes crucial developments of the past decade."
--Michael J. Behe, department of biology, Lehigh University

"The controversy over Darwinism and Intelligent Design signals a major scientific and social revolution. Everyone who wants to understand it should read this timely and well-written book."
--Jonathan Wells, author, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design

The Ouachita Parish School Board unanimously approved a resolution to allow its teachers “academic freedom” in teaching all sides of controversial issues such as Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

Following the vote Wednesday at the school board meeting, several audience members of the packed board room applauded.

Retired Judge Darrell White of Baton Rouge, consultant with Louisiana Family Forum’s Education Resource Council, commended the school board for setting a precedent he hopes other school systems will follow.

Ouachita Parish is the first school system in the state to adopt such a measure that will give its teachers academic freedom.

More...

The Reading (PA) Eagle reports that a debate on evolution vs. intelligent design will be held Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium at Penn State Berks.

The speakers will be Dr. Michael Shermer, a leading proponent of evolutionary theory, and Paul A. Nelson, a philosopher of biology who has critically evaluated the theory of common descent in various articles.

December 7, 2006, 7:30-9:30 p.m., “The Case for a Creator” at Biola University with Lee Strobel, Steve Meyer, Jay Richards, JP Moreland, Jonathan Wells, Mike Behe, and others. Witness the launch of a much-anticipated DVD product based on Lee Strobel’s best selling book. Hear from scholars who are helping to win the debate over Darwinism in our time. Join us at this exclusive free event and receive a free copy of the DVD "The Case for a Creator." Call 888 332-4652 or click the link above and click special events to register.

If the cell was not made out of bio-stuff, would the Darwinists think it was the product of intellect? Read the article above.