alt.bible.errancy FAQ

This FAQ for the USENet newsgroup alt.bible.errancy dates back to 1999 in its original form, and was last updated in 2004, as afterwards the newsgroup became moribund.

You may read the FAQ and Links Appendix on separate pages which do not allow comments. You are welcome to leave comments regarding those pages on this post.

Just a theory?

Originally published 2004-11-10

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Creationism in the USA and increasingly in my (and your) backyard

Some religious folks hate Darwin’s theory of natural selection as the major mechanism underlying biological evolution , because they accuse “evolutionists” of wanting to make man “just another animal” so that sin, particularly sexual sin, is OK since man is not God’s special creation. And biological evolution has a history on earth of millions of years, whereas in the Bible God declaims a recent special creation of the Earth, therefore evolution must be wrong.

Thus the phenomenon of “creation science” (see www.infidels.org for more than you probably want to know, also the NSCE site for “Project Steve”). Creationists essentially rely on misrepresenting the fundamental theoretical model of modern biology, the evolution of species over aeons, as purely Darwinism and as discredited science. In the USA, of course, the constitutional provision that separates church and state with regard to the teaching of evolution in science class in public schools is continually being tested in the courts. The latest tactic is for anti-evolution folks to demand a disclaimer sticker in science textbooks to the effect of “Evolution is just a theory”.

“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.”

Currently a school district in Georgia is being sued for attempting this tactic. The quote to the right is the wording of their book sticker.

Obviously, critical thinking in science is important, as is the understanding of exactly what a scientific theory is. But why limit such disclaiming stickers only to textbooks containing material on biological evolution?

Inspired by a thread in the USENet newsgroup talk.origins (thanks to Daniel W. Johnson), I offer a modest beginning to this labelling in the name of science:

More food for thought: The computer you are using contains components designed according to the theory, not fact, of solid state electronics. Its continued operation must be considered uncertain and tentative.

Please feel free to spread this image so long as my name is attached.

Science educators respond to creationist siege

This article was written in 2003, before the anti-evolution movement had fully embraced the term “intelligent design”. The arguments haven’t changed much though.

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Even in the 21st century, when the theory of evolutionary biology is regarded by those in the life sciences as the cornerstone of biological science, there are those in the USA who don’t want evolution taught in their schools. Mostly Christian fundamentalists, they have built influential lobby groups which keep on attempting to get legislatures to teach other theories regarding human origins – so-called creation science or intelligent design theory.