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Faulking Opinions - Dec 24, 2005 - Printable Version
- Courts Reject Wedgie for Science; Is O’Reilly Really Just a Schoolyard Bully?
by Robin Buckallew
Last night, I tuned in to Bill O'Reilley for a few moments, and found that he had his panties in a wad about something. Intrigued, as usual, by Bill O'Reilly foaming at the mouth, I watched a little longer as he and his guest, Judge Napolitino, went on and on, ad nauseum, about the usual suspects. They were outraged about a 139-page court opinion written by Judge Jones. Ah, says I, Judge Jones - the fellow who is hearing the case in Dover, PA, where schools were instructed to teach "intelligent design" in the science classes. Dover, PA, which was recently condemned to the eternal fire by no other than Jerry Falwell (who has the direct ear of God, of course) for daring to vote out the offending school board and elect a more middle of the road group of people who would instruct science teachers to teach science, not religion dressed up in scientific garb (my, my, Grandma, what big Bibles you have! All the better to indoctrinate you with, my dear). In spite of the fact that many in this country believe that there is no inherent conflict between science and religion, a handful of very vocal right wing Christians have been attempting to divert our attention from more important matters and get us outraged by making us believe evolution is responsible for all the evil in the world - not George W. and friends, but the mad scientists bent on destroying civilization with their "theories, not facts". In fact, George W. himself had recently come out in support of teaching "all sides" in the spirit of "fair play". Now, a federal judge (appointed by G.W. himself, by the way) has had the good sense to come out and reject the arguments of the Christian right that their theory isn't really Christianity in disguise. Their rationale? They just say "an intelligent designer" - it could be God, but hey, it doesn't have to be. It could be Yahweh or Elohim or any other "designer" you want to name (preferably in the Judeo-Christian tradition, of course - foreign "designers" need not apply - this is America, after all, and only American "designers" will do).
Anyway, back to Bill O'Reilly. Apparently, this judge wrote a long, detailed opinion, 139 pages in length. It seems that a substantial portion of this opinion (according to Bill and friend) was devoted to the scientific rationale behind evolution. Bill believes (in his no-spin heart) that the real issue at hand was the "law" and this judge, he feels, ignored the "law". Which law is that, Bill? The judge considered the Constitution - the law of the land. He addressed this in his opinion, and concluded that the "law" was on the side of the plaintiffs, the parents of children in Dover schools who were suing the school board, claiming that religion was the guiding force behind the inclusion of intelligent design. He went to the highest law of our secular democracy. But Bill believes that another law supersedes the Constitution. He believes that the law of God, as described in the Christian Bible, is the only acceptable basis for our society. Of course, this means his interpretation of the Bible, and only those passages he likes. No nonsense about giving your money to the poor, or loving your neighbor as yourself. No Beatitudes. Back to Deuteronomy - where we are killing homosexuals, and stoning women who would dare to be raped.
A handful of agitators on the Christian right blame the teaching of Evolution in science class for every evil known to man. Specifically, they mention abortion, divorce, murder, homosexuality, crime sprees - the list goes on and on. Any serious student of history would have to find this laughable, as it is obvious from a quick time-machine trip through any accurate and respectable history book that all of these "evils" and more existed long before Darwin quietly expounded the theory of evolution from his country home in England. They existed during the Middle Ages, when the church was in total control of the government. They existed in the Iron Age, the Stone Age (yes, the cave men likely practiced abortion - the remains of primitive campsites include many plants known to be abortifacients, and all the evidence is that these properties have been known for a very long time by the so-called "primitive" peoples). Did evolution create evil? No. Does evolution spread evil? No. Do children learn evolution in school anyway? The short answer to that would have to be "no". I teach science at the college level. I speak with students who have recently come through our public school system. Very few have ever learned anything substantive about evolution. If you want a student who has been taught about evolution, you usually have to talk to those students who went to Catholic school (I'm not kidding, not being facetious - Catholic schools have been teaching evolution without intelligent design for many decades). But most students, believers and non-believers alike, are well versed on Noah's ark, the Christmas nativity story, the Garden of Eden and the story of Easter. Equal time? I want it. Bill, can I teach evolution in your church?
(Editor's note: This is a followup to Robin Buckallew's "Giving Science a Wedgie":
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/CommentaryToo/1031.html
For that matter, it could also be considered a followup to Mike Bohling's "O'Reilly's War" at:
http://www.faulkingtruth.com/Articles/Commentary/1053.html
Read them both, just to be certain.)
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