Category: Culture
Biochemist Michael Behe Testifies in Dover Trial
Today biochemist Michael Behe testified as an expert witness for the defendants in the current trial, Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School Board. According to Discovery Institute’s Logan Gage, who observed all of Michael Behe’s testimony today at the Dover trial in Harrisburg, Pa, Behe covered a wide variety of topics. Below is an informal report on some topics covered by Behe’s testimony, based upon Mr. Gage’s report. Links are provided after some of the bullet points to articles where Dr. Behe has discussed these topics outside of today’s testimony. Points Behe made today during his testimony:
Discovery Institute Tells Dover Judge Teaching About Intelligent Design is Constitutional
Today, the Discovery Institute, the nation’s leading think tank researching intelligent design, filed an Amicus Curiae (i.e. “Friend of the Court”) brief in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case urging the judge to rule that it is not unconstitutional to teach about the scientific theory of intelligent design. The filing of the brief coincides with the beginning of the defense offered by the Dover School Board, which has required students to be notified about the existence of the theory of intelligent design as an alternative to Darwinian theory. “The ACLU is claiming that no matter how carefully intelligent design is presented, and no matter what good educational reasons there might be for teaching it, doing so is just Read More ›
National Science Foundation Sued for Using Federal Tax Dollars to Promote Religion in Public Schools
A parent in California is suing the National Science Foundation for using more than a half-million federal dollars to develop a website that encourages science teachers to use religion to promote evolution in public schools. In announcing the suit Larry Caldwell, President of Quality Science Education for All, who is co-counsel in the suit with the Pacific Justice Institute, said, “the same people who so loudly proclaim that they oppose discussion of religion in science classes are clamoring for public school teachers to expressly use theology in order to convince students to support evolution.”
Cardinal Sees Red Over Media Misstatement
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Austria discomfited Darwinists last July when he published an article in the New York Times taking them to task for claims the Church backs Darwin’s theory of evolution. Now on his website, his staff points out that some in “the English-speaking press” misreported a lecture two weeks ago in Vienna’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral as “somehow drawing back from his essay in the New York Times.” Annotation: It has come to our attention that the content of Cardinal Schönborn‘s first catechesis has been mis-reported in the English-speaking press as somehow drawing back from his essay in The New York Times. This is inaccurate, as will be apparent from the full text. In order to clear up this Read More ›
“Submit Your Caption” – Lawsuit over “Understanding Evolution” Website
A lawsuit has been filed by parent and attorney Larry Caldwell against the usage of government funds to promote some of the material on the “Understanding Evolution Website” website. Caldwell alleges that the federal funds are being used to maintain an evolution website in which the government endorses certain religious beliefs and denominational statements. Before you assume that Caldwell is somehow arguing that evolution itself is a religious viewpoint, read what Caldwell actually is saying. This is not at all what Caldwell is alleging. Caldwell’s lawsuit is not trying to stop the teaching of evolution. Caldwell’s actual arguments are explained pretty well in this Daily Cal article: “According to the complaint, the site violates the clause through its assertion that Read More ›