Intelligent design

The San Francisco Chronicle carried a story today about the new movement to undermine the teaching of evolution theory by requiring teaching something called 'intelligent design.'

I've always agreed with the idea that the cosmos didn't just happen, but I'm uneasy to take the Bible literally (6,000 years ago God said 'Voila!'). I prefer the line of reasoning that shot down Clarence Darrow in the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. The notion was that God may have created the world in seven days, but, at the time, how long was seven days? God hadn't created the 'day' yet. Perhaps she took her time and by our current reckoning, well, it was a little longer -- maybe 6 or 7 million years?

The infusion of religious beliefs into our schools isn't as troubling to me as the lack of respect that such infusion usually carries with it. In this case, if you have doubts about creationism you are branded a heretic, not a skeptic. With our current prez, that means trouble my friends, right here in River City and certainly in the small towns where evangelical Christianity is gaining momentum.

Watch your mail for literature from the Flat Earth Society.

mjf 11/30/04