Of Two Minds
Some of today's headlines show one of the beautiful aspects of the United States - freedom of choice. Two states reached different conclusions on the latest debate on teaching Evolution.
Voters in Dover, PA made it clear what they thought about a school board that mandated the teaching of Intelligent Design (ID) by voting in candidates from the opposition (source). Newly elected Democrats are likely to withdraw the requirement that a special paragraph about ID be read before teaching anything about Evolution. The trial in the state capital still hasn't been settled, but the issue may well be dead.
Unless you are in Kansas. Intelligent Design proponents won a victory there (source) with a "6-4 vote [which] reverses a 2001 decision that affirmed Darwin's theory of natural selection. That vote came two years after most references to the theory were removed from state standards, making Kansas the butt of jokes by scientists and late-night comedians" (source).
Just to make things more interesting, the Catholic Church recently weighed in on the issue. "A Vatican cardinal said Thursday the faithful should listen to what secular modern science has to offer, warning that religion risks turning into 'fundamentalism' if it ignores scientific reason" (source). This is not a new position. The Church affirmed in 1996 that Evolution is a theory with a lot of proof behind it. The wheels of the Vatican grind slowly but inexorably. Look how long it took them to discard the heliocentric view of the universe.
When will we know an answer? That depends, I believe, on how close we are to the End Times. We won't know until we have a chance to ask Jesus in person and by then it likely matter even less than it does now. But it is an interesting debate and one that I pray brings more people into contact with His word.
For your consideration:
- "The Evolution of Darwin" - Yahoo! News
- Darwin at the American Museum of Natural History
- AboutDarwin.com
