Darwinism
- the theory that all species of life have evolved from a simple
organism to a more complex organism to a more complex organism until
we've reached the pinnacle on which we now stand as humans through a
process he called "natural selection" or "survival of the fittest."
Created by Charles Darwin and published in his 1859 work On the Origin of Species,
Darwin's thought has permeated our thinking in the U.S. that it is now
regarded as fact, not theory, despite it being incapable of being
replicated or the clear facts (such as the Second Law of
Thermodynamics) that lead directly against
Darwin's thought. We teach it to our school children and quash all
other voices. Anyone who disagrees with Darwin's "LAWS" is either a
"flat earth" thinker or a religious fundamentalist, both of whom should
be regarded as academically inferior.
In recent years, another
movement has arisen. Known as Intelligent Design, it holds that
creation demonstrates a design so complex, so creative, so intricate
that there simply HAD to be a master creator, even if it wasn't God.
The Discovery Institute has
led the charge for this option, despite the fact some, such as the U.S.
National Academy of Science have decried it as "not science" or "junk
science" (By the way, anything they're opposed to is probably a good
thing - they're a sister organization to the U.S. National Endowment of
the Arts - the people who brought you the crucifix in a jar of urine
and called it "art."). I would expect that in a public school setting -
heaven forbid we should allow our children to bow down to anything
other than the altar of Darwinism!
The surprising thing is
that Baylor University, the oldest university in our fair state and, at
least traditionally, a school of religious heritage, has engaged in a
war against Intelligent Design. (here's the link)
I was always under the impression that one of the fundamental purposes
of higher education was to teach one to think critically. To do so
means to critically evaluate all possible options. Of course, to do
that means one has to have all the options available! To discredit one
is, definitively, NOT academic freedom.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Academic Freedom at Baylor University?
Posted by Darin Wood at 8:46 AM
Labels: academic Christianity
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