by Edna DeVore, Director of Education and Public Outreach, at the Seti Institute

"I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term Natural Selection."

Charles Robert Darwin, 1809 -- 1882
“On The Origin of Species”


full Story can be found here

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Greetings from Germany NRW
Ulli

Great post!! Thanks a million. Wow, 200 years, definitely a man ahead of his times. I hope that more parents and educators become aware of "Darwin Day." I am going to bring it up now and then at the community college where I teach.

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It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge. --- Enrico Fermi ---

Preaching evolution in the name of God

By Marsha Sutton
Union-Tribune

February 9, 2007

When hundreds of Christian congregations across the country settle in at church this Sunday, they will hear something not often associated with religious sermons: a tribute to Charles Darwin.

On “Evolution Sunday,” participating churches will honor the man many call the father of modern biology, with his groundbreaking theories on evolution and natural selection. Clergy will also speak about the harmonious compatibility of religious beliefs and modern science, and the need to teach evolution in public schools.

Timed to coincide with Darwin's birthday Feb. 12, Evolution Sunday is an offshoot of the Clergy Letter Project.

The Clergy Letter, signed this year by more than 10,000 clergy nationwide, specifically addresses Darwin's pioneering theory of evolution and states in part that “the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny – To reject this truth or to treat it as 'one theory among others' is to deliberately embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children.” The letter urges school boards “to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge.”

Perhaps one of the greatest mysteries facing scientists today is not so much understanding how life began, but rather how some adults who believe in the literal biblical story of creation can teach children to reject science and consequently stifle their natural love of learning, their intrinsic inquisitive nature and their wonderfully innocent curiosity to discover how things work.

This issue is critical for public education. When 62 percent of American adults believe teaching creationism has a valid place alongside evolution, according to a 2004 MSNBC/Newsweek poll, there is a problem. Even more alarming, 43 percent favor teaching creationism instead of evolution.

A Harris poll in June 2005 asked 1,000 adults if they thought apes and humans have a common ancestry, and 47 percent said no while 46 percent said yes. This, despite the fact that the chimpanzee and human genomes are more than 98 percent identical, according to Science Daily. “It's like the Flat Earth Society,” said Kim Bess, director of science for the San Diego Unified School District. “How can you hold onto all that in the face of all the new scientific discoveries?”

Bess applauds the Clergy Letter Project and Evolution Sunday, because she agrees that religion and science can be easily integrated. “It's not one or the other; you don't have to choose,” she said. “Every time we discover something new about the incredible complexity of, for example, DNA, and how sophisticated it all is, it should be a reinforcement of our faith.”

Yet, nearly 150 years after the publication of Darwin's explosive book, “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” in 1859, evolution is more controversial than ever, despite overwhelming evidence that the British naturalist's revolutionary ideas – that life evolved from common ancestors over millions of years – are scientifically solid.

Last year, Fiorenzo Facchini, an Italian professor of evolutionary biology, wrote in the Vatican's newspaper that creationists in the United States were a throwback to the “dogmatic 1800s.” Backed by the Vatican, he called their literal viewpoints not science but ideology. He wrote that it was unjustified to teach creationism and its not-so-distant cousin, intelligent design, as scientific theory.

The theory of evolution is regarded by the scientific community like the theory of gravity or the theory of relativity – all supported by vast amounts of evidence. The theory of creationism has no basis in scientific fact and is simply a belief, Bess said.

“A theory happens after a hypothesis has been tested again and again scientifically,” she said. “In science we have to look at evidence.”

But the American penchant for questioning authority makes some fearful of new ideas and unwilling to shake ingrained beliefs. Damn the evidence and full speed ahead.

To counter this frightening “don't confuse me with the facts” attitude, the Clergy Letter Project and Evolution Sunday were founded last year after some clergy became exasperated with Christian evangelical insistence that the Bible's description of creation should be taken literally rather than allegorically and should be considered a valid scientific theory. Central to this inspired grass-roots movement to honor Darwin is the notion that deeply held religious convictions and respect for the advancements of science can co-exist.

If adults choose to disregard evidence that supports evolution in fields ranging from astronomy to zoology, then so be it. But when strict creationists disparage scientific discovery, teach children to reject knowledge and stifle their innate curiosity and inquisitive spirit, it is quite another matter. Withholding legitimate education from children robs them – and future generations – of budding scientists who may never realize their full potential. As well-documented test scores indicate, American children woefully lag behind other developed countries in their critical-thinking abilities and their knowledge and understanding of science, math and technology. Demonizing scientists and indoctrinating youngsters to ignore scientific evidence does little to help counter our international reputation that U.S. children are under-educated scientific lightweights. To mislead children with false data is not benign. It's irresponsible, repressive and dangerous.

Instead of embracing ignorance in the name of God, let's applaud those clergy who have the courage to preach on behalf of knowledge. As the Clergy Letter states, the purpose of the Bible and religious truth “is not to convey scientific information but to transform hearts.”

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me@rescam.org

Central to this inspired grass-roots movement to honor Darwin is the notion that deeply held religious convictions and respect for the advancements of science can co-exist.

They dont have to look past Einstein to find an example of this.

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