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Unnatural selection of creationism in non-religion college courses

ONCE AGAIN Darwin and his theory of evolution are under attack, and this time the criticism is coming from universities. Those professors and scientists who teach that Darwin is incorrect and that a supreme being, usually thought of as God, in fact created living things, should not be accepted by students or even taken seriously.

Charles Darwin, in his Origin of Species published in 1859, explains that the primary tenet of evolution is natural selection. An organism will have offspring, but only those best suited to survive will be able to do so. They will have special adaptations that allow them to live and eventually reproduce. They can then pass their advantages on to the next generation.

Evidence for Darwinism is the fossil record which shows how over time organisms have changed up to the present. Structural similarities between living things also show evidence of a common ancestor. Molecular biology and the study of genetics has also given scientists clear indications in the century since Darwin, that evolution did in fact occur.

Related Links

  • Chronicle of Higher Education -- Darwinism Under Attack
  • Intelligent design theory seeks to point out flaws in Darwinism, and show how creation must have been the work of an intelligent force, usually thought of as God. The book, which helped to start the movement in 1991, was by Phillip E. Johnson, a University of California-Berkeley law professor who wrote that Darwinian evolution was based on false assumptions and little evidence. Christian evangelists always have supported the idea that God in fact created all living things, and needless to say openly support the efforts of accredited scientists to push the intelligent design theory. Christian schools are the only places in the country where intelligent design theory is taught as science, but at Berkeley and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, it has been taught as a non-science course.

    One primary problem with this new movement is that it has almost no evidence. Rather, it seeks to argue that science relies too much on natural explanations and therefore does not leave open the door for supernatural intervention, and criticizes the evidence for evolution ("Darwinism Under Attack," Chronicle of Higher Education, Dec. 21, 2001).

    Despite all of these criticisms, this theory does not come up with any of its own evidence to suggest that something besides natural selection played a part in evolution. Prof. Robert H. Kretsinger of the biology department says, "Often evolutionists are, in response, challenged to 'prove' that evolution did occur. Scientists can't prove anything about the natural world. We can offer reasonable explanations of few variables that explain or are consistent with vast amounts of observational and experimental data." Kretsinger also goes on to point out that evolution has withstood the attempts to falsify it.

    Another issue is whether creationism should be allowed to be taught as a non-science course, perhaps in philosophy or religion department. The answer clearly is no. This is because people who know little of science such as non-science majors, may become duped into believing something which, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education is not accepted in the science departments of any secular or mainstream college in the country. Evolution is something that scientific evidence has backed up for over a century, while creationism is religious dogma.

    Prof. Henry M. Wilbur who specializes in biology and environmental science at the University says, "We still have a lot to understand, but the basic theory of natural selection has been accepted by mainstream scientists for nearly 150 years. I fully realize that a lot of people do not want to accept these principles. I am sorry that they do not want to open their minds to modern science."

    Those who advance intelligent design theory also don't publish their findings in actual scientific journals or present them at scientific conferences. Instead they publish books and hold their own conferences in an effort to get around those who disagree with them. One wonders if the truth of the matter is that the proponents of intelligent design theory are scared to expose their alleged findings to people who actually know about science.

    If students would like to learn about how God created man, they should go to church. If they would like to become educated in a college then they should only be taught evolution.

    (Harris Freier's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at hfreier@cavalierdaily.com.)

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