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caraher

(6,278 posts)
Wed Jan 25, 2012, 12:49 AM Jan 2012

Testimony against creation science bill

I may have the opportunity to testify tomorrow against the following bill, currently before an Indiana state senate committee:

The governing body of a school corporation may require the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life, including creation science, within the school corporation.


Obviously this is wrong on so many levels... so given limited time, what most needs to be said?
6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Testimony against creation science bill (Original Post) caraher Jan 2012 OP
Kitzmiller v. Dover; QED. (nt) Posteritatis Jan 2012 #1
That statement is so vague that it may be difficult to argue against it. Jim__ Jan 2012 #2
Creation science is not in ANY way "science", it is... MarkCharles Jan 2012 #3
Thanks everyone caraher Jan 2012 #4
That creation "science" is simply not science, it's religion Warpy Jan 2012 #5
Yup caraher Jan 2012 #6

Jim__

(14,077 posts)
2. That statement is so vague that it may be difficult to argue against it.
Wed Jan 25, 2012, 07:59 AM
Jan 2012

You might try limiting your objections to what should be taught in science class. For instance, you might emphasize that any theories taught in science class should identify the criteria that could falsify the theory - if you do that be sure to know what criteria would falsify any scientific theories you defend.

 

MarkCharles

(2,261 posts)
3. Creation science is not in ANY way "science", it is...
Wed Jan 25, 2012, 08:24 AM
Jan 2012

the OPPOSITE of science, and tantamount to mentally abusing the children who learn about it, by PRETENDING to be a science. Creation science is nothing more than Christian religious pretentiousness.

caraher

(6,278 posts)
4. Thanks everyone
Wed Jan 25, 2012, 02:25 PM
Jan 2012

I wound up unable to go, though I did spend considerable time formulating remarks basically pointing out that creation science is not science and questioning why one would ask public school science teachers to teach religion.

Warpy

(111,270 posts)
5. That creation "science" is simply not science, it's religion
Wed Jan 25, 2012, 03:10 PM
Jan 2012

and the people best able to teach religion to the children are the churches and their parents.

Arguments that creationism isn't science because the results are not able to be reproduced in a lab (while evolution has been on a small scale) are going to fall on mostly deaf ears.

Telling them that their religious horseshit will be taught wrong by the schools might not.

caraher

(6,278 posts)
6. Yup
Wed Jan 25, 2012, 04:47 PM
Jan 2012

Why would a bunch of people who don't trust the gummint to perform its most basic functions be so eager to charge public schools with teaching their religious beliefs (which they care a lot more about than biology)?

I think the most compelling reasons creation science and its variants are not science are basic logic... no theory that appeals to a supernatural cause can be a scientific theory, pretty much by definition - scientific explanations are intrinsically naturalistic. You're breaking the rules of the "game" if you appeal to anything else.

My favorite summary of the situation is probably this:

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