In the American state of Kansas, a court-like battle is under way over how the origins of life should taught in schools. In one corner are scientists and teachers who are adamant that Darwinism and the Theory of Evolution is beyond scientific doubt. In opposition is a group of Christian-right thinkers who believe creationism, or in their jargon “intelligent design”, explains how we got here. Intelligent design propounds the role of an intelligent designer - God - in creating us as human beings. The creationists argue all life did not have a common origin, that life did not start at a molecular level and that we did not descend from apes. Creationist John Sanford, from Cornell University said: “My explanation, humbly offered, is that we were specially created.”
This has alarm bells ringing for many educators who dismiss the new theory as a fad of the religious right. Scientists say educational standards would decline if the creationists have their way. The National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Teachers’ Association reject intelligent design for having no scientific grounding and for being a religious invention. Many scientists are boycotting the hearings, which they see as pure folly. They say Kansas will be ridiculed for sending its students back to the dark ages of scientific thinking. Two of the ten committee members that will decide this issue believe the Earth may be younger than 5,000 years old.
Source: BreakingNewsEnglish.com
