Kansas University Strikes Back
Lorie Johnson printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Wed Nov 23, 2005 at 09:44:55 AM EST
Kansas seems to be the poster child in the back-and-forth battle between the Intelligent Design promoters and the folks who teach evolution. Their public schools lost another battle with the ID people, but the University people are striking back!
Kansas University to Teach ID as a Myth

Yes, they'll teach ID, but it won't be in the science classroom:

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Creationism and intelligent design are going to be studied at the University of Kansas, but not in the way advocated by opponents of the theory of evolution.

A course being offered next semester by the university religious studies department is titled "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies.''

"The KU faculty has had enough,'' said Paul Mirecki, department chairman.

"Creationism is mythology,'' Mirecki said. "Intelligent design is mythology. It's not science. They try to make it sound like science. It clearly is not.''

Now, if the public schools did the same thing, that would kill this 'wedge' issue quickly and fairly painlessly. After all, it would be taught in the schools, but not as science.




Display:
Perhaps that's a start.The Right might believe getting it into the curriculum is a success, but it just might bite them in the butt.
On a similar note, I had bought a little book on Myths and Gods. Globally broad, and quite interesting in that I searched in vain for any mention of a Jesus. Perhaps a future edition will correct the omission.

by RigaBorn on Wed Nov 23, 2005 at 12:30:43 PM EST

It is interesting to note that the term "myth" does not mean the same thing in a college religious studies department that it does in the outside world.

In public parlance, the term "myth" is associated with "fiction". In a religious studies context, the word "myth" means "a story that stands as something other than a scientific explanation."

When Kansas University says that they are going to teach Intelligent Design as myth, they do not mean that they intend to prove or even assume that it is false. They are only going to assume that it is not science.

But, the headline is going to create a lot of false impression.
Alonzo Fyfe

The Atheist Ethicist
by Alonzo Fyfe on Thu Nov 24, 2005 at 11:32:32 AM EST



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