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Re: possibly OT: NYT article on GA creationism/evolution debate



On Sat, 24 Aug 2002, cliff parker wrote:

If we through our texts and those who teach do not clearly convey
the message that, as you said in another post, in science everything is seen
with a certain degree of uncertainty, but in fact convey the opposite
message, science has all the answers. I think we are being dishonest and
what we are doing is more like indoctrination and less like education.

Good point. I've heard this reaction called "circle the wagons mentality"
It crops up during discussions of psychic powers, UFOs, etc. In reaction
to the idea that psychic powers MIGHT exist, some skeptics pretend that
science is a voice of authority which never errs and which must never
even be questioned.

Rather than becoming irrationally defensive and pretending that science
isn't tenative, we just need to shine a light on the creepy dishonest
tactics of some of the Creationists. Yes, when compared to the "Received
Word of the Almighty Creator", science is fuzzy and indecisive. However,
many who imagine that they're supporting God are actually performing some
petty evils. As many have said, the actions of some Creationists make
atheism look pretty good.

Evolution aside, there are people of great integrity on both sides of the
science vs. religion debate, so the debate itself is not a matter of
honorable scientists versus the devious religious. The "evil" is centered
on those who want to cheat; those who know that the general public isn't
too knowlegable about the issues, and so rather than using airtight
arguments to prove their case, they use intellectual dishonesty to sway
public opinion. They know they can't win in a fair fight, and for them
it is more important to win than to seek the truth.


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William J. Beaty SCIENCE HOBBYIST website
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