More On The Georgia Evolution Controversy

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the new proposed curriculum for the state of Georgia doesn’t just eliminate the word “evolution”, it eliminates the fundamental concepts of evolution. Now we see the real motivation behind the new curriculum.

In the same article, a local clergyman, Pastor William Sheals suggests “that a true Christian cannot believe in evolution”. This is indeed an interesting statement, considering Pope John Paul II’s statement on the matter: “...fresh knowledge has led to the recognition that evolution is more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favour of this theory.” But Sheals also adds that “You’re still teaching the fact that man evolved from an ape.” This quote displays a common misunderstanding about evolution — no such claim is made by evolution’s proponents.

Finally, Barry Palevitz, a professor of plant biology at the University of Georgia, says of the proposed new standards: “As head of advising for the biology major at the University of Georgia, I will recommend that we not give advance placement credit for college-level introductory biology, regardless of test score, to students who take biology in Georgia high schools ... A student who wants to be a science teacher or go to medical, dental or other graduate school will have to retake intro biology here.” (Links via Pharyngula and The Intersection)

Update (2/1/04): John Scalzi at Whatever has an interesting example of how to challenge the currently accepted scientific theory (and it’s not an example about evolution). Scalzi also talks about why the Georgia state proposed curriculum is a stupid idea.