In my attempt to show that
being religious is not a
guarantee of moral
behavior,this post is a part
of my series of reports
featuring the bad behavior
of religious people, past
or present....
Look for other posts
showing the bad behavior
perpetrated by members
of other religious groups.
SETTING SCIENCE EDUCATION
BACK 1000 YEARS
Chairman of the Texas State Board of Education, Don McLeroy, wrote a glowing recommendation of the self-published book Sowing Atheism: The National Academy of Sciences’ Sinister Scheme to Teach Our Children They’re Descended from Reptiles by Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr.
Texas Freedom Network (TFN) Insider suggests that McLeroy really wants to teach that scientists are atheists, parents who want to teach their children about evolution are monsters, and pastors who support scientific teachings are morons.
From TFN Insider
Excerpts from Sowing Atheism by Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr.
In some ways, the author’s acknowledgements tell you all you need to know. At the start of the book, Johnson gives a thank you to a virtual “who’s who” of the creationism /evolution-bashing industry:
"Thanks also to Answers in Genesis.org, CreationontheWeb.com, the Institute for Creation Research (www.icr.org), ScienceAgainstEvolution.org, and American Vision."
Like these creationists pressure groups, Johnson doesn’t just think the theory of evolution has weaknesses. He thinks the whole thing is a toxic fiction:
"Out of millions of species on this planet, the evo-atheists cannot specifically trace back the 'evolutionary' ancestry of one of them even a single 'evolutionary' generation. That’s an ugly embarrassment and an ugly fact. The NAS [National Academy of Sciences] writers have to slap some lipstick on their 'no-evidence' pig." (p. 51)
And what is the end game for this creationist strategy?
"Creationists do not want to bring religion into the classroom… Creationists simply want the God hypothesis brought back into the science classroom, and recognized for what it is—a scientifically valid hypothesis." (p. 24)
There you have it, folks. No religion here. Just the hypothesis that God created the world and everything in it. Nothing religious about that.
The majority of the book is dedicated to proving the author’s pet hypothesis that evolution (or “evo-atheism”) is a plot by atheists to indoctrinate students - and ultimately destroy religion.
The real issue is the inability of the chair of the Texas State Board of Education to distinguish between legitimate, mainstream science - as represented by the National Academy of Sciences - and a lone crackpot with an openly religious agenda.
Find more at TFN Insider.
From TFN Insider
Excerpts from Sowing Atheism by Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr.
In some ways, the author’s acknowledgements tell you all you need to know. At the start of the book, Johnson gives a thank you to a virtual “who’s who” of the creationism /evolution-bashing industry:
"Thanks also to Answers in Genesis.org, CreationontheWeb.com, the Institute for Creation Research (www.icr.org), ScienceAgainstEvolution.org, and American Vision."
Like these creationists pressure groups, Johnson doesn’t just think the theory of evolution has weaknesses. He thinks the whole thing is a toxic fiction:
"Out of millions of species on this planet, the evo-atheists cannot specifically trace back the 'evolutionary' ancestry of one of them even a single 'evolutionary' generation. That’s an ugly embarrassment and an ugly fact. The NAS [National Academy of Sciences] writers have to slap some lipstick on their 'no-evidence' pig." (p. 51)
And what is the end game for this creationist strategy?
"Creationists do not want to bring religion into the classroom… Creationists simply want the God hypothesis brought back into the science classroom, and recognized for what it is—a scientifically valid hypothesis." (p. 24)
There you have it, folks. No religion here. Just the hypothesis that God created the world and everything in it. Nothing religious about that.
The majority of the book is dedicated to proving the author’s pet hypothesis that evolution (or “evo-atheism”) is a plot by atheists to indoctrinate students - and ultimately destroy religion.
The real issue is the inability of the chair of the Texas State Board of Education to distinguish between legitimate, mainstream science - as represented by the National Academy of Sciences - and a lone crackpot with an openly religious agenda.
Find more at TFN Insider.
