Last night NOVA PBS aired Judgement Day, Intelligent Design on Trial.
This is a very interesting documentary that I recommend that you watch that covers the recent experiences in the United States, as highlighted by the Dover Area School District. The school board decided to introduced the idea of intelligent design into their school biology science classes. The documentary also covers the scientific aspects of this — very educational and unbiased, as NOVA has always been.
This intelligent design vs. evolution topic is very emotional. The documentary focuses on the small town where parents had to sue the school’s board, since the school board decided it was a good idea to introduce intelligent design into their biology class — an attempt to introduce religious believes into the science classes; that Darwinian theory was just a theory and full of gaps, and that intelligence design, which claims that specifies are not related to each other, and that species started with their features as is, is a valid scientific alternative to the theory of evolution. The documentary said that 30% in the U.S. rejects Darwinian evolution. (As a note I will add that there are many who believe that humans have never been to the moon).
The opinions:
- In defense of Intelligent Design (Phillip Johnson, the father of ID),
- In defense of evolution (Biologist Ken Miller),
- Judge John Jones opinion,
- My opinion: teach science at science class, and teach religion and ID at religion class. Instead of trying to ignore evolution by inserting intelligence design, try to correlate both, as Einstein try to do.
The school board had good intentions, but that is not the point — it is not up to them to decide what is science and what is not. And they lied (to the judge and everyone else) about their real intentions.
Evolution can’t be ignored. Yes, dinosaurs evolved into birds, and feathers do occurred because of evolution… And randomness over millions and millions of years can yield what seems perfect species (which we are not), and intelligent species (which we are). And there is a Sun (or many) like ours, right now, and there is or has been a planet just like Earth somewhere in the Universe.
Here is the (transitional) fossil evidence that clearly gives an example of Darwinian evolution.
Coincidentally, yesterday, the same day this documentary aired, the following was announced: Scientists unearth ‘missing link’ jawbone.
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