Dover Trial on Creationism

If you have any doubts or confusion or interest about the so-called debate between evolution and "intelligent design," you should check out Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial. Michelle and I just watched it - got it from Netflix.

It was done by PBS's Nova. I'm not very familiar with Nova, but this was a stunning documentary. Very well done - presenting a complex, technical discussion in very accessible terms.

It does not just explain what happened in Dover (where the school board tried to promote Intelligent Design and was sued by citizens which led to a federal court deciding whether "Intelligent Design" was a promotion of religion or not). It explains evolution in an elegant and impressive way.

This case will serve us well as citizens because the scientists rebuffed all the claims of "gaps" in evolution and explained (patiently) why the claims made by the "Intelligent Designers" were inaccurate.

In the end, this comes down to people who are anti-science and do not want their children learning science because it may cause them to question their faith in the Bible. The problem is that the Bible is filled with stories - some we take to be parables and some are taken to be literal truth. Over time, which is which gets changed. Many who believe in the Bible have no problem believing in evolution - it is time for the other believers to figure it out.

The best part? The Judge, with the evidence before him, had no choice but to rule against Intelligent Design. And he was a Bush appointee.

I am just stunned at how well this documentary was put together and how impressive a case the scientific folks built. I learned a lot about evolution.

But this debate comes down to whether science belongs in the science classroom or not. Some do not like science - they distrust it even as they use modern medicines and technologies that would never be possible without science. Teach God in school all you want - but equal time for voodoo, shamans, pagans, Islam, Greek mythology, Christianity, etc.