Creationist Lawmakers Keep Using 'Theory' Wrong

This alone is reason to keep creationism as far away from classrooms as possible. It is not just about evolution! It is about the teaching of *fundamentals* ... like what the word 'theory' means, or the difference between "proof" and *evidence*.

Once you destroy the understanding of what 'theory' means in the 'theory of evolution' ... then that also destroys understanding of what the 'theory of gravity' is ... or 'cell theory', 'germ theory', 'heliocentric theory', 'theory of relativity', etc. A theory is an EXPLANATION. That is what makes a theory the holy grail of science ... not 'facts' (which are just observations).

Keep anti-science people away from the teaching of science.

In 1960 when I was first taught Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection at a Catholic college, I asked my biology professor why biologists favored Darwin's theory (yes, it is a theory, as is the theory of gravity and quantum theory). His answer was that there simply is NO OTHER SCIENTIFIC explanation for how one species can evolve into another. If you really understand SCIENCE, you know that his answer is as true today as it was in 1960.

Religion = Organized superstition.

Science = Organized common sense.

What we are witnessing is the religious Radicalization of America.
Very much like the Taliban did in Afghanistan.

We have the fossil record and carbon dating to demonstrate that the earth isn't 6000 years old. Hard to disprove those.

These same tired old creationist talking points. Expand your reading lists, these arguements have been answered time and time again.

In this is an unresolvable dispute. The reason is the frames of reference are different. Science, based upon the observable and measurable, can never argue with adversaries who logic is rooted in magic, superstition, and an unshakeable faith in the unobserved and immeasurable. The only effective argument that a scientist can have is whatever creationism is...it is not science.

Religious conservatives have turned ignorance into a virtue and stupidity into an art form.

Unfortunately, many of the people who use "theory" incorrectly.... believe that ALL science is a hypothesis. They accept none of the testing, the method, the experimentation, the data collection, etc as being valid. It's all a lie.

Fortunately for them, neither they nor their voters give a rip about what's scientifically proper.

If God made the universe so that it LOOKS like 13.7 billion yrs, but it really is only 6000 yrs old, then God is one heck of a prankster or really wants to test faith.

The evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of evolution: we share DNA with all life on earth and examining the DNA, we can clock the changes over time. In this way, we can trace the common ancestor of any species. This includes our own. No, we did not evolve from monkeys, but we share a common ancestor with them, as we do with every other living thing on earth. From Scientific American: "Despite diverging from human ancestors more than 600 million years ago, the bee shares a number of genes with its vertebrate cousins that its insect brethren lack, such as those involving RNA interference, aging, DNA methylation and circadian rhythms."

The theory of evolution no longer requires the rather crude evidence offered by fossils: it can be observed through our DNA.

The essence of science is any theory or hypothesis must be testable. Theories have been through the mill, sometimes for centuries, but even they can still be proven wrong and supplanted by a better theory. Creationism is not testable, not refutable, and is a matter of faith and not science. For that reason, it must NEVER be taught in any school, not even a religious school. To teach it is to say "thought doesn't matter, intellect doesn't matter, only faith is important". In that case, reject science and return to the thrilling days of the dark ages (or earlier). Don't use anything modern, including clothing, electricity, or medicine.

Another thing: to those who say that there must be a Creator because life is so unlikely to have arisen by chance, you are missing two BIG points. 1. Perhaps we don't know enough to know how unlikely it really is; it might actually be inevitable. 2. If it hadn't arisen, we wouldn't be here to argue it. Its unlikelihood is irrelevant.

I think it's funny that creationists deny evolution yet each year faithfully get their flu shot.

These guys are no different than fundamentalist Muslims. Each just wants everyone else to follow their beliefs.

Yep, I have yet to see or hear a creationist use the word theory correctly, in its scientific context of course.

As for any creationists reading this, please tell us, why do developing human fetuses have pharyngeal pouches (gills), that are later reabsorbed or repurposed into the body? I mean, evolution has an easy and straightforward answer to this question, but what do creationists think of the fact that we develop gills?

I'm a christian and I believe in evolution and I don't really believe the earth was created in six days. Evolution and the big bang or other theories of how the universe was created doesn't diminish the existence of God. It's all a mystery and right wing christians are too caught up with the small details and not seeing the bigger picture.

As the religious right diminishes in numbers, it is becoming more vocal and militant in its rhetoric, and it organizational skills have also improved to the point that it is focusing on the control of legislators. Creationism, or Intelligent Design as it now likes to be called, is nothing more than a fairy-tale taken directly from a book whose contents were the product of Bronze Age men having no understanding of the history of the planet. So they made up there own understanding.

xj Just out of curiosity what do you think the age of the earth is and what evidence to you use to support it? If the scientifically determined age is "all that kind of crap" could you please explain where their ideas are wrong?

Do tell---what "theory" states "man being the pinnacle of intelligence in the cosmos " This I gotta hear