Intelligent Design Trial In Dover Pennsylvania

28 Interesting Points on the Intelligent Design Trial in Dover, Pennsylvania

1) A school board in Dover, Pennsylvania voted 6-3 that teachers would be required to read a short statement to high school freshmen Biology students. The statement simply mentioned that the state was required to teach Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, that the theory was not a fact and that it had gaps without evidence. The statement also said Intelligent Design (ID) is a possible alternate explanation and encouraged the students to keep an open mind on this and other theories.

2) Remember, the School Board only directed this short message to be read. In many articles, the media said that school board was directing that the Biology teachers teach intelligent design! Wrong! The statement to be read merely pointed out there were other opinions on origins.

3) Despite the school boards direction, not one of the teachers read the statement to any Biology student. (Comment: Teachers hate it when students do not follow directions, yet these teachers refused to follow directions).

4) Eleven parents of students who attend or plan to attend the Dover School District filed a suit contending the statement constituted an establishment of religion that violated the First Amendment of the Constitution. Some parents had very young children, and some had children that were well past 9th grade. The skeptics had a hard time assembling 11 parents to sue, since the vast of majority of parents did not mind the statement being read.

Comment: Nothing scares a skeptic more than the thought that an open-minded student might hear the case for Creation or the case for a designer.

5) The plaintiffs sought an injunction, damages and attorney fees.

6) The case was Tammy Kitzmiller vs. the Dover Area School District.

7) The parents were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

8) US District Judge John E. Jones III presided and made the decision.

9) Judge Jones is a Republican and was appointed to his position by George W. Bush.

10) Judge Jones says he is a Lutheran.

11) Judge Jones’ previous job was the chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. He banned the sale of a beer with a label that had a frog making an obscene gesture

12) Judge Jones wrote a 139-page decision that can be read at http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/educate/ktzmllrdvr122005opn.pdf.

13) Jones states in his decision “We must now ascertain whether the ID Policy in fact conveys an endorsement or disapproval of religion.” (Comment: notice how Jones and other skeptics ignore the science arguments and focus on the debate as being religious. The debate should be a question of whether or not ID is true, not whether it is religious).

14) Jones stated the ID movement had: “the strategy to weaken education of evolution by focusing students on alleged gaps in the theory of evolution.” (Comment: is he a mind reader to know the strategy of someone? Perhaps the strategy of ID is the pursuit of truth. And Jones said there are “alleged gaps?” Even evolutionists admit there are many gaps in the Theory of Evolution.)

15) Jones accused parents and school board members of "breathtaking inanity" for wanting their children to learn that "intelligent design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Charles Darwin's view." (Comment: would you not classify that as intolerant and arrogant of Judge Jones? He seems out of control!)
16) Jones prohibited the school board "from requiring teachers to denigrate or disparage the scientific theory of evolution" and from saying that the theory has gaps.
17) Jones boasted in an interview with the New York Times that "It certainly is one of the most significant cases in United States history. ... Even Charles Darwin's great grandson is attending the trial."
18) Jones frequently mentioned in his decision that one reason for “fundamentalism” in Christianity was to fight Darwinism. He acted as though his purpose was to defend Darwinism (his job is to interpret law).
19) Jones lashed out at witnesses who expressed religious beliefs. He denigrated several officials because they "staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public." (Comment: George Washington, James Madison, Abe Lincoln etc touted their religious convictions in public….did they offend Judge Jones too?)

20) Judge Jones ruled that Intelligent Design is religious, and thus a violation of the First Amendment.

21) Judge Jones stated he felt school board members “lied” to hide their real motives that were religious. He said: “In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science. We (Comment: who is this “we”?) have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious antecedents.” (Comment: Are judges supposed to be mind readers of motive or should they interpret law? Are some atheists motivated to push Evolution? Of course they are, would Judge Jones ever address that? Of course not!)

22) Jones said ID's close resemblance to creationism – “is pretty obvious.” Jones said teaching about "gaps" and "problems" in evolution are "religious strategies that evolved from earlier forms of creationism." (Comment: Jones wants teaching of the flaws of evolution to be censored! Yikes!)

23) In his ruling on the Dover case, U.S. Judge John E. Jones III said it was "ironic" that individuals who "proudly touted their religious convictions in public" would "lie" under oath. (Comment: What purpose does a judge fulfill when they delight in calling people hypocritical liars? Jones went out of his way to be sanctimonious and to trash Christianity…that is not a judge’s job).

24) Jones constantly compared ID to Creation and then dismissed ID. Creationists are not ashamed to incorporate the Bible into their origins teaching. However, ID people do not do this, and of course Jones ignored this fact. Many people that adhere to ID are Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and even former atheists such as Dr. Anthony Flew. Dr. Flew, a philosopher and former darling of atheism, has recanted his atheism due to ID. But Dr. Flew states he in not a Bible believer…thus he is a believer in ID, but not in Creation. Dr. Flew would be offended if you classified him as a Creationist just because he believed ID was true.

25) In Dover’s school board election in November 2005, eight of the nine incumbent school board members narrowly lost reelection to candidates who had opposed the district’s Intelligent Design policy.

26) Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said in a statement, the ruling was a “tremendous victory for public schools and religious freedom. It means that school board members have no right to impose their personal religious beliefs on students through the school curriculum.” (Comment: see how skeptics link questioning evolutionism to religion?).

27) The case, however, will not quell the controversy over the teaching of Intelligent Design in public schools. In Kansas, state education officials have adopted classroom standards that question the theory of evolution, while a federal appeals court in Georgia has heard arguments over whether the Cobb County school district can place evolution disclaimer stickers on biology textbooks.

28) Personal opinion: Parents, if your kids are in school, you MUST know what they are being taught and must equip them. Call me at 714 898-8331 if you need any help.


What Is A Good Response To Have Regarding The Dover Decision?

Congratulate the skeptics! They pulled it off again!

I play a lot of tennis. Often I come to the net to attack, and often my opponent will zing a shot past me for a point. I used to grit my teeth and get angry, but experience taught me the best response is to say “nice shot” to my opponent, and concentrate on the next point.

By doing this I held no grief or anger inside of me and could move on.

So, a judge in Pennsylvania exorcised censorship on ID. I suggest you simply commend the skeptics for being successful once again to perpetrate their silly but damaging fairy tale. This fairy tale believes that:
•everything came from nothing;
•then nothing exploded (the Big Bang);
•then stars formed due to gravity amongst hydrogen;
•then stars made heavier elements through fusion and then blew up;
•then the earth formed;
•then non-living chemicals wiggled around and became living organisms;
•then bacteria evolved in 75 trillion celled male and female people!

It is no small feat to keep this lie going! It is really an amazing accomplishment for such a scientifically bankrupt idea to be perpetually taught. My goal is to present the reasons for Creation to open minded young people and let them decide what to believe. I also hope to equip those who already believe Creation is true. I hope many others have this goal too.37

Don’t lose heart. The courts may have rejected ID but science embraces it. Over time truth will prevail.