← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · weisbrot
Thread ID: 15583 | Posts: 1 | Started: 2004-11-08
2004-11-08 16:11 | User Profile
Students should learn about evolution, and that it is one likely pathway of the development of life. On the other hand, certain groups think that any deviation from evolution orthodoxy threatens the state religion of Diversity, meaning, of course, that all viewpoints save Christianity have value.
Georgia is no different from any other state. There is one ethnicity that is most prominently involved (and also, more importantly, quietly influential behind the scenes) in this conflict. Guess yoo?
Leadership of this movement in Cobb County-at least among the "faith" community-can be tied to Rabbi Steven Lebow, who is featured here: [url]http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/Chronicles/November2001/1101Tooley.htm[/url]
Lebow's congregation was very outspoken in their opposition to Georgia's "gay marriage" amendment recently.
Check out the "diverse group of clergy" represented in the letter featured here:
[url]http://www.georgiascience.org/actions-statements.htm[/url]
It includes "Gentle Spirit Christian Church" of Atlanta, whose mission statement reads: "MISSION STATEMENT: Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta, Inc. is a fellowship dedicated to spreading the gospel of Jesus the Christ to all people with a special emphasis on the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Its outreach shall include AIDS programs, campus and bar ministries, and participation in activities, which promote social justice and equality for all people. Its mission is to bring the message of redemption and grace to those people who have been victims of oppression, rejection and misinformation and to assure them they are true heirs in the realm of God."
...and whose website opens with a quote from Michael "Martin Luthur" King.
The clergy letter's final signatory is, of course, the good Rabbi Lebow.
Don't forget to note AAAS CEO Alan Leshner's concern over Georgia schoolkids, where he states that evolution will be "erased" from the curriculum. Oy, an education Holomocaust (tm), it is! Be sure "concerned parent" Jeffrey Selman will join Rabbi Lebow, Leshner, the Shanholtzer/ Birkhead/Schenk/Schwaner/Bechler Ph.D consortium, and all the Georgia Unitarians and homosexuals of faith in emotive hand-wringing over this dire threat facing the children of our village...
[url]http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2MTA0NTAmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0[/url]
*Ga. schools on trial for hedging on evolution
Monday, November 8, 2004 ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA - School officials in suburban Cobb County go to court today to defend themselves against a lawsuit accusing them of promoting religion by requiring that science textbooks warn students evolution is "a theory, not a fact."
The trial in U.S. District Court is expected to last four days.
The lawsuit argues that the disclaimer restricts the teaching of evolution, promotes the teaching of creationism and discriminates against particular religions.
County school officials said their warning, on stickers inserted in science books, simply encourages students to keep an open mind.
The stickers read: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."
The lawsuit was filed by six parents and the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
One of the parents, Jeffrey Selman, said, "I have no problem with anybody's religious beliefs. I just want an adequate educational system."
The board adopted the disclaimer after science texts adopted in 2002 were criticized by some as presenting evolution as fact.*