IN THEORY
Q: President Bush last week told reporters that "intelligent design" -- that life is so complex that a higher power must have created it -- should be discussed alongside evolution when teaching about the origins of life. Do you agree?
A: Intelligent design should not be taught in schools. It should, however, be introduced and explained as the means by which people have answered the questions: Where did we come from? And, where are we going? The same should hold true for other systems of definitions, such as Creation.
"Intelligent design" is a politically correct way of saying God.
It is a matter of faith whether one believes or does not believe in a creator.
Personally, I believe that the world as we know it today, with its various species and life forms, has evolved from primitive times. I do not accept that this same life happened purely by chance. Neither do the great scientists and thinkers of our time. It was Albert Einstein who mentioned that God "does not play dice with the universe." Alexander Solzhenitsyn challenged the greatest scientists of our times to the impossible task of creating even one single feather in a test tube!
Yes, there is a design and there is a motive. I feel comfortable referring to the Creator as God. I arrive at this conclusion, not because it was taught to me in school, but rather I had the opportunity to know, learn and come to my own conclusions. I wish the same for our children today.
FATHER VAZKEN MOVSESIAN
Armenian Church Youth Ministries
In context
Right off the top we agree that education is one of the sources of creating equality among the citizens of the world and the teaching of "intelligent design" in the schools is a step in the right direction.
The Baha'i Faith teaches that God created the universe, that mankind having evolved over eons is and always was separate from the animal. There is therefore no missing link.
So far we have the concepts of creationism, espoused in Genesis, evolution of the species as proposed by Darwin in 1859 and now "Intelligent design" and they all have their detractors.
Our students should be exposed to all concepts with respect to all of creation.
We certainly believe that it was all put together by an intelligent agent as they put it.
And some scientists notwithstanding, it is a religious issue.
BARBARA CRAMER
Secretary
Baha'i Faith
Glendale
Intelligent design should not be taught in schools. It should, however, be introduced and explained as the means by which people have answered the questions: Where did we come from? And, where are we going? The same should hold true for other systems of definitions, such as Creation.
"Intelligent design" is a politically correct way of saying God.
It is a matter of faith whether one believes or does not believe in a creator.
Personally, I believe that the world as we know it today, with its various species and life forms, has evolved from primitive times. I do not accept that this same life happened purely by chance. Neither do the great scientists and thinkers of our time. It was Albert Einstein who mentioned that God "does not play dice with the universe." Alexander Solzhenitsyn challenged the greatest scientists of our times to the impossible task of creating even one single feather in a test tube!
Yes, there is a design and there is a motive. I feel comfortable referring to the Creator as God. I arrive at this conclusion, not because it was taught to me in school, but rather I had the opportunity to know, learn and come to my own conclusions. I wish the same for our children today.
FATHER VAZKEN MOVSESIAN
Armenian Church Youth Ministries
On a basic level, Judaism supports the concept of evolution. Our world is not a static entity, rather it is perpetually evolving. Humanity as a whole is always trying to get from point A to B and everything in between is evolutionary progress.
I do, however, take issue with Darwin's scientific theory and his concept of history and time.
Scientific knowledge has evolved a great deal from the early days of Galileo, to the days of Sir Isaac Newton and even since the era of Albert Einstein. Truths we held sacred in Galileo's day were found to be false in Newton's day. Truths held sacred in Newton's day were debunked in Einstein's day. Science is continuously evolving. It is clear that one can never lay claim to absolute truth when relying on scientific evidence because the truth as we know it today will in all probability evolve further.
For millennia, people of faith have accepted the concept of the universe being created by a higher power. It is unfair to invalidate this belief on the basis of a scientific theory that will inevitably be proven incorrect.
I feel that we should be opening the minds of our youth to various ideas, including the "intelligent design theory." Teaching them Darwin's theory of evolution and not introducing an opposing view is unscientific and can lead to an unhealthy learning experience.
RABBI SIMCHA BACKMAN
Chabad Jewish Center
Glendale
The real barrier to discussing "intelligent design" isn't scientific fact. It's fear. And this fear goes back a long way.
Adam and Eve hid from God after they sinned. When found, Adam explained: "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." (Genesis 3:10).
We "hear" the echo of God's handiwork in his creation. He is much like a neighbor using a circular saw. We may not see him, but there's no denying he's there. And if we look for him, we'll find him.
Admitting God's existence creates fear in many because it exposes the "nakedness" of our dependence upon him. Because he is the maker of all natural resources, we need his provision to sustain our lives. Because he established all moral law, we're responsible to him for how we live. Because he is in control, we're not. Because he has a specific nature, conflicting religions can't all be right.
If we stop hiding from God, we'll find our Creator willing to forgive our sins and bear our burdens. It's time we stopped being so afraid of him. And it's time for "intelligent design" to be discussed in our schools.
PASTOR JON BARTA
Valley Baptist Church
Burbank
There is a delightful story about a true believer and an atheist having a discussion. The atheist, upon learning his companion believed that God created the world, tried desperately to convince him otherwise. He was adamant that the world "just happened."
The true believer, although he did not accept the Genesis story in the Old Testament literally, kept to his conviction that God was somehow involved in creation. The argument ended as most such do -- in a stalemate.
As the atheist was about to leave the true believer's home, he wandered over to the fireplace and there he audibly admired a work of art on the mantle -- a beautiful clock. He casually asked: "Who made this clock?" The true believer just as casually answered: "Oh, it just happened!"
It seems to me that there are only two logical possibilities about creation. Either it just happened or a higher power designed it all through evolution.
While I do not think "intelligent design" deserves as much attention as evolution in teaching how the world came into being, I do think it at least deserves some mention. Otherwise how can students, unless they know all the facts and theories, make intelligent decisions on such matters? What would it hurt for an instructor to spend 10 minutes giving students the Genesis account? What would it hurt for an instructor to spend an hour or two talking about the possibilities of "intelligent design"? After all, millions of people endorse these possibilities.
No one would criticize an instructor who pointed out to his or her class that millions of people used to believe the earth was flat. It is a fact that people believed it was flat. By the same token, it is also a fact that millions of people endorse the idea of "intelligent design" and/or literal creation by God. Why shut these people off from the debate completely?
My religious movement, Unity, believes that God created the world and all the universe. Only a few Unity people accept the Genesis account. The vast majority of Unity people, I believe, support the idea of evolution -- with "intelligent design" as the guiding principle.
There is a little child-like ditty that goes "There is no spot where God is not." I happen to think that this is true -- and that it is especially so when it comes to creation.
THE REV. THOMAS E. WITHERSPOON
Unity Church of the Valley
La Crescenta
In my opinion this continuous debate of creationism and evolution and how one or both are taught in the classroom is built on fear. Each group believes their opinions will not be taught or their children will hear information they don't believe in and so it goes. Only when the educational guidelines contain information from both sets of beliefs will the fear diminish and the bickering decline.
My personal belief is that both sides should be taught and then people can decide for themselves. We are breeding generations of children who are not being taught critical thinking. Without the component of "thinking" being taught both at home and in the classroom, our children and generations to follow will make increasingly poor decisions in their lives.
THE REV. ALICE PARSONS ZULLI
Director of Bereavement Support and Services
Glendale Adventist Medical Center
I suppose that if I had been Darwin and had taken a good look in the mirror at myself, I just might've come to the conclusion that I was descended from monkeys.
It would be hard to evidence however, since any idea that this was the case would be scientifically unprovable, given the fact that that it would have been a matter of history and not something either observable or testable (two necessary elements of scientific method).
I could go to archeologists and see what they've uncovered, and if the fossil record gave me some evidence for such a notion, even then I would have to take a leap of faith in believing that what I concluded about what they found actually means what I'm guessing it suggests. Of course, it's been a century since Darwin, the fossils show none of the great missing links that Darwin expected, and his idea is still "theory" -- except in practice. Evolution is taught as fact, denying the existence and necessity of an "intelligent designer" (God), promulgating instead, an idea that unintelligible goo intelligently organized itself upward into the complexity that is modern man. I don't have that much faith!
I worry when high-profile people, new in their Christianity, speak out on big issues related to faith when they may not have a fully formed perspective as yet, but this recent endorsement of "intelligent design" by our President has done my heart good.
Nobody is advocating Bible study during biology classes, but one would think that if there are flaws regarding the prevailing naturalistic explanation of origins, then they ought to be explored.
If there is evidence that points to "intelligent design," then shouldn't it be heard?
The Bible teaches that "God created man in his own image" (Genesis 1:27). So what image is that?
THE REV. BRYAN GRIEM
Senior Pastor
Light on the Corner
Montrose