The opponents of evolution sure have evolved, said Ellen Goodman in The Boston Globe. Just 20 years ago, they were insisting that Genesis' account of a six-day creation was literally true, and wanted public schools to teach it as an equal to Darwin's theory of evolution. Having lost that battle, the creationists regrouped, and cooked up a theory they call 'œintelligent design.' A clever reworking of creationism, intelligent design postulates that the universe is too complex to have been created by chance mutations and evolution'”thus proving the existence of an intelligent designer. At the very least, the creationists say, children should be taught about this 'œscientific' alternative to Darwinism. This sneaky new strategy is working. The state of Kansas just completed an extraordinary series of hearings on intelligent design, amid signs that officials will soon give the theory 'œequal time' in the classroom with evolution. A dozen other states are considering similar proposals.
Nothing wrong with that, said Brian McNicoll in Townhall.com. Scientists seem to think that 'œall issues regarding the origin of life are settled.' But science is forced to admit error all the time. And while evolution clearly has some merit, it cannot account for the great leap in which apes, 'œdriven by nothing but instinct to survive,' somehow evolved into 'œa thinking, discerning, right-from-wrong-knowing human being.' Scientists say it's 'œbeneath them' to even consider the possibility that something outside the natural realm was at work. But science always performs better when it approaches the world with 'œa little humility,' and if any subject lends itself to humility, it's the origin of life.
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