X-Message-Number: 26212
From: "Beth Bailey" <>
References: <>
Subject:  Cryonicists are evolving humans who believe that science holds the
Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 08:46:29 -0400

key to the future.

I was dismayed to learn that discussions about teaching creationism in the
classroom have reached New Jersey. These are two letters that I sent to the
editor of the Star Ledger. I wrote the first letter in response to a man who
supports creationism.

The letter "Intelligent supporters" stated that, "Evolutionists ask how God
could create everything, but they believe nothing created everything."
Scientists believe fossils, genetics, and observation of natural selection
in the lab and nature offer a preponderance of evidence supporting
evolution. Humans and modern African apes share about 99% similarity in our
DNA. By tracking genetic changes in human and ape populations over time,
evolutionists believe that creationists, scientists, and chimps share common
ancestry. This is not meant to confirm or deny God. Many scientists believe
in both religion and evolution; citing evidence that this common ancestor
lived 5 to 8 million years ago, and over generations, humans developed the
ability to think and reason. This is illustrated in the Star-Ledger from May
20th. A headline read, "Stem cell therapy closer to reality: S. Koreans make
breakthrough." Another article reported that a diabetic teenager went to
Trenton to lobby for stem cell research. Speaking about her chat with a
politician who is opposed, she said, "All the hopes my parents have given me
about being cured just disappeared in front of my eyes." Cynthia Tucker
summed it up in her editorial, "...our science infrastructure is under
attack from religious extremists." As a result, the U.S. is a "superpower in
decline." Sadly, she's correct.

Remember that old TV commercial showing a Native American man in a canoe,
crying as he surveyed the garbage heap America had become? If I was going to
remake that commercial today, the canoe would carry scientists, crying as
they passed research and hospital facilities left empty or unfunded because
Americans allowed their children to be taught creationism, instead of
science. Creationism/intelligent design is based on biblical teaching and
gives an incorrect view of biology. This type of religious fundamentalist
dogma taught as a substitute for science has the potential to plunge the
United States into a Dark Ages that has not been witnessed since medieval
Europe battled the plague. For evolving humans who believe science holds the
key to the future, here are some recommended resources: "Inherit the Wind"
(A play based on the 1920's Scopes Monkey Trial), Carl Sagan's "The
Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark," and for a taste of
what American theocracy might hold for the ladies, "The Handmaid's Tale" by
Margaret Atwood. However, you better get them quickly, because along with
faith-healing, book banning may be coming to a town near you.

Elisabeth Bailey

Hi-Q? "What if all the really smart people built a spaceship and left the
planet..."
What's your Hi-Q?...

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