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?... Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=26212