Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
Discovery Institute Disingenuous?
RECEIVED Fri., Sept. 26, 2003
Dear editors:
Where do creationists' lies stop? That was the thought that ran through my head reading Robert Crowther's bravura letter in "Postmarks" [online version, posted Sept. 24].
He claims that the Discovery Institute doesn't want to introduce creationism/intelligent design into textbooks and that it doesn't want to exclude or undermine evolution. But this is what Discovery's own "Wedge Strategy" document declares:
"Governing Goals
To defeat scientific materialism and its destructive moral, cultural, and political legacies.
To replace materialistic explanations with the theistic understanding that nature and human beings are created by God. ...
"Five Year Goals
To see intelligent design theory as an accepted alternative in the sciences and scientific research being done from the perspective of design theory. ...
"Twenty Year Goals
To see intelligent design theory as the dominant perspective in science. ..."
The entire document can be read here: www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.html.
Creationist hero William Dembski has also written that "any view of the sciences that leaves Christ out of the picture must be seen as fundamentally deficient." And noted distortionist Jonathan Wells has written an article explaining that God basically told him to devote his life to destroying Darwinism, which he then goes on to compare to communism and totalitarianism (www.tinyurl.com/oq2z). And yet Crowther just lies like a rug, saying there's no religious impetus behind the movement.
Also, Crowther repeats the canard – one that was even circulating when Chuck D. was yet alive (www.tinyurl.com/oq2c) – that scientists everywhere are tripping over themselves to abandon evolution. In fact, assembling bogus lists of scientific "dissenters" from evolution is such a widely derided creationist ploy that the scientific community recently satirized it with the "Project Steve" campaign, about which more can be enjoyed here: www.talkorigins.org/faqs/steve.
Mr. Crowther, I.D.-ers are free to believe what you want, but for the sake of common decency, can you please just stop lying?
Where do creationists' lies stop? That was the thought that ran through my head reading Robert Crowther's bravura letter in "Postmarks" [online version, posted Sept. 24].
He claims that the Discovery Institute doesn't want to introduce creationism/intelligent design into textbooks and that it doesn't want to exclude or undermine evolution. But this is what Discovery's own "Wedge Strategy" document declares:
"Governing Goals
"Five Year Goals
"Twenty Year Goals
The entire document can be read here: www.antievolution.org/features/wedge.html.
Creationist hero William Dembski has also written that "any view of the sciences that leaves Christ out of the picture must be seen as fundamentally deficient." And noted distortionist Jonathan Wells has written an article explaining that God basically told him to devote his life to destroying Darwinism, which he then goes on to compare to communism and totalitarianism (www.tinyurl.com/oq2z). And yet Crowther just lies like a rug, saying there's no religious impetus behind the movement.
Also, Crowther repeats the canard – one that was even circulating when Chuck D. was yet alive (www.tinyurl.com/oq2c) – that scientists everywhere are tripping over themselves to abandon evolution. In fact, assembling bogus lists of scientific "dissenters" from evolution is such a widely derided creationist ploy that the scientific community recently satirized it with the "Project Steve" campaign, about which more can be enjoyed here: www.talkorigins.org/faqs/steve.
Mr. Crowther, I.D.-ers are free to believe what you want, but for the sake of common decency, can you please just stop lying?
Thank you,
Martin Wagner
Martin Wagner
