This Week In Science and Religion
Well it’s an other week listing our adventures reading about science and religion. There was a lot going on this last week or so, if only because Utah State Senator Buttars was once again in the news. But there were other issues related to the whole evolution debate, such as the release of Evenson’s Mormonism and Evolution: The Authoritative Statements. As the comments over at LDS Science Review note, some are crying foul due to selective selection of quotations. (Although haven’t the anti-evolutionists been doing that for years?)
Will this affect the bill in the Utah Legislature that attempts to do Dover one better? Once again LDS Science Review has the links and discussion. And a funny Deseret Morning News poll that doesn’t add up to 100%. The bill is different from what was ruled unconstitutional at Dover. But is it sufficiently different? Over at Eyring-L a few noted that didn’t think it would pass muster given Jones’ reasons for judging that law unconstitutional. Well see if it gets out of the legislature and if it gets vetoed by the Governor. Hopefully this won’t embarrass us all here.
Also on the Buttars front is an interesting (and not in a good way) interview with him at KUER’s RadioWest. (Also see LDS Science Review)
On the same theme, Dave over at DMI discusses Orson Scott Card on ID that was published in Meridian. Meridian’s streak on science is certainly consistent.
Keeping on the theme, Geoff, guest blogging at T&S, put up several interesting discussions. I’ll skip the ones on foreknowledge and the like. He did however bring up the issue of evolution relative to January’s Sunday School lesson.
I ought put up a list of the many posts this last week or so on infertility. Spendid Sun got into the act. (Also here) Times and Season’s other guest blogger, Jonathan Stanford, had a slew of posts on reproduction and the beginning of life. He had posts on the beginning of life, stem cell research, the post-fertilization effects of birth control, and infertility. All within a day and a half. I suspect some people got a tad overwhelmed.
That’s it for this week. Let me know if I missed any.
Hopefully this won’t embarrass us all here.
Actually, you guys are embarrasing yourselves with the “doesn’t add to 100 percent” stuff. It is standard procedure to report poll results in whole numbers. Let’s say the actual results were
36.800000
28.800000
7.800000
21.800000
4.800000
How would you suggest the Deseret News report them other than the way they did?
Comment by Last Lemming — January 20, 2006 @ 9:48 am
Touche. It was an easy joke, especially in the context of education.
Comment by Jared — January 20, 2006 @ 12:07 pm
Personally I’m opposed to those standard procedures. Of course I’d also like error bars. (grin)
Comment by Clark Goble — January 21, 2006 @ 9:52 pm
Is this ‘Mormonsism and Evolution’ in any way related to “Evolution and Mormonism’ by Trent D. Stephens and D Jeffrey Meldurm? My Zoology prof. at BYU recommended it for reading, along with a 50 page packet of Church statements regarding evolution before we got underway with our Zoology 101 class in 1998.
What I understood from the time, and ever since, is that the Church is officially mum on the subject of evolution, has no idea how the creation and evolution can co-exist, but would rather spend its time teaching the gospel.
In fact, the impression I got was that the Church probably regrets most of its early statements regarding evolution.
Anyway, if the Biology dept at BYU is cool with evolution, I don’t see why Buttars can’t let it go. I personally think he is a freak, a moron, a headline grabber who has yet to do any real work for his constituents. He could only be a representative from the district he is from, because anywhere else people would hesitate to even give him a church calling beyond ‘greeter’.
Comment by Sam Goble — January 24, 2006 @ 12:01 am
Nope. This is just an expansion, from what I can see, of the older BYU Evolution packet.
Evolution and Mormonism was more an analysis of the issue.
Comment by Clark Goble — January 24, 2006 @ 12:09 am