As a staunch Calvinist Christian I applaud this effort. Yes a large majority of us have faith in things that are not provable or disprovable by physical evidence and this is neither the exclusive domain of the right nor of the left. The left believes that a person can be a woman trapped in a man's body, and that Earth will become uninhabitable because of the effects of anthropogenic global warming.

Houston-area lawmaker files creationism bill
Andrea Zelinski | February 3, 2017

AUSTIN -- A Houston-area state lawmaker has filed a bill to ensure science teachers have "academic freedom" to introduce ideas such as creationism in the classroom without fear of reprisal.

House Bill 1485, filed this week by Rep. Valoree Swanson, R-Spring, would require elected education officials and school leaders to assist teachers presenting scientific subjects that "may cause controversy," specifically climate change, biological evolution, the origins of life and human cloning.

"Teachers should have the freedom to investigate and teach evidence-based science, including strengths and weaknesses of scientific theories, in order to instill scientific critical thinking skills in their students," Swanson said in a press release.

The bill amounts a "get out of jail free card to maverick teachers," said Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, Inc., which watchdogs legislative attempts to permit the teaching of creationism. He said the bill would block administrators and school boards from reprimanding teachers who focus science teachings on divine creation, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled teaching creationism is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

According to the bill, the legislation is not meant to promote any religious or nonreligious doctrine.

The bill is nearly identical to a law supported by creationists in Tennessee in 2012, and similar to a Louisiana law passed in 2008. Texas is one of four states so far this year to introduce such legislation, along with Indiana, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Swanson, a freshman legislator, filed the bill the day after the State Board of Education took a preliminary vote against teacher recommendations to strike high school curricula requiring students to weigh scientific explanations to several issues of biology, which critics say hint at creationism. The board reiterated its decision Friday and will hear public testimony in April before taking a final note on the standards.

http://m.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/Creationism-bill-filed-in-Texas-10907169.php

let the process run it's course.

just today, it's apparent the whole Milky Way Galaxy is headed face first into an area of the Universe that hasn't yet been fully described or visited.

if one believes the news media reporting on the latest information.

there's lot's going on that is not yet fully understood.

Fantastic.

Automatically disqualifies creationism in any of its guises....

Creationism.. Explain it to any other educated human, on any other continent and you will be laughed straight out the room!

Creationism needs to be taught in churches, it has no place in a public school.

No sir it does not.

Just what we need - a national side track to this bs.

Thanks Texas!

what we have is a situation in which we don't know where we are, don't know from whence we came, and most certainly don't know where we are headed next. agreed?

therefore, what is the Story? does anyone know for sure? of course not. it's all conjecture.

place your bets, the game is on. ok?

listen to the brightest minds in the business, the theoretical physicists, and listen to them and their Stories that they tell us. and then decide, ok?

You're showing ignorance here. Creationists and Evolutionist use the same scientific facts. It is a matter of world view that tells the scientists what to make of the evidence.

Consider Dr. Jason Lisle. He has a Ph.D in astrophysics. While working for the US government he made some original discoveries in the sun. I heard him in a lecture say, "Evolution is a superstition with zero evidence." No reasonable person would doubt his credentials as a scientist.

I will challenge you to something I often use. Give me one Ph.D physical scientist who after getting his doctorate as a Creationist and became an evolutionist and I will give you a dozen Ph.D Evolutionists who after they earned their doctorate became Creationists. It happens every year, but the reverse doesn't seem to happen.

The idea of nothing becoming something and then turning into conscientiousness is suppose to be science. It sounds more like a fairy tail. On the other hand one starts with Infinite Intelligent Energy and it makes rational sense.

omg. once again w/feeling. superstition/majic/supernatural/metaphysical/mystical/almighty creator?

seriously folks, are things at risk of getting out of hand? i mean we have a pattern of behavior down here on the earth that we need to accept and prescribe our actions to...

the scientists are working overtime trying to make sense of it all, and help us progress forward. the theologian types seem to be holding back and sayin' i told ya so. told us what? we're overpopulating the earth, and no body gives a good gd?

It had to start somehow.

What's wrong with Creationism as the genesis (pun intended) and evolution as the mechanism of change? That's my belief, anyway.





P

the hindus over in india are in the process of building the tallest temple in the world...

they don't share our commonly accepted views..

maybe it didn't have to start??? maybe it always was?? i don't know, and don't claim to know.

all the folks who throw out beliefs as the "facts" just about wear a lot of us folks out, because they're overwhelming us w/stuff that we can't refute nor accept as true.

...and right on queue...

I sure don't have any answers and I only hold to what I believe, I won't force it on you. I just want to be left alone to worship as I see fit. If the Hindus are good with polytheism and sleeping Brahma, I am too. It's when the swords come out that I get nervous.





P

OK I'll bite. Define each word separately. Then define the phrase. Humor me.

true enough, with me as with you. the Almighty Creator sounds like a good way to go. Great Spirit is another. maybe there's dozens more, i don't know. in terms of swords, i hope they're forged of solingen and/or sheffield steel. lol.

Creationists prove Darwin was right.


mike r

most of us don't know anything but what we've been told. hopefully what we've been told is true & correct. that's our only prayer.

That's the way I look at it as well.

back in the day, i always thought the space aliens/extraterrestials located us here.

ok, but then the question is begged, how did the space aliens come to be?? are we removed yet one more step from god? lol.

folks, this game is never ending. just follow the hindu viewpoints and you'll see.

Sounds like last November when it was said that educated people wouldn't vote for Trump.

You're showing your bullscheit.

Darwin came up with the theory of evolution by observation. Since then science has consistently and constantly added to the body of evidence which is how science works.

Creationism starts out with a presupposed, unverifiable belief based on ancient superstition and ignorance and goes hunting for facts to try to cram in their model.

Your claims and obfuscations are hilarious, to put it politely. Tell you what, when you and the rest of the God squad find a dinosaur roaming the Amazon we can talk further....

In the meantime, go back to quoting Hovind and Ham.

You're showing your world view. You start with the idea Darwin came up with a new theory based on observation. The theory of evolution is at least 2,000 years old. You are using your brain washing instead of historical facts.

Can you name any of the scientists who brought us out of the dark ages who didn't believe in creation? No one would say they weren't extremely qualified scientists. Well, no reasonable person anyway.

If someone caught a living dinosaur and brought it to the United States you would not change you opinion. There were a number of evolutionists who did see the mokilimomembe (spelling is subject) in what used to be called the Congo. It was a sauropod dinosaur. One of the evolutionists said something like, "It appears the environment here has not changed in seventy million years."

No amount of information will convince someone who does not care about the truth.

What are you afraid of? The evidence? Afraid to let kids see the best evidence each side can present? I thought that evolution was a slam dunk.

Evolutionists are classic fundamentalists: Lock step faith in received “truth”, demonize and attack personally anyone who questions their orthodoxy, and shout down any attempt by unbelievers to rationally discuss their belief system.

A curious fact to me is that evolution never delivers the answers many claim for it. It never answers where matter comes from, but merely pushes that ultimate question farther back in time.

Carry on, in full emotion.

This sounds to me distinctly like the conservation of energy and matter. Something which science has enshrined.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

just sayin.

Wow, seems some folks are misinformed about Darwin and his theory. His theory WAS NOT based on observation, at least not of evolution. He died never having any evidence of proof of evolution. Just before he died he stated that if no one can find fossilized proof then his theory was wrong. Been a good number of years since his death and NO ONE has found a trace of evidence supporting his theory. In fact just the opposite has occurred. Many animals and invertebrates have been found allegedly millions of years apart with absolutely no changes. Also no animals appear in any form prior to a specified geologic time frame. In other words even noncreationist scientists agree it appears all known fossilized remains seemed to start about the same time geologically.

Literally all scientists are stumped trying to figure out how something came from nothing. It defies all the laws of physics. The best they can come up with so far is the Big Bang theory, where boom, suddenly it was there. BUT...who lit that fuse? Well they just don't know. Maybe it just simply happened. Everything just perfect for life here...just happened. Lucky for us if gravity was increased a wee bit, we'd be squished like a bug. If oxygen levels were +/- just a smidgen...no life. If the earth tilt was even a few degrees different, we'd be a frozen waste land, and on and on.

Scientists must be very careful how they frame their theories. Quite a few have lost their jobs and/or funding by agreeing too closely with intelligent design. So they simply keep putting in requests and gaining more grants to find out far less than they could in Genesis.

Let's see what you think the odds would be in an easier to understand model. My fetching wife bought me a super nice tactical watch for Christmas. Luminous dial, accurate to within micro sec per year, waterproof to 300 ft, yada, yada. Now let's assume I lose my mind and decide to take it apart, piece by tiny piece. And, I put all those tiny pieces into a canvas bag, and start shaking the crap out of it. And, every so often I stop and look into that bag at the results. How many times, how many years, how many decades, how many centuries, how many millenniums will I need to shake it until at last I open the bag and find an operating watch?

Scientists have calculated that the odds of life beginning suddenly in a primordial soupy swamp are far greater than my watch coming together. In fact the odds I read were a 1 followed by over one million zeros to 1 of that happening. Yet these anti creationist clowns would rather believe that crap than face the fact that...Dare I say it? GOD DID EXACTLY AS HE SAID HE DID.

OK, there...I said it...bring in the clowns and their flamethrowers.

And what physical evidence do you have for Mokele-mbembe?

I don't believe you heard that at all.
If he said it then he's as full of it as you.

The only thing there is NO evidence of is god, and religion doesn't belong in public schools.

Well, not a dinosaur, but the coelecanth is in that same time frame. Thought to be extinct for 60 million years, turns out, they are still catching them in Madagascar!

These threads are almost as useful as the "which cartridge for elk" threads and twice as entertaining. And it's always the same guys arguing the same points. Right on queue.

Except when you add a new guy like the sock puppet max velocity to the mix, now that makes it interesting.

Max, have you ever posted anything related to hunting and fishing? Ever posted anything outside the Hunter's Campfire forum, or posted an original thought you didn't copy from another website?

Evolution is shockingly absent in Africa....

You lost me here. Sorry, but whether a person is a man or woman is readily provable. To suggest otherwise is absurd.

Just like climate change denial, right? (insert sarcasm emoji here)

What are you anti-creationists afraid of?

Smoke pole is the rumor going around here true that you are the best pole smoker in San Franciso? Screw you and your hunting and fishing. I do happen to be on other sights under different names and what anyone posts here comes from news sources not their own original thought. GFY

Ain't the anonymity of the internet great? You can say whatever you want and not worry about any consequences. I'll bet you a dollar you wouldn't have the balls to say that to my face, sock puppet.

"Screw you and your hunting and fishing." Just what I thought.

Gee you must be a terribly tough guy, why probably a legend....in your own mind. GFY

Why I heard smokepole is 6'4" 240 pounds and fights in the UFC. I wouldn't challenge him.

Science is just fine with saying "We don't know. We can't explain it yet. And when a better theory explaining things comes along we'll adopt that theory as the leading theory based on the evidence we find." It's called the scientific method.

It's why we went from Newton's theory/description of gravity to Einstein's (general relativity).

whew, yeah your probably right. Besides any guy who loves to smoke poles enough to name himself that would surely have to be a baaaaad man. Most likely has to register his hands as deadly weapons, I'm just sayin. C'mon polesmoker, pppuuullleeeezzzeee...have mery on me.

A person would be wise to file that away with the claims of Sasquatch and Yeti sightings.

That's funny.
He implies you're gay and your retort talks about balls in your face.

"Smokepole" is slang for a muzzleloader, which is what I normally hunt with. "You don't have the balls to say that to my face" means "you're a p*ssy."

The fact that you and max cut&paste read homosexuality into those is telling.

And max, make no mistake, I'm not saying I'm a bad man. I'm saying you're a p*say.

JFC...

Darwin did postulate the theory of evolution through natural selection as we know it and understand it today. Yes, the idea that life had been around for ages and changed does predate Darwin but any simpleton would've understood the terminology as I used it to apply to Darwins theory.

There have been scientists who have done great work who no doubt believed in creationism, BUT...their belief in creationism didn't do scheeit for the sciences. They came up with their work and inventions through the SCIENTIFIC METHOD--not a book of fairy tales.

Please show the proof of your Congo sauropod. And when you actually bring us a dinosaur from the Amazon and I totally reject it, then you can accuse me of not changing my opinion.

Poobah,

Interesting that you would throw that up there! Not too long ago we were talking about science deniers on another forum (think it originated around that loony Ken Ham or perhaps Ray 'Banana Boy' Comfort) and I and a few others were debating whether allowing unintelligent design to be taught in schools was actually a good thing.

The reason being that of all 'faith' teachings, creationism is the easiest to absolutely tear apart. Now a lot of kids will never attain higher learning either via college or self study and they, without giving it any further thought/study through their life, will be amongst those polled who claim to 'believe in' creationism.

However, those who go on to higher learning quickly find out in Biology 101 that they've been lied to by their trusted teachers/pastors/parents. This will open the door to them asking what else in their 'infallible, inerrant' book is utter BS. This is surely part of the reason that youth are leaving the church and religion in droves (although their comprehension of the stupendous hypocrisy probably 'trumps' all).

So, I don't know-maybe the dumbing down of Americas students could be a good thing. You can bet your azz DeVos will try her best....

MojoHand,

Years ago the curator of a museum in England wrote a book about fossils. When he didn't include one photo he was challenged on it. He said something to the effect, "If I knew of one water tight example it would have been in my book." Scientists have hundreds of millions of fossils. They can be placed in different categories exactly like living animals. That is because the transitional forms are imaginary.

Very good!

To my knowledge, Darwin doesn't apply the term 'evolution' in his original text, he used the term 'transmutation' and 'descent with modification.'

So you are correct, some people are truly misinformed about Darwins core fundamentals.

'Darwinism' is a term that came from Thomas Huxley (a staunch supporter of Darwin)
'Survival of the fittest' is a term that Darwin applies but attributes to Herbert Spencer.
' Evolution' is a term Erasmus Darwin (Charles grandfather) used, but not Charles himself.

yet many people commonly assume those terms originated from C.Darwin

Teach it as what it is, a religious theory of being.

This from Darwins last sentence on the last page of his book:


RECAPITULATION AND CONCLUSION 529

"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been origi-
nally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this
planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple
a beginning end- less forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and
are being evolved."

(P.S.) nobody should confuse 'evolved' with 'evolution' they mean different things.

he does not define 'creator' or attribute the term to any specific faith like Christianity or Hindu, etc.

An embryo evolves/develops in stages in the womb ,but in itself it is not a stand alone
evolutionary process in the way people understand Darwins theory.

People evolve/hatch plans to achieve daily tasks or achieve some personal goal.

I'm a public school teacher, in Texas, high school.

I have no problem with the principle of introducing Creationism or its retreat-in-the-face-of-overwhelming-evidence form called Creative Design into the classroom.

In fact I would be DELIGHTED if the kids were thinking on a level such that they could intelligently debate these things, I wouldn't even care what conclusions they drew, 'long as they could coherently defend them.

What concerns me is that this debate would further burden what is already a crowded and busy curriculum. So the students of Mr Jones, who found it necessary to spend two weeks on his own hook tearing apart Darwin, find themselves taking the State End of Course exam less well-versed on mitosis, meiosis, cellular respiration or such. Ergo a couple of kids in Mr Jone's class fail the exam and have to repeat the course.

Also understand that the argument for excluding Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist and Wiccan creation theories from te classroom would become exceedingly slim.

Birdwatcher

Agree 100%. Wacko theory is not science. Evidence provides the basis of science, unless "Alternate Facts" have become truth.

What happened to max regurgitation?

He must be posting over on the hunting rifles forum??

Let's see: colleges and universities brainwash and subvert the thinking of the masses who attend, all except in biology 101, where pure and pristine science rules, untouched by social and political bias. Scientists would never fudge the facts. Only those lefties in the sociology department would do that.

I'm relaxed about this topic and don't care whether evolution is true or not, but it smells bad to me.

Evolution is foundational to the “progressive” agenda to subvert authority, brainwash the masses and justify their cruel control of everything and everybody. It is not a co-incidence that you can't reason with a leftists street protester any more than you can reason with someone sold on evolution. The lock step response of both is to jeer rather than hear (Birdwatcher excepted).

It is hard, I know, to self examine, but the rare thoughtful among us might consider whether we've been sold a bill of goods. Astonishing as it may seem, that is true for evolutionists as well as unbelievers.

FWIW, biology 101 is where my first doubts about evolution arose. The glib explanations of reality made me curious and I found other answers, sometimes disturbing answers, that did a better job of explaining the reality I knew from farm and forest.

Unlax folks, it is OK when our mileage varies.

I had the same experience as you but it was when I was twenty-five years old. I was so crushed by evolution failing me I consulted a psychiatrist.

Over the next few years I read lots of books by several scientists and was amazed not all accepted all of the evolutionary teaching.

I challenged those who are so convinced it's not brain washing to rent the movie "EXPELLED! No intelligence allowed." That does not mean read a review of it. Watch it.

Wow. Did it help?

As a matter of fact, YES! I got over the brainwashing and started reading not only evolutionist scientists but creationist scientists. Both use the same sun. Both use the same geological stratum. Both use the same biology. Now a days both agree mutations do not bring about MORE information required for evolution to move forward.

clearly, there's something "strange" going on whether we're creationists, evolutionists, or wannabees of any kind, type or sort.

that is to say, we've always known, or at least many of have, that the world is in process of becoming. that is it's dynamic. we've moved from cave man, to a band of wanderers, settled into agriculture, villages, cities, and on and on. and yet the process moves forward. past the moon to mars and beyond. it's unprecedented stuff going on, no matter from whence we think we came.

the world is in the process of becoming all over the place. just imagine a world with no pink dogwoods. a chimera appeared. strange, but good that we have pink dogwoods.

is the world a better place because of pink dogwoods? possibly.

anyways, it just "looks like" god/creator is ceding more and more ground to the scientists as they make stabs at an improved understanding of the real world. there was a time folks thought that the sun circled the earth. and didn't know how many teeth a horse had, and didn't know how to find out. so, god is sharing his universe with humans more and more, and he may pull out entirely someday. who could possibly know for sure.

This. I don't know how anyone couldn't see this "unintended consequence" from the get-go. Imagine some adherent to the Nation of Islam spouting off about their "original man" BS theory and the text of this legislation provides legal cover for it.

Concentrate on the schit that matters: economy, national defense, infrastructure, jobs, immigration. Do that, and everything else follows.

This culture war horsechit plays right into the D hands and will lead - again - to having them take control.

F'kin' dumbass GOP.

And away we go...

Never fear polesmoker I'm still here to accommodate your fixation with my balls. Just can't get enough huh? Think about it, those callous' on your chin would probably go away if you stopped your polesmoking habits, I'm just sayin.

max regurgitation: You don't have any balls.

And how come you never answered my questions:



Must've been busy perusing the web to find, cut, and paste more of your pablum?

Oh shoot, I just remembered, you did answer: "Screw you and your hunting and fishing." Well maxi, check the title of the forum. It ain't the "Regurgitator's Campfire."

Back on your knees sweetie pie your breaks over.

Max, your unprompted homosexual fantasies are telling.

I can't fault you for your taste in men, but I'm just not into that sort of thing.

What are you going to cut and paste next, I'm on the edge of my seat here.

GFY

GFY?? LOL, you can't even be original with your insults.

As Virginians, we damn well know how that plays out.

This thread might be solely responsible for my understanding of Gus' worldview.

The rest of you are amateurs.

Exactly!!

It'd have been easier to celebrate an illustration of your ignorance had it used fewer words.

I'm rolling here!

PS, you can't expect him to edit what he regurgitates, that's just too heavy of a lift for max pad.

Not all scientists accept Darwins theory, just like not all christians accept what other christians might believe about scripture.

Question is, why are you tolerant of other scientists views on Darwins theory , but you are not tolerant of other peoples views
on scripture that differ from your own.

Gentlemen,

I got the title of the book I told you about with the sauropod dinosaur. The book is "A living Dinosaur? In Search Of Mokele Mbembe". If you who are interested I hope you can find a copy.

What happened to max? I can't wait to see what he'll cut & paste today!!

It's not everywhere you can go to get the latest re-postings off the internet.

LMFAO!