Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Nature: Evolution Wins Out in Hong Kong Curriculum Dispute

Nature magazine is reporting a victory for evolution in Hong Kong, where a new science curriculum released earlier this year was not dogmatically Darwinian. That new curriculum actually opened the door to the teaching of "other explanations for evolution and the origins of life." How dare they?

Now, a five-page clarification, released in June, explains that those "other explanations" refer to alternative ideas such as those put forth by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Alfred Russel Wallace, and that "non-scientific explanations" should not be taught.

Let's see, Lamarck believed that biological change was not independent of environment, and Wallace advocated design. Meanwhile, evolution's predictions have been falsified many times over and it relies on religious claims for its justification.

Evolutionists must be in search of victories if they claim this as one. Here's an idea. Instead of forcing children to believe the same crooked beliefs that you cling to, how about simply explaining why we should think evolution is a fact?